CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - The Messiah women's basketball team suffered a 61-35 setback on the road against the DeSales University Bulldogs on Monday night. The Bulldogs and Falcons were in a tight battle in the opening half, with Messiah trailing by just six at 25-19. The Bulldogs pulled away in the second half, holding Messiah to just 16 points in the final 20 minutes. Reese Harden led the Falcons with eight points.
 
Messiah moves to 3-2 on the season and will begin the conference slate on Wednesday night when they host the York Spartans on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena at 8:00 p.m.
 
How It Happened
The Falcons jumped out to an early 6-2 lead thanks to a pair of buckets from Megan Zimmerman and a jumper from Sidney Stutzman in the first three minutes. A 10-2 run from the Bulldogs ended the quarter and the Falcons trailed by four, 12-8 after 10 minutes of play.
 
Messiah opened the second quarter with a 9-3 run highlighted by five points from Chloe Milanesi. Following a jumper from Reese Harden midway through the quarter, Messiah held a 17-15 lead. Once again, another strong run from the Bulldogs ended a period. In the second, it was a 10-2 run from DeSales that closed out the half and the Bulldogs took a 25-19 lead into the break.
 
Across the entirety of the second half, DeSales steadily built their lead. The Bulldogs held Messiah to eight points in both the third and fourth quarters. At the end of the third quarter, the Bulldogs held a 41-27 lead, but late in the fourth their advantage was up to 29 points at 61-32. Messiah scored the final three points of the game, but fell by the 61-35 final score.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action on Wednesday when they start the MAC Commonwealth season with a match-up against the York Spartans on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena at 8:00 p.m.