CHESTER, Pa. – The Messiah women's basketball team used a strong second half to pull away from the Widener Pride on Saturday afternoon, earning a 55-43 victory to move to 5-2 overall and 2-0 in the conference. The Falcons were led by Reese Harden's 17 points and nine rebounds, both were team highs in the game. Megan Zimmerman joined Harden in double-digits with 13 points while grabbing five boards in the victory.
 
Messiah will be back in action on Wednesday when they host the Gettysburg Bullets in a non-conference game at 8:00 p.m. on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.
 
How It Happened
The Falcons and Pride played a tight opening half, particularly in the first quarter. Messiah trailed 4-0 after Widener scored the first two buckets of the contest. Morgan Adams got the Falcons on the board three minutes in with a jumper off a feed from Megan Zimmerman. That jumper from Adams sparked an 8-0 Messiah that gave the Falcons an 8-4 lead with 3:30 left in the first.
 
After a Widener jumper and a pair of Reese Harden free throws, Messiah held a 10- 6 lead after 10 minutes of play.
 
Early in the second, Messiah took a seven-point lead at 13-6 after a free throw from Megan Zimmerman and a layup from Harden. That lead was quickly erased, following a 14-4 Widener run that gave the Pride a 20-17 lead midway through the half.
 
Messiah responded with a 6-1 run over the final four-plus minute to take a two-point, 23-21 lead into the half.
 
The Falcons extended that run by opening the second half with seven-straight points to take a nine-point advantage at 30-21. Sidney Stutzman led the charge to start the third quarter with three points in the first four minutes.
 
Messiah's lead hovered between five and nine for the rest of the quarter with the Falcons hold a 38-29 lead at the end of the period. Megan Zimmerman capped of the quarter with a jumper.
 
After three and a half minutes of scoreless basketball to begin the fourth quarter, Reese Harden knocked down a jumper to give Messiah a double-digit lead at 40-29. Messiah's lead grew to as many as 14 points at 46-32 after a Chloe Milanesi jumper in the middle of the quarter. Widener closed the gap to single digits just once, making it a 52-43 game with 1:27 left in regulation with a three from Gianna Samuels. That was as close as they would get as Messiah knocked down free throws down the stretch for the 55-43 victory.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action on Wednesday night when they host the Gettysburg Bullets at 8:00 p.m. on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.