CHESTER, Pa. - The No. 11 Messiah women's basketball team suffered a 72-66 setback against the Widener Pride on Saturday afternoon in their season finale. The Falcons led 37-20 at halftime, but after the break it was Widener's game as they outscored the visiting Falcons by 23 points after the half.
 
Late in the fourth quarter, Messiah trailed 67-55 with 2:16 remaining. The Falcons rallied back to pull within four, but they ran out of steam late, ultimately falling by the 72-66 final.
 
Leah Springer led the Falcons with 22 points and 13 rebounds, both were game highs.
 
Despite the loss, Messiah is still the top seed in the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Tournament that will take place next week. The Falcons will host the MAC Commonwealth Quarterfinals on Wednesday against the winner of the Play-In Game on Monday.
 
Huge First-Half Lead
Over the first seven minutes and change of Saturday's game, Messiah built a double-digit lead, taking a 1606 advantage after a jumper from Leah Springer. Five different Falcons scored during the early run with Springer leading the way with eight points. Messiah bumped their lead to 11 at 17-6 after a free throw from Eleana Eckley, but Widener scored the final three points of the period and Messiah held a 17-9 lead after 10 minutes of play.
 
Three minutes into the second quarter, Messiah held a 10-point lead at 23-13 after a jumper from Megan Zimmerman. Widener proceeded to go on a 6-0 run to cut the lead down to four at 23-19 with 5:39 remaining in the half.
 
A free throw from Eckley started a 14-1 Messiah run over the remainder of the first half to give the Falcons a comfortable 37-20 lead at the break. During the final five-plus minutes, Messiah went 5-8 from the floor while holding the Pride to just a single free throw during the run. Eckley led the way with five points while Morgan Adams added four.
 
Widener Comes Back
Messiah opened the scoring in the second half with Springer knocking down a jumper to make it 39-20 just seconds into the third quarter. Widener then set the tone for the remainder of the game with a 13-0 run that lasted under three minutes. The Pride missed just one shot during the stretch and pulled within six at 39-33.
 
The streak was halted momentarily with a three by Sidney Stutzman, but Widener continued to chip away throughout the quarter, eventually making it a 50-48 game heading to the fourth quarter. In the third quarter, Widener outscored the Falcons 28-13, shooting 66.67% from the floor (10-15).
 
The strong play from the Pride did not stop there. Widener opened up a 12-point lead with just over two and a half minutes to go in regulation following a three from Mikayla Nicolini with 2:36 remaining in the game.
 
With the Falcons cut the lead down to four points at 68-64 with 30 seconds remaining in the game, the Widener lead was too much for Messiah too much to make up and the Falcons fell by a 72-66 final score.
 
In total, the Pride outscored the Falcons 52-29 after the half and went on a massive 47-16 run during a 16:43 span in the middle of the second half.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons remain the top seed heading into next week's MAC Commonwealth Tournament. Messiah's 14-2 conference record this year earned them hosting duties throughout the week as the Falcons will host the MAC Commonwealth Quarterfinals on Wednesday night. Messiah will take on the winner of the No. 8 vs. No. 9 Play-In Game that will take place on Monday evening. Check GoMessiah.com in the coming days for more information on the Conference Tournament.