GRANTHAM, Pa. – The No. 24 Messiah women's basketball team won their 11th-straight game on Saturday night with a 69-47 victory over the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena. The Falcons held a four-point lead at the end of the first quarter, but led 33-19 at the break en route to the comfortable victory.
 
Reese Harden and Megan Zimmerman led the Falcons offensively with 17 points apiece. Chloe Milanesi joined the duo in double-digits with 11 points, six steals, and seven rebounds. Faith Grula was a perfect 3-3 from the field for seven points while grabbing a team-high nine rebounds.
 
With the win, the Falcons move to 14-2 on the season and remain perfect in the MAC Commonwealth with a 7-0 record. Messiah will be back in action on Wednesday when they head to Stevenson University to take on the Mustangs at 8:00 p.m.
 
How It Happened
The Falcons sped off to a double-digit lead just over five minutes into the contest. Following a Morgan Adams pull-up jumper with 4:46 remaining in the first quarter, Messiah held a 12-2 lead. Reese Harden paced the fast start with six of Messiah's first 12 points with Adams, Chloe Milanesi, and Faith Grula all adding buckets as well.
 
The fast start sputtered to a halt with Lebanon Valley rattling off a run of their own to pull within four at 14-10 by the end of the period. The Dutchmen used an 8-2 run over the final four minutes and change to pull within four after 10 minutes of play. Messiah's only bucket during the run came on a driving lay-up from Amber High.
 
Across the second quarter, Messiah steadily built the lead, forcing eight Dutchmen turnovers in the period and outscoring the visitors 19-9 in the period. The result was a 33-19 lead for the Falcons at halftime. Reese Harden led the Falcons' offense in the period with seven points while Morgan Adams added four and Megan Zimmerman, Amber High, Faith Grula, and Chloe Milanesi each adding a bucket.
 
In the third, Messiah and Lebanon Valley combined for 38 total points with the Falcons expanding their lead to 18 by the end of the quarter. Messiah led by as many as 22 in the period, taking a 52-30 lead after an Amber High free throw with just over a minute remaining. Megan Zimmerman led the Falcons in the period with nine points.
 
The Falcons led by as many as 26 points late in the fourth quarter as they claimed the 22-point victory.
 
What's Up Next
With the victory, Messiah extends their winning streak to 11 games and moves to 14-2 overall on the season. Messiah is 7-0 in the conference and will be back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 18 when they travel to Stevenson to take on the Mustangs at 8:00 p.m.