GRANTHAM, Pa. – The No. 21 Messiah women's basketball team continued its hot start to the 2023-24 season with a victory over visiting The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), 65-46, on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Morgan Adams tallied a game-high 20 points to lead the Falcons in scoring as
Reese Harden also contributed double-digits scoring with a 15-point performance. The victory rounded off the Messiah Tip-Off Tournament as
Chloe Milanesi was named the tournament's MVP, totaling 26 points and 14 rebounds in the Falcons' two tournament wins.
Messiah, entering the second half of play with a five-point advantage (25-20), separated itself from the Lions with a dominant 22-7 third quarter. The Falcons began the quarter with a momentous 9-0 scoring run, fueled by two jumpers from Adams. Messiah shot 53% (9-17) from the field in the third quarter, proving to be the difference in the game as the Falcons increased their five-point lead from halftime to 20 points (47-27) at the conclusion of the third period of play.
The Falcons scored eight of their 19 points off turnovers during the third quarter. Milanesi, who recorded eight points, began the scoring in the quarter with a jumper and it ended it with a three-pointer with just two ticks left on the clock.
The game was back-in-forth in the opening quarter of play as Messiah held just a 12-10 lead at the conclusion of the period. The Falcons' offense started hot, scoring 12 points in the opening 5:36, but would not score for the last 4:24 of action. Messiah, despite missing its mark from beyond the arc (0-2) in the first quarter, used four different scorers to jump out to an early edge over TCNJ.
Messiah began the second quarter with a 9-3 scoring run to jump ahead to a 21-13 advantage.
Sydney Hoffman notched jumpers on consecutive possessions during the scoring run, the junior guard finished with eight points and four rebounds in the win. Following the Falcons' scoring run, the Lions' had a scoring run of their own, scoring seven unanswered points to cut their deficit to one point (21-20) with just 54 seconds remaining in the half. In the final minute of first half action, Adams converted two free throws as Harden knocked down a jumper to increase the Falcons' lead to 25-20 heading into the break.
The first half of play was tightly-contested, but critical halftime adjustments had the Falcons dominate the third quarter, proving to be the difference in the game. In the fourth quarter, Messiah kept TCNJ at bay to seal the 65-46 win. In the final quarter of play, the Falcons shot 8-of-15 (53.33%) from the field as Adams contributed four points. First-year guard
Ainsley Bell scored her first-career points in the win, notching both her field goal attempts for four points.
Messiah was consistent at the free throw line, converting 8-of-9 (88.9%) attempts, highlighted by a perfect 6-6 performance from Adams.
What's Next
Messiah (2-0) will travel to Carlisle, Pa., to take on Dickinson College this Wednesday (Nov. 15) for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.