Puerto Rico – The Messiah University women's basketball team traveled to Puerto Rick for the 2023 Women's Basketball Clasico and defeated Albion College 63-48. The Falcons took the lead in the first quarter and never surrendered it for the remaining of the game.
Reese Harden led the Falcons with 18 points and scored 14 of those 18 in the second half to propel the Falcons to the win.
Up next, the Falcons continue to play in Puerto Rico with a matchup against the fifth-ranked Warhawks of Wisconsin-Whitewater on Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 2:00 p.m.
First Quarter
The first five minutes consisted of back-and-forth play before a
Kiara Bomboy three gave the Falcons a 7-5 lead with 5:04 remaining. Bomboy stayed hot with two more threes to end the first quarter with nine points and a Falcons 13-9 lead.
Second Quarter
The second quarter started like the first with teams trading baskets, with
Reese Harden and
Charlotte Milanesi scoring for the Falcons. After the Britons cut the Falcons lead to one with five minutes remaining in the quarter, Messiah responded with an 11-2 run to end the half.
Morgan Adams started the run with four straight points, and
Reese Harden made a layup with 10 seconds remaining to give the Falcons a 27-18 lead at the half.
Third Quarter
After the break the two teams continued the trend of starting the quarter trading baskets.
Reese Harden scored two buckets and
Chloe Milanesi scored on a jumper to keep the Falcons up by nine with 6:33 remaining in the quarter. The Falcons then quickly went on a 6-2 run to extend their lead to 39-26.
Morgan Adams led the small run with four points. The Britons answered back with a 5-0 run to cut the Falcons lead to eight with three minutes remaining in the quarter. The Falcons then finished the quarter with another 6-2 run that started with a jumper from
Charlotte Milanesi and ended with a layup from
Liv Monturo to give the Falcons a 45-33 lead entering the final quarter.
Fourth Quarter
The Britons looked to make a comeback and started the fourth quarter strong with a 9-4 run to cut the Falcons lead to seven with 5:45 remaining in the game. The Falcons finished the game with a 13-4 run that was led by five points from
Reese Harden to push the Falcons past the Britons.
Stats
Reese Harden led the Falcons with 18 points and two steals.
Morgan Adams added 12 points with five rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Kiara Bomboy finished with 9 points.
Chloe Milanesi finished with seven points, six rebounds and three assists.
Charlotte Milanesi finished with seven points, six rebounds, five steals, and two assists. The Falcons shot 42.9 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from three. Albion shot 38.5 percent from the field and went 0-7 from three.
Next
The Falcons continue to play in Puerto Rico with a matchup against the fifth-ranked Warhawks of Wisconsin-Whitewater on Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 2:00 p.m.