GRANTHAM, Pa. – The top-seeded Messiah women's basketball team is scheduled to open the MAC Commonwealth Tournament on Wednesday night with the semifinal round being play on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena against fifth-seeded Widener at 7:00 p.m. The Falcons are seeking their 15th Conference Championship in program history and their seventh in a row.
The Widener Pride are coming off a 61-52 victory over the Lebanon Valley on Monday night in the MAC Commonwealth Play-In Game.
Second-seeded Albright will host third-seeded Alvernia in the other MAC Commonwealth Semifinal on Wednesday night. The winner will square off against the winner of the Messiah vs. Widener match-up on Saturday with a MAC Commonwealth Championship on the line.
Including this year's trip, Messiah has competed in 28 Conference Championship Tournaments, winning 14 Conference Titles and playing in the Conference Championship Game 19 times. The Falcons hold a 27-7 record on their home floor in the Conference Tournament.
Fans should note that this is a Middle Atlantic Conference Postseason Tournament, tickets are required for all fans. The pricing for tickets are as follows: Adults - $6, Senior Citizens - $4, Students (valid ID) & Children - $2, Pre-school (under 6) with Adult – Free. With the assistance of a generous donor, all Messiah students with a valid ID will be admitted free of charge.
See below for a quick preview of the MAC Commonwealth Tournament field:
No. 1 Messiah Falcons – 23-2 overall, 16-0 conference
After starting the season 3-2 with losses against DeSales and Rochester, Messiah rattled off 20-straight victories to end the regular season with an overall record of 23-2. The Falcons have played in a number of close games, particularly as of late, but for the last three months have been on the winning side of every game they have played.
Messiah's defense has been their calling card this season. The Falcons allow just 47.6 points per game, the lowest in the MAC Commonwealth this season and the eighth fewest in the country on the year. Offensively, Messiah ranks in the middle of the pack in the conference (fourth), netting 58.7 points per game.
Players to Watch
#25
Reese Harden – 13.0 pg, 3.6 rpg, 69 assists, 43 steals
#13
Morgan Adams – 11.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 48 assists, 26 steals, 27 blocks
#34
Megan Zimmerman – 10.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 16 assists, 17 steals
No. 5 Widener Pride – 11-15 overall, 7-9 conference
The Widener Pride may be playing their best basketball of the season over the last month. Since dropping four-straight games to Lebanon Valley, York, Albright, and Messiah in a 10-day span in early January, the Pride went 5-2 to finish the regular season. The strong finish punched their ticket to the MAC Commonwealth Tournament where they earned a 61-52 victory over Lebanon Valley in the Play-In Game on Monday. The victory came against a Lebanon Valley team who defeated them twice during the regular season.
The Pride get to the free throw line more than anyone else in the conference, attempting 19.04 attempts per game. Outside of their abilities to get to the line, Widener ranks in the middle of the conference in every other team statistical category, including third in scoring offense (59.5 ppg) and seventh in scoring defense (61.8 ppg).
Players to Watch
#15 Jordan D'Ambrosio – 14.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 55 assists, 28 steals, 28 blocks
#32 Mia Robbins – 10.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 32 assists, 17 steals, 13 blocks
#3 Lindsay Kutz – 10.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 48 assists, 32 steals, 15 blocks
When They Met
The Falcons earned a pair of victories over Widener this season with a 55-43 win in Chester on Dec. 3 and a 67-52 triumph at home on Jan. 21. Messiah and Widener have met in the last two MAC Commonwealth Championship Games with the Falcons earning a 69-55 win last season and a 60-45 victory in 2021.
No. 2 Albright Lions – 18-7 overall, 12-4 conference
The Lions have been one of the more consistent teams in the conference this season, dropping just four conference games en route to snagging the second seed in the conference tournament. Messiah clipped the Lions with nearly identical scores of 56-41 (Dec. 10) and 55-41 (Jan. 28). Albright's only other conference losses came back in December with Alvernia earning a 74-47 victory and Stevenson picking up a 64-51 win. As of late they have played even better, outscoring their final three opponents of the season by a combined 201-156.
Albright has played in a number of high scoring games this season thanks to the second-highest scoring offense in the conference (61.2 ppg) and a defense that allows nearly as many (55.6 ppg). The Lions are strong on the boards, outrebounding their opponents by 5.6 per game, the highest margin in the conference.
Players to Watch
#12 Gabby Boggs – 14.5 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 72 assists, 45 steals, 48 blocks
#1 Mackenzie Dover – 12.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 78 assists, 46 steals
#24 Amina Rauf – 12.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 54 assists, 44 steals, 11 blocks
When They Met
From 2015-2018, the Lions dominated this match-up, winning eight of 10 contests against the Falcons. Since that 10-game stretch, Messiah has been in control, taming the Lions 12-straight times, including victories of 55-41 and 56-41 this season.
Megan Zimmerman put together a pair of strong games against Albright, dropped 18 points on Jan. 28 and earning a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double on Dec. 10.
No. 3 Alvernia Golden Wolves – 16-9 overall, 11-5 conference
The Golden Wolves have put together their finest season in over a decade, finishing the regular season with their most wins since the 2009-10 team went 17-10. Alvernia started the season 1-3, but went 9-1 over their next 10 games to move to 10-4. Included in that stretch was a 5-0 start to the conference slate. While the Golden Wolves cooled off a bit after the calendar turned to 2023, Alvernia finished the season with back-to-back wins to earn the third-seed in the Conference Tournament.
As a team, the Golden Wolves crash the boards and play strong defense while leading the conference in scoring with a 63.2 ppg average. Defensively, they allow just 55.0 ppg for the second-best scoring margin in the conference at 8.2 ppg. The Golden Wolves crash the offensive glass to the tune of 15.8 per game, the highest in the conference and 38th most in the country. On the season they are grabbing 46.2 rebounds per game, good for the 14th most in Division III.
Players to Watch
#22 Kayla Williams – 11.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 57 assists, 34 steals, 38 blocks
#11 Jordan Karmonick – 11.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 79 assists, 38 steals
#2 Taliyah Malone – 9.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 51 assists, 42 steals
When They Met
The Falcons hold an all-time record of 28-2 against the Alvernia Golden Wolves. This season, Messiah earned victories of 59-49 in Reading on Feb. 8 and a 56-48 win at home on Jan. 11. At home,
Faith Grula came off the bench and scored 10 points on a 5-5 effort from the floor. In Reading in early February,
Reese Harden dropped 18 points as the Falcons pulled away in the second half.
