READING, Pa. – The Messiah women's basketball team trailed the Alvernia Golden Wolves for a majority of the opening three quarters in Reading on Wednesday night. While Messiah was never down by more than six points, Alvernia held the upper hand for the bulk of the contest. That all changed with a massive 22-5 Messiah run that spanned eight minutes at the end of the third quarter and early fourth quarter.  The stretch turned a 32-31 Alvernia lead into a 53-37 Messiah advantage.
 
From there, Messiah cruised home for the 59-49 victory, their 17th-striaght. The win improved Messiah to 20-2 on the season and the Falcons remain perfect in the MAC Commonwealth with a 13-0 record. The victory also clinches the top seed in the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Championship Tournament that will take place at the end of the month.
 
Reese Harden led the Falcons with 18 points with Megan Zimmerman and Morgan Adams also going for double digits with 16 and 13 points, respectively.
 
How It Happened
The first three quarters of Wednesday's game was a level contest with Alvernia holding a slim lead throughout the bulk of the first half hour. At the end of the first quarter, the game stood level at 10-10 with Morgan Adams scoring five points. In the second quarter, the Golden Wolves started the period on an 8-2 run to take their largest lead of the game at 18-12.
 
Messiah fought back and pulled within one at the end of a low-scoring first half at 21-20.
 
It was still tight in the opening going of the third quarter with neither team holding a lead of more than three points. The Golden Wolves held a one-point, 32-31 lead after a three-pointer from Kayla Williams with 3:18 remaining in the quarter.
 
A layup from Reese Harden started a massive 22-5 swing that put the Falcons out in front. Over the next seven-plus minutes, Messiah went 10-13 from the field to take a 16-point lead at 53-37. During the stretch, Harden led the way with eight points. Morgan Adams dropped six with Amber High chipping in with five.
 
During the run, Messiah held Alvernia to just one field goal and forced four Golden Wolves turnovers.
 
The run completely swung momentum in the game as Messiah took control.
 
Despite a 12-4 run from the Golden Wolves over the next five minutes, Messiah held on for the 59-49 victory.
 
What's Up Next
With the victory, Messiah moves to 20-2 on the season and 13-0 in the MAC Commonwealth. The Falcons will be back in action on Saturday when they host the Eastern Eagles at 4:00 p.m.