NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – The Messiah women's basketball team rallied from an eight-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat the Shenandoah University Hornets 58-57 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday evening. The Falcons advance to take on the Smith Pioneers in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. in Northhampton, Mass. The Pioneers earned a 61-46 victory over Maine Maritime in their opening round game on Friday.
 
The Falcons and Hornets played a tight first quarter with a 9-9 tie. The offense opened up in the second quarter and Shenandoah took a 24-23 lead headed into the half. Shenandoah controlled the third quarter and went into the fourth quarter with a six-point lead. The Falcons trailed by eight with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Falcons would not go down without a fight. The Falcons then went on a 13-2 run to take a three-point lead with just under two minutes remaining in the game. Shenandoah retook the lead and after two missed free throws by the Hornets, Reese Harden ended the game with three straight points, including the game winning free throw with two seconds on the clock to give the Falcons a 58-57 win.
 
Morgan Adams led the Falcons with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Adams also became the 26th player in program history to reach 1000 career points with a basket in the second quarter. Reese Harden totaled 13 points and seven rebounds.

First Quarter
In the first four minutes, the Falcons and Hornets traded baskets with Morgan Adams scoring three early points and Charlotte Milanesi adding in a jumper to put the score at 6-6 with 6:33 remaining in the first quarter. After almost three minutes of good defense, the Hornets took back the lead with a pair of free throws with 3:51 remaining in the quarter. In the final minute, the Falcons scored two baskets on a Chloe Milanesi jumper and a Hope Cook layup to tie the game at nine after the first quarter.
 
Second Quarter
The back-and-forth battle continued with the Falcons just outscoring the Hornets 6-5 in the first five minutes of the second quarter with Liv Monturo giving the Falcons a one-point lead on a layup. In the next two minutes, the Hornets answered back with a quick 5-0 run to take a 19-15 lead with three minutes remaining in the half. The Falcons closed the half with an 8-5 stretch that was highlighted by four points from Chloe Milanesi.
 
Third Quarter
The Hornets opened the third quarter strong with a 7-2 run in the first three minutes to take a six-point lead. The two teams then traded baskets with Reese Harden scoring four points that stretch to reduce the Hornets lead to 34-29 with 4:15 remaining in the third quarter. The Falcons then cut the Hornets lead to two with a 5-2 stretch that was led by EmmyFaith Wood hitting a three and a deep jumper. The Hornets then closed the third quarter with a 7-3 stretch to go into the fourth quarter with a 43-37 lead.
 
Fourth Quarter
The Falcons and Hornets opened the fourth quarter with back-and-forth baskets before Shenandoah hit a three to push their lead to eight with 6:08 remaining in the fourth. The Falcons then went on a 13-2 run that started with a layup from Hope Cook and ended with a free throw from Reese Harden to give the Falcons a 55-52 lead with 1:34 remaining in the game. After the Falcons took the lead the Hornets responded with a big three to tie the game and then made a second chance layup to take a two-point lead with 26 seconds remaining. With 13 seconds remaining in the game Reese Harden made a driving layup to tie the game at 57. After Morgan Adams forced a charge on the defensive end, the Falcons got the ball back with eight seconds remaining. On the next offensive possession, Reese Harden drew a foul and earned two free throw attempts. Harden made the first free throw and then missed the second, but the ball bounced around in play and the clock expired giving the Falcons a 58-57 win.
 
Stats
Morgan Adams led the Falcons with an 18 point and 11 rebound double double. Reese Harden totaled 13 points and seven rebounds. Charlotte Milanesi added seven points, three rebounds, and three assists. Chloe Milanesi also totaled six points, seven rebounds, and a block. The Falcons shot 39.7 percent from the field and 11.8 percent from behind the arc. The Hornets shot 35.4 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from three. Both teams totaled 13 turnovers.
 
Morgan Adams 1000th Career Point
Morgan Adams became the 26th player in program history to reach 1000 career points with a basket in the second quarter. Adams came into the game needing just six points to reach 1000 career points, and Adams totaled 18 points to help lead the Falcons into the second round.
 
Next
The Falcons will face the Pioneers of Smith College on Saturday, March 2, in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, at 7:00 p.m. at Smith College.