GRANTHAM, Pa. – On Wednesday evening, the Messiah University women's basketball team defeated the Mustangs of Stevenson University, 76-51. The Falcons opened the first quarter strong with a 20-13 lead. The Falcons continue the momentum into the second, outscoring the Mustangs by 12 to take a 44-24 lead into the half. The Falcons outscored the Mustangs by five in the third to extend their lead to 25 headed into the final quarter. Both teams scored 12 in the fourth to give the Falcons the 76-51 win. Reese Harden led the Falcons with 17 points, three assists, two rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. Liv Monturo totaled 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Chloe Milanesi added nine points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
 
Up next, the Falcons host the Blazers of Hood College on Saturday Feb. 1 at 2:00 p.m.

First Quarter
The Falcons got off to a strong start with a quick 6-0 run in the first two minutes of the game. Reese Harden, Liv Monturo, and Sydney Hoffman each made baskets for the Falcons during the run. After each teams traded baskets, the Falcons went on an 8-4 run to push their lead to 18-8 with 2:37 remaining in the first quarter. Raegan Fogarty started the run with a jumper and Ainsley Bell ended the run with a jumper. The Mustangs outscored the Falcons 5-3 to end the first quarter. Charlotte Milanesi made the three for the Falcons during the final stretch of the first quarter to give the Falcons a 21-13 lead.
 
Second Quarter
The Falcons opened the second quarter with a 9-2 run in the first three minutes of the second to extend their lead to 15. Liv Monturo led the Falcons during the run with four points and Charlotte Milanesi added a three. The Mustangs then outscored the Falcons 7-4 to reduce the Falcons lead to 12 with 4:40 remaining in the half. Liv Monturo and Sydney Hoffman scored the baskets for the Falcons during the small run from the Mustangs. The Falcons responded with a 10-2 run to close out the half with a 44-24 lead. Reese Harden started the run with a jumper and EmmyFaith Wood ended the scoring for the half with a layup.
 
Third Quarter
The Falcons once again got off to a fast start in the first couple minutes of a quarter. Messiah opened the third with an 8-2 run in the first three minutes to push the Falcons lead to 26. Reese Harden led the Falcons during the run with four points. The two teams traded baskets for the next four minutes, with the highlight from the stretch being a Chloe Milanesi three. The two teams once again, traded baskets in the final two minutes to put the Falcons up 64-39 headed into the final quarter. Ainsley Bell, EmmyFaith Wood, and Liv Monturo each added two points for the Falcons during the final stretch of the third.
 
Fourth Quarter
The Falcons opened the fourth with an 8-4 run to push their lead to 29. Liv Monturo, Reese Harden, Charlotte Milanesi, and Sydney Hoffman each tallied two points during the run. The Mustangs closed the game on an 8-4 run, but the Falcons earned the dominant 76-51 win. Justine Forbes and Brooke Fenchel each added a basket during the final stretch of the game.  
 
Stats
Reese Harden led the Falcons with 17 points, three assists, two rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. Liv Monturo totaled 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Chloe Milanesi added nine points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Charlotte Milanesi totaled eight points and three rebounds. Sydney Hoffman also added eight points, two rebounds, two assists, and a steal. The Falcons shot 53.8 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from three. The Mustangs shot 36.7 percent from the field and 10 percent from three. Messiah's defense this season has made it difficult on opponents shooting from behind the arc. The Falcons defense are ranked first in Division III allowing only 19.6 percent from three coming into the game, before shutting down Stevenson's perimeter offense. 
 
Next
The Falcons host the Blazers of Hood College on Saturday Feb. 1 at 2:00 p.m.