Fredericksburg, Va. – The Messiah Women's Basketball team traveled to the University of Mary Washington for a contest against the Eagles on Saturday afternoon, picking up a 44-37 win on the road. The Eagles used a 13-0 run to start the game to take a 15-7 lead after the first quarter. Messiah battled back in the second quarter to tie the game 23-23 going into the half. The teams battled in the third quarter, with the game remaining tied headed into the fourth. Messiah got their first lead of the game in the fourth quarter and held on to win 44-37. Charlotte Milanesi led the Falcons with 13 points while adding six rebounds and five assists. Liv Monturo had 11 points and six rebounds. April Kauffeldt had six points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
 
Up next, the Falcons head to Orlando, Fla. for a matchup against Wisconsin Lutheran College on Sunday, Dec. 28 at 2:00 p.m.
 
First Quarter
The Eagles started the game on a 13-0 run through the first five minutes. Charlotte Milanesi scored in the paint to get the Falcons on the board with 4:15 left in the quarter and followed in up with a three-pointer two minutes later to make it 13-5. Brooke Fenchel hit two free throws for Messiah to end the quarter, with Mary Washington leading 15-7.
 
Second Quarter
Charlotte Milanesi hit her second three-pointer of the game to start the quarter, getting Messiah within five points. Over the next five minutes, Brooke Fenchel, Charlotte Milanesi, and EmmyFaith Wood all added baskets for Messiah, but the Eagles kept answering back to keep the lead, up 20-17 with 4:37 left to play in the quarter. April Kauffeldt hit a jumper to get the Falcons within a basket, but an and-one from the Eagles lead back at four points, up 23-19. Liv Monturo scored her first basket of the game with 1:40 remaining in the quarter and Ainsley Bell dropped in a bucket as the Falcons tied the game 23-23, which is how the score would remain heading into the half.
 
Third Quarter
Messiah only scored one point off a Liv Monturo free throw in the first five minutes of the quarter as the Eagles retook the lead, 27-24. Monturo hit a jumper with just under five minutes to get Messiah within one point, but the Eagles responded with four straight points to push the lead back to five, 31-26. EmmyFaith Wood hit a three to make it 31-29 with 1:05 in the quarter, and Liv Monturo added another basket to tie the score 31-31 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Fourth Quarter
Ashley Kauffeldt scored the first basket of the quarter with 7:25 to play, giving the Falcons their first lead of the game, 33-31. Kauffeldt added another bucket less than a minute later to extend the lead, followed by a jumper from Ainsley Bell to make it 37-31, Messiah, with 5:04 to play in the quarter. The Eagles used an and-one to make it 37-34, but two quick buckets from Liv Monturo made it 41-34, putting the game out of reach with 3:24 to play. Both teams added three more points in the game, with Messiah holding on to win 44-37.
 
Stats
Charlotte Milanesi led the Falcons with 13 points while adding six rebounds and five assists. Liv Monturo had 11 points and six rebounds. April Kauffeldt had six points and a career-high 12 rebounds. EmmyFaith Wood added six points with four rebounds, while Brooke Fenchel and Ainsley Bell each added four points. Messiah shot 33.3 percent from the field and 21.1 percent from three. The Eagles shot 23.6 percent from the field and 13.3 percent from three.
 
Up Next
The Falcons head to Orlando, Fla. for a matchup against Wisconsin Lutheran College on Sunday, Dec. 28 at 2:00 p.m.