GRANTHAM, Pa. – On Wednesday evening, the Messiah University women's basketball used a dominant fourth quarter to defeat the Spartans of York College, 65-52, to advance to the MAC Commonwealth Championship game. The Falcons opened the game strong with a 14-9 lead at the end of the first. The Falcons then outscored the Spartans by one in the second to take a 33-27 lead at the half. The Spartans outscored the Falcons by five in the third to cut the Falcons lead by one headed into the final quarter. After the Spartans took the lead with just under nine minutes to go in the fourth, the Falcons closed the game with a 19-4 run to earn the 65-52 win. Liv Monturo led the Falcons with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and three steals. With a basket in the second quarter, Monturo became the 27th player in program history with 1,000 career points. Charlotte Milanesi totaled 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Hope Cook added 11 points.
 
Up next, the Falcons host the Pride of Widener University on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 3:00 p.m. in the MAC Commonwealth Championship game.  

First Quarter
The Falcons opened the game strong with a 9-3 run in the first six minutes of the first quarter. Liv Monturo started the run with a basket and April Kauffeldt capped off the run with a layup. The Spartans then outscored the Falcons, 6-5 in the final four minutes of the quarter to cut the Falcons lead to 14-9. Hope Cook led the Falcons with a three during the stretch.
 
Second Quarter
The Falcons opened the second with a 10-2 run to push the Falcons lead to 24-11 with 6:50 remaining in the half. Liv Monturo led the Falcons with four points and Hope Cook and EmmyFaith Wood each tallied three points for Messiah during the run. The Spartans then responded with a 7-0 to cut the Falcons lead to six with five minutes to go in the second. After four straight points from the Falcons, the Spartans responded with a 9-0 run to pull with one with 1:25 remaining in the half. The Falcons ended the half strong with a quick 5-0 run to take a 33-27 lead at the break. Charlotte Milanesi scored all five points for the Falcons during the run.
 
Third Quarter
After almost two minutes of scoreless play to open the second half, the Falcons outscored the Spartans 8-4 to take a 41-31 lead with six minutes to go in the third. Charlotte Milanesi and Liv Monturo each scored four points for the Falcons during the stretch. After some back-and-forth play, the Spartans ended the third with a 7-0 run to cut the Falcons lead to 45-44 headed into the final quarter.
 
Fourth Quarter
The Spartans started the quarter strong with a quick 4-1 run to take a two-point lead with 8:43 remaining in the game. The Falcons quickly answered with a big three from Hope Cook and never looked back the rest of the game. The Falcons closed the game with a 16-4 run after the Cook three to earn the 65-52 win. Liv Monturo led the Falcons with eight points during the run. Also, Hope Cook, Maddy Gassman, April Kauffeldt, and Charlotte Milanesi all scored in the final run for the Falcons.
 
Stats
Liv Monturo led the Falcons with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and three steals. With a basket in the second quarter, Monturo became the 27th player in program history with 1,000 career points. Charlotte Milanesi totaled 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Hope Cook added 11 points. April Kauffeldt added four points and 10 rebounds. The Falcons shot 39.3 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from behind the arc. The Spartans shot 36.4 percent from the field and 18.2 percent from three.
 
Next
The Falcons host the Pride of Widener University on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 3:00 p.m. in the MAC Commonwealth Championship game.