NEW YORK, N.Y. – On Saturday evening, the Messiah University women's basketball fell to the top-ranked Violets of NYU in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, 70-47. After a strong start from the Falcons, NYU responded with a 14-0 run to take a 19-11 lead at the end of the first. The Violets then outscored the Falcons by six in the second to take a 35-22 lead at the half. The Violets continued the momentum and outscored the Falcons by 12 to take a 58-33 lead at the end of the third. The Falcons outscored the Violets by two in the fourth, but the Violets earned the 70-47 win. Liv Monturo led the Falcons with 19 points and five rebounds. Hope Cook scored 11 points. Charlotte Milanesi totaled seven points, three assists, and two steals.
 
First Quarter
Both teams traded baskets in the first two minutes to keep the game tied. Hope Cook drained a three Liv Monturo made a jumper to start the Falcons' scoring.  The Falcons then scored the next two baskets to give the Falcons a 9-5 lead with 4:55 remaining in the third. Marisa Amitie and Monturo each made a basket for the Falcons. The Violets then responded with a 14-2 run to close the first with a 19-11 lead.
 
Second Quarter
The Falcons opened the second, outscoring the Violets by one, to reduce NYU's lead to six with eight minutes remaining in the second. Charlotte Milanesi and Liv Monturo each made a basket for the Falcons during the stretch. The two teams then traded baskets for the next two minutes to keep the Violets lead at six. Brooke Fenchel and Raegan Fogarty each made scored two points during the two minutes. The Violets then finished the half with a 9-2 run to take a 35-22 lead at the break.
 
Third Quarter
The Violets opened the third outscoring the Falcons 9-7 to take a 44-29 lead with 6:30 remaining in the third. Liv Monturo led the Falcons with five points and Charlotte Milanesi added a basket during the opening minutes. After some back-and-forth play, the Violets ended the third with a 11-0 run to take a 58-33 lead headed into the fourth.
 
Fourth Quarter
The Violets opened the fourth with a quick 5-2 run to push their lead to 28 with eight minutes remaining in the fourth. Hope Cook made the Falcons' basket during the Violets' run. The Falcons continued to fight and went on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 22 with 6:13 remaining in the fourth. Liv Monturo scored four points and EmmyFaith Wood added a basket during the run. The Violets outscored the Falcons 7-6 in the final six minutes to earn the 70-47 win. Hope Cook made two threes for the Falcons in the final stretch.  
 
Stats
Liv Monturo led the Falcons with 19 points and five rebounds. Hope Cook scored 11 points. Charlotte Milanesi totaled seven points, three assists, and two steals. Raegan Fogarty added four points and two assists. The Falcons shot 46.5 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from behind the arc. The Violets shot 40.3 percent from the field and 25 percent from three
 
2025-26 Season Recap
The Falcons ended the season with a 24-5 overall record and a 13-1 record in MAC Commonwealth play. The Falcons earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with their 17th Conference Championship in program history. Messiah made it to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament for the 21st time in program history with a 64-58 win over Cortland.