Albright looked to be ready to pull the upset late in the game, as a Jackie Hardwick jumper with 3:18 left in the game gave the Lady Lions their largest lead of the night, 46-40. That would be the final points of the game for Albright, however, as Messiah finished the game on a 9-0 run to pull out the win. An Ashley Brooks lay up with 57 second left gave Messiah a 47-46 lead, but Albright had chances to go back on top. The Lady Lions missed three shots in the final minute to take the lead, and were forced to foul with 13 seconds remaining. Messiah's Nicki Lobach hit both free throws, pushing the advantage to three, 49-46. Annie McMahon's three-point attempt was blocked, and Natalie Bizzarro's desperation heave at the buzzer was no good, leaving the Lady Lions just short of victory.
Albright struggled offensively at the start of the game, as Messiah jumped out to a 9-2 lead six minutes in. The Falcons led 15-6 with 7:04 to play in the half, when McMahon sank a free throw to start a 9-0 Albright run. She had five points in the run, and tied the score at 15 on two more free throws with 4:09 left before intermission. From there the teams traded baskets to the break, with Meredith Berger's put back tying the score at 21 as the teams headed to the locker room .McMahon led Albright with seven points at the half, while Amy Reed totaled seven for the Falcons.
Neither team was able to pull away in a back and forth second half. Messiah led by as many as four on three occasions before the Lady Lions rallied to retake the lead at 37-35 with 8:30 left in the game. Albright held that lead until Brooks' lay up gave the edge back to the Falcons with less than a minute to play.
Hardwick led Albright with 11 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Jen DuPrau with 10 points and nine boards. Brooks led all scorers with 15 points for Messiah, followed by Reed with 14.
Newspaper Box Score Messiah vs Albright 12/2/06 6:00 pm at Bollman Center - Reading, PA At Bollman Center - Reading, PA MESSIAH 49, ALBRIGHT 46 MESSIAH (4-1, 2-0 Cwealth) Ashley Brooks 6-10 3-8 15; Amy Reed 6-13 0-0 14; Nicki Lobach 3-8 6-8 12; Lauren Schurr 1-5 0-0 3; Sarah Ringer 1-11 1-3 3; Gwen Avery 1-3 0-0 2; Julie Henninger 0-0 0-0 0; Silalei Shani 0-0 0-0 0; Katie Kalb 0-2 0-0 0; Christa Wenrich 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 18-55 10-19 49. ALBRIGHT (4-2, 1-1 Cwealth) Jaqueline Hardwick 2-8 7-7 11; Jen DuPrau 4-8 2-2 10; Annie McMahon 2-14 3-4 7; Meredith Berger 3-7 0-0 6; Marie Levins 1-3 2-2 4; Staci Waligorski 1-4 2-2 4; Natalie Bizzarro 1-8 0-0 2; Charlotte Ciccone 1-2 0-0 2; Mallory Olsheski 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-55 16-17 46. Messiah....................... 21 28 - 49 Albright...................... 21 25 - 46 3-point goals-Messiah 3-12 (Amy Reed 2-3; Lauren Schurr 1-5; Sarah Ringer 0-1; Katie Kalb 0-1; Christa Wenrich 0-1; Nicki Lobach 0-1), Albright 0-7 (Jaqueline Hardwick 0-1; Annie McMahon 0-4; Natalie Bizzarro 0-1; Mallory Olsheski 0-1). Fouled out--Messiah-None, Albright-None. Rebounds-Messiah 31 (Ashley Brooks 8), Albright 51 (Jaqueline Hardwick 10). Assists-Messiah 9 (Nicki Lobach 4), Albright 7 (Natalie Bizzarro 3). Total fouls-Messiah 14, Albright 15. A-312