The 10th ranked Messiah College Falcons won the Middle Atlantic Corporation's Commonwealth Conference with a resounding 82-45 win over Elizabethtown College. With the win Messiah College moves to 12-1 in the conference and 22-2 overall. Elizabethtown drops to 5-8 in the conference and 9-13 overall.
In a game that saw the Falcons bench gain experience, Eli Cook scored a game high 20 points on 10-12 shooting and dished out 3 assists to lead the Falcons. Sophomore guard, Amy Reed continued her strong play with 13 points and 5 assists while only committing one turnover. Sophomore guard, Lauren Schurr had a game breaking offensive performance. Schurr came off the Falcon bench in the first half to hit five three pointers in five attempts and finished the half with 17 points.
Messiah was able to move the ball against the Elizabethtown zone defense to find the open looks for Schurr and her teammates. The Falcons shot an incredible 67.9%, (19/28) in the first half. Included in the shooting was an unbelievable 7-9 from the three point line. While the offense was taking it's shots, Messiah's defense was holding the Blue Jays to 32.1%, (9/28), from the field. The end result was a 50-27 half time score.
Messiah started the second half with a strong first 6 minutes to effectively put the game away. Messiah finished the game shooting 56.6% compared to Elizabethtowns 30.4%. Messiah shot 50%,(9-18), from the three point arc while Elizabethtown shot 20%, 3/15). The Falcons won the battle at the foul line shooting 13/15 and compared to 8/12. The Falcons out rebounded their opponent by 2 and committed 3 less turnovers, 12 to 15
Messiah closes the regular season at Widener University Saturday , February 18th. Tip-Off at 1:00.
Messiah has earned the right to host the first round of MAC Plyoffs, Wednesday, February 22nd. Time TBD. Should they win Wednesday they would host the Championship on Saturday the 25th with the time TBD.