BOX SCORE | PHOTOS

Reading, Pa. (Jan. 15, 2011) – Messiah College (10-5, 4-1) scored the last five points of the game over the final two and a half minutes for a 50-46 win over Alvernia University (8-6, 3-2) Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Conference women's basketball action at the Physical Education Center.

“It's an opportunity lost,” said Alvernia head coach Kevin Calabria whose team was looking for its second straight win over the nationally respected Falcons. “We had them. It was our game to win, but we didn't make the plays when the game was on the line.”

Messiah forged the seventh tie of the game at 40-all with 6:00 to play then answered a Kelsey Gill (State College, Pa./State College) layup with a 3 to put the game on the see-saw. Alvernia junior Angela Altemose (Pottsville, Pa./Nativity BVM) scored on a layup, but Messiah's Dori Gyori answered.

Altemose knocked down two free throws to take the lead back, but Gyoir had the answer again to steal the lead back. Altemose then blinked missing the front end of a 1-and-1 with 1:03 to play and Nicky Hess pushed the Messiah lead to three, 49-46 with 32 seconds to go.

Alvernia chose to push the ball without using a timeout and Altemose, who is 4-for-8 from 3 entering the game, had a look at a 3 to tie it, but the shot rimmed out. Hess hit the first of two free throws for a four-point lead and the Crusaders couldn't convert on their final possession.

“This would have been a huge win and put us in a good position,” finished Calabria, “but, they're good, they won the game when it was on the line.

Gyori led all scorers with 19 points and Toczylowski finished a rebound shy of her second straight double-double with 16 points and nine boards. Taylor Miller also reached double figures for the Falcons with 12 points.

Alvernia won the battle of the boards, 36-25, but for the second time this season went 0-for from the 3-point line missing on all nine attempts.

Alvernia built a six-point lead midway through the half on a Toczylowski layup at the 9:49 mark. She matched that lead with another layup on a great find from Gill that put the Crusaders up 18-12.

Messiah answered with a 5-0 spurt including its only 3 of the first half, an elbow connection from Miller. The teams nearly matched each other over the final six minutes of the half with Alvernia taking a 22-20 lead into the halftime break.

Messiah improves to 7-2 in the series against Alvernia. The Crusaders hit the road for a non-conference game on Monday at Immaculata and return home Wednesday for a conference game with Widener.

Messiah 50, Alvernia 46