Grantham, Pa. (Dec. 12, 2015) - Messiah College (5-4, 2-1) used an 11 point margin entering the fourth quarter to lift it to a 70-52 win over Alvernia University (3-4,0-2) Saturday afternoon in MAC Commonwealth action at Messiah.
The Crusaders challenged the Falcons through the first two quarters, taking a 25-all tie into the half. With Messiah opening the game on a 6-0 run,
Stevie Fortna put Alvernia on the board, draining a 3 to cut the lead in half. A
Tyra Roberts layup brought the Crusaders within one, and
Kim Whelan balanced out a Messiah jumper to stay there.
Morgan Downs capitalized on a pair from the line to take Alvernia's first lead of the afternoon at 9-8, but the Falcons hit a jumper before the end of the first quarter for the 11-9 advantage.
Chelsea Ebersole led off the second quarter in the same fashion as the first, putting away a 3 to reclaim the lead. Following a Downs jumper, Ebersole stayed hot, sinking two from behind the arc with a layup to put Alvernia up 22-15. Messiah managed to lock things at 22, but
Katie Schickling knocked down a 3 to move ahead 25-22. The Falcons converted on the three-point play to push the tie again.
Messiah put together nine unanswered points to open the third, with a Fortna layup breaking the momentum at 34-28. Fortna and
Jenna Wolff combined for 7 points over the last five minutes of the third quarter, but the Falcons stayed strong offensively to take a 46-35 lead into the final quarter.
With the Falcons opening the fourth quarter on an 8-point run, Fortna started the Crusaders scoring again, making her third 3 of the night to cut Messiah's lead 54-38. Roberts responded to a pair of Messiah layups with three points of her own, and Fortna mirrored a Messiah 3 to raise the score 63-44.
Alvernia picked up eight additional points in the final three minutes, with Ebersole picking up her fourth from behind from the arc.
Fortna led the scoring for the Crusaders, tying her season high with 18 points on a 4-6 effort from beyond the arc and a 7-10 performance from the line. Ebersole added 14 points, making 4-7 from 3-point range.
Miranda Hoover led Alvernia in rebounds with 8.
The Crusaders continue their season on Thursday, traveling to Drew for non-conference action. Tip off is set for 5:00 pm.
