Reading, Pa. (Feb. 4, 2017) – Messiah College (20-1, 11-1) used a 20-point first half margin to guide it to a 63-40 victory over Alvernia University (2-19, 2-10) Saturday afternoon in MAC Commonwealth women's basketball action on Jack McCloskey Court.

The Falcons pulled ahead to a 7-0 lead before Liv Andrefski drained her lone 3 of the day to put the Crusaders on the board. Cooper added her own 3 just before the end of the quarter to cut Messiah's lead in half, 16-8.

The two squads exchanged buckets to open the second before the Falcons posted an 18-6 run across the quarter. The Crusaders found their offense late as Cooper and Miranda Hoover combined for five points in the final two minutes.

Holding a 36-16 advantage entering the second half, Messiah strengthened its advantage over the third quarter, taking a 52-24 margin into the final frame.
Cooper knocked down 10 of the Crusaders' 16 second half points.

Cooper and Hoover were the top scorers for Alvernia, recording 15 and 10 points, respectively.

Alvernia wraps up its four-game home stand on Wednesday, hosting cross-town rival Albright at 6:00 p.m.