Center Valley, PA (December 11, 2010) – Junior Cherelle Simmons recorded her fifth double-double of the season and the first at home helping the DeSales University women's basketball team earn a 58-47 win over Messiah College in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon in Billera Hall.
Simmons finished with 14 points and 11 boards and also added three assists, five steals, and two blocks in the win for the Bulldogs (5-4 overall). Senior Lori Lidlow totaled 12 points and freshman Sondrine Glovas finished with eight points. Junior Hannah Smith totaled five assists and just one turnover, sophomore Colleen Gavin finished with six points and five boards (all in the second half), and the DeSales bench was strong totaling 15 points.
Freshman Taylor Miller had 12 points, senior Michele Schleich added 11 points, and sophomore Dori Gyori totaled eight points and a game-high 16 rebounds in the loss for the Falcons (4-4 overall).
Messiah led 5-0 before a three-pointer from Glovas got the Bulldogs on the board at the 14:53 mark and ignited a 7-0 run to put DSU up two early. Tied at 12 midway thru the first half, DSU scored five straight points to take a 17-12 lead and never trailed again in the win.
Two free throws from Lidlow at the 1:52 mark of the first half pushed the lead to 11 before DeSales settled for an eight-point halftime cushion despite having six players with two or more fouls in the opening twenty minutes.
Messiah jumped out of the second half gates quickly, trimming the lead down to two points early (34-32), but a7-0 run that included a three-pointer from Smith put DeSales up nine and the Falcons never got any closer than five the rest of the way holding MC to just two points over the final 6:31 of the game.
DeSales forced the Falcons into 32.6 percent shooting and pressured MC into 24 turnovers, scoring 22 points off those turnovers. Messiah won the rebound battle, 39-28, but the Bulldogs shot 5-of-8 (62.5%) from three-point land to earn the win.
The Bulldogs take next week off for first semester final exams and will return to action on Tuesday, December 21st when they host Gwynedd-Mercy College in a non-conference game beginning at 7:00 pm.