Glenside, PA - Messiah College stayed undefeated in the Commonwealth Conference on Saturday, moving to 8-0 with a 84-46 win over Arcadia University. Dori Gyori led all scorers with 24 points, as she also collected a game-high 10 rebounds for her seventh double-double this season. Chelsea Danel and Taylor Miller joined Gyori in double-digit scoring with 13 points and 11 points, respectively.
 
"We played great today," head coach Mike Miller said. "One of the best games we've played all year—we were very good in almost every aspect."
 
Saturday's game started at a frenetic pace, with Arcadia applying early defensive pressure in effort to put the Falcons on their heels. The result was an up-tempo affair for the first few minutes, with the Knights taking a quick 7-4 lead. For a moment, it seemed that Arcadia's conference-leading offense (74.2 ppg) would be strong yet again.
 
Messiah quickly settled in, however, capitalizing on a porous Knights' defense with drives to the basket and passes into the post. After twelve-straight points, the Falcons led 16-7 and never looked back.
 
Defensively, the Falcons also profited from their own aggressive, fundamental pressure. They forced four turnovers over five Arcadia possessions over that twelve-point stretch.
 
"Nicky (Hess) and Chelsea did a great job with their ball pressure," Miller said. "Arcadia relies on their guard play, and our defenders did a great job controlling them. As a team, we also did a good job of adjusting quickly to the style of play."
 
Dominique Hassinger finally ended the run with a spinning layup in the paint, but was only a pause in the Falcons' dominance.
 
Gyori scored eight of the Falcons' next eleven points as Messiah went up 27-15. Six of those points came in transition, with guard Nicky Hess twice finding Gyori in transition—once in the post for a drop-step and once at the elbow for a jumper.
 
Moments later, two free-throws by Danel and two jumpers by Taylor Miller continued to push Messiah ahead as they soon found themselves leading 37-18 just before the break. On their last possession of the half, Gyori provided perhaps the most dramatic highlight; inbounding from near half-court with just a second remaining on the shot clock, Hess found Gyori at the elbow of the free-throw line for a quick turnaround jumper as the buzzer sounded. 
 
The bucket would give Gyori 16 points at the intermission—equal to her season average. Danel had eight points at the break, as Messiah led 39-20.
 
"Dori was just great today," Miller said of the Falcons' dominant forward. "She really took advantage of her opportunities and seemed unstoppable."
 
Twenty-two of the Falcons' first-half points came in the paint, as they also collected 14 points off Arcadia turnovers.
 
Messiah continued to build their lead as the second-half started, with Miller scoring five points in a ten-second stretch by way of a driving layup and a three-pointer. The Falcons would on go on to lead by as many as 39 points, scoring another 16 points in the paint by way of dribble-drives and unselfish passing through the Knights' defense.
 
The Falcons' bench scored 21 points in the second-half, with Sienna Wisse, Hannah Nichols, and Emily Martz accounting for 19 points between them.
 
"Sienna, Hannah, and Emily were really good," Miller said of his bench, adding praise to substitute Jordan Seiz for her continued contributions. "It's great for everyone to get these minutes and experience because it makes us better all around."
 
Hess finished with eight points and five assists, while Danel added a team-high four steals. Messiah also turned the ball over just 13 times while forcing 23 turnovers from their host.
 
Hassinger led Arcadia with 10 points, as Arcadia fell to 8-7 overall and 1-7 in the Commonwealth.
 
Messiah– ranked No. 7 in both the most recent ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Top 25 Poll and the D3Hoops.com Top 25 Poll—moves to 14-1 overall with the win.
 
The Falcons will next play on Wednesday, Jan. 16, when they host Widener University at 6:00 p.m. The Pride are currently tied with Lebanon Valley for second in the Commonwealth with a 7-1 record.