Grantham, PA - In a highly anticipated Commonwealth match-up between No. 5 Messiah and Widener University, the Falcons connected for ten three-pointers on Wednesday night to earn a 67-58 in Brubaker Auditorium. Nicky Hess (four) and Taylor Miller (five) combined for nine of the Falcons' buckets from downtown, as each player scored 16 points in the victory.
 
Forward Dori Gyori led the Falcons in scoring, as she notched 14 second-half points to finish with a game-high 20 points.
 
"It feels great to get this win," head coach Mike Miller said, as his team moved to 15-1 overall and 9-0 in the Commonwealth Conference. "Obviously, we're in the 'driver's seat' in the conference, and that's a good place to be in."
 
The Falcons and Pride battled hard from start to finish, playing at a frenetic pace for long stretches. Widener opened the game with full-court pressure, with Gyori opening the scoring with a layup on the back end of the Falcons' press break. Four minutes into the game, Messiah took an 8-2 lead as they continued to break the Pride's defense for high-percentage looks.
 
Hess hit her first three-pointer with just under fifteen minutes left in the first-half to give Messiah an 11-6 lead, and she nailed another a few minutes later to put the Falcons in front 19-12. After a downtown bucket from Chelsea Danel—Messiah's lone three-pointer from someone other than Hess and Miller—Hess scored off a give-and-go post feed on the to Emily Martz to put Messiah up 24-12. Hess' score on the left side gave the Falcons their largest lead of the first-half.
 
""Nicky is shooting the ball well and playing really good basketball," Miller said, commenting on how Hess, Miller, and Danel have formed a strong backcourt for Messiah. "They're really playing well together."
 
Now down by twelve, the Pride immediately drew to within 24-18 by way of two three-pointers by Jennifer Egee. The sharp-shooter's buckets were spaced apart across three possessions, as Widener's mix of man-to-man and half-court zone defenses slowed the Messiah assault.
 
After two free-throws by Egee brought Widener to within 24-20, the Pride again instituted a full-court 1-2-2 press in hopes of rattling the Falcons. Messiah executed well, however, moving the ball quickly to set up both Hess and Miller for two more three-point scores. Up 30-20 with 2:48 left in the first-half, Messiah eventually went into the break leading 32-24.
 
Hess led all scorers with 13 points at the half, hitting three of four shots from downtown. The Falcons also tallied twelve assists on twelve made baskets, a stat indicative of their effective team play and sharp ball movement.
 
"It seems that we're having players step up each night, and tonight it started with our guard play," Miller said. "They really fed off each other tonight."
 
The second-half continued at a fast pace for both the Falcons and the Pride, with Widener's Vanessa Hejnas scoring a bucket in the paint to bring the Pride to within six points. But Miller followed with a three-pointer on the Falcons' next possession, and Gyori scored another transition bucket to give the Falcons a 37-26 lead with 18:05 left.
 
With just over fifteen minutes left, the Pride again drew to within six points, 40-34, prompting a Messiah timeout. Coming out of the talk the Falcons executed perfectly in the half-court, setting up Miller for a big three-pointer from the left wing.
 
But, as one would expect in match-up of the two rivals, the game remained tight. Egee nailed a three-pointer from the right wing to pull her team to within 46-43 with 11:16 left, with the Falcons again calling timeout.
 
Executing against Widener's full-court press, Hess broke through on the dribble to go two-on-one with Egee. Hess dished to Gyori for the score, with Egee's foul leading to a bonus score for Gyori and a 49-43 lead.
 
The traditional three-point-play for Gyori proved pivotal for Messiah, as they led by no less than six points the rest of the way. The Falcons would even lead by as many as thirteen points in the final minutes.

Gyori's big second-half was the byproduct of the Falcons' strong three-point shooting, as she found space to operate in the high- and low-post.
 
"Dori is playing hard every possession for us," Miller said. "Widener packed it in at the start, and then had to play our shooters close in the second-half. Dori really trusts her teammates, so she was ready to get her chances when they came to her."
 
"Our defense was also really good tonight," Miller added. "We wanted to do our best to keep them from getting all the way to rim, and we did. We forced them to take some tough shots."
 
Widener shot just 33.3% for the game, with Egee (18 points) and Kate Dellinger (15 points) leading the way. Messiah, meanwhile, shot 53.5%, including an impressive 10-17 from three-point range.
 
As mentioned, the Falcons—ranked No. 5 in both the most recent ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Top 25 Poll and the D3Hoops.com Top 25 Poll—move to 15-1 overall and 9-0 in the Commonwealth Conference. Widener falls to 12-4, and 7-2 in the league.
 
Messiah will look to keep their conference streak going when they host Hood College on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.