Reading, PA - Messiah College forward Dori Gyori became the Falcons' all-time leading rebounder on Wednesday, as she also led the Falcons to a 66-50 win over Albright College. Gyori grabbed 10 rebounds in the game to move her career total to 869 boards, passing Christina (Vouriotis) Hutchinson '03 for first place in the category. Hutchinson held the record with 862 rebounds.

The Falcons' win also put them back in the win column after they dropped their first Commonwealth game of the year earlier this week to Elizabebethtown. Messiah, ranked No. 5 in both the most recent ESPN/USA Coaches' Top 25 and D3Hoops.com Top 25, moves to 17-2 overall and 11-1 in the conference.

Cheslea Danel finished as the high-scorer for Messiah, with her game-high 18 points including a 4-6 performance from three-point range. Gyori scored 13 points for her ninth double-double this year.

"Today was a good game, a great way for us to get a win," head coach Mike Miller said. "We talked about executing really well, but we also talked about coming out with great energy. We did just that, and we were able to play freely and have fun on the court."
 
The Falcons started the game by going up 10-4, with a two-point jumper by Taylor Miller eventually giving Messiah a 20-7 advantage.
 
The quick start was a result of crisp ball movement and an inside-out attack—one that saw Gyori pick up three assists before halftime.
 
"(Albright) really wanted to key on our post play, and I think we did a great job of moving the ball around," Miller said. "We found the shots that Albright was giving us, and we knocked them down."
 
After the Lions pulled to within 20-12 with 4:37 left in the first-half, back-to-back buckets by substitutes Sienna Wisse and Hannah Nichols had Messiah back up by double-figures. After seeing that lead drop to nine points with just over 90 seconds left before the break, Danel hit consecutive three-pointers to put the Falcons up 32-17. They would not lead by less than 15 points the rest of the way.
 
"Our bench played really well today," Miller said, highlighting the coaching staff's efforts to sub more in the first-half. "We wanted to keep our entire team more fresh, and I thought it showed."
 
Messiah forced Albright into 16 first-half turnovers, helping them build their 34-19 lead at the midway point.
 
In the second-half, the Falcons pushed their lead to as many as 28 points. They finished with 15 assists on 27 made field goals, while also collecting 15 steals. Danel's team-leading 18 points also accounted for her season-high.
 
As for Gyori, she tied Hutchinson's rebounding record with her third rebound of the game—a defensive grab with 16:48 left in the game. Less than a minute later, Gyori hauled in another defensive board to set a new Falcon record. After collecting 10 rebounds in the win, she now stands just 31 rebounds away from become Messiah's first-ever member of the 900-rebound club.
 
"Her whole career, she's been a physical player," Miller said. "But in the last two years, she's learned how to play physical without fouling. She's relentless, and it's great to be able to rely on someone to get tough rebounds."
 
"It's also pretty neat to remember those players that she's passed," Miller added, speaking of a group that includes Hutchinson and current assistant coach Jodi Noble. "It's a credit to them, too, because they were great players."
 
Through Saturday, Gyori's career average of 8.5 rebounds per game is currently second all-time behind Kathy Hummer '82 (8.9 rpg).
 
As mentioned, the Falcons move to 17-2 on the season. Already guaranteed a spot in the Commonwealth postseason tournament, the Falcons sit one game ahead of both No. 15 Lebanon Valley and Widener. The Dutchmen and Pride are both 10-2 in league play.

Albright falls to 4-8 in the Commonwealth, and 8-11 overall.

Messiah will next play on Wed, Jan. 30, when they host Lycoming College at 6:00 p.m.