| Nicky Hess tied for the team
lead with 16 points as Messiah improved to 15-1, 9-0 in the MAC
Commonwealth. Messiah athletics photo |
No. 5 Messiah connected for 10 3-pointers on Wednesday night to earn a 67-58 home win against Widener. Nicky Hess and Taylor Miller combined for nine of the Falcons' buckets from downtown, as each 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. Widener fell to 12-4, 7-2.
"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 MAC Commonwealth. "Obviously, we're in the 'driver's seat' in the conference, and that's a good place to be in."
Conference rivals No. 16 Christopher Newport and No. 22 Ferrum each picked up their first loss of the season, as CNU lost to North Carolina Wesleyan and Ferrum fell to Maryville (Tenn.). Prior to Wednesday's upset, the Captains had won 15 straight over N.C. Wesleyan, dating to the 2004-05 season. Maryville improved to 13-1, 7-0 in the USA South with the win, fueled by 20 points off the bench from Mackenzie Puckett.
UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater combined for 74 missed shots, 35 fouls and 32 offensive rebounds as the Titans knocked off the No. 24 Warhawks 54-49. Oshkosh took the lead with a 16-3 run in the second half. Photo gallery.
The rest of the Top 25 was primarily stocked with the typical sort of blowouts. Top-ranked DePauw crushed Denison 85-48 behind 8-for-16 3-point shooting. No. 2 Calvin and No. 3 Hope each rolled past overmatched MIAA opponents. No. 8 Ohio Northern got a pair of 20-point performances in beating Wilmington 76-60. No. 10 Thomas More, No. 11 Montclair State and No. 12 St. Thomas beat opponents by an average of 50.7 points.
Erika Jones scored a school-record 44 points for struggling Kean but it wasn't enough as the Cougars fell to 3-12 in an 82-76 loss to Richard Stockton. York (Pa.) and Mary Washington remained tied for first in the Capital Athletic Conference as York beat Frostburg State and Mary Washington edged St. Mary's (Md.).
More women's wrapup to come.