Messiah Tops Bullets in Days Inn Championship Game

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GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Senior center Sara Kinsley broke the school record for career blocked shots, but the Gettysburg College women's basketball team lost by a score of 67-58 to Messiah College in the championship game of the Gettysburg Days Inn Tournament Tuesday afternoon in Bream Gymnasium.

The Bullets (4-6) trailed by only three with just over three minutes left before Messiah (9-3) used a 7-0 run to pull away. The Falcons then salted the game away at the foul line, where they went 8-for-8 inside the final 1:16.

Kinsley's first block of the game, which came at the 9:11 mark of the first half, gave her 148 for her career – one more than Katie Reilly had from 2003-07. She added one more block and finished the game with six points and six rebounds.

Junior forward Alyssa Oursler posted season-highs of 15 points and nine rebounds to go with four assists to earn a spot on the all-tournament team for Gettysburg. Sophomore forward Caroline Murphy added a career-high 13 points while sophomore guard Cori Younghans chipped in with nine points.

The Bullets shot a season-best 52.3 percent from the floor, including a red-hot 73.7 percent (14-for-19) in the first half.

Sally Musselman Tournament MVP winner Katlyn Vanderhoff led all players with 20 points while adding seven rebounds and four steals for Messiah. Sophomore guard Taylor Miller contributed 16 points while all-tournament selection Dori Gyori notched 14 points.

Scranton defeated Neumann 62-56 in the consolation game. Scranton's Christina Hiltunen and Neumann's Sami Borcky were also named to the all-tournament team.

The Falcons scored the first eight points of the game, only to see the Bullets rally with nine unanswered points. After missing its first three shots, Gettysburg caught fire, connecting on 11 straight field goals over an 11:27 stretch. The Bullets led by as much as five midway through the period, but Messiah would go back in front with 5:31 left in the half. An 8-2 Falcon surge gave the visitors a 33-28 lead with 2:08 on the clock, but the Bullets got a pair of buckets from senior forward Lauren Dadigan and Murphy the rest of the way and Messiah led 33-32 at halftime.

Gettysburg outscored the Falcons 12-4 to open the second stanza, with Oursler supplying six points, to take its largest lead of the game at 44-37 with 14:55 left. But Messiah took the lead for good when the Bullets hit a cold stretch midway through the half, when they were held scoreless over a 5:39 span. In the meantime, the Falcons scored 11 unanswered points to go ahead 52-47 with 5:51 to play.

The Bullets made it one-possession game, however, when Oursler swished three straight free throws after she was fouled on a 3-point attempt, closing the gap to 55-52 with 3:12 on the clock. But that's when Messiah used its late run to secure the win.

MESSIAH (9-3)
Katlyn Vanderhoff 7-11 5-7 20; Taylor Miller 6-12 2-2 16; Dori Gyori 5-124-5 14; Nicky Hess 3-12 2-2 9; Kira Maier 2-7 1-2 5; Chelsea Danel 1-3 0-03; Emily Martz 0-0 0-0 0; Jordan Seiz 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-58 14-18 67.
GETTYSBURG (4-6)
Alyssa Oursler 5-12 5-5 15; Caroline Murphy 6-10 0-0 13; Cori Younghans 4-70-2 9; Alyssa Isler 3-5 0-0 7; Sara Kinsley 1-1 4-7 6; Lauren Dadigan 3-70-0 6; Taylor Flatau 1-2 0-0 2; Brittany Jones 0-0 0-0 0; Jenna Swope 0-00-0 0; Katie Earley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-44 9-14 58.
Messiah.......................   33   34  -   67
Gettysburg....................   32   26  -   58
3-point goals--Messiah 5-17 (Taylor Miller 2-4; Nicky Hess 1-6; ChelseaDanel 1-3; Katlyn Vanderhoff 1-3; Jordan Seiz 0-1), Gettysburg 3-10(Caroline Murphy 1-1; Cori Younghans 1-4; Alyssa Isler 1-3; Taylor Flatau0-1; Alyssa Oursler 0-1). Fouled out--Messiah-None, Gettysburg-None.Rebounds--Messiah 28 (Katlyn Vanderhoff 7), Gettysburg 32 (Alyssa Oursler9). Assists--Messiah 11 (Chelsea Danel 4), Gettysburg 13 (Alyssa Oursler 4).Total fouls--Messiah 10, Gettysburg 18. Technical fouls--Messiah-None,Gettysburg-None. A-128
Gettysburg Days Inn Tournament - Championship Game
All-Tournament Team: Sami Borcky (Neumann), Christina Hiltunen (Scranton),Alyssa Oursler (Gettysburg), Dori Gyori (Messiah). Sally Musselman MVP:Katlyn Vanderhoff (Messiah).