Grantham, PA - Messiah College held Lycoming scoreless for more than 11 minutes to start their game on Wednesday, as they went on to win 58-32. The Falcons collected 18 steals and forced 29 Warrior turnovers in the victory.

The Falcons went up 21-0 to start the game, with Lycoming's first bucket coming at the 8:26 mark of the first half. Messiah went up 30-14 at the intermission before completing the victory.

With the win, Messiah - ranked No. 11 in both the most recent ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Top 25 and D3Hoops.com Top 25 - moves to 18-2 overall and 12-1 in the Commonwealth Conference.

Senior Dori Gyori put Messiah on the board by sinking two foul shots in the first minute of play.  Immediately following the second make, the Falcons jumped into a three-quarter court press.  As a result, the Warriors had trouble creating offensive opportunities, turning the ball over in their next three possessions.

Junior Taylor Miller came up with Messiah's first steal and quickly pushed the ball up the court to find senior Kira Maier who eventually dished to Gyori for the easy layup.  In the next possession, Maier 's quick hands forced another turnover, resulting in a Warrior foul that sent senior Nicky Hess to the line.  After a 30-second timeout by Lycoming, Hess hit one of two free throws, putting the Falcons up 5-0 after two minutes of play.

Messiah quickly extended their lead to 16 due to very tight man-to-man defense and quick offensive transition.  At the 11:00 mark, junior Chelsea Danel picked off a pass and went coast-to-coast for two points.  Seconds later, Maier grabbed her second of three first half steals for another fast-break layup.

After a Lycoming timeout, the Falcons initially failed to score, but when another turnover gave them a second chance they found Gyori inside for two.  30 seconds later, Hess missed from three but senior Jordan Seiz brought in the offensive rebound to keep the play alive.  Miller would eventually drain her only three of the half, increasing the lead to 21 with 9:02 to play.

With 8:26 on the clock, Janelle Ziminski's jumper broke Lycoming's scoring drought, exciting the crowd and offering a bit of relief for the Warriors.  Lycoming scored in three of their next four possessions, while the Falcons struggled to convert, going 1-for-6 in the next five minutes of play.  Hess managed to find the bottom of the net with 3:06 left in the half, holding Messiah's lead at 19.  Gyori, who was a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe, concluded the Falcons' scoring for the half after making both free throws.

Despite scoring 18 points off of turnovers and taking a 30-14 lead into the locker room, Messiah's shooting was less than desirable.  In the first half, the Falcons shot just 33.3% (11-for-33) from the field and only 18.8% (3-for-16) from three.

The second half proved to be much of the same for Messiah's offense, shooting 9-for-28 (32.1%) from the field.  Fortunately, Miller, Danel, and Hess each found their home behind the arc, scoring on four of nine attempted threes.  The Falcons were solid at the free throw line, shooting 73.3% (11-for-15).  Defensively, the Falcons forced 10 Lycoming turnovers in the second half, converting them into five additional points.

Gyori led all scorers with 13 points, was 7-for-9 in free throws, and brought in nine rebounds.  Hess and Danel contributed 10 points each, while Miller added nine and Maier scored eight.  Maier led the team with 10 rebounds.  Olivia Manges led the Warriors with 12 points and five rebounds.

The Falcons return to action on Saturday when they host Arcadia University at 5:00 p.m.