Owing Mills, MD - The Messiah College Falcons (20-2, 14-1) cruised to a 84-50 win over Commonwealth opponent Stevenson University Wednesday evening.  The Falcons - ranked No. 12 in the most recent USA Today Coaches' Poll - dominated the inside game, scoring 26 points in the paint and bringing down 52 total rebounds.  Forwards Kira Maier and Dori Gyori combined for 22 rebounds and 31 points.

Junior Taylor Miller's opening triple set the tone for the Falcons' offense, leading to scores in four of their six opening possessions.  Despite taking the early lead, the Falcons found themselves carrying a one point deficit after just five minutes of play.  Moments later, Miller would reignite the Falcons' offense once again, this time with a two-point bucket to reclaim the 13-12 lead.  Senior Kira Maier was the next to jump on the offensive train, scoring six consecutive points for the Falcons.

With 8:37 to go in the half, the Mustangs' Stephanie Martinez hit one of her six threes of the game, holding the Falcons' lead to a meager four points.  The Falcons responded by crashing the boards and extending offensive opportunities.  As a result, senior Nicky Hess was two -for-two from three, leading the Falcons to a 10-0 scoring surge and the 34-20 lead.  The Falcons continued to pour on the points throughout the rest of the half, shooting 7-for-8 from the charity stripe and 4-for-10 from three to take a 24 point lead into halftime. 

"Defensively, we really forced them [Stevenson] out," head coach Mike Miller said. "They had very few opportunities to rebound which gave us a big advantage."

The Falcons' rebounding advantage wasn't just big, it was huge!  In the first half, the Mustangs grabbed only one offensive rebound to the Falcons' eight.  Messiah brought in 17 defensive rebounds in the half, almost double that of the Mustangs who had nine.  Offensively, the Falcons shot 54.3% from the field.

Statistically, the second half proved to be much like the first as the Falcons outrebounded Stevenson 27-16.  Not only did the Falcons dominate the boards, but they also outshot the Mustangs from the field - 48.3% to 27.3% - and from behind the three-point arc - 40% to 28.6%.

One major difference between the two halves was the fact that the Falcons played almost their entire bench during the second stanza.  Fortunately for the Falcons, their bench is stocked with talented players who contributed 20 points in the half.  Sophomores Hannah Nichols and Sienna Wisse led the non-starters scoring six points apiece.

"We executed our game plan tonight and played really well," Miller said.  "Dori and Kira took control of the paint, Taylor made good decisions and shot the ball well, and Sienna and Hannah stepped in and did a nice job.  It was great to see so many players have a good game."

Miller ended the night shooting 3-for-7 from three and 6-for-11 from the field for 15 points.  Her most impressive statistic, or lack thereof, was zero turnovers.  Gyori earned her tenth double-double of the season with 19 points and 13 rebounds.  Maier contributed 12 points and nine rebounds.  The Mustangs' Martinez led all scorers with 26 points, shooting 60% (6-for-10) from three.

The Falcons will now set their sights on the Dutchmen of Lebanon Valley College who come to Grantham this Saturday for a 5:00 p.m. showdown.  The Dutchmen (19-3, 13-2) - currently sitting in second place in the Commonwealth - are on a four-game winning streak and recently came from behind to beat Elizabethtown College.  It's safe to say that they will be bringing their "A-game" to Brubaker Gymnasium.

"We are really looking forward to playing LVC," Miller said.  "It's going to be a great game!"