Chester, PA - The Messiah College Falcons dropped a hard-fought battle to Widener University Tuesday evening 75-69.  The Falcons trailed by only two points at the half and took the lead with six minutes to play, but the Pride wouldn't go away without a fight.  A driving layup by Widener's Lil Carney tied the score 62-62 with just 4.2 seconds left on the clock, sending the crowd into a frenzy and the game into overtime.  Despite their efforts, the Falcons (21-3, 15-2) couldn't regain the lead in the extra stanza, eventually suffering their second Commonwealth loss of the season.

"We always know that we're going to have a great contest when we go up against Widener," head coach Mike Miller said.  "This was an unbelievably fast-paced game tonight.  We played really well and jumped ahead early, but our foul trouble hurt us in the second half."

The Falcons' offense seemed to be on-point in the opening minutes of the game, scoring on five of six early attempts. 

Juniors Taylor Miller and Chelsea Danel showcased their sharp-shooting by hitting back-to-back triples to take the 6-2 lead.  Senior Dori Gyori, who led the Falcons with 21 points, got on the board in the next play picking off a pass from Widener's Ally Ferrucci and drawing a foul.  Gyori made only her second of two free throws, but followed up with another two points in the Falcons' next possession.  After a miss by the Pride (20-4, 15-2), Gyori found senior Kira Maier in the paint who finished for a layup and the 11-2 lead.

After a Widener timeout, the Pride slowly chipped away at their deficit, tying the game three different times and taking a momentary lead with 10:24 on the clock. 

The Falcons' formulated the perfect response.

Back-to-back-to-back triples from Hess, Danel, and Miller snatched the lead back in the Falcons' favor 29-24.  Once again, the Pride battled back to a 33-33 tie with 2:30 left in the half and took the two point lead into the locker room following a Falcon turnover.

"All of our guards had great games," Miller said.  "They controlled the pace of the game, made good decisions, and shot well."

As a matter of fact, Danel was perfect from the field in the first half, shooting 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from three for 10 points.

In the second half, roles appeared to be reversed.  This time, the Falcons found themselves carrying up to a nine point deficit through the majority of the half. 

With 6:14 to play, Miller single-handedly put the Falcons back in the lead by driving the lane for a good layup and drawing a foul.  After making a critical foul shot and completing the three point play, Messiah led 56-55.  The Falcons maintained a slight lead for the next few minutes and seemed to be pulling away a bit, but Widener's Lil Carney had other ideas.

Carney, who led all scorers with 26 points, scored the Pride's final nine points of the game.  Her most important bucket came with four seconds left on the clock and a 62-60 Messiah lead.  After a 30-second timeout, the Pride in-bounded the ball to Carney who found a lane to the basket for the game-tying layup.

As the crowd erupted into a frenzy, the Falcons prepared for overtime.  With Maier on the bench after fouling out with 1:07 left in the second half and Gyori with three fouls, the Falcons needed to regroup and strategize.

In overtime, the Pride were the first to break the tie on a Francesca Lee jumpshot.  The Falcons responded by finding Gyori in the paint for the equalizing layup.  Moments later, Widener's Carney missed a long shot, but Vanessa Hejnas grabbed the offensive rebound to continue the play and eventually add on two points for the Pride. 

The Falcons turned the ball over in their next possession and committed their 10th team foul at the other end of the court, putting the Pride in the double bonus.  After Carney made both free throws, the Falcons' deficit was four points with 3:08 to play. 

Messiah failed to score on their next possession and were forced to foul to regain possession.  The Pride converted their first free throw, but missed their second.  Gyori grabbed the defensive rebound and set the offense into motion.  Senior Jordan Seiz missed at the other end, giving the ball back to the Pride who answered with a layup. 

With 1:40 to play, the Falcons found themselves down 71-64. 

After pushing the ball quickly up court, Gyori stepped in and drew the Pride's 10th team foul.  In the double bonus, Gyori missed the first free throw attempt, but sunk the second.  Moments later, the Falcons fouled again and the Pride's Kristina Reiter answered by making both free throws, increasing Messiah's deficit 73-65.

In the next possession, Gyori drew yet another foul at the opposite end of the court.  After making both free throws, a comeback seemed eminent.

With 1:03 on the clock, the Falcons applied full-court pressure and fouled immediately as the ball was brought back into play.  Carney went to the line and made both free throws - ending the night shooting 9-for-11 from the charity stripe - all-but sealing the victory for the Pride.

With an eight point deficit and less than a minute to play, the Falcons needed a break.  They got that break after Miller missed a shot and was forced to foul Widener's Kate Dellinger.  Dellinger missed both free throws and Seiz came up with the defensive rebound.  The Falcons sprinted up the court and found Hess who ended up getting fouled.  After making both free throws, Hess had brought the Falcons within six points.

Once again applying full court pressure, the Falcons fouled in order to regain possession.  With 36 seconds left, Widener's Vanessa Hejnas missed both free throws and yet again, Seiz came up with the rebound.  The Falcons moved the ball up court but missed the shot, relinquishing possession to the Pride as the clock counted down to zero.

"This was a wonderful game and we have a lot to be proud of," Miller said.  "We battled until the end, but Widener did a better job than we did on the offensive boards."

On the night, the Falcons pulled in seven offensive rebounds to Widener's 20.  Messiah shot 40.7% from the field (24-for-59), were 8-for-18 from three (44.4%) and shot 65% from the charity stripe (13-for-20).

Gyori led the Falcons with 21 points and seven rebounds.  Danel contributed 15 points, while Hess and Miller both added 12.

The Falcons wrap up regular season play on Saturday when they host Alvernia University at 2:00 p.m.