ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. — Rachel Forjan put on a show as the Elizabethtown College women's basketball team held off Messiah Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Conference action at Thompson Gymnasium. Forjan netted a career-high 25 points in the Jays' 73-69 victory.
Forjan, averaging 14.8 points per game to lead E-town (6-0, 3-0 CC), got off to a hot start for the Jays in what would be a career night. After Taylor Alwine connected on a jumper, the York Catholic graduate scored the next nine points and staked her team to an early 11-5 lead.
Elizabethtown was forced to play most of the first half without double-double machine Taylor Kreider, who was hit with two fouls in the first three minutes of action. She spent the rest of the half on the bench to prevent further foul trouble.
The Falcons (4-3, 0-2 CC) kept it close, relying on the inside presence of Gillian Glacken. The freshman forward presented problems down low for the Jays, scoring six of the 16 first-half points in the paint for Messiah. She finished with 20 points and 12 boards to lead Messiah.
Forjan's third trey of the opening half put E-town up 27-20 with 5:12 left before the break. Messiah responded with a 12-4 run to close out the half, giving the visitors a 32-31 edge heading into the final 20 minutes of play.
Alyssa Aichele returned the lead to the Jays on the first possession of the second half, sinking a jumper off a Taylor Kreider pass. It was short-lived, however, as Chelsea Danel drilled a three-pointer to put the Falcons back on top 35-33 in the first minute of the second half.
Both teams traded baskets over the next two minutes, with neither side able to stretch a lead into anything further.
Libby Timmer's layup sent Messiah back into the lead at 14:41, a lead they would hold over the course of the next six minutes. The advantage never rose above four, as the Blue Jays prevented the Falcons from any kind of scoring run.
With time winding down and every possession becoming crucial, the difference came down to Elizabethtown's second-half foul shooting and points off turnovers. The Jays sank 19 of 21 foul shot attempts, including 10-for-10 in the final three minutes. They also outscored Messiah 10-1 in points off turnovers.
After shooting 6-for-10 for 15 points in the first half, Forjan was kept in check in the second half. However, it was her three-pointer with 2:03 showing on the clock that would prove vital. Her fourth three-point make broke a 62-62 tie and put E-town back in front, ultimately for good.
Glackin scored in the paint to cut the lead to one with 1:38 remaining, but had to foul Kreider after the Elizabethtown senior forward grabbed an offensive rebound and went for the put-back. Kreider drained her two free throws, increasing the lead back to three.
On the other end, Kreider grabbed one of her nine second-half rebounds on a missed layup by Taylor Miller. With possession, Sherri Gorman called a timeout to compose her squad for the final 45 seconds, up 67-64.
Kendra Beittel sank two free throws with 20 seconds left to extend the Jays' lead to five, 69-64. Danel's second three-pointer of the half brought it back to a one-possession game with eight seconds to go.
The ensuing in-bounds pass went to Aichele, who was quickly fouled and sent to the line for two important free throw attempts with just six seconds remaining. No stranger to late game foul shots, the sophomore calmly sank both her attempts. Another Messiah layup cut the lead back to two, and with a second to go, Aichele sank another pair of foul shots to seal the victory for the Jays.
Forjan finished with a game-high and career-best 25 points to go along with five rebounds. Kreider missed her fourth double-double of the season by one rebound, registering all 18 points and nine rebounds in the second half. Alwine and Beittel each chipped in ten points.
Now on the six-game unbeaten streak to begin the season, the women's basketball team will host Dickinson on Monday, December 16, at Thompson Gymnasium. It will be the Jays final game of the 2013 portion of the basketball season. Game time on the 16th is scheduled for 7 p.m.
