Madison, NJ – Messiah College fell just short of handing No. 5 Farleigh Dickinson-Florham their first loss of the season as they were eliminated from the NCAA Championships Tournament, 79-66. Shalette Brown led the Red Devils to their first-ever NCAA Sweet 16 appearance with a career-high 29 points and 16 rebounds.

The Falcons and Red Devils were tied 28-28 at the half but FDU used an 11-2 run at the start of the final period to grab a lead that Messiah couldn't catch. Messiah played within a few possessions for the majority of the second-half and even cut their deficit to just three points (55-52) with 7:03 to play. But FDU's relentless offensive rebounding and dribble-drive attack proved too much for Messiah to overcome.
 
Katelyn Vanderhoff led the Falcons with a season-high 21 points. Taylor Miller scored 16 points on 6-10 shooting and Chelsea Danel added 12 points. The Falcons ended their season at 21-8 and made the NCAA Championships Tournament for a 15th-straight season after winning the Commonwealth Championship.
 
The Falcons and Red Devils played through six lead changes in the first 10 minutes, and a seventh lead change put Messiah up 19-18 with 7:26 on the clock. Over the next four minutes Vanderhoff scored six of the Falcons' next seven points in a 7-1 run that put them up 26-19—their largest lead of the game. They matched that lead a minute later by way of two free-throws by Hannah Nichols.
 
Undeterred, FDU finished the first-half with a 7-0 run of their own to tie the game at 28-28 as the teams headed into the intermission. The run by the Red Devils made up for a poor shooting performance in the first-half (9-27) and, more importantly, prevented the Falcons from pulling away.
 
At the start of the second-half the Red Devils continued their strong offensive play. Shalette Brown contributed two buckets and four free-throws in an 11-2 run to open the frame, putting FDU up 39-30. Kara Dayon also hit a three-pointer in the middle of that run, her first bucket of the night.
 
All told, the Red Devils ran off a 18-2 run to span the two halves—a run that force Messiah to play from behind the entire period.
 
Still, Messiah battled. A three-pointer by Chelsea Danel brought Messiah within 53-46 with just over nine minutes to play and, less than two minutes later, Gillian Glackin's two free-throws brought the Falcons to within 55-50. On the ensuing defensive possession Libby Timmer came up with a steal to give the Falcons the ball, and she then hit a jumper from the top of the key to make it 55-52.
 
Unfortunately, that would be the closest the Falcons would get. Brown scored three quick points (layup, free-throw) on two separate possessions and Delisha Thompson hit a jumper from the left wing to put FDU up 60-52. After another jumper by Timmer, Dayon split two defenders up top and hit a floater in the lane to make it 62-54.
 
Taylor Miller followed with a jumper from the free-throw line to make it a six-point game, but Rachel Groom and Brown scored back-to-back buckets in the paint for a 10-point lead. With 1:32 to play Kara Dayon converted took a steal in the half-court and went all the way to the rim for a 70-59 lead.
 
In the final minute the Red Devils hit 9-10 from the free-throw line to hold off the Falcons' late attempt to even score.
 
Brown shot 8-14 from the field and put in 11-14 attempts from the charity stripe—a performance made even more impressive considering she entered the game with a 58% average from the line. She was also a big reason for the Red Devils' 42-20 advantage on points in the paint.
 
Two-time defending Freedom Player of the Year Kyra Dayon finished with 12 points on just 4-12 shooting. Sister Kara Dayon also scored 12 points on 3-10 shooting, while Jalessa Lewis added 13 points and five assists.
 
Gillian Glackin finished with six points and six rebounds, though she and Hannah Nichols (2 points, 0-1 shooting) were neutralized by the Red Devils' strong interior defense.
 
With the win FDU (29-0) advances to the Sweet 16 to face Baldwin Wallace. As mentioned, Messiah finishes the season at 21-8—a standing that accounts for their 14th 20-win season in the past 15 years.
 
The Falcons' five seniors—Chelsea Danel, Kelsie Hitesman, Taylor Miller, Emily Martz, and Katelyn Vanderhoff—also complete their careers for Messiah; the class finishes with an 87-27 record over four seasons.