JANUARY 4, 2005
MESSIAH DOWN KING'S 54-43 IN BATTLE OF UNBEATEN NATIONALLY-RANKED SQUADS
WILKES-BARRE -- Kristin Sassaman scored a game-high
18 points and Lauren Schurr drained three huge first-half three-pointers
as visiting Messiah College posted a 54-43 victory over host King's
College in a battle of unbeaten, nationally-ranked squads Tuesday in
Scandlon Gymnasium.
Messiah, ranked fifth nationally in the WBCA National Poll and ninth
according to D3hoops.com improved to 10-0 on the year. King's,
ranked 15th by D3hoops.com and 22nd by the WBCA, slipped to 9-1.
Both teams struggled offensively in the opening minutes thanks to strong
defensive efforts. King's, however, would suffer a severe blow when
starting center and leading scorer Kristin Yeasted suffered an ankle
injury just 2:14 into the contest and was forced to leave the game with
the score tied at 2-2.
The Lady Monarchs would respond with a three-pointer by Katie Lala and
consecutive baskets by Lauren Bonanni and Beth Jordan to build a 9-4
lead. Eli Cook would hit consecutive baskets for Messiah to cut the
margin to 9-8 with 11:57 left in the first half.
King's answered with a 6-0 run on a driving lay-up by Lala and
back-to-back buckets from Lauren Kendra to take a 17-8 lead with 8:02
left. Things would quickly change for King's when Lala, King's
third-leading scorer, was whistled for her second foul and would go to the
bench for the remainder of the half.
The lead quickly evaporated when Schurr came off the bench to drain
consecutive three-pointers, followed by a Sarah Ringer basket which
brought Messiah to within 17-16 with 4:38 left on the clock. After a
King's turnover, Sassaman would draw a foul and converted one of two
charity tosses to knot the score at 17-17 with 4:26 left.
King's would briefly recapture the lead when Cindy Baral made one-of-two
foul shots with 3:59 left but Sassaman gave the Falcons its first lead of
the game at 19-18 with 3:21 on the clock. From there, Schurr buried her
third three-pointer of the half to ignite a 9-1 run over the final 2:45 as
the Falcons took a 28-19 lead at the break.
King's failed to make a field goal over the final 8:02 of the half and
netted just two points on a pair of foul shots as Messiah closed out the
half with a 20-2 run after Lala went to the bench with her second foul
with 8:24 remaining.
In the second half, King's opened with a 4-0 spurt to cut the lead to
28-23
on baskets by Lala and Vienna Spitler. After Lauren Emick scored for
Messiah, Jordan answered for King's to cut the lead to 30-25 with 15:32
remaining. Sassaman, however, hit back-to-back three-pointers to
give the Falcons a 36-25 lead with 14:28 remaining.
The Lady Monarchs would cut the lead to nine points on four occasions but
could draw no closer. Messiah took its biggest lead of the game at 48-33
on a Sassaman three-pointer 6:44 left and the Falcons would maintain a
double-digit advantage throughout the remainder of the contest.
Messiah shot 39.6 (19-48) percent (19-48) from the field compared to 35.3
(18-51) for King's but the Falcons canned 7-of-15 three-pointers compared
to just 1-of-11 for the Lady Monarchs. Messiah also dominated the boards
with a 41-to-27 rebounding advantage, including 16 offensive boards.
Messiah committed 23 turnovers compared to 21 for King's.
Sassaman added eight rebounds and three blocks on the day while Ringer
netted 10 points with six boards. Eli Cook scored nine points with nine
rebounds and six assists to aid the Falcon cause.
King's, which played its first game since December 12, struggled all night
on the offensive end. Lala led the Lady Monarchs with 11 points, seven
rebounds, and four assists despite foul trouble while Jordan added 11
points and four assists. Kendra netted seven points but no other King's
player scored over four points.
