GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Gettysburg College women's basketball team fell 68-61 in a tightly competitive non-conference game at 10th-ranked Messiah College Wednesday night in the season opener.
Final Result
| Teams |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
F |
| No. 10 Messiah |
10 |
11 |
22 |
25 |
68 |
| Gettysburg |
6 |
19 |
15 |
21 |
61 |
Top Performers - Gettysburg
-
Ashley Gehrin '20 (Chester, N.J./West Morris Mendham) – 21 Points, 7 Rebounds, 3 Assists
-
Seanna McNamara '22 (Berwyn, Pa./The Episcopal Academy) – 13 Points (tied career-high), 5 Rebounds
-
Kiera Cesareo '20 (Randolph, N.J./Randolph)
– 12 Points, 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, 10 Rebounds (career-high)
Top Performers – Messiah
- Leah Springer – 21 Points, 11-of-13 from the free throw line, 10 Rebounds, 3 Assist
- Jayneisha Davis – 16 Points, 5 Assists
- Eleana Eckley – 14 Points, 8-of-10 from the free throw line
How It Happened…
- First Quarter: Gettysburg opened the game with three-pointer from Cesareo and a made free throw by Gehrin to hold the early lead. Messiah, the three-time defending Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth champ, then engineered an 8-0 run to pull ahead 10-4 with under two minutes remaining. Gehrin cut the deficit down to two with a lay-up with 1:01 on the clock, but the hosts led 10-6 heading into the second quarter.
- Second Quarter: Gettysburg rolled into the second quarter with a 10-2 burst as McNamara led the offensive charge by scoring five. The Bullets continued to fend off the Falcons for the lead as Gehrin netted nine of her game-high 21 points to give the Orange and Blue the 25-21 edge at intermission. The Bullets shot 50 percent (7-of-14) from the field.
- Third Quarter: It was an offensive back-and-forth battle as five lead changes occurred throughout the quarter between the two teams. In the final minute, the hosts broke through as they closed the quarter on a 6-2 run and outscored Gettysburg 22-15 to take the advantage into the fourth quarter.
- Fourth Quarter: Gettysburg clawed its way back by rattling a 7-4 run to open the final quarter, including a Cesareo three-pointer to tie it up at 47-all. A Falcon three-pointer by Brooke Breinich at 3:59 switched the momentum in their favor as it helped push a nine-point lead with 26 seconds left. The Bullets did not let up as Cesareo and sophomore Tori Yantsos (Rockville, Md./Holy Child) each drilled a three-pointer in a ten second span, but Messiah made four shots at the charity stripe to help seal the deal.
By the Numbers
- Messiah finished 20-of-52 (38.5 percent) from the floor, including 5-of-10 (50 percent) in the fourth quarter.
- The Falcons scored 20 points off turnovers by Gettysburg.
- The Bullets finished 20-of-56 (35.7 percent) from the field, 9-of-21 (42.9 percent) from three-point range and out-rebounded Messiah 42-30.
Where the Series Stands Now
- Messiah leads the all-time series with Gettysburg 27-12. The Falcons have won the last eight meetings in a series that started back in 1975.
Next Up
Gettysburg will take on Bridgewater College (Va.) on the opening day of the Bridgewater Tournament this Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
