Women's Basketball Falls to Messiah, 76-58, at St. Pete Classic

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Graduate forward Leah Springer (Camp Hill, Pa.) posted a double-double with game highs of 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Messiah University women's basketball team to a 76-58 victory over Bridgewater State University on Monday night at the St. Pete Classic held on the campus of Eckerd College.

The Falcons, who received votes in the most recent D3hoops.com Poll, improve to 9-2 on the season, while the Bears fall to 8-5.

Springer connected on 8 of 15 field goal attempts and went 4-for-4 at the free throw line. She scored 16 of her 20 points in the first half and six of her 11 boards came off the offensive glass.

Senior forward Megan Zimmerman (Watsontown, Pa.) also recorded a double-double for Messiah as she notched 13 points and ten rebounds (three offensive). Junior guard Sidney Stutzman (Shanksville, Pa.) added ten points, four rebounds and a game-high six assists for the Falcons, while sophomore guard Reese Harden (Upperco, Md.) checked in with ten points, three rebounds and a pair of assists in 16 minutes off the bench.

Freshman center Jannise Avelino (Peabody, Mass.) paced Bridgewater State with 14 points on 7 of 8 shooting. Eight of Avelino's 14 points came in the fourth quarter. Junior guard Sophia Gaucher (Lakeville, Mass.) added 12 points and four rebounds for the Bears, while senior center Destiny Fitzgerald (Medford, Mass.) registered nine points and six rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench.

The Falcons led by five (19-14) after one quarter of play and opened the second period with an 11-2 run to extend the lead to 30-16. Springer and Zimmerman tallied four points apiece during the run while Stutzman knocked down a three-pointer. Messiah would maintain the double digit advantage throughout the rest of the second quarter and took a 40-23 advantage into the intermission. The Falcons got up by as many as 24 points (53-29) in the second half and the Bears got no closer than 16 (74-58).

Messiah shot 44% (31-70) for the game and went 10-for-12 (83%) at the free throw line. The Bears bounced back from a tough first half to shoot 42% (25-59) on the evening but finished just 7-for-14 (50%) at the charity stripe. The two teams combined to go 5-for-32 from behind the arc.

The Falcons held a 44-34 rebounding advantage with a 14-8 edge on the offensive glass which led to a 17-4 differential in second chance points. Messiah also forced 20 turnovers and finished with a 15-8 advantage in points off turnovers.

The Bears are off until Wednesday, January 5th (5:30 PM) when they open Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play at home against defending MASCAC champion Framingham State University. The Falcons entertain Franklin & Marshall College on Monday, January 3rd at 6:00 PM.