READING, Pa. – In a MAC Commonwealth Championship that saw 14 lead changes and seven ties with neither team leading by more than six points all day, Messiah made the final run to top the Albright women's basketball team, 53-50, on Saturday afternoon at Bollman Center.

Albright used an 8-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to take its largest lead, 48-43, with 3:03 left, highlighted by a steal and layup on the fast break by Jane Joyce. MiKayla Lea had four points on that run including a pair of free throws to push the lead to five. Messiah chipped away with a pair of buckets to make it 48-47, but Lea again scored after grabbing an offensive board and laying it back in to make it 50-47 Albright with 2:27 remaining.

Messiah used a three-point play to tie the score at 50 with 2:11 to play and took a 52-50 lead with two free throws on its next possession. Albright came up empty on its next possession, by Joyce got a steal with 44 seconds left to give the Lions another shot. Joyce had six steals to go with 11 points and eight rebounds. Lea missed a jumper on that next possession, but Alysha Lofton hit the floor to grab the loose ball and call timeout with 33 seconds to play. Lofton finished with seven points, seven rebounds and three steals.

The Lions ran the shot clock down and Nina Mazzarelli fired a three with just five seconds to play that didn't find its mark. Messiah advanced the ball after a timeout, and Albright fouled immediately. The Falcons made the front end of its two-shot penalty to make it 53-50, but Lea grabbed the rebound on the second shot and called timeout with just two seconds to play. Lea finished the game just shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Mazzarelli tied Joyce for the team lead in points with 11.

After advancing the ball, the inbounds pass went to Shannon Thomas, and her potential tying three pointer at the buzzer went halfway down and spun out. Thomas filled the stat sheet in playing all 40 minutes. She finished with seven points, five rebounds, three blocks along with a pair of assists.

Neither team got off to a fast start offensively. Both teams combined to shoot 17.2 percent in the first quarter with just five combined makes from the field. Albright shot 23 percent from the field in the first half while Messiah shot 22.5 percent, and the Falcons took a 20-19 lead into halftime.

Albright now awaits its postseason fate.