Box Score

GRANTHAM, Pa. – In their first Commonwealth Conference game of the 2009 season, the Lady Lions (2-3/0-1 Commonwealth) had their hands full with the 24th ranked Falcons of Messiah College (4-0/1-0 Commonwealth) who pulled out a 58-38 decision Wednesday evening in Brubaker Auditorium.

Earning a combined 42 points to lead the Falcons to the conference win was Nicky Hess, Julie Henninger, and Michele Schleich respectively. Only five other players recorded points in Wednesday's win, with Dori Gyori earning the second most points with six. Schleich was also the games top rebounder with nine.

Junior guard Jessica McGinness totaled a team best 10 points for the red and white. The Norristown native was 5-for-16 from the field and tallied a game high five steals. Sophomore Gina Zantopoulos had another strong performance finishing second on the team in scoring with eight points.

Albright only held control of the scoreboard once in Wednesday's contest. The red and white got an early basket from senior Mallory Olsheski, before the Falcons were able to tie the game at 2-2 on their third possession of the night.

From there the Falcons took over offensively and jumped out to a 10-2 lead following a quick 8-0 run. Throughout the first 10 minutes of the game, Albright kept the Falcons close. It was not until the final seven minutes of the first half that Messiah jumped out to a commanding double-figure lead.

The Falcons would maintain that lead throughout the second half and eventually closed out the night with the 20-point decision.

Just one year ago, Albright fell to Messiah in Brubaker Auditorium by the exact same deficit (68-48). However later in the season the red and white would then end the Falcon's long win streak in the Bollman Center with a 78-73 overtime win.

Women's Basketball returns to action this Saturday when they travel to Alvernia University for a 1 p.m. Commonwealth Conference game.