READING, Pa. – Senior Kelecia Harris had a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds and No. 15 Albright used a 17-4 run in the third quarter to defeat Messiah 71-63 on Saturday in a MAC Commonwealth game in the Bollman Center and extend its winning streak to eight straight games.
 
Harris posted her 47th career double-double by shooting 9-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-7 from the free throw line. She also added two steals and a blocked shot.
 
Albright improved to 20-2 on the season, which marks the first time in school history that the Lions have won at least 20 games in back-to-back seasons. The Lions finished the 2014-15 season with a 21-8 overall record. Albright also remained in first place in the MAC Commonwealth by improving to 12-1 on the season.
 
After Jen Fairbanks connected on a jumper to cut the Albright lead to 31-26 with 8:24 to play in the third, the Lions responded with a game-changing run.
 
Nina Mazzarelli converted a layup and Shannon Thomas hit a jumper to push the Albright lead to 35-26 with 7:21 remaining in the third quarter.
 
Fairbanks scored inside to bring the Falcons to within 35-28, but Harris hit back-to-back layups to extend the Lions lead to 39-28 at the 5:25 mark of the period.
 
Kaitlyn Hoff, who scored 16 points for Messiah, hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 39-30, but Harris dominated the next two minutes of play.
 
She scored seven consecutive points and Jane Joyce capped the run with a jumper that gave the Lions a 48-30 lead with 3:40 remaining in the quarter.
 
Maci Thornton closed the quarter with a free throw and a three-pointer to bring the Falcons to within 56-43.
 
Messiah scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to close to within 56-49, but Mazzarelli drilled a three-pointer to end the run and push the Albright lead to 59-49 at the 7:45 mark of the fourth quarter.
 
The Falcons responded with an 8-3 run to climb to within 62-57 with 3:45 to play, but Thomas drained a three-pointer to give the Lions a 65-57 lead with 2:35 remaining in the contest.
 
Two free throws by Gillian Glackin and a layup by Libby Timmer got Messiah to within 65-61 with 2:03 to play, but Harris scored inside and Mazzarelli converted a three-point play to up the Lions lead to 70-61 with 42 seconds remaining in the game.
 
Joyce finished with 12 points and six rebounds, while Mazzarelli added 11 points for the Lions. Alysha Lofton had eight points, five rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot and Thomas added eight points and seven assists.
 
Messiah, which dropped to 14-7 overall and 8-4 in league play, was led by Glackin who scored 19 points. Fairbanks also reached double figures for the Falcons as she recorded 10 points.
 
Albright, which has defeated Messiah in four of the last five games, shot 47.6 percent from the floor which included shooting 50.0 percent in the second half.
 
The Lions owned a 41-28 rebounding advantage over Messiah and held a 19-9 advantage in second-chance points.
 
Albright will attempt to tie the school record for victories in a season when it travels to Williamsport, Pa., on Wednesday (Feb. 10) to face Lycoming in a MAC Commonwealth game at 6 p.m.