MECHANICSBURG, Pa. – The Albright women's basketball team saw their season come to a close on Friday evening as they were taken down 66-58 by the No. 1 seed Messiah in the MAC Commonwealth semifinals.
 
Senior Gabby Boggs capped off her senior campaign when she grabbed her tenth and final rebound of the game to reach the 1,000 career rebounds milestone. Boggs becomes just the third player in program history to achieve both 1,000 career points and rebounds.
 
With the loss, the Lions conclude the 2021-22 season 7-9 and the No. 5 seed in conference and 13-11 overall. Meanwhile, the #14/19 Falcons improve to 22-3 overall and will advance to the MAC Commonwealth championship game on Sunday, Feb. 27^th where they will host No. 2 Widener.
 
Boggs led all scorers and tallied her 18^th and double-double of the season with 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting, ten rebounds, and three assists. Senior Amina Rauf followed with 14 points behind 5-for-8 shooting from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. Senior Brady Wassel tallied nine points on 4-for-13 shooting, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
 
Messiah came out red hot, knocking down their first five field goals to take an early 11-7 lead. Albright tied the game up at 11 at the 3:54-mark following two trips to the free throw line from first-year Mackenzie Dover and Boggs. The Falcons took a four-point lead after a pair of free throws and a jumper, but Rauf knocked down the final basket of the quarter from beyond the arc to cut the Lions deficit to 15-14. The two teams battle back-and forth to open up the second stanza, but senior Kayana Chisholm hit a big three-pointer to tie the game up at 21 at the 6:38-mark. The Falcons responded with a 12-4 run to take an eight-point lead. Boggs notched the final basket of the half to cut te Falcons lead to 33-27 entering the break.
 
Boggs had the opening basket of the second half to keep Albright in reach. However, Messiah answered with eight unanswered points to claim a 41-29 lead. Wassel snapped the run with a bucket followed by a jumper from Chisholm, but Messiah kept their momentum with six-straight points to take their largest lead at 14-points. The teams exchanged baskets to close out the third as Messiah held onto a 50-36 lead. The Lions began to chip away at their deficit in the fourth quarter with an and-one from Dover and a three from Rauf. Messiah earned consecutive trips to the charity stripe to stay in front, but a 6-2 run fueled by Wassel and Boggs brought the score to 56-49. The Falcons didn't let up, however, as they answered with six-straight to take another double-digit lead. A 7-2 run for the Lions capped with a three from Rauf cut the Lions deficit to eight with less than 30 seconds to play. Messiah closed out the game on the charity stripe to solidify their 66-58 semifinal victory.
 
Albright shot 22-for-50 (44.0%) from the field, 6-for-11 (54.5%) from three-point range, and 8-for-11 (72.7%) from the charity stripe. The Lions saw 14 points off their bench and notched 22 points in the paint. Meanwhile, Messiah shot 22-for-50 (44.0%) from the floor, 4-for-7 (57.1%) from beyond the arc, and 18-for-26 (69.2%) from the free throw line. The Falcons converted 20 points off Albright turnovers and held a 33-29 edge on the glass.
 
No. 1 Messiah will host No. 2 Widener for the MAC Commonwealth championship on Sunday, Feb. 27^th.