ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, January 26, 2008

#11 Messiah Holds Off Elizabethtown, 73-64

Click here for the box score

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Nikki Lobach scored a game-high 24 points to lead 11th-ranked Messiah College to a 73-64 victory over Elizabethtown College in Commonwealth Conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Thompson Gymnasium.

Ashley Brooks and Amy Reed added 11 points each for the Falcons (15-2 overall, 2-0 Commonwealth), who let a 16-point second-half lead dwindle to four before putting the game away with eight straight foul shots in the final 3:32.

Junior Megan Quinn (Millersville, PA/Penn Manor) scored 13 points for the Blue Jays (9-7 overall, 0-2 Commonwealth), while junior Jenn Montague (Newark, DE/St. Mark's) added a season-high 13 points along with a game-high eight rebounds off the Etown bench.

Messiah used a late 10-0 run the first half to take a 41-31 to halftime, shooting 60 percent from the field as a team (15-for-25). Lobach led the way with 10 points for the Falcons while Montague paced the Blue Jays with eight points off the bench.

In the second half, the Falcons took their largest lead at 47-31 following two foul shots by Lobach with 18:32 to play. The Blue Jays then went on a 12-2 run to pull within 49-43 on a layup by sophomore Ashley Toczylowski (Dupont, PA/Wyoming Seminary) with 13:50 remaining.

The Blue Jays trimmed the Falcon lead to four points on three occasions, the last with 2:36 to go at 67-63 on a layup by senior Erin Walton (Columbus, NJ/Northern Burlington County). However, Messiah put the contest away as Reed and Julie Henninger each hit two foul shots and Lobach added a breakaway layup.

Both teams shot 42.6 percent (23-for-54) from the field in the contest, as Messiah went just 8-for-29 (27.6 percent) from the field in the second half after their hot-shooting first half. Elizabethtown held a 36-31 edge in rebounding, led by eight from Montague.

Off the Blue Jay bench, sophomore Courtney Kofeldt (Coatesville, PA/Holy Spirit, NJ) went 3-for-4 from three-point range and finished with nine points.

MESSIAH COLLEGE 73, ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE 64
MESSIAH COLLEGE (15-2, 2-0 Comm.)
Nikki Lobach 7-14 7-14 24; Ashley Brooks 5-9 1-1 11; Amy Reed 3-6 4-4 11; Lauren Schurr 2-5 0-0 6; Angie Rapchinski 1-2 2-2 5; Julie Henninger 0-2 4-4 4; Gwen Avery 2-3 0-1 4; Katie Kalb 1-4 2-2 4; Silalei Shani 1-4 0-0 2; Christa Wenrich 1-2 0-0 2; Kourtney Ehly 0-1 0-0 0; Michelle Schleich 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 20-28 73.
ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE (9-7, 0-2 Comm.)
Megan Quinn 5-11 2-3 13; Jenn Montague 5-6 3-5 13; Courtney Kofeldt 3-4 0-0 9; Erin Walton 4-16 0-0 8; Megan Romano 1-4 5-6 7; Audrey Hitz 2-6 2-2 6; Ashley Toczylowski 2-3 0-0 4; Kaity Snyder 1-2 0-0 2; Amanda Reid 0-2 2-2 2; Kirsti Larsen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 14-18 64.
Messiah College............... 41 32 - 73
Elizabethtown College......... 31 33 - 64
3-point goals--Messiah College 7-16 (Nikki Lobach 3-5; Lauren Schurr 2-4; Amy Reed 1-1; Angie Rapchinski 1-2; Katie Kalb 0-2; Kourtney Ehly 0-1; Ashley Brooks 0-1), Elizabethtown College 4-13 (Courtney Kofeldt 3-4; Megan Quinn 1-5; Erin Walton 0-3; Megan Romano 0-1). Fouled out--Messiah College-Silalei Shani, Elizabethtown College-None. Rebounds--Messiah College 31 (Ashley Brooks 5; Gwen Avery 5), Elizabethtown College 36 (Jenn Montague 8). Assists--Messiah College 19 (Gwen Avery 4), Elizabethtown College 17 (Megan Romano 5). Total fouls--Messiah College 17, Elizabethtown College 21. Technical fouls--Messiah College-None, Elizabethtown College-None. A-500