ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Tuesday, January 26, 1999

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Four wins to go.

Abbie Fabian (Denver, Pa./Cocalico) scored 17 points and added seven assists and five steals to lead Elizabethtown over Messiah, 76-70, in MAC Commonwealth League action on Tuesday.  With the win, the Blue Jays improved to 15-1 (8-0 MAC Commonwealth) and ran their winning streak to 13 games, the program's best in ten years.

Kim Boback (Croydon, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie) tallied 16 points and a team-best six rebounds and Carmen Chiles (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) added 15 points in the win.  Etown needs four more victories to become the first women's basketball program in NCAA history (all divisions) with 800 all-time wins.

Sarah Wade led all scorers with 21 points while Nancy Schuit chipped in with 19 points for Messiah (13-4, 5-3 MAC Commonwealth), which entered the game ranked fourth in the Mid-Atlantic region.

After shaking off a slow start to take a 38-28 lead at halftime, Etown threatened to run away with the game in the early minutes of the second half.

Boback started the 9-0 run with a jumper and Fabian converted one of two free throws to give Etown a 41-28 lead with 18:46 remaining.  Shauntae Stancil (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) followed with two of her four points and Fabian scored on consecutive trips to make it 47-28 in favor the Blue Jays with 16:54 left.

Messiah, however, fought back over the next 15 minutes and closed the gap to 73-67 with 41.3 seconds remaining following two free throws by Schuit and a three-pointer from Nikki Holsinger.  After Etown's Allison Lucey (Bethlehem, Pa./Notre Dame) made one of two charity tosses, Schuit converted a three-point play with 32.4 second left to make it 74-70 in favor of Etown.

Etown was able to get the ball upcourt on the ensuing possession and Boback iced the game with a pair of free throws with 22.5 second left.  Messiah's final three-point attempt fell short and Etown ran out the clock to seal its 39th consecutive league win at home.

The Blue Jays, already the top shooting team in the Middle Atlantic Conference, shot 26-for-48 (54.2 percent) from the field for the game.  Messiah shot 28-for-56 (50.0 percent) from the floor on the night, including 15-for-25 (60.0 percent) in the second half.

Etown, ranked second in the region and 13th in Division III, returns to action on Saturday, January 30 at Susquehanna.  Game time is 1 p.m.

MAC Commonwealth League	1	2	-	F
Messiah (13-4, 5-3)	28	42	-	70
Elizabethtown (15-1, 8-0)	38	38	-	76

Messiah (70)
Levis 0-1 0-0 0, Mulvey 0-0 0-0 0, Wedemeyer 0-0 0-0 0, Holsinger 1-3 0-0 3, Boehmler 1-3 0-0 2, Hitz 3-5 5-6 11, Mulberger 1-2 1-1 3, Ehst 1-3 0-0 3,  Brofee 3-4 2-2 8, Schuit 8-16 3-4 19, Wade 10-19 1-1 21. Totals: 28-56 12-14 70.

Elizabethtown (76)
Thompson 1-2 0-0 2, Fabian 6-8 5-8 17, Goldstein 2-3 0-0 5, Lucey 2-3 5-6 9, Porter 2-5 4-5 8, Boback 5-12 6-6 16, Stancil 1-6 2-2 4, Chiles 7-9 1-1 15. Totals: 26-48 23-28 76.

Three-pointers: Messiah 2-7 (Levis 0-1, Holsinger 1-2, Ehst 1-3, Schuit 0-1), Elizabethtown 1-2 (Goldstein 1-1, Lucey 0-1).  Rebounds:  Messiah 22 (Holsinger 5), Elizabethtown 35 (Boback 6, Stancil 6, Chiles 6).  Assists: Messiah 16 (Schuit 5), Elizabethtown 19 (Fabian 7).  Turnovers: Messiah 17, Elizabethtown 21.  Steals: Messiah 9 (Wade 3), Elizabethtown 14 (Fabian 5).  Fouls: Messiah 21, Elizabethtown 13.  Technicals: None.  Attendance: 250.