Story Courtesy of Messiah Athletics

GRANTHAM, Pa. – On Saturday afternoon, the Messiah University women's basketball team held off a late comeback to defeat the Pride of Widener University, 76-72, to win their second-straight MAC Commonwealth Championship. The Falcons opened the game with a 17-14 lead after the first quarter. The Falcons then outscored the Pride by three in the second to take a 37-31 at the half. The Falcons outscored the Pride by six in the third to extend their lead to 12 headed into the final quarter. The Pride cut the Falcons lead to four with a minute to go, but the Falcons hit clutch free throws down the stretch to earn the 76-72 lead. Charlotte Milanesi earned tournament MVP with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. Liv Monturo totaled 22 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Hope Cook added 19 points and four rebounds.
 
With the MAC Commonwealth Championship, the Falcons earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Selection Show will take place on NCAA.com on Monday, March 2 at 2:30 p.m.

First Quarter
In the first four minutes of the game, the Falcons outscored the Pride 10-6 to take the early lead. Hope Cook made a couple of threes for the Falcons to lead the Falcons during the stretch. The Pride then outscored the Falcons 6-3 to cut their deficit to one with three minutes to go in the first. The Falcons outscored the Pride by two in the final three minutes to take a 17-14 lead at the end of the first. Charlotte Milanesi and Liv Monturo each scored a basket for Falcons during the stretch.
 
Second Quarter
After the Pride tied the game at 19, the Falcons went on a 13-0 run to take a 32-19 lead with 3:30 remaining in the second. Charlotte Milanesi started the run with a layup and Liv Monturo capped off the run with a pair of free throws. The Pride closed out the half strong with a 12-5 run to reduce the Falcons lead to 37-31 at the break. Ainsley Bell hit a three and Monturo added a basket for the Falcons during the run.
 
Third Quarter
After two minutes of scoreless basketball, the Pride scored five straight points to cut the Falcons lead to one with seven minutes to go in the third. The Falcons then responded with an 11-3 run to push their lead up to nine with five minutes remaining in the third. Hope Cook made two threes, and Charlotte Milanesi added a three for the Falcons during the run. The two teams then traded baskets before Milanesi drained two more threes to put the Falcons up 59-47 headed into the fourth quarter.
 
Fourth Quarter
The Falcons opened the fourth outscoring the Pride, 9-5 in the first four minutes to extend their lead to 68-52. Liv Monturo led the Falcons with four points and Hope Cook added three points during the stretch. The Pride then went on a 15-3 run to reduce the Falcons lead to four with 35 seconds remaining in the game. Charlotte Milanesi then made a pair of free throws and Marisa Amitie made a free to push the Falcons lead to six, but the Pride made a three to cut the deficit back four with 15 seconds remaining. The Pride scored on a layup to cut the Falcons lead to two, but Liv Monturo made a pair of free throws with seven seconds remaining to give the Falcons the 76-72 win and their second-straight MAC Commonwealth Championship.
 
Stats
Charlotte Milanesi earned tournament MVP with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. Liv Monturo totaled 22 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Hope Cook added 19 points and four rebounds. Ainsley Bell also scored five points. The Falcons shot 42.4 percent from the field and 37 percent from behind the arc. The Pride shot 39.4 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three. 
 
Next
With the MAC Commonwealth Championship, the Falcons earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Selection Show will take place on NCAA.com on Monday, March 2 at 2:30 p.m.