Story Courtesy of Messiah Athletics
NEW YORK, N.Y. – On Friday evening the Messiah University women's basketball team used a 33-point performance from Liv Monturo to defeat the Red Dragons of Cortland, 64-58. The Falcons responded to an early run from the Red Dragons to put the score at 16-14 to end the first. The Falcons then outscored the Red Dragons by three in the second to take a 28-27 lead at the half. The Falcons then used a pair of 7-0 runs to outscore the Red Dragons by five in the third to take a 46-40 lead into the third. After the Falcons extended their lead to eight at the six-minute mark, the Red Dragons went on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 53 with three minutes remaining in the game. The Falcons then responded with their third 7-0 run of the game to take a seven-point lead with 36 seconds remaining. After the Red Dragons cut the Falcons lead to three, Messiah made four clutch free throws in the final 17 seconds to earn the 64-58 win. Liv Monturo led the Falcons with 33 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Charlotte Milanesi totaled 13 points, nine assists, and four blocks. Brooke Fenchel added eight points, four assists, and three steals.
Up next, The Falcons will play the winner of No. 1 NYU and Maine Farmington on Saturday, March 7 at 7:45 p.m. at NYU.
First Quarter
The Red Dragons started the game strong with an 11-2 run to take an early lead with six minutes remaining in the first. After some back-and-forth baskets, the Falcons went on an 8-0 to reduce the Cortland lead to 16-14 at the end of the first. Liv Monturo led the Falcons during the run with four points and Brooke Fenchel and Charlotte Milanesi each added a basket.
Second Quarter
After Liv Monturo started the second with a basket, the Red Dragons responded with a 7-0 to take a 23-16 lead with 6:30 remaining in the second. The Falcons continued to respond and went on an 8-2 run to cut the Red Dragons lead to one with just over a minute remaining in the half. Monturo led the Falcons with six points and Charlotte Milanesi added a basket for the Falcons during the run. After a pair of Cortland free throws, the Falcons ended the half with four-straight points to give the Falcons a 28-27 lead. EmmyFaith Wood ended the half for the Falcons with a buzzer beater jumper to give the Falcons the lead.
Third Quarter
The Falcons opened the second half strong with a 7-0 run to push Messiah's lead to 35-27. The run started with an April Kauffeldt basket and ended with three-straight points from Liv Monturo. After a three from the Red Dragons, the Falcons went on another 7-0 run to take a 12-point lead with four minutes to go in the third. The run was capped off by a three from Hope Cook. The Red Dragons though ended the third with a 10-4 run to cut the Falcons lead to 46-40 headed into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter
The Falcons opened the fourth with a big three from EmmyFaith Wood to extend the Falcons lead to nine. After two baskets from the Red Dragons, the Falcons responded by outscoring Cortland 4-1 to take an eight-point lead with six minutes remaining in the game. The Red Dragons though would not go away and went on an 8-0 run to take the game at 53 with three minutes remaining. After a Mike Miller timeout, the Falcons regrouped and went on another 7-0 to take a 60-53 lead with 36 seconds remaining in the game. Liv Monturo led the Falcons with four points and Brooke Fenchel added a basket for the Falcons during the run. Cortland kept battling and scored four-straight points to reduce the Falcons lead to three with 18 seconds remaining. The Falcons ended the game with tight defense and clutch free throws from Charlotte Milanesi and Liv Monturo to give the Falcons the 64-58 win.
Stats
Liv Monturo led the Falcons with 33 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Charlotte Milanesi totaled 13 points, nine assists, and four blocks. Brooke Fenchel added eight points, four assists, and three steals. EmmyFaith Wood tallied five points and five rebounds. April Kauffeldt also added eight boards. The Falcons shot 51.9 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from behind the arc. The Red Dragons shot 36.4 percent from the field and 32 percent from three. With the win, the Falcons have made it to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament for the 21st time, all under head coach Mike Miller.
Next
With the win the Falcons advance to the Second Round in the NCAA Tournament. The Falcons will play the winner of No. 1 NYU and Maine Farmington on Saturday, March 7 at 7:45 p.m. at NYU