YORK, PA – In a battle for first place in the MAC Commonwealth, the #24 Messiah Falcons rolled past the host York College Spartans 74-49 at Wolf Gymnasium on Saturday. The teams were tied at 9-1 atop the conference standings heading into the game and now Messiah holds a one-game lead over the Spartans with five regular season games remaining for both squads.
The Falcons win avenges the Spartans 61-55 win in Grantham on December 8.
 
Score: York 49, #24 Messiah 74
Records: York 15-4 (9-2 MAC Commonwealth); Messiah 16-2 (10-1 MAC Commonwealth)
 
How It Happened
• The first quarter was limited offensively on both sides. The game was tied at six just over six minutes into the game. The Falcons outscored the Spartans 8-3 over the final 3:06 of the quarter to take a 14-9 lead.
• The two offenses woke up in the second quarter. The Falcons pushed out to a 29-18 lead on a Morgan Adams lay-up with 3:31 remaining in the quarter. The Green and White went on an 8-2 run to cut their deficit to five at 31-26. The Falcons responded with the final three points of the half to take a 34-26 lead to the break.
• The third quarter proved to be too much for the Spartans to overcome as the Falcons outscored York 20-7. The Falcons eight-point halftime lead ballooned to a 21 point Messiah advantage.
• Messiah's lead didn't fall below 19 the rest of the way as the Falcons cruised to their 11^th straight win. Messiah's last loss came to the Spartans on December 8.
 
Spartan Leaders
Alana Bortner: 17 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
Kayla Ferris: 11 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocked shots
Savannah Wilson: 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 blocked shot, 1 steal
 
Spartan Stats
The 25-point loss is York's largest loss of the year … the Spartans other three losses have come by a combined 18 points … the Spartans shot 30.8% from the floor, their second worst shooting performance of the year … Messiah shot 44.8% from the floor in the game, that's the second best shooting percentage of a Spartan opponent this year (Albright 48.8% on January 19) … York went just 2-for-14 (14.3%) from beyond the arc while Messiah was a blistering 8-for-17 (47.1%) from downtown … York went 15-for-19 from the free throw line, the tenth time the Spartans have shot 75% or better from the stripe … the Falcons out-rebounded the Spartans by 12 caroms in the game and that's the second straight loss in which York loss the rebounding battle by 12 … York had a season-low five assists in the loss … York did block eight shots, their third highest total of the season … both teams took care of the ball as York had 10 miscues while Messiah hat 11 … in the Spartan win over Messiah on December 8, the Falcons had 29 turnovers.
 
Spartan Notes
York falls to 12-35 all-time against the Falcons … ­­­­­the Spartans fall to 7-3 at home while their other loss came in St. Petersburg, Florida … senior Kayla Ferris recorded her third straight double-double and her tenth of the year … Ferris has reached double figures in 18 of her 19 games this year … for the first time this year, Ferris did not record a steal in a game, she entered the contest with 71 steals in her previous 18 games … senior Alana Bortner reached double figures for the eighth time this year and second time against Messiah as she had 25 points in the first meeting with the Falcons … Messiah's Leah Springer, the two-time MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year, led the Falcons with 22 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and a blocked shot in 38 minutes of play … Springer led four Falcons in double figures.
 
Up Next
The Spartans head back out on the road on Wednesday as they head to Owings Mills, Maryland to face Stevenson University to face the Mustangs. Tip time is scheduled for 6:00 pm as the front end of the MAC Commonwealth doubleheader.