Box Score DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (uwrfsports.com) – The UW-River Falls women's basketball team took its second loss of the season today as they fell to Messiah 63-68 at the Land of Magic Classic in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Brynn Liljander got things started for the Falcons scoring four points in the first two minutes of the first period putting the Falcons up by two.
Richell Mehus added another two points to give the Falcons their biggest lead of the quarter - four points. Messiah took the lead with five minutes left in the quarter and maintained it through the quarter.
In the second quarter, the Falcons went on a 13 point run that gave them a nine point lead, the biggest of the day. Messiah chipped away at that lead and got within three, but the Falcons led 32-29 going into the halftime break.
The Falcons again maintained control of the game in the third quarter holding the lead all but two times. Messiah took a one point lead with one minute remaining.
Hannah Pignato tied it up 48-48 with a free throw in the last twenty seconds.
The fourth period was a back and forth battle between both teams. Messiah took the first lead, a small two point lead that the Falcons would quickly take away. Messiah tied it up with a little over three minutes remaining. Their free throw shooting played a critical role in the final victory, as they went 7-of-8 in the final five minutes to solidify the win.
Richell Mehus led the Falcons in points putting up 15 total and rebounds with five total. Defensively she had a game high six steals. Other Falcons getting double digit points were
Brynn Liljander (11) and
Taylor Karge (10).
The Falcons shot 44.8 percent and were 26-58 on field goals. On the line, they were an impressive 83.3 percent going 5-6.
The Falcons now 9-2 on the season will open up WIAC conference play at UW-Oshkosh on January 6
th. Action starts at 7 p.m.
