Box Score St. Petersburg, Fla. - DePauw battled back from a 12-point deficit to take a 1-point lead early in the fourth, but Messiah scored the next 14 and pulled away for a 54-45 win over the Tigers at the St. Pete Classic at Eckerd College. The Tigers, ranked sixth in the latest coaches' poll and ninth by D3hoops.com fell to 9-1 and had their 12-game win streak snapped, while Messiah improved to 8-2.
The Tigers got out to an early 7-4 lead before the Falcons scored the final nine of the opening quarter for a 13-7 lead. In the second, the Tigers were held to just a Grace Kinsey basket and an Ava Hassel free throw over the opening 6:30 as Messiah grabbed its largest lead of the half at 22-10. DePauw trailed, 27-17, at the half as they struggled from the field in shooting just 17.1 percent over the opening 20 minutes.
The Falcons pushed the margin back to 12 at 31-19 with 7:54 remaining in the third before the Tigers started their comeback. Kinsey hit a pair of free throws that started an 11-0 run that brought DePauw to within one at 31-30 with 2:10 left in the third. Messiah stretched the lead back to five, but Campbell Montgomery's bucket near the end of the third made it 37-34.
DePauw's Maeve Summerville opened the final stanza with a basket and, following a defensive stop, the Tigers took the lead on Moira McGinley's score. The teams were scoreless until the 6:19 mark when Messiah's Eleana Eckley broke the drought with a fast-break layup and a free throw to give the Falcons the lead. The Tigers' offense came up empty on five-straight possessions and the Falcons scored another 11 in a row to cap a 14-0 run and take a 51-38 advantage with 3:35 left.
Kinsey and Montgomery scored on back-to-back possessions, but Messiah scored the next three and sealed the win.
Hassel led the Tigers with 13 points, while Montgomery scored 10. Four Tigers grabbed six rebounds each including Summerville, Mongtomery, McGinley and Lydia Stullken.
Leah Springer posted a double-double for the Falcons with 24 points and 16 rebounds, while Eckley added 13 points and Megan Zimmerman grabbed 10 boards.
DePauw shot 25.8 percent from the floor to Messiah's 27.8 percent and the Falcons held a 49-43 rebounding edge. Messiah hit 22 of 27 from the line and the Tigers connected on just 10 of 21.
The Tigers wrap up play in Florida tomorrow with an 11 a.m. contest against Lagrange.
