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Fans Treated To High-Caliber Game As Kean Gets Past Falcons
Sophomore Julie Henninger scored a career-high 13 points and grabbed six rebounds against 11th-ranked Kean.

Grantham, PA — With two of the nation’s top teams battling it out Saturday afternoon in Brubaker Auditorium, it was visiting Kean University that made the majority of plays late, defeating Messiah College by a 69-64 score before a nearly packed house.

Kean — ranked 11th in the latest USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll — used 21 offensive rebounds and a breakneck pace to hand Messiah — ranked eighth in the same poll — just its second loss of the season and first home defeat since an 89-84 loss in the second round of last year’s NCAA Tournament, a loss that came against — ironically — Kean.

Forty fewer cumulative points and 12 more turnovers were the basic differences from that contest to Saturday’s tilt, however, as Messiah led for only 1:06 before surrendering its second straight decision to the Cougars at home.

“They are absolutely a great team,” said Mike Miller, Messiah head coach. “They do a number of great things off the dribble, and have great perimeter shooting and post play. It’s tough to guard them. I was pleased with our effort. You never have to tell this team to play hard. But I think tonight showed us exactly how we need to do things a little bit better in regards to execution.”

The Falcons’ inability to execute off the opening tip helped Kean (15-1, 3-1) to a 17-5 lead just eight minutes into play, as Messiah (13-2, 0-0) missed seven of its first eight shots from the floor while committing five turnovers.

A 30-second timeout from Miller and a spark off the bench from freshman Kourtney Ehly helped turn the tide briefly, as a driving layup and two free throws from Ehly aided Messiah to just a 19-11 deficit with 10:23 to play in the first half.  Kean would respond with a vengeance, however, rebuilding its lead to 15 points — a 27-12 advantage — with six minutes on the clock. The Cougars would take a 36-23 lead into the break, making 16 of 32 first-half attempts (50 percent) compared to Messiah’s seven of 25 effort (28 percent).

“I was pleased with the job we did on the boards, especially in the first half,” Miller said. “To have 16 total (first-half) rebounds to their 22 and six (offensive rebounds) to their eight was pretty good, considering that they had a lot more opportunities (to rebound). But we were a bit too tentative early, and we knew we needed to be a lot more aggressive.”

Thing would get momentarily worse before they got better for Miller’s squad in the second period, as Kean scored five of the half’s first seven points in building its largest lead — a 41-25 difference — with 16:37 to play.

It was at that point that Miller’s team played its best basketball of the afternoon, using the next 10 minutes of the game to slowly whittle away. Sophomore Julie Henninger got things underway with one of her team-leading three offensive rebounds and a layup, while junior Silalei Shani followed with a jumper in the lane. Another bucket from Henniger capped a 10-0 Falcons’ push, and the score was 41-35, Kean, with 13:38 to play.

Traded baskets over the teams’ next four possessions equated to a 45-39 spread three minutes later, while a pair of Messiah offensive boards would get the team even closer. Junior Ashley Brooks made the first of two free throws but missed the second at the game’s 10:40 mark, only for senior Gwen Avery to come up with the board, eventually leading to a layup from Brooks just 13 seconds later.

After a turnover from Kean’s Cardiss Jackson on the Cougars’ next possession, it was Avery again cleaning up a miss, this time giving Messiah another possession which led to senior Nikki Lobach getting to the line and burying two free throws.

Kean’s Chari’ Cooper scored a layup on the Cougars’ next possession to make the score 47-44, but the momentum was in the hosts’ favor. Senior Amy Reed came off a downscreen at the 8:30 mark and buried a three pointer from the top of the key, tying the game for the first time at 47-47.

With the crowd rising to its collective feet, Kean answered. The Cougars’ Alsyha Taylor slipped inside for a layup with 8:22 to play, only for Ehly to draw another tough foul on the way to the hoop en route to tying the game 49-49 with 7:48 remaining.

The Cougars’ Cooper again helped the visitors to a two-point lead via a layup at the 7:29 mark, but Brooks buried a huge three on the Falcons’ next possession, giving Messiah its first lead of the game — 52-51 — with 7:18 to play.

A steal from Ehly led to a fastbreak situation, and Brooks was fouled following a leak out to the opposite end of the floor. She made both, giving Messiah a 54-51 lead with 7:05 remaining.

It would be a lead Messiah would enjoy for just 53 more seconds.

Kean scored a jumper on its next possession to pull within a 54-53 count, while a driving layup from the Cougars’ Ebony Jackson reclaimed a 55-54 Kean advantage with 6:12 to play.

Messiah would stay close down the stretch, but every Falcon push would be greeted with a Cougars’ answer. Henninger scored a nifty one-on-one post bucket to pull her team within a point at the 3:51 mark, and an ensuing defensive stop gave Messiah the ball again.

What happened next could be argued to be the turning point of a championship-caliber game played among championship-caliber teams.

Trailing by a 59-58 count, senior Nikki Lobach drove the ball hard down the right wing, scooping a patented flip-layup that rolled around the rim and somehow rolled out.

Following a defensive rebound by Kean, the Cougars’ Cardiss Jackson buried a three ball in the corner.

It was a five-point swing in the wrong direction for Miller and company.

A missed three from Reed was followed by another layup from Jackson, and with 2:44 Kean led by a 64-58 count. Messiah would pull within three points following a traditional three-point play from Henninger at the 1:42 mark, but five Cougars’ offensive rebounds over the final 1:16 — including three off of missed free throws — would seal the deal for the visitors. Forced to foul to stop the clock, Messiah watched Kean miss five of its final eight free throws, only to give up three offensive boards to Coooper.

As play under the glass became ultra-physical down the stretch, it was the 6-2 Cooper that had the advantage, despite the crowd’s vocal disapproval.

“We are not happy that we lost, but again, this game showed us exactly how we need to play in order to beat really good teams like this,” Miller said. “Kean plays an aggressive, full-court style and they come right at you. We need to match that aggressive play.”

Lobach finished as the high-point scorer for Messiah, charting 15 points on just a three for 11 performance from the field to go with an eight for 10 tally at the free throw line. Henninger added 13 points and six boards, while Ehly scored a career-high 10 on a three for four shooting performance.

Jackson and 2006-2007 Honorable Mention All-American Melissa Beyruti scored 16 apiece for Kean, while Cooper added 14 points and 14 rebounds. She entered the game averaging 15.1 boards per game, the third-highest average in the country.

“Both Kourtney and Julie were outstanding for us today,” Miller said. “Kourtney is built for games like this, and Julie just brings the energy and athleticism you have to have against a team like this.”

Messiah will not have much time to recuperate, as the team opens MAC Commonwealth Conference play Tuesday night when undefeated Lebanon Valley College visits Brubaker. Game time is set for 6 p.m.

“I told all of the media that I could’ve written my post-game speech long before today’s game,” Miller said. “We win, and it’s ‘we can’t get too high.’ We lose, it’s ‘we can’t get too low.’ Either way, we’ve got a very good LVC team coming in here Tuesday. It’s conference play, and we need to be ready.”