Team's First Loss Of Year To Top-Ranked Kean No Big Thing
Senior Sal Shani got dinged, but still managed 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Union, NJ — To watch the Messiah women’s basketball team exit Harwood Arena and step on their charter bus late Wednesday evening, one would question whether or not the squad realized the final score from its preceding game with top-ranked Kean University.

True, the Falcons suffered a 50-59 defeat, their first loss of the year. But also true was the visible bounce in both players’ and coaches’ steps afterward.

Was it a rare case of a loss being a good thing?

“Not at all,” said Messiah head coach Mike Miller. “We’re not happy that we got beat, but we’re very happy with the way we competed and battled. It was very exciting to see us play the way we did tonight. We are mentally tough. We battled, we banged. We gave them everything they wanted. Had we shot the ball a little better, we might have won. But we came away excited. We’re excited as both a coaching staff and as a team.”

Messiah’s excitement came after connecting on its lowest field goal percentage of the season (32.2 percent), as Kean (7-0) kept its flawless record in tact. The Falcons did limit the Cougars to just 32.9 percent shooting and a final score 20 points beneath its season average, again proving its defensive capabilities.

“We were hyper-competitive tonight,” Miller said. “I’ve never seen a team so anxious to get off a bus and get in a gym to shoot around. We were a little rushed at times offensively, and we missed several easy looks because of that. Our offense is still a work in progress, especially against really good teams like Kean. But games like this will only help.”

Messiah — ranked seventh in the latest USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll and sixth in the latest D3hoops.com poll — traded defensive blows with the host Cougars for much of the first half, as the Falcons claimed a 25-22 halftime lead behind just nine of 30 shooting from the field (30 percent). Kean shot just eight of 35 (22.9 percent).

The hosts grabbed a 17-10 lead midway through the opening period, but a 15-5 Messiah run to close the half helped comprise the margin at intermission.

The turning point of the game would come at the outset of the second half, as Messiah (5-1) missed 10 of its first 11 shots from the field to go with three turnovers. The end result was a 20-4 run from the Cougars, putting Messiah behind by a 42-29 score with just seven minutes elapsed.

Four of Messiah’s misses during that stretch came from shots inside of three feet, again painting Miller’s tone with positive excitement as opposed to forlorn gloom.

“We missed some shots in the half court that came out of our offense,” he said. “We had some hard cuts, some hard drives where things opened up at the basket and we just missed. Kean is a very athletic and physical team, and they make it tough. I thought we got great looks, but then when you miss it’s coming down your throat in a hurry. They took advantage of those opportunities.”

Miller’s issues were compounded by a gash to the head of senior Sal Shani at around that time, as the forward was forced to the sideline with 13:48 to play. Even without its best low-post scorer in the mix, the Falcons put together a 13-4 run over the game’s ensuing three minutes, pulling within a 42-46 score with 9:07 to play. A three pointer from senior Ashley Brooks started the run, while four straight buckets from sophomore Angie Rapchinski sealed it.

Messiah would stay within striking distance to the very end, getting within three points with just under three minutes to play. A post bucket from Brooks and a jumper from senior Katie Kalb turned a 52-45 Kean advantage into a 52-49 difference at the 2:59 mark, and the Falcons were able to force a Kean miss on the hosts’ next offensive possession.

Sadly, Messiah would commit its 17th turnover of the game on its next trip, helping the Cougars extend its lead by a point after making one of two free throws. Messiah again had its chances to cut into the four-point advantage, but two missed layups and a pair of missed free throws on the team’s next possession kept the scoreboard unchanged. Kean converted a driving layup on its next series, pulling ahead 55-49.

Messiah would get just one more free throw from Shani to complete its scoring. The senior went just 1-5 from the charity stripe — with all attempts coming in the game’s final 1:21.

“We’ve got to just keep plugging away to get this done,” Miller said. “There’s nothing negative about this game for us. Sometimes you’ll say a loss helps a team get focused, but we were already focused. I think this game just helps us realize how good we can become. It really was two great teams going at it tonight. It was a very exciting game that someone unfortunately had to lose.”

Shani led the pace with 11 points and 12 rebounds, all coming in just 26 minutes of work thanks largely to her second-half injury. Kalb finished with nine points, while Rapchinski, junior Julie Henninger and sophomore Michele Schleich each scored eight points. Schleich finished with a career-high 10 rebounds.

Messiah was only out-rebounded by a 48-41 margin overall and just a 19-14 difference on the offensive glass. In the team’s last two meetings with Kean, the Falcons were out-rebounded by a cumulative 69-99 difference.

“We’re excited about what could come of us,” Miller said. “We’ve got another top 20 team on Saturday, and I think we want to play right away. This is a very competitive bunch.”

Messiah will travel to DeSales University Saturday, a team 16th/18th in the aforementioned polls. Game time is set for 1 p.m.