LANCASTER, PA -- Five Messiah College players reached double digits as the Falcons outlasted Franklin & Marshall 72-57 in non-conference women's basketball action.
Leading 31-21 at halftime, the Falcons outscored Franklin & Marshall 41-36 in the second half behind Cook who connected on four-of-five from the field and four-of-five at the free-throw line for 12 second half points as Messiah overcame a determined Diplomats' squad which cut the lead to six before the Falcons pulled away.
In the first half, the Diplomats took the early advantage as guard Courtney Tierney (Sr., Princeton, NJ/The Hun School) drained a three-pointer following the opening tip and point guard Dana Johns (So., York, PA/Eastern York) dropped in a basket for a quick 5-0 lead. However, Messiah's Kristin Sassaman and Christy Groves took over the half dropping in nine and six points, respectively, as the Falcons took advantage of 16 first half turnovers by the Diplomats to stake themselves to a 10-point lead at intermission.
Tierney led all scorers with 18 points in the game courtesy a seven-of-20 shooting performance from the field, while Johns chipped in 12 points and a game high five assists to spark the Diplomats' offense.
In addition, preseason All-America center Amy Abernathy (Sr., Far Hills, NJ/American School-Paris) poured in 14 points on seven-of-16 shooting from the field while grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking two Messiah shots as the Diplomats fall to 0-4, 0-1 in Centennial Conference play.
For Messiah, Cook led the way with 15 points and eight boards, while Marita Rydell and Katrina Green dropped in 13 points apiece. Kristin Sassaman added 12 and Christy Groves tallied 10 points as the #12 nationally ranked Falcons improve to 5-0 on the season, 1-0 in Middle Atlantic Conference play.
The key to the game was at the free-throw line as the Falcons converted 21-of-27 opportunities off 23 Diplomats' fouls, while Franklin & Marshall drained nine-of-11 off 12 Messiah fouls.
The loss drops the Diplomats to 14-16 all-time against Messiah as Franklin & Marshall last defeated the Falcons in 2001.
Franklin & Marshall College will return to the court on December 9 versus Gettysburg College. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. in the Mayser Center.
