Women's Basketball Suffers Last-Minute Loss to Messiah, 59-55

(box score)

In a contest which included 11 lead changes, Widener lost to Messiah 59-55 in an intense Commonwealth Conference game at Schwartz Center.

The last time these two teams met was in the "Sweet 16" of the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Widener won, 67-52, before falling to Amherst in the "Elite Eight."

Messiah held the lead for most of the first half, but Widener fought back in the second by shooting 58.6 percent from the field. With the clock ticking down, the teams were neck-and-neck on the scoreboard.

Junior guard Kristina Reiter (Sewell, NJ) made a jumper to give Widener a 51-50 lead in the final minute. Reiter finished with six points and six rebounds.

With 30 seconds remaining, Messiah's top scorer Chelsea Danel hit a game-saving 3-pointer to give the Falcons a 53-51 advantage. Messiah then made six straight free throws to secure the win.

Widener (10-6, 5-4 CC) now sits in fifth place in the conference with nine games left. Messiah moves into a tie for third place.

Senior guard Joanna Persiano (Ventnor, NJ) led the Pride in points, rebounds and assists for the first time in her career. She tied her season high with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 3-of-8 from beyond the arc. Persiano also added five assists and tied for the team lead with seven rebounds.

Fellow senior Jen Egee (Ridley Park, PA) scored 11 points and brought down seven rebounds, along with registering one block and one steal over 40 minutes.

Messiah (10-6, 6-3) was led in scoring by Danel with 20 points. Defensively, Gilliam Glackin led the team with seven rebounds, two blocks and three steals to go with scoring 17 points.

Widener will next travel to Albright on Saturday to face the Lions. The women begin at 2:00 pm and the men follow at 4:00 pm.

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