Grantham, PA — Neumann University was making its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance Friday night in Brubaker Auditorium. The host Falcons made sure it would be a short stay.
Messiah utilized a late first-half run to turn a 22-14 deficit into a 26-24 lead at the intermission, never looking back in the game’s final 20 minutes for an eventual 64-55 win.
The victory advanced Messiah (24-4) into Saturday night’s NCAA Second Round tilt, where the team will meet Mount Union College — 71-48 winners over Washington & Jefferson College in Friday’s other First Round matchup in Brubaker.
“We’ve been playing for a very long time, but we’ve been playing for this time,” said Julie Henninger, Messiah’s lone senior, after the win. “We’ve been here a lot over the last few years, but we haven’t taken it for granted. It’s a blessing to be here.”
Making its 11th straight trip to the ‘Big Dance’ and 12th in program history, Messiah kept its slate perfect in NCAA-opening tilts, advancing to — at minimum — the Second Round for the 12th time in school history.
That feat didn’t look entirely plausible early in Friday’s nightcap, as Neumann (20-7) opened the game with reckless abandon, scoring the first five points en route to opening up a 22-14 lead over the first 15 minutes of play.
Do-it-all senior Brittany Whetts was at the crux of that push, scoring four of her team-leading six first-half points in a four-minute stretch that increased the Knights’ lead from three (15-12) to the aforementioned eight.
Entering the game averaging a team-leading 20.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, Neumann’s all-time leading scorer — male or female — appeared ready to do serious work.
But then it happened.
As freshman Nicky Hess drove from the right wing with 6:56 to play in the opening stanza, Whetts came over from helpside to go up for a block.
She was whistled for her second foul, however, and Neumann head coach Frank Farnese pulled her from the game.
“In all honesty, that was the biggest reason for our run,” said Mike Miller, Messiah head coach. “Seriously, (Whetts) was great tonight. When she went out with fouls, that’s when we made our move.”
While Whetts’ teammate Katie Young would knock down a jumper on Neumann’s following possession to create the 22-14 disparity, the visitors’ imposing force was visibly absent. The Knights finished the final five minutes of the first half going one of three from the field while committing eight turnovers — a trend that Messiah was quick to cash-in on.
A driving layup from freshman Dori Gyori was followed by two free throws from junior Michele Schleich, and suddenly the Neumann lead was cut to four. Another pair of free throws by Gyori made it a one-point difference, and when Hess buried a three-ball in the corner with 2:11 to go in the first period, Messiah had its first lead of the night, 23-22.
A gorgeous Schleich pass found Gyori underneath for another two points with 1:13 remaining, and even another jumper from Neumann’s Young could not stop the bleeding: Henninger ended the half by making one of two free throws, keeping the hosts ahead after an inauspicious start.
“Whett’s picking up her second foul was a momentum swing, no question,” Farnese said. “Our goal was to start the game off without any close fouls, and we did a good job early. But as the game went on, we started to pick up some cheap ones. At the end of the first half, four of our five starters were out (with two fouls each). That’s tough for anyone.”
It didn’t get any easier for Farnese’s group in the second half, as a post bucket from Schleich made it a 35-27 Falcons’ lead just four minutes in. Messiah still held a 38-32 advantage two minutes later, and it seemed only a matter of time before the Falcons would put their opponent away with a classic, Messiah post-season run.
Only NCAA Tournament-newbie Neumann didn’t know any better.
A baseline triple from the Knights’ Jordan Elgart trimmed the Falcons’ lead in half with 12:48 to go, though that bucket was answered by a three from freshman Julia Groves three minutes later.
It wasn’t until Neumann’s Sami Borcky scored a layup at the 9:41 mark that the visitors would make their most serious push, forcing a Messiah turnover on the home team’s next possession.
Whetts then scored an old-fashioned three-point play on Neumann’s next trip, and when Borcky scored off an offensive rebound following another Falcons’ turnover, it was the Knights that led by a 44-43 score.
Cue Nicky Hess.
The rugged first-year point guard knocked in back-to-back three pointers to put Messiah back on top by a 49-44 score, each bucket exponentially raising the volume of the 1,693 in attendance.
Messiah forced a Neumann miss on its next offensive series, and Gyori came up with another brilliant post bucket on the Falcons’ next opportunity, forcing Farnese to call timeout.
Now trailing by a 51-44 score and the near-sellout crowd going wild, it was clear the Knights sensed things slipping away.
“We made some adjustments against their 3-2 zone at halftime, and we kind of went back to what we’ve been doing all year offensively,” Miller said. “I think that kind of settled us a little bit, and got us back to playing freely.”
Over the game’s final eight minutes, it also prevented Messiah from giving up its lead.
Neumann cut the deficit to five points on three different occasions during that stretch, but clutch baskets from Miller’s group kept things from getting any closer. A layup from Hess turned a 53-48 contest into a 55-48 difference with 4:30 to go, while a pair of free throws from Henninger regained a 59-52 advantage with 1:12 to play.
Messiah converted on seven of 11 charity tosses over the game’s final 1:41, icing things in relatively mundane fashion.
Even Miller was seen cracking a smile over the game’s final few minutes — an untraditional sight to those who have followed the program over the years.
“Yeah, I was calm,” Miller joked in the post-game press conference. “Ever since our (Commonwealth Conference Championship win) at Lebanon Valley College, there’s been a sense of freedom and fun on this team, and I think it’s affected the way I’m coaching. I’m able to coach more freely because I know this team isn’t playing just to please me anymore. They’re playing for the enjoyment of playing.”
Gyori certainly seemed to take pleasure being on the floor, as the Biatorbagy, Hungary native equaled her career high in points (18), grabbing 13 rebounds as well. Hess dropped in 17 points to go with seven rebounds and two assists, while Schleich scored 11 points on a three-of-three effort from the field.
Henninger may not have shot well — she only made three of 14 buckets for nine points — but her leadership and defensive presence could not be measured in stats, at least according to Miller.
“Dori was awesome, through the roof, and Julie made us go,” he said. “Let’s face it, this was a big moment for a lot of people on our roster. Julie has led all of our new people by example. It’s almost been, ‘I’m going to honor Julie by trying to play just as hard as she does.’ I can’t tell you how big that has been for us.”
Gyori and Hess — mere high school seniors at this point last year — agreed with Miller’s sentiments.
“From the first practice, Coach said we couldn’t play like freshmen because we didn’t have many upperclassmen,” Gyori said. “And in every practice, Julie helped us get ready for games like this.”
Hess was quick to point out the importance of last weekend’s win at LVC once more.
“We all knew the expectations that comes with playing at Messiah, and I think we wanted to maintain that,” she said. “Lately, though, we’re not thinking about that. We’re just playing loose and having fun.”
Messiah’s “fun” will continue for one more night — at least — as the team gets ready to face an up-tempo and athletic Mount Union side in Second Round play. In similar fashion to Messiah’s Friday night win, the Purple Raiders fell behind early to Washington & Jefferson before a 32-7 run blew the game open.
“Mount Union runs a bunch of people at you, they press you and make you play fast,” Miller said. “It will be a tough match-up for us, system-wise. We’re going to have to take care of the ball, we’re going to have to get back on defense. It’s going to be a great game.”
Messiah will face Mount Union in Brubaker Auditorium Saturday night at 7 p.m. for the right to advance to the ‘Sweet 16.’ Tickets for all NCAA National Tournament games are $6 for adults, $3 for senior citizens, $3 for children ages five through 12 and $3 for students with ID. Children ages four and under are admitted free. Fans unable to attend Saturday’s game at Messiah will have the option of listening to all the action on the radio dial (90.7 FM) or on the world wide web, as WVMM, Messiah College Radio, will cover all tournament games with live, play-by-play action. Live Stats will also be available.