GRANTHAM, Pa.—The Hood College women's basketball team was upended 84-46 by Messiah College Wednesday night in the first round of the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
Hood (15-12), the Atlantic Women's Colleges Conference champion, hung with the Falcons (26-2) early on but the ninth-ranked team in the country used their size and speed to their advantage to move on to play the Hunter-Johns Hopkins winner Saturday.
"They are a good, solid program," said Hood coach Rod Liller about Messiah. "It helps us to see them so we know where we want to go. We've come a long way in the last four seasons and we've seen where we need to go."
This was Hood's second consecutive season representing the AWCC in the NCAA Division III Tournament. Last season, Hood became the AWCC's first-ever participant in the National Tournament and was defeated by Christopher Newport College in the first round.
Melissa Kolb entered the game with 397 points this season and scored a team-high 14 points to surpass the 400-point mark for the year. Danielle Allen, the 17th-ranked rebounder in Division III, was the game's only player to manage a double-double as she hauled down a game-high 13 boards and scored 13 points.
Messiah jumped out to a 10-0 lead but the Blazers battled back and cut their deficit in half, 20-10, with 11 minutes, 22 seconds left in the first half. Danielle Allen had four points during that spurt and Mandy Fischer knocked down a 3-pointer.
But the Falcons' Amie Kretzing had other ideas about letting Hood upset them on their own court. She knocked down five 3-pointers in the first half and Messiah took a 47-24 lead into the half.
Messiah used a 19-2 run to open the second half to secure the win. Fischer knocked down two treys in the second half and Kolb led Hood with seven points.
"We now know what it takes to get to this point," said Liller. "We are young team—we have no seniors—and we want to be back here in the Tournament again next year."
Hood, despite being out-sized, outrebounded the Falcons, 39-35, and hit four of seven 3-pointers. Messiah shot 50 percent from 3-point land, 12-24, to set a team record for most 3-pointers made and attempted during a game.
Kretzing led the Falcons with 20 points and Christina Vouriotis chipped in 17 points. Amy Murray, a Thomas Johnson alumna, hit a trey in the second half for her points in the game.
Box Score
Messiah 84, Hood 46
HOOD (46)
Griner 3-12 1-2 8, Kolb 5-18 4-5 14, Manella 0-0 0-0 0, Allen 6-14 1-4 13, Fischer 3-5 0-1 9, Koppenhaver 1-4 0-0 2, Beall 0-1 0-3 0, Harris 0-1 0-0 0, Hickey 0-0 0-3 0. Totals 18-56 6-18 46. MESSIAH (84)
Kretzing 7-14 0-0 20, Sassaman 3-6 0-0 9, Unick 0-2 2-2 2, Marks 3-4 0-2 6, Vouriotis 7-10 2-3 17, Murray 1-2 0-0 3, Cook 2-4 0-0 4, Rydell 2-4 0-0 5, Feeney 0-2 0-0 0, Kieffer 0-3 0-0 0, Giusto 3-4 2-2 8, Groves 4-5 2-2 10. Totals 32-60 8-11 84.
Halftime: Messiah 47, Hood 24.
3-point goals: Hood 4-7 (Fischer 3, Griner 1), Messiah 12-24 (Kretzing 6, Sassaman 3, Vouriotis 1, Murray 1, Rydell 1). Rebounds: Hood 40 (Allen 13), Messiah 36 (Vouriotis 7, Giusto 7), Assists: Hood 11 (Allen 3), Messiah 19 (Marks 4).
