ROCHESTER, NY – The Johns Hopkins women's basketball team turned a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit into a one-point lead with just under two minutes remaining, but misfired on a potential game-winning jumper at the buzzer as the Blue Jays fell to 21
st-ranked Messiah, 48-47, in the opening game of the Chuck Resler Tournament at the University of Rochester Friday afternoon. The Blue Jays slip to 1-1 with the loss, while the Falcons grabbed the win in their season opener.
Johns Hopkins trailed 44-37 with 6:25 to play after
Amber High converted one-of-two free throws for the Falcons, but the Blue Jays responded with an 8-0 run that gave them a 45-44 lead with 1:57 on the clock. A traditional three-point play from
Olivia Parisi, back-to-back baskets from freshman
Macie Feldman and a free throw from
Natalie Mann accounted for the eight points in the spree for the Blue Jays.
Messiah answered with a
Reese Harden jumper and a pair of free throws
Faith Gurla to go up 48-45 with 24 seconds remaining before
Michaela O'Neil hit 2-of-3 form the line seven seconds later to make it a one-point game. Messiah's
Morgan Adams then missed a free throw and Messiah was called for a lane violation on her second attempt with 13 seconds on the clock to give the Blue Jays a chance to win. Working an inbounds play from the baseline, Feldman worked herself free on the wing, but back-rimmed a jumper as time expired.
In a defensive game that featured short scoring runs for both teams, the Falcons led by seven early at 11-4, only to have the Blue Jays respond with a 10-0 run that was jump-started by a
Sophie deBettencourt three-pointer and capped by a triple from O'Neil; the Blue Jays ended the first quarter with
Halie Egan jumper to carry a 16-13 lead into the second quarter.
The Falcons outscored the Blue Jays 13-5 in the second period to build a 26-21 halftime lead and had a seven-point advantage (30-23) midway through the third quarter before an 8-0 run for the Blue Jays that took just 90 seconds gave Hopkins a 31-30 lead. A
Kendall Dunham jumper capped the run for Johns Hopkins, but Messiah closed the period by scoring eight of the final 10 points to go up 38-33 entering the final period.
Messiah had a pair of seven-point leads in the fourth quarter, the last of which came after High's free throw, which set the stage for a frantic final six minutes that saw the Blue Jays fall short at the buzzer.
Inside the Box Score – Johns Hopkins
• O'Neil scored in double figures for the second straight game as she totaled a game-high 12 points while Feldman had the first double-figure game of her young career with 10.
• The Blue Jay bench outscored the Falcon bench 19-7 with Parisi chipping in nine points to lead the way.
• The Johns Hopkins defense held the Falcons to their lowest scoring output since March 8, 2019 when they lost to Tufts, 55-41, in the Sweet 16.
Inside the Box Score – Messiah
•
Chloe Milanesi was the only double-figure scorer for the Falcons as she had 11 points and seven rebounds. Harden added nine points and Adams had eight to help power Messiah.
• The eight-point second quarter scoring advantage (13-5) was just enough for the Falcons to overcome being outscored in the first and fourth quarters by seven (the third quarter was even at 12-12).
• Messiah held the lead for 27:19
Johns Hopkins will return to action on Saturday, November 12 when the Blue Jays play either Rochester or UT Dallas in the consolation game of this weekend's tournament (1 pm).
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