Golden Bears Fall to No. 18 Messiah at Land of Magic Classic

Freshman Emily Scurka matches season high with 12 points

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (December 28, 2017) – The Western New England University women's basketball team dropped its opening game at the Land of Magic Classic to No. 18 ranked Messiah (Pa.) College, 70-40, on Thursday evening at the Ocean Center. 

Top Performers
• Freshman forward Emily Scurka (Billerica, Mass.) matched her season high with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 from the free throw line to go with two rebounds and one steal.
• Sophomore guard Emily Farrell (New Fairfield, Conn.) finished with seven points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal in 20 minutes off the bench.

• Messiah was led by junior forward Alecia Rohrer (Manheim, Pa.), who posted a double-double with 15 points, ten rebounds and four steals.
• Senior guard Kaitlyn Hoff (Indiana, Pa.) added 13 points, six assists and four boards for the Falcons.  

Game Review
• After a jumper by sophomore forward Courtney Carlson (Woodbury, Conn.) 27 seconds into the contest tied the score at 2-2, Messiah put together a 15-0 run to open up a 17-2 lead. Scurka knocked down a jumper to snap Western New England's drought at the 2:40 mark, but the Golden Bears faced a 21-8 deficit at the end of the first quarter.
• Western New England pulled to within 11 (23-12) on a layup by freshman guard Lauren Chadwick (Gardiner, Maine) 3:15 into the second quarter. The Falcons closed out the half with a 16-6 run, however, and led 39-18 at the break.
• Messiah extended its advantage to 28 (51-23) midway through the third quarter and held a 26-point cushion heading into the fourth.
• Scurka scored eight of her team-high 12 points in the final quarter, with baskets on four straight Western New England possessions early in the period.  

Notes
• Junior Meghan Gilhool (Montrose, Pa.) and sophomore Meghan Orbann (East Hampton, Conn.) led the Golden Bears with six rebounds each.
• Messiah scored 26 points off turnovers and totaled 21 second-chance points with the help of 23 offensive rebounds.

Up Next
Western New England (6-3) will be back in action on Friday night, as the Golden Bears take on Framingham State at 7 p.m. Messiah (10-1) faces Wellesley at 1 p.m.