Mustangs fall to conference opponent Falcons on Wednesday, 64-48

Junior guard Emori Jeselskis using her handles against conference opponent Messiah (Emma Trimble)

Stevenson women’s basketball (4-13) (0-7 Mac Commonwealth) fell to the Falcons of Messiah University (15-3) (7-0 Mac Commonwealth) on Wednesday night at Owings Mills Gymnasium 64-48, despite mid-game efforts and tough defense.

Head coach Jackie Boswell spoke with announcer Glenn Clark postgame, mentioning the last couple of practices and how the team has had high spirits.

“Their spirits have been up,” Boswell told Clark. “[The conference] is still not out of reach. We got to start making something happen.”

As soon as the game tipped off, defense was key as the full-court press was the name of the game. By the end of the first quarter, Stevenson was down 15-10.

In the second, Messiah had an early 6-0 run to take a 23-12 lead with 6:53 left to play in the half. Despite some Mustang turnovers, Stevenson’s defense allowed them to pull within 5, trailing 34-26 at the half.

“

[The conference] is still not out of reach. We got to start making something happen.

— Jackie Boswell

With the second half underway, Stevenson cranked up the defense, holding Messiah to only two points in the last 5 minutes of the third.

The Mustangs held Messiah to just 8 total points for the quarter.

Messiah senior guard Reese Harden found a way through the Stevenson defense, contributing 16 of the team’s total points by the end of the third.

Stevenson maintained the full-court press into the fourth quarter and didn’t allow a single basket in the first 2 1/2 minutes. At this point, Messiah’s top seniors Reese Harden and Morgan Adams had put the Falcons on their back. Messiah went on a sudden 6-0 run to take a 53-43 lead with 5:40 remaining. Messiah took advantage of Stevenson’s young team, ultimately sealing the win 64-48.

When talking to head coach Jackie Boswell postgame, she felt that “overall they did a good job as a whole, keeping Messiah to eight points in the third.”

Sophomore guard Erin Dixon during Wednesday’s game (Emma Trimble)

Boswell was very complimentary of Messiah’s senior leadership for putting the Mustangs to the test, applauding them for carrying the team to their 15th victory of the year.

“I gotta give credit to the two seniors that they have,” she said. “They just put them on their backs.”

Moving forward, Stevenson seeks their first conference win over Widener this Saturday. They plan to rethink the offensive portion of their game. Boswell said the team will “reevaluate the film of all things we did well against Widener [last time], and tweak the things that we did not do well.”

“We gotta make sure we increase our shot opportunities… [we] have to find a way to win,” Boswell said.

Stevenson hosts Widener in Owings Mills Gymnasium at 2 p.m. Saturday. Streaming will be available on Gomustangsports.com.