Box Score

ANNVILLE, Pa. - Messiah College won the Commonwealth Conference championship Saturday afternoon, outlasting Lebanon Valley in the final minutes for a 60-55 victory at LVC Gymnasium.

The Falcons (23-4) earned the CC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, while the Dutchmen (23-4) await the NCAA selection show for an at-large bid. The selection show will air via webstream on NCAA.com Monday, March 1 at 12:30 p.m.

Messiah's Julie Henninger was named tournament MVP after posting a team-high 18 points, while Dori Gyori notched a double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds.

LVC's Andrea Hoover recorded a career-high 26 points, along with a team-high five steals, while Suzie Noyes posted eight points, six rebounds and two blocks.

The two teams kept it close in the first half, with Messiah holding a five point lead at the break. LVC opened with two points off an early foul on Hoover before the Falcons came back to open a seven point lead at 10:43. Messiah stretched the lead to eight points with just under three minutes to play before Eryn Schultz answered with a three-pointer.

In the second half, the Falcons hit a game-high 15 point lead with 5:12 remaining after two free-throws from Michele Schleich. LVC gained control after, with Andrea Hoover draining a three and following up with two free throws. A steal by Caitlin Murphy set up another three-pointer from Hoover to cut Messiah's lead to seven.

The two teams traded fouls for the remainder of the contest. A jumper from Hoover put Messiah's advantage to just four points with 14 seconds remaining, but the lead was too much to overcome for the Dutchmen.