Mechanicsburg, PA. - Eastern Women's Basketball battled valiantly against the top team in the MAC Commonwealth on Saturday afternoon, but ultimately fell to the Messiah Falcons 63-52 at Hitchcock Arena. The Eagles (4-18, 2-12) trailed by 12 points at halftime before roaring back to cut the Falcons' lead to two on two separate occasions in the fourth quarter. However, Messiah (21-2, 14-0) ended the contest on a 15-8 run to secure their 18th consecutive victory.

Sophomore forward Taryn Woodson recorded her seventh double-double of the campaign with a season-high 19 points to go along with 10 rebounds for the Eagles. Additionally, Woodson eclipsed the 500-point mark with her double-digit performance. First-year guard Jeriyah Johnson was second on the Eagles with 13 points, marking the 18th time in Eastern's 22 games that she has scored double-digits. 

The Falcons grabbed a big lead early, scoring the first five points of the game en route to a 16-7 first quarter lead. Eastern failed to score a point in the first six minutes of the second quarter as Messiah increased their advantage to 26-7. However, the Eagles closed the gap, ending the quarter on a 9-2 run with baskets from Johnson, Woodson, and Stephanie White to make it 28-16 at the halftime break. 

The Eagles kept battling in the third quarter, slowly but surely chipping away at the Falcons' advantage. With 3:18 to play in the period, a Johnson made the Messiah lead single digits, and layups from Woodson and Trinity Upton in the final two minutes made it 40-33 heading into the final frame. 

Eastern began the fourth quarter with an 11-6 scoring surge, capping it off on an Upton triple to make it 46-44 with 4:58 to play. After a pair of Messiah free throws, a Wynter Bess layup made it a two-point game at 48-46 once again. However, the Eagles were unable to pull any closer, as the Falcons hit a big triple and multiple free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

The Eagles return to the NEST on Tuesday for their final home game of the season against LVC. The contest is set to tip at 8:00 pm.