ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - Eastern Women's Basketball played one of its best games of the season on Saturday afternoon, going toe-to-toe with the seven-time defending MAC Commonwealth champion Messiah Falcons and nearly pulling off a shocking upset. However, the upset bid came up just short in a 55-53 defeat. Messiah survived to win its 22nd straight MAC Commonwealth contest, but the Eagles were excellent on both ends of the floor against the league's top team.

Offensively, the Eagles shot 24-of-58 from the floor, including a remarkable 15-of-27 in the opening 10 minutes. Eastern also outrebounded the Falcons, 40-25, 14 on the offensive glass. Coming into the matchup, Messiah was averaging 73.3 points in their last six games, but the Eagles held them to just 55 points and 20-of-50 (40 percent) from the floor. Additionally, the Eagles forced 12 Messiah turnovers and recorded five blocks and eight steals.

Three Eagles finished in double figures. Taryn Woodson recorded her league-leading 10th double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks, while Wynter Bess also scored 11 points. Miranda Liebtag rounded out Eastern's double-digit scorers with 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal. In her second start of the season, junior Trinity Upton made an impact on both ends with a season-high eight points to go along with eight rebounds, three steals, and two blocks.

Liebtag and Woodson got the scoring started for the Eagles, putting the home team ahead 4-0, but five straight points from Messiah's Kiara Bomboy and a jumper from MAC Commonwealth leading scorer Morgan Adams gave the Falcons a 7-4 advantage. Messiah (14-3, 6-0) increased their lead to eight on two Charlotte Milanesi free throws, but a layup from Woodson in the final 15 seconds made it 18-12 Messiah at the first quarter break.

Liebtag scored the first basket of the second quarter, and Upton followed with a jumper on a fast break to cut the Messiah lead to two. Messiah responded with six straight points, but the Eagles pushed right back with back-to-back Bess layups and a Liebtag three to make it a 26-25 Falcons lead. After a Reese Harden basket, Liebtag hit another jumper to make it 28-27, and on the Eagles' next possession, Bess hit a triple to tie the contest at 30-30. Eastern, however, was not able to score the go-ahead basket. The Falcons pulled back ahead by five, and eventually took a four-point lead into halftime.

Milanesi hit a three on the Falcons' s first possession to push Messiah's advantage to seven, and they held a five to seven point lead until later in the period. Eastern then made another run, thanks in large part to their bench. Stephanie White scored a floater to make it 44-39 with 4:03 to play in the quarter, and Tyerra Jarvis followed with a layup of her own to make it a one-possession contest. Ebony Johnson hit a tough layup, and White knocked down her second field with 1:11 in the period to trim the Messiah advantage to 46-45. Adams answered with another field goal to give the Falcons a 48-45 lead heading into the final frame.

Points were hard to come by in the fourth quarter as both teams battled on every single possession. Bess tied the game at 48-48 early in the period, and a layup from Woodson cut the Messiah lead down to one point again at 53-52. However, despite many opportunities over the next four-and-a-half minutes, the Eagles were unable to get a game-winning shot to fall. The Eagles had the ball down two with five seconds left, but could not convert.

"I'm very proud of the effort we put forth today," Eastern Head Coach Sarah Fowler said. "It was a fun and exciting game, and we did a great job defensively and offensively. I liked how we played together as well. Messiah is a great program, and we're excited to see them again for game two."

Eastern (7-9, 3-3) will be back on the road on Wednesday for a MAC Commonwealth showdown at Albright. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm.