Messiah (7-1) was ranked 9th in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll and carried a lead through much of the first half. A jump shot by Savanah Oeltjen with six minutes left in the first half gave Stout a 19-18 lead, and the Blue Devils (7-3) would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way.
But the Falcons did make it quite interesting. Stout held a 27-25 halftime lead, and built that up to an 11 point lead midway through the second half. Messiah cut the lead to one point, 56-55, with 90 seconds remaining before back-to-back jumpers by Duoss and Dani Boese (Fr, Alma) gave the Blue Devils a five point, 61-55 lead. Stout forced two Messiah turnovers and Lindsey Geissler made good on her two free throw attempts with 24 seconds left to complete the scoring.
There would be no miracle finish for Messiah as they missed three shots in the final 20 seconds, with Duoss blocking two, her only blocked shots on the night.
Duoss was 11-of-15 from the floor and made two free throws. She cleared four offensive rebounds and 12 defensive rebounds. Geissler finished with 10 points and Joanna Bird added nine.
Messiah got 18 points and 11 rebounds from Eli Cook. Sarah Ringer also scored 18 points.
Stout will play host Point Loma Nazarene, Thursday, Dec. 29 in the three day tournament. Point Loma defeated Tufts University, 67-44.
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