Friday, November 26
Seattle, Wash.
6:00 PM PT
Bowling Green State University
56
vs
47
Arkansas-Little Rock
Tracy Pontius scored 18 points, including a huge three-pointer with a minute left, vs UALR
Falcons Rally for 56-47 Win over UALR
November 26, 2010 | Women's Basketball
BGSU advances to championship game of Seattle Univ. Tourney
Lauren Prochaska broke her own free-throw record, and Tracy Pontius hit a dagger of a three-pointer in the final minute, as the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team rallied for a 56-47 win over the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Friday night (Nov. 26). The game was held at the Connolly Center on the Seattle University campus.
FINAL STATS - HTML | BOXSCORE - PDF
POSTGAME AUDIO: Curt Miller & Tracy Pontius
Scroll down to the bottom of the page for video of the Miller/Pontius postgame interview
With the win, the Falcons improve to 5-1 on the season, and BGSU has won five games in a row. BG also advances to the championship game of the Seattle University Thanksgiving Tournament, and will play the host Redhawks on Saturday night (Nov. 27) at approximately 8:00 p.m. locally (11:00 p.m. Eastern). Seattle was a 66-56 winner over Montana State in Friday's second game.
The Trojans drop to 2-2 on the young season. UALR, like BGSU, went 27-7 and advanced to the NCAA Championships a year ago.
Prochaska, despite struggling from the field, still found a way to post a double-double, with 23 points and 10 rebounds. She was a perfect 15-for-15 from the free-throw line, breaking her own single-game school record.
Pontius, who played all 40 minutes, had 18 points on the night, including three three-pointers. Her final triple of the game gave the Brown and Orange an eight-point lead, 54-46, with exactly one minute left in the game.
UALR's Chastity Reed, who like Prochaska was on numerous preseason watch lists, had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Prochaska and the BGSU defense harassed Reed into just a 7-for-23 shooting night.
Sophomore Chrissy Steffen had nine points for the Falcons, and also came up with a game- and career-high total five steals in the win. Another soph, Allison Papenfuss, had two points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Brown and Orange. Papenfuss matched her BGSU career rebounding best, and both Steffen (33) and Papenfuss (24) tied their career highs for minutes played.
For the most part, the game had an intensity suggesting a mid-March, not late-November, matchup. Such was not the case at the start, however, as the Falcons fell behind, 9-0, in the first two-and-a-half minutes. Steffen finally got BG on the board with a driving layup, but Asriel Rolfe answered for the Trojans.
BG's deficit was 10 points, at 12-2, before Steffen got free and hit a three-pointer off of a Pontius pass with 12:45 left in the opening half. Reed hit a pair of free throws, but Prochaska got herself to the line for the first of many times on the evening, and made both of her tries to make the score 14-7.
Shots by Reed and Marian Kursh gave UALR an 11-point lead, the largest of the game for either team, with 9:24 left before halftime. But, junior Jessica Slagle got a layup to drop, and Prochaska took a pass from Pontius and drained a three-point try in transition, and the Trojans' lead was down to six.
Kursh answered with a layup, giving UALR a 20-12 advantage with 7:30 left in the period. But, Falcon senior Chelsea Albert grabbed an offensive rebound, was fouled and split a pair of tosses, beginning an 8-0 run by the Falcons.
Pontius got a defensive rebound and took a hard shot from a UALR player as both players made a diving effort for the ball in front of the Falcon bench. Pontius responded after that hit by making a runner at the other end.
Several minutes later, Pontius stole the ball from Kursh and hit a three-pointer, cutting the lead to two points. Then, she picked the pocket of Janette Merriex and made an 'and-one' layup at the final media timeout of the half. Her free throw did not drop, but the game was tied.
Both Rolfe and Merriex picked up their third fouls of the game before the half, putting the Trojans -- obviously -- into some foul trouble.
A Reed jumper with 89 seconds left in the half gave UALR a 26-22 lead, but free throws from Prochaska (two) and Slagle (one) cut the margin to a single point at the break.
Reed opened the second-half scoring with a jumper, but Prochaska drew Rolfe's fourth foul of the day and hit a pair of tosses with 18:33 still left in the game. Then, Merriex was whistled for her fourth foul with 17:50 on the clock.
After that foul, the Falcons took the lead for the first time all night when Prochaska spotted Pontius cutting toward the hoop. Prochaska, on the left win, lobbed a pass toward her teammate, and Pontius caught the ball in the air and shot, all in one motion, for an 'alley-oop' layup and a 29-28 BG lead with 17:43 left.
Pontius returned the favor just over a minute later, coming up with a steal and feeding Prochaska for a fast-break three-pointer from the left elbow. BG's lead was four points.
Taylor Ford quickly answered with a triple of her own, but Steffen hit a pull-up jumper from the right side to give BG a 34-31 advantage.
With 13:17 on the clock, Reed fouled Prochaska in the act of shooting a three-pointer, and the Falcon senior made all three of her shots for a 37-33 lead.
Kursh made a jumper to cut the lead in half, and a layup by Fohne tied the score with 11:16 left.
After a Pontius free throw, a nice jumper from Reed gave UALR a 39-38 lead midway through the half.
Steffen stole a pass near midcourt and raced in ahead of three opposing players for a layup with 9:33 left. Merriex countered with a jumper, and Reed split two foul shots, but Pontius drove the lane and drew Ford's fourth foul. The senior point guard made two free throws to tie the score at 42-42
Another Reed jumper gave the Trojans the lead with 6:06 left, but it would be UALR's last lead of the night. The Falcons outscored their opponents, 14-3, over the remainder of the game.
That run began when Prochaska rebounded her own miss and was fouled by Reed. Prochaska hit both tosses to knot the score with 5:46 left.
Steffen came up with a steal on the ensuing possession. Pontius missed a layup try, but got the rebound, dribbled back outside the arc and nailed a trey from the right elbow. With 5:05 remaining, the Falcons had the lead for good, 47-44.
The Trojans missed a three-point try, with Papenfuss coming up with the rebound. On BG's next possession, a Pontius inbounds pass found Papenfuss for a layup and a five-point lead.
The Falcons' defense got stops on each of the next three possessions, but BG turned the ball back over after the first stop and missed shots after each of the next two. With 2:33 remaining, Rolfe's driving layup cut the BGSU lead to three points.
This time, however, the Falcons responded, as Prochaska made a driving layup with 2:07 on the clock. Pontius got her fingertips on an inbounds pass by Shanika Butler, giving the Falcons the ball back. BG missed a three-point try, but Pontius got the offensive rebound, giving her team a fresh 30 seconds on the shot clock.
BG used nearly all of that possession, before Pontius hit a back-breaking trey with 60 seconds left in the game. The Falcons' lead was eight, 54-46, and the win was all but sealed.
Butler got to the line, splitting a pair of tries with 49.7 seconds left. But, Prochaska was fouled in the backcourt with 40.7 seconds on the clock, and made both of her free-throw tries to close the scoring. Rolfe missed a three-point try with half a minute left, and the Falcons ran out the clock.
The Falcons got the win despite shooting just 28.8 percent from the field. UALR had a field-goal percentage of 38.5% on the night, BG forced the Trojans into 21 turnovers, and the Falcons had a 27-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
In addition to her 18-point night, Pontius had six rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Prochaska now has 1,821 points in her BGSU career, and is just four points shy of tying Ali Mann (2003-07) for second place in school history. Jackie Motycka (1985-89) holds the BG record with 2,122 career points.
Prochaska, as mentioned, broke her own single-game record for free-throw percentage. The 'old' mark was 13-for-13, set last season against Miami (Jan. 19, 2010).
Overall, Prochaska has made 39 consecutive free-throw attempts, tying her for the 13th-longest streak in NCAA history. The current streak is the third time she has made over 30 consecutive free throws in her BGSU career. She holds that school record with 45 consecutive tosses, set during her sophomore season of 2008-09. The Division-I list is below (source: NCAA.com) ...
MOST CONSECUTIVE FREE THROWS MADE
FTM Player, Team Years
66 Ginny Doyle, Richmond (1991-92)
60 Adrienne Squire, Penn State (2004-06)
53 Katie Miller, UNI (1999-00)
49 Lisa Rathburn, BYU (1990-91)
46 Brooke Lassiter, Louisiana Tech (2000-01)
45 Amy Slowikowski, Kent St. (1988-89)
45 Wendy Scholtens, Vanderbilt (1988-89)
45 Lauren Prochaska, Bowling Green (2009-10)
44 Kate Fagan, Colorado (2002-03)
43 Ashley Langford, Tulane (2007-08)
40 Jennifer Howard, North Carolina St. (1993-94)
40 Andrea Riley, Oklahoma St. (2006-07)
39 Lauren Prochaska, Bowling Green (2010-11) - current
39 Kirsten Smith, Arizona (1985-86)
39 Jennifer Howard, North Carolina St. (1993-94)
39 Sara Ellis, Lehigh (2005-06)
38 Christi Osborne, Virginia Tech (1993-94)
37 Lindsay Bowen, Michigan St. (2002-03)
36 Cristy Earnhardt, North Carolina St. (1975-76)
36 Shanna Zolman, Tennessee (2003-04)
35 Ellen Shields, St. Joseph's (1988-89)
35 Angie Sorieya, Dartmouth (2003-04)
33 Kourtney Mennen, Indiana St. (1999-00)
33 Lindsey Meder, Iowa (2000-01)
33 Ashley Sweat, Kansas St. (2008-09)
33 Lauren Prochaska, Bowling Green (2009-10)
FINAL STATS - HTML | BOXSCORE - PDF
POSTGAME AUDIO: Curt Miller & Tracy Pontius
Scroll down to the bottom of the page for video of the Miller/Pontius postgame interview
With the win, the Falcons improve to 5-1 on the season, and BGSU has won five games in a row. BG also advances to the championship game of the Seattle University Thanksgiving Tournament, and will play the host Redhawks on Saturday night (Nov. 27) at approximately 8:00 p.m. locally (11:00 p.m. Eastern). Seattle was a 66-56 winner over Montana State in Friday's second game.
The Trojans drop to 2-2 on the young season. UALR, like BGSU, went 27-7 and advanced to the NCAA Championships a year ago.
Prochaska, despite struggling from the field, still found a way to post a double-double, with 23 points and 10 rebounds. She was a perfect 15-for-15 from the free-throw line, breaking her own single-game school record.
Pontius, who played all 40 minutes, had 18 points on the night, including three three-pointers. Her final triple of the game gave the Brown and Orange an eight-point lead, 54-46, with exactly one minute left in the game.
UALR's Chastity Reed, who like Prochaska was on numerous preseason watch lists, had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Prochaska and the BGSU defense harassed Reed into just a 7-for-23 shooting night.
Sophomore Chrissy Steffen had nine points for the Falcons, and also came up with a game- and career-high total five steals in the win. Another soph, Allison Papenfuss, had two points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Brown and Orange. Papenfuss matched her BGSU career rebounding best, and both Steffen (33) and Papenfuss (24) tied their career highs for minutes played.
For the most part, the game had an intensity suggesting a mid-March, not late-November, matchup. Such was not the case at the start, however, as the Falcons fell behind, 9-0, in the first two-and-a-half minutes. Steffen finally got BG on the board with a driving layup, but Asriel Rolfe answered for the Trojans.
BG's deficit was 10 points, at 12-2, before Steffen got free and hit a three-pointer off of a Pontius pass with 12:45 left in the opening half. Reed hit a pair of free throws, but Prochaska got herself to the line for the first of many times on the evening, and made both of her tries to make the score 14-7.
Shots by Reed and Marian Kursh gave UALR an 11-point lead, the largest of the game for either team, with 9:24 left before halftime. But, junior Jessica Slagle got a layup to drop, and Prochaska took a pass from Pontius and drained a three-point try in transition, and the Trojans' lead was down to six.
Kursh answered with a layup, giving UALR a 20-12 advantage with 7:30 left in the period. But, Falcon senior Chelsea Albert grabbed an offensive rebound, was fouled and split a pair of tosses, beginning an 8-0 run by the Falcons.
Pontius got a defensive rebound and took a hard shot from a UALR player as both players made a diving effort for the ball in front of the Falcon bench. Pontius responded after that hit by making a runner at the other end.
Several minutes later, Pontius stole the ball from Kursh and hit a three-pointer, cutting the lead to two points. Then, she picked the pocket of Janette Merriex and made an 'and-one' layup at the final media timeout of the half. Her free throw did not drop, but the game was tied.
Both Rolfe and Merriex picked up their third fouls of the game before the half, putting the Trojans -- obviously -- into some foul trouble.
A Reed jumper with 89 seconds left in the half gave UALR a 26-22 lead, but free throws from Prochaska (two) and Slagle (one) cut the margin to a single point at the break.
Reed opened the second-half scoring with a jumper, but Prochaska drew Rolfe's fourth foul of the day and hit a pair of tosses with 18:33 still left in the game. Then, Merriex was whistled for her fourth foul with 17:50 on the clock.
After that foul, the Falcons took the lead for the first time all night when Prochaska spotted Pontius cutting toward the hoop. Prochaska, on the left win, lobbed a pass toward her teammate, and Pontius caught the ball in the air and shot, all in one motion, for an 'alley-oop' layup and a 29-28 BG lead with 17:43 left.
Pontius returned the favor just over a minute later, coming up with a steal and feeding Prochaska for a fast-break three-pointer from the left elbow. BG's lead was four points.
Taylor Ford quickly answered with a triple of her own, but Steffen hit a pull-up jumper from the right side to give BG a 34-31 advantage.
With 13:17 on the clock, Reed fouled Prochaska in the act of shooting a three-pointer, and the Falcon senior made all three of her shots for a 37-33 lead.
Kursh made a jumper to cut the lead in half, and a layup by Fohne tied the score with 11:16 left.
After a Pontius free throw, a nice jumper from Reed gave UALR a 39-38 lead midway through the half.
Steffen stole a pass near midcourt and raced in ahead of three opposing players for a layup with 9:33 left. Merriex countered with a jumper, and Reed split two foul shots, but Pontius drove the lane and drew Ford's fourth foul. The senior point guard made two free throws to tie the score at 42-42
Another Reed jumper gave the Trojans the lead with 6:06 left, but it would be UALR's last lead of the night. The Falcons outscored their opponents, 14-3, over the remainder of the game.
That run began when Prochaska rebounded her own miss and was fouled by Reed. Prochaska hit both tosses to knot the score with 5:46 left.
Steffen came up with a steal on the ensuing possession. Pontius missed a layup try, but got the rebound, dribbled back outside the arc and nailed a trey from the right elbow. With 5:05 remaining, the Falcons had the lead for good, 47-44.
The Trojans missed a three-point try, with Papenfuss coming up with the rebound. On BG's next possession, a Pontius inbounds pass found Papenfuss for a layup and a five-point lead.
The Falcons' defense got stops on each of the next three possessions, but BG turned the ball back over after the first stop and missed shots after each of the next two. With 2:33 remaining, Rolfe's driving layup cut the BGSU lead to three points.
This time, however, the Falcons responded, as Prochaska made a driving layup with 2:07 on the clock. Pontius got her fingertips on an inbounds pass by Shanika Butler, giving the Falcons the ball back. BG missed a three-point try, but Pontius got the offensive rebound, giving her team a fresh 30 seconds on the shot clock.
BG used nearly all of that possession, before Pontius hit a back-breaking trey with 60 seconds left in the game. The Falcons' lead was eight, 54-46, and the win was all but sealed.
Butler got to the line, splitting a pair of tries with 49.7 seconds left. But, Prochaska was fouled in the backcourt with 40.7 seconds on the clock, and made both of her free-throw tries to close the scoring. Rolfe missed a three-point try with half a minute left, and the Falcons ran out the clock.
The Falcons got the win despite shooting just 28.8 percent from the field. UALR had a field-goal percentage of 38.5% on the night, BG forced the Trojans into 21 turnovers, and the Falcons had a 27-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
In addition to her 18-point night, Pontius had six rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Prochaska now has 1,821 points in her BGSU career, and is just four points shy of tying Ali Mann (2003-07) for second place in school history. Jackie Motycka (1985-89) holds the BG record with 2,122 career points.
Prochaska, as mentioned, broke her own single-game record for free-throw percentage. The 'old' mark was 13-for-13, set last season against Miami (Jan. 19, 2010).
Overall, Prochaska has made 39 consecutive free-throw attempts, tying her for the 13th-longest streak in NCAA history. The current streak is the third time she has made over 30 consecutive free throws in her BGSU career. She holds that school record with 45 consecutive tosses, set during her sophomore season of 2008-09. The Division-I list is below (source: NCAA.com) ...
MOST CONSECUTIVE FREE THROWS MADE
FTM Player, Team Years
66 Ginny Doyle, Richmond (1991-92)
60 Adrienne Squire, Penn State (2004-06)
53 Katie Miller, UNI (1999-00)
49 Lisa Rathburn, BYU (1990-91)
46 Brooke Lassiter, Louisiana Tech (2000-01)
45 Amy Slowikowski, Kent St. (1988-89)
45 Wendy Scholtens, Vanderbilt (1988-89)
45 Lauren Prochaska, Bowling Green (2009-10)
44 Kate Fagan, Colorado (2002-03)
43 Ashley Langford, Tulane (2007-08)
40 Jennifer Howard, North Carolina St. (1993-94)
40 Andrea Riley, Oklahoma St. (2006-07)
39 Lauren Prochaska, Bowling Green (2010-11) - current
39 Kirsten Smith, Arizona (1985-86)
39 Jennifer Howard, North Carolina St. (1993-94)
39 Sara Ellis, Lehigh (2005-06)
38 Christi Osborne, Virginia Tech (1993-94)
37 Lindsay Bowen, Michigan St. (2002-03)
36 Cristy Earnhardt, North Carolina St. (1975-76)
36 Shanna Zolman, Tennessee (2003-04)
35 Ellen Shields, St. Joseph's (1988-89)
35 Angie Sorieya, Dartmouth (2003-04)
33 Kourtney Mennen, Indiana St. (1999-00)
33 Lindsey Meder, Iowa (2000-01)
33 Ashley Sweat, Kansas St. (2008-09)
33 Lauren Prochaska, Bowling Green (2009-10)
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