Bowling Green State University
Kent State
Women's Basketball Falls At Kent, 106-84
January 18, 2000 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2000
KENT, Ohio - The final score makes it appear that the game was a blowout. In fact, it was anything but.
Despite a school record-tying 35 points from Bowling Green sophomore Francine Miller, host Kent pulled away late for a 106-84 win Monday at KSU's M.A.C. Center.
The Golden Flashes, who got 33 points from senior Dawn Zerman, improved to 12-4 overall and 6-0 in Mid-American Conference play. The win, however, was anything but easy for the hosts.
KSU scored the first five points of the game, and the Flashes broke out to a 17-6 lead five minutes into the first half. The Falcons (4-12, 2-4) would not go away, however. BG closed within five points on several occasions, and the Falcons got within four points before a late Kent run built the lead to 10 points at the half.
The Flashes scored the first two points of the second half before the Falcons began to rally. BG score the next eight points, highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers from Miller and Sherry Kahle, to cut the KSU lead to 54-50. The Brown and Orange, the nation's leaders in three-pointers made, had success from behind the arc all night, tying the school record with 14 successful treys. BG's 36 attempts from long range set a new school standard.
The Falcons kept chipping away, with a Jaymee Wappes "three" and an Afra Smith free throw cutting the margin to two points, 58-56, with 13:54 remaining. But, BG would get no closer.
Kent, leading by just five points with 6:54 left, began to pull away. A three-pointer by Alana Bader was followed by a Julie Studer layup. Miller made a layup to cut the lead to eight and briefly stop the bleeding, but the Falcons, hampered by foul trouble, could not stop KSU from pulling away.
A Liz Beggs layup was followed by back-to-back baskets from Bader, and the Flashes led by 14, 91-79. In the final three minutes, Kent went to the free-throw line 11 times, sinking every toss. The Flashes and Falcons each missed seven free throws in the game, but KSU went to the line a whopping 45 times to the Falcons' 17.
In addition to Miller's record-tying total, the Falcons got 13 points from Wappes and 12 from Kahle. Miller made six three-pointers, while Kahle sank four and Wappes three. Five Golden Flashes were in double figures, led by Zerman. Kent extended its homecourt winning streak to 26 games, the second-longest current streak in the nation.
After falling to the MAC's East Division leader, the Falcons return home to face the only other undefeated MAC team. BGSU welcomes West Division-leading Western Michigan to town Thursday, Jan. 20, for a 7:00 p.m. start.
NOTES
QUOTING HEAD COACH DEE KNOBLAUCH
"We play a zone defense. If we catch a team that's not having their best shooting night, and we get hot from three-point land, you never know what could happen.""We missed some free throws that could have kept it close, and they made their free throws, and all of a sudden they were up."
"It's not often, though, that you can get Kent to take their press off."
QUOTING FRANCINE MILLER
"This would have been a big game to win, but we have to be happy with the way we played and the effort we gave."
QUOTING KENT COACH BOB LINDSAY
"You saw a game that was won with offense, because it wasn't won with defense. But, I don't want to take anything away from Bowling Green. They executed well and are a good team.""We took off the press because we weren't getting anything out of it. We didn't do a good job against them with the press."
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