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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Youngstown State
Women's Basketball Opens On Winning Note, 95-88
November 18, 2000 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 18, 2000
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team opened the 2000-2001 season on a winning note, posting a 95-88 victory over visiting Youngstown State at Anderson Arena Saturday afternoon (Nov. 18).
Four different Falcons scored in double digits as the Brown and Orange won the home opener for the 12th time in the last 13 years.
Seniors Angie Farmer and Afra Smith had 20 points apiece, while junior Francine Miller added 18. Freshman point guard Lindsay Austin, making her collegiate debut, scored 15 points and added four assists and three steals.
The Falcons came out on fire, as Miller scored the first seven points of the contest. BGSU led from start to finish, but the visitors would make things interesting down the stretch.
The Penguins missed their first eight shots of the game before Brianne Kenneally hit a layup nearly four minutes into the contest.
Kenneally, the Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year in each of the last two seasons, scored a career-high 33 points and added seven assists on the day. She made 10 of her 27 shots from the field.
In the first half, the Falcons and Penguins combined for 33 personal fouls, 29 turnovers and 44 free-throw attempts. The Brown and Orange, however, made 58.3 percent of their shots from the field in the first 20 minutes, while YSU shot .294 from the floor. As a result, the Falcons took a 52-36 lead into the lockerroom. BGSU ended the first half on a 7-0 run, with sophomore Karen Stocz and freshman Stefanie Wenzel scoring all of the points during that stretch. Wenzel hit the first three-point attempt of her career, while Stocz had a pair of free throws and the final basket of the half.
In the second half, the BGSU lead stayed in double digits, and a Farmer basket at the 17:27 mark gave the Falcons the biggest lead of the afternoon at 60-40. But, the game was far from over.
BGSU still led by 18 (82-64) with just under seven minutes left when the Penguins made a run. YSU scored the next 13 points of the contest, with Alyson Vogrin garnering eight points during that time. A few minutes later, the visitors had the lead down to three points, as a pair of Kenneally charity tosses made the score 86-83 with 2:54 remaining.
But, Miller hit a pair of free throws, and, after a YSU miss, Farmer scored to give BG a seven-point margin with 1:36 left. The Penguins would not get any closer than six points the rest of the way.
Miller, after her early scoring surge, had to head to the bench due to foul trouble. She had played just four minutes in the first half, but she sank two more free throws to five BGSU a 92-85 lead with just 53 seconds left. Then, Austin went 3-of-4 from the line in the game's last minute to salt away the victory.
Vogrin had 20 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for the Penguins, while Nikki Pope came off the bench to score 16.
"It was a great win," said Falcon third-year coach Dee Knoblauch. "And, I thought we really battled back from a lot of adversity. We had foul trouble, so we had some weird lineups in the game.
"We didn't let them back in the game, they battled back into the game. That (YSU) is a team that has won 20 games or more for five years in a row. They know how to win, and they are not going to quit.
"We made a lot of mistakes, but, at the same time, YSU really made some huge shots and some big plays to get back into it. But, we hung tough and got the win."
BGSU played without sophomore Kim Griech, who sprained her ankle in practice Friday (Nov. 17), and suffered another loss when senior Jackie Adlington, the team's starting center, was injured in the first half.
"I've got to hand it to my team," said Knoblauch. "They did a great job of hanging in there for the win.
"That was a great team effort in that first half, because, with Franny on the bench, people stepped up and played. Stef Wenzel, I thought, did a great job, and kids like Pam Brown came in and made contributions."
For the game, the Falcons shot .509 from the floor, while holding YSU to a .372 rate. BGSU made 6-of-16 three-point field goals (.375), while the Penguins were 5-of-25 (.200). In the game, the teams combined to shot 77 free throws, as BGSU was 35-of-43 (.814) while YSU went 25-of-34.
Miller and Smith agreed with their head coach, crediting the win to the entire team.
"With a couple of us in foul trouble, I think the younger kids felt pressure to do well," said Miller. "And, they all did a very nice job.
"This year, it feels like even if you stop Angie or Afra or myself, there are still so many people that can pick up where we left off."
Smith added, "We always start the game by saying that every player is important, and if your name is called, you have to be ready. I think they came in with that mindset, that you need to be ready to go."
The Penguins went 22-9 last year, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last five seasons.
"I take my hat off to coach Dee," said YSU head coach Ed DiGregorio. "She had her team ready to play. They came out, they hustled, they worked, and our kids weren't ready to play.
"Down the stretch, Miller just sort of took over. When the game got close, Miller did her thing, got fouled, went to the foul line and made her shots. Those are the kind of kids you want. I have one in (Kenneally), and they have one in Miller.
"Miller got in foul trouble and played sparingly in the first half today, but she's a good player. She's as good as anybody, in the Mid-Am or any place.
"You've got to play the game with a passion, and they (BGSU) played with a passion today. Dee did an excellent job with her kids today. She will be a good coach in that league. She has a competitive team on the floor all the time."
The only blemish on BGSU's home-opening record was a loss to nationally-ranked Notre Dame, an eventual national semifinalist, in 1996.
The Falcons now open the road portion of the schedule, heading to Eastern Kentucky for a Tuesday (Nov. 21) game. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
The next home game for the Brown and Orange is Dec. 2 against Detroit. That game will begin at 1:00 p.m. at Anderson.
