Bowling Green State University
BUFFALO
Falcons Lose Heartbreaker To Buffalo, 77-74
January 27, 2001 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 27, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team played catch-up all day, and finally did indeed catch the University at Buffalo, but the visiting Bulls gutted out a 77-74 overtime victory Saturday afternoon ( Jan. 27). The Mid-American Conference game was held at BGSU's Anderson Arena.
Buffalo's Tiffany Bell had a game-high 36 points as the Bulls improved to 13-5 overall and moved into a tie with the Falcons for second place in the MAC's East Division with a 4-3 league mark. BG is now 8-10 overall.
For the Falcons, junior Francine Miller had 21 points, including a three-pointer that sent the game to overtime, while senior Jackie Adlington and classmate Dana Western joined her in double digits. Adlington had the first double-double of her Falcon career, posting BGSU career-best totals of 14 points and 11 rebounds. Western scored 13 points off the bench.
The Falcons got off to a slow start, missing the first five shots of the game. UB only made one basket during that time, but scored five points on free throws to take a 7-0 lead with less than three minutes elapsed. The Bulls went to the free-throw line 33 times on the day, making 22, while the Falcons were 9-of-10 from the stripe.
BGSU got on the board when freshman Kelly Kapferer converted a three-point play at the 16:38 mark, but the visitors extended the lead to 14 points at 20-6 with 12:51 remaining in the half. At that point in the contest, both Bell (12 points) and teammate Mari McClure (eight) had outscored the Falcon team by themselves.
BG rallied, however, and used a 10-0 run to narrow the margin to 24-20. The Falcons got as close as three points on an Adlington hoop with 1:13 left in the first half. Adlington went 7-of-9 from the field on the day. The visitors scored the final two points of the half to take a 29-24 lead into the lockerroom.
The Falcons rallied in the second stanza, and forged a tie when Western hit a pair of free throws at the 17:02 mark. UB regained the lead, however, on a layup by Jessica Kochendorfer. The Brown and Orange never led in regulation.
UB built the lead back up to nine points, 50-41, watched the hosts go on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to a single point (51-50 with 7:05 left), then extended the margin back out to eight points, 59-51, when the Falcons took a timeout with 3:21 left.
On the ensuing possession, BG freshman Lindsay Austin scored, was fouled, and converted the free throw to get BG within five. After a UB miss, a Western hoop cut the lead to three.
Bell answered with 2:03 left, but Western scored again at the 1:38 mark. The Falcons got the ball back and cut the lead to a single point on an Adlington hoop with 49 seconds left.
Bell, as she had all day, answered with a basket, but Austin scored to make it a 63-62 game with 22 seconds left. BGSU immediately fouled McClure, who would finish with 17 points on the day. She hit a pair of charity tosses.
BG took a timeout and ran a play for Miller. She took a pass from Austin and drained her fifth three-pointer of the day with just eight seconds left. UB had one more chance in regulation, but McClure missed an off-balance three-point attempt as the buzzer sounded.
In overtime, BG sophomore Kim Griech quickly gave the Falcons the lead for the first time all day. She hit a trey with just 15 seconds gone in the OT. Neither team would make a basket for the next 3:12.
UB cut the lead to one point on a pair of free throws before a Bell jumper gave the visitors a 69-68 lead with 1:33 left. Western hit with 1:12 remaining, but McClure answered with just 54 seconds left to give UB a 71-70 margin.
With 34 seconds remaining and the Falcons looking to take the lead, UB's Sonia Ortega stole a BG inbounds pass and fed Virginia Jennings for a hoop. BG could not get any closer than three points thereafter.
The Bulls shot .474 for the game, making 27 shots in 57 attempts from the field. BGSU had a .408 shooting percentage (29-of-71). The Falcons went 7-of-20 (.350) from three-point land, while UB was just 1-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Miller matched Adlington with seven baskets on the day as the Falcons held a 29-27 advantage in that category. Miller's 7-of-12 performance from the floor included a 5-of-7 effort from long range.
UB held a 44-34 rebounding margin, and each team turned the ball over 15 times. In addition to Bell and McClure, Kochendorfer hit double digits for the Bulls, with 13 points. Each of those three players had seven rebounds to tie for team honors.
The Falcons' bench outscored their UB counterparts by a 34-3 margin.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for UB. BGSU will look to stop a three-game losing streak of its own, heading to Western Michigan for a Wednesday (Jan. 31) contest.
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