Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Youngstown State
Women's Basketball Wins Opener, 71-61
November 17, 2001 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2001
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Senior Francine Miller scored 26 points to help give head coach Curt Miller his first victory as the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team topped Youngstown State University, 71-61, Saturday night (Nov. 17). The non-conference game, the season opener for both teams, was held at YSU's Beeghly Center.
The Falcons led nearly the entire game, trailing on only one occasion. BGSU scored the first six points of the game, and the Falcons held YSU without a basket until Heather Harris scored with nearly seven minutes elapsed. That bucket, however, tied the game at 6-6, and the Penguins went ahead one minute later on a shot by Jen Perugini.
BGSU countered with a Miller three-point shot just 14 seconds later, though, and the Brown and Orange never trailed again.
The Falcons steadily increased the lead over the next few minutes, and a nifty reverse layup by Lindsay Austin gave the Falcons a 21-12 edge with 5:17 left in the half. After a YSU basket, junior Kim Griech made a pair of free throws, and a Miller trey gave the Falcons a 26-14 edge. BG built the lead to as many as 14 points (31-19) before settling for an 11-point halftime lead, 32-21.
The Falcons turned the ball over just three times in the first half, and forced 14 YSU turnovers.
In the second half, a YSU run cut the Falcon lead to 42-37, and the Penguins got as close as four points, when two Monica Viceral free throws made the score 47-43. After the teams traded baskets, though, a Miller three-point play at the 8:55 mark sparked an 11-0 Falcon run that upped the lead to 15 points, the widest margin of the game.
Youngstown cut the lead back to five points, but a Miller trey -- her fifth of the night -- with exactly a minute left sealed the Falcon victory.
Miller's 26 points led all scorers on the night. She went 5-of-9 from three-point range. Griech was the only other Falcon in double digits in scoring, with 11 points.
For the Penguins, Harris had 16 points, while Perugini had 11 to go with a game-high 15 rebounds. Jenny Horner had 11 boards as the hosts held a 53-41 edge in that department.
Redshirt sophomore Pam Brown led the Falcons with 11 rebounds, while senior Dana Western-Schuka had seven boards and three steals. Austin had a game-high five assists, and Griech added three.
Brown scored eight points, while both Austin and sophomore Stefanie Wenzel had six.
YSU committed 17 turnovers to the Falcons' 10 on the night. The Falcons, who held just one opponent to less than 35 percent shooting during all of last year, limited YSU to a .323 success rate. BGSU shot .364 from the floor.
The Falcons will play at Detroit Tuesday (Nov. 20), continuing a stretch which sees the team play six games in 13 days. BGSU plays the first four of those contests on the road, as the Falcons follow the UDM contest with a pair of games at Colorado's Coors Classic next weekend (Nov. 23-24). The home opener is set for Nov. 27 vs. Eastern Kentucky.
