Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Lehigh
Women's Basketball Tops Lehigh, 63-55
December 28, 2001 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 28, 2001
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.bgsufalcons.com) - Junior Kim Griech had 17 points, including a game-high four three-point field goals, as the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team posted a 63-55 victory over Lehigh University. The Friday (Dec. 28) game, the consolation contest of the Gatorade Holiday Classic, was held at the Knight Sports Complex.
With the victory, the Falcons improve to 3-8 on the season. Lehigh drops to 4-7 on the year.
Griech was joined by sophomore Kelly Kapferer on the all-tournament team.
The Falcons, after making just one three-point bucket in 27 attempts in Thursday's (Dec. 27) loss to Yale, made the first two long-range tries of the night en route to eight on the night. In addition to Griech's four, senior Dana Western-Schuka made three triples, while sophomore Stefanie Wenzel had one.
Wenzel and Western-Schuka joined Griech in double digits, with 16 and 10 points, respectively.
Jana Ransom led the Mountain Hawks with 12 points, while Cat Nicholson and Carli Toliver had 11 each.
The Falcons came out of the gate quickly, making the first four shots of the game. Back-to-back triples by Western-Schuka and Wenzel, on BG's first two possessions, gave the team a 6-0 lead after less than a minute.
Lehigh battled back, however, and tied the game at 12-12 with 15:38 left in the half. That marked the first of seven ties in the first half. Neither team led by more than three points until Lehigh scored five consecutive points late in the half to take a 33-28 lead. The Mountain Hawks held a five-point advantage, 35-30, at the intermission.
BGSU scored the first seven points of the second half to regain the lead. Wenzel scored the first two buckets of the frame, and a Griech triple gave BG a 37-35 lead. Lehigh held a 44-40 edge momoents later, however, as the Mountain Hawks held the Falcons without a point for a span of 4:25. Griech broke that streak with yet another triple, bringing BG within 44-43 at the 9:59 mark.
Junior Karen Stocz gave BG a one-point lead with a basket, but Lehigh scored with 8:44 left to take a 46-45 edge. Just 12 seconds later, however, Western-Schuka dialed long distance to give the Brown and Orange the lead for good.
The Falcons held a one-point lead, 51-50, when Kapferer had the first of two three-point opportunities. She scored while being fouled, then sank the ensuing free throw to put BG up by four points with 4:53 left. With 4:12 left in the game, Kapferer again scored while drawing a foul. The free throw was no good, but BG held a 56-50 lead.
Lehigh had one rally left, however. Ransom hit a pair of charity tosses, and Toliver's basket brought LU within 56-54 with 2:56 remaining. But, Western-Schuka slammed the door. She hit BG's final triple of the night just 15 seconds later, giving the Brown and Orange a five-point lead.
The Falcons, who struggled from the charity stripe (11-of-22 for the game), hit four free throws in six attempts over the final minute to salt away the victory.
BG made eight three-point field goals in 25 attempts (.320) on the evening, and the Falcons shot a season-best .415 from the floor, going 22-of-53.
The Falcon defense held Lehigh to a .306 (19-of-62) FG pct., including just a 7-of-32 performance (.219) in the second half. The Mountain Hawks were 7-of-24 (.292) from three-point range, but made just one in 12 tries (.083) after the intermission.
Kapferer had nine points on the night for the Falcons, as the team's five starters combined to score 55 of BG's 63 points. Western-Schuka and sophomore Lindsay Austin tied for the team lead with six rebounds apiece, as Lehigh held a narrow 41-40 edge in that department.
Lehigh's Anne Tierney, who entered the game averaging a team-high 16.4 points, was held to six points on 2-of-11 shooting by the Falcon defense. Tierney did pull down a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Falcons will return home to open the 2002 calendar year, as well as the Mid-American Conference portion of the schedule. BGSU will host Kent State on Wednesday (Jan. 2), with tipoff set for 7:00 p.m. at venerable Anderson Arena.
