Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
MARSHALL
It's Miller Time As Women's Basketball Defeats Marshall, 90-73
February 19, 2001 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Francine Miller put on a show at Anderson Arena Saturday afternoon (Feb. 17) as the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team defeated Marshall 90-73. The junior tied the BGSU single-game scoring record with 35 points as the Falcons improved to 10-14 overall and 6-7 in Mid-American Conference play.
Marshall drops to 9-15 on the season, with a 3-10 MAC record.
Miller's game scoring output gave her over 1,000 points for her career. She is just the 16th player in BGSU history, and only the fifth junior, to surpass the millennium mark. Miller now ranks 16th all-time with 1,008 points.
Miller made 14 of her 23 shots from the field and was 5-of-7 from behind the three-point arc.
Miller, who had 18 points at the half, hit a three-pointer with 5:31 left to give her 29 points on the afternoon and 1,002 in her career. With just 47.8 seconds left, she scored on a driving layup to give her 35 points on the day, and drew a foul in the process. Miller missed the free-throw attempt, however, her lone miss in three charity tosses on the day.
"I knew (entering the game) that I needed 27 points for 1,000," said Miller. "Once I got that, I knew that I was getting close (to the single-game record). I missed that dang free throw at the end.
"But, the important thing was that we got the win. What we wanted was to break our losing streak, and get some wins and get to Cleveland."
All 13 MAC teams make the league tournament, with the first round at campus sites on March 3. The quarterfinals and subsequent rounds will be held at Cleveland's Gund Arena.
Miller was one of four double-digit Falcon scorers in the victory, as senior Angie Farmer finished with 20 points and a game-high five assists. True freshman Lindsay Austin added 15 points, while redshirt freshman Pam Brown pitched in 12.
Toni Patillo was the leading scorer for the Thundering Herd with 17 points, while Au'Yana Ferguson had 11.
"Franny was outstanding today," said BGSU coach Dee Knoblauch. "We're a very good team when Franny is on for us.
"She stayed after practice yesterday and shot for probably 20 minutes. I rebounded for her, so I could tell she was ready and would have a good game."
Miller and Farmer combined to help the Falcons go 4-of-4 to start the game. Miller drained two three-pointers, and Farmer hit a triple, one of her four on the day. Senior Afra Smith hit a layup to give BG an 11-6 lead with 16:49 left in the half.
The Falcons built the lead to 10 points on two occasions in the half, the first coming after Marshall had taken a 27-26 lead with 5:57 left. An 11-0 run over the next three minutes erased the MU lead for good. The second instance came on a Miller layup with 18 seconds left before intermission.
The Falcons threatened to run away in the second half, scoring the first nine points to take a 50-31 lead with just 2:44 elapsed. That 19-point margin was BG's biggest of the day. But, Marshall hung around, and cut the lead to just five points on a Ferguson bucket at the 5:49 mark. Miller responded with a triple, and added a two-pointer on BG's next possession to build the lead back to 10, 72-62, with 4:46 left.
"We have not put together two good halves lately," said Knoblauch. "We were up at the half at Western Michigan (and lost), up at the half at Akron (and lost), and I think the players were just sick of it.
"We made a nice run at the beginning of the second half today, and I think those first four minutes set the tone. Plus, it seemed like, every time Marshall made a run at us, Franny had an answer."
The Falcons shot an even 50 percent in each half en route to a 31-for-62 performance on the day. BGSU was 9-of-20 from three-point land.
Marshall went 27-of-74 (.365), and went 6-of-15 from beyond the arc.
Freshman Kelly Kapferer led the Falcons with eight rebounds. MU's Becky Richter also had eight boards as the Herd held a slim 41-40 advantage in that department.
The Falcons hit the road for a pair of games, beginning with a Wednesday (Feb. 21) contest at Eastern Michigan University. Start time is 7:00 p.m. at EMU's Convocation Center.
