Bowling Green State University
OHIO
Falcons Win Thriller On The Road, 57-56
February 19, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 19, 2002
ATHENS, Ohio - Sophomore Stefanie Wenzel's free throws with 23.2 seconds left proved to be the tying and go-ahead points as the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team posted a 57-56 road win vs. Ohio University Tuesday night (Feb. 19). The Mid-American Conference game was held at the Convocation Center.
With the victory, the Falcons improve to 8-18 overall and 5-10 in MAC action. Ohio is now 12-13 and 7-7, respectively.
The Falcons got double-digit performances from three sophomores, as point guard Lindsay Austin led the way with 14 points. Austin also had a team-high seven rebounds, matching her career best.
Wenzel had 12 points, while Kelly Kapferer had 10 points in the contest. Ohio's Lori Moorman led all scorers with 15 points before fouling out in the final minute, while both Cathy Szall and Erin Isbell had 13 points.
The Falcons started quickly, racing to an 8-2 lead before Bobcat coach Lynn Bria took a timeout at the 17:17 mark. Senior Dana Western-Schuka scored just 15 seconds into the contest, and Kapferer also hit a basket in the game's first minute to aid the quick start. After a Candace Bates hoop for the host Bobcats, Kapferer and Austin scored to move the lead to six.
After the TO, junior Kim Griech utilized a mismatch, driving past her defender for a hoop to make the lead 10-2. Ohio scored the next five points, but Austin then scored twice in an 11-second span, the second basket coming after a Griech steal.
Austin continued her solid play in the early going, extending high to grab a missed BG shot and laying it off the glass and through the hoop in one motion to give the Falcons a 16-8 lead.
The Falcons had two post players in foul trouble, though, as Kapferer and Western-Schuka each had two fouls by the 12:21 mark. Another post player, redshirt sophomore Pam Brown, did not make the trip due to a knee injury.
The hosts used a 6-0 run to pull within 19-17, but Western-Schuka drove the lane and dished the ball to Griech, who hit a left-side three-pointer and drew a foul. She sank the free throw, with the four-point play giving the visitors a six-point edge at the 6:04 mark.
Again, the Bobcats battled back, scoring the next six points, tying the contest on an Isbell hoop at the 4:52 mark. But, Wenzel broke that deadlock, the first of the game, with a trey after a kick-out by junior Rachal Hamilton. The lead fluctuated between one and three points, with the Falcons hosting a 28-27 lead at the intermission.
The 'Cats came out fast in the second half, aided by three BG turnovers on the Falcons' first three possessions of the stanza. Ohio opened the half on an 8-2 run, taking their first lead of the night on an Andrea Gay layup with 18:34 remaining.
The Bobcats led by as many as five points on three occasions, the last being at 39-34, but a three-pointer by junior Karen Stocz tied the contest at 39-all with 12:08 remaining. The trey was the second of the year for Stocz, and the second of her career.
After a Moorman basket, Wenzel converted a three-point play to regain the lead for the Falcons. But, Moorman scored while drawing a foul at the other end. She missed the free throw, but the Bobcats led by a point with 9:41 remaining. The lead went back and forth, with five more lead changes over the next four minutes, before Western-Schuka's triple gave BG a two-point lead with 5:31 left.
Isbell tied the contest, but Austin untied it once again. Then, Western-Schuka took a charge, drawing Moorman's fourth foul with 4:55 left. After Isbell's basket, the Falcons surrendered only one more hoop over the game's final 5:12.
Unfortunately for the Brown and Orange, though, the Bobcats held them scoreless for a span of 3:56. OU's Andrea Johnson split a pair of charity tosses at the 2:52 mark, and a Moorman basket 15 seconds later gave the hosts a one-point lead, 54-53. Then, the Falcons missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity with 2:11 remaining, Johnson sank both ends of her one-and-one chance with 1:56 left, and the hosts led by three.
Ohio got the ball back after a BG miss, but the Bobcats threw it away with 1:14 left. Then, Austin drew a foul and hit both ends of her one-and-one opportunity with 1:06 remaining, and the BG deficit was a single point.
The Bobcats drew a foul, and Moorman went to the line with 24.2 seconds left. But, the Bobcat senior missed the front end, then was called for a foul against Wenzel on the rebound. The BG sophomore went to the other end of the floor and hit the tying and go-ahead free throws with 23.2 seconds remaining.
The Bobcats played for the last shot, but the Falcon defense knocked the ball loose with less than 10 seconds on the clock. Austin dove on the floor and grabbed the ball in a crowd, but was tied up for a jump ball with 4.6 ticks left, and the possession arrow favored Ohio.
The hosts got the inbounds pass to Szall, who was immediately surrounded by three Falcon defenders. As she tried to dribble behind her back, Austin knocked the ball loose and corralled it as the buzzer sounded.
The Falcons shot .440 for the game, making 22-of-50 shots from the floor. BGSU made 11-of-22 attempts (.500) in the second half. The Bobcats shot .382 on the night.
BGSU went 4-of-11 (.364) from three-point range, while the hosts were just 4-of-23 (.174). The Falcons made 9-of-13 free-throw attempts, and the Bobcats were 10-of-16 (.625).
Ohio outrebounded the Brown and Orange by a 36-32 margin, with Isbell grabbing a game-high 16. Moorman's eight boards included seven at the offensive end, and she had a game-best five assists.
The Falcons return home to close the regular season with a Saturday (Feb. 23) game vs. Eastern Michigan University. That game, the first of a basketball doubleheader at venerable Anderson Arena, is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. The contest will also be "Senior Day" for the Falcons.
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