Bowling Green State University
EASTERN MICHIGAN
Falcons Lead From Wire To Wire In 78-62 Win
February 23, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2002
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team played arguably its most complete game of the season Saturday (Feb. 23), and the result was a 78-62 win over Eastern Michigan University. The Mid-American Conference game, the final regular-season contest for the Falcons, was held at BGSU's venerable Anderson Arena.
With the victory, the Falcons improve to 9-18 overall and 6-10 in the MAC, while the Eagles drop to 16-10 and 9-6, respectively.
For the Brown and Orange, sophomore Kelly Kapferer had a career-high 21 points, going 9-of-14 from the field to pace four Falcons in double digits in scoring. Kapferer, who entered the game with seven three-point field goals made on the season, had a career-high three triples in five attempts.
Junior Kim Griech had 17 points in the game, just two shy of her career high. Sophomore Stefanie Wenzel and senior Dana Western-Schuka each had double-doubles in the victory. Wenzel had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Western-Schuka, the Falcons' lone active senior, scored 10 points and added a career-high 13 boards on "Senior Day."
Abby Wiseman was the lone EMU player in double digits, scoring 21 points in the contest.
The Falcons, playing without injured sophomore center Pam Brown, never trailed in the game. In fact, the home team scored the game's first 16 points, with Kapferer and Wenzel combining for all but two. Kapferer had nine points on perfect 4-of-4 shooting in the game's first seven minutes, while Wenzel had seven markers during that span.
EMU missed its first 10 shots from the floor before Wiseman converted at the 12:40 mark.
Griech came right back down the floor and hit a jumper to regain the 16-point lead, but the Eagles then rattled off the game's next 11 points, with Kandy Lindsay and Dionna Houston scoring four apiece. Houston's last points during that span, a layup on the fastbreak, cut the BG lead to 18-13 at the 9:26 mark.
After BGSU coach Curt Miller used a 30-second timeout, Western-Schuka hit a three-pointer, and Griech followed with a layup to restore a double-digit lead.
The Eagles cut the Falcon advantage to seven points, 25-18, after Wiseman converted a three-point play. But, a Kapferer basket sparked a 6-0 BG run that culminated with a Western-Schuka triple. When the senior's shot went through the net, the Falcons had a 13-point lead, 31-18, at the 4:41 mark. The Eagles never got within single digits again.
Moments later, a Griech "three" began a 7-0 run, and the home team had an 18-point lead (40-22). The Falcons still led by 18 at the half, 42-24.
In that first half, the Falcons shot a season-best .630 from the field, making 17 shots in 27 attempts. In 52 previous halves this season, BGSU had a field-goal percentage of .500 or better only three times. The Falcons shot .500 from three-point land in the first 20 minutes, going 5-of-10. Kapferer made her first five shot attempts of the game as the Falcons were 8-of-11 to start the contest.
The Falcons entered Saturday's action having led at the half in all seven previous home MAC contests. BGSU had experienced some second-half difficulties in January and the first part of February, however, having gone 3-4 in those games. Against the Eagles, though, the Falcons kept the success going in the second stanza.
After Wiseman opened the second-half scoring to cut the lead to 42-26, the home team went on a 15-3 run over the next 5:14. A Kapferer three-pointer gave BGSU a 20-point lead, and sophomore Lindsay Austin followed with a steal and layup. That 15-3 run opened the BG margin to 28 points (57-29).
Eastern would rally, however, cutting the Falcon lead to 18 by the 7:51 mark. The visitors were as close as 12 points, at 72-60, after Stephanie Smiley scored with 2:04 remaining. But, BGSU went 4-of-5 from the free-throw line over the final 1:38.
For the game, the Falcons shot a season-best .547 (29-of-53) from the floor, including a 9-of-19 effort (.474) from three-point land. Eastern shot .339 from the field and went 4-of-25 (.160) from long distance.
The Falcons held a 39-33 rebounding edge in the game, outboarding the Eagles by three in each half. Smiley led the Eagles in both rebounding and assists, with nine and six, respectively. Three Falcons -- Wenzel, Western-Schuka and Austin -- had four assists apiece.
The result marked a 52-point reversal from last year's meeting. Last year, the Eagles drubbed the Falcons by an 86-50 count in the lone matchup, in Ypsilanti (Feb. 21, 2001).
BGSU is now idle until next Saturday, March 2. On that date, the team will take to the road to face Ohio University in the first round of the MAC Tournament, with starting time to be determined. The Falcon men also play at Ohio on March 2, ending the regular season with a 3:00 p.m. contest at the Convocation Center in Athens.
While BGSU is idle Tuesday (Feb. 26), the other 12 league teams will finish the regular season, with the six games includig Ohio playing at Kent State.
As mentioned, the Falcons will finish as the ninth seed for the 13-team tournament, with Ohio assured of being the eighth seed. Last year, the Brown and Orange also finished the regular season as the ninth seed, and posted a 78-75 victory at eighth-seeded Western Michigan in the league tourney opener.
