Miami Downs Falcon Women, 72-61

Saturday, February 9

Oxford, Ohio

2:00 PM ET

Bowling Green State University

MIAMI (OH)

February 09, 2002 | Women's Basketball

Feb. 9, 2002

Final Stats| Quotes

OXFORD, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, trailing Miami University by as many as 22 points early in the second half, closed to within five points, but could pull no closer. The result was a 72-61 RedHawk win Saturday afternoon (Feb. 9) at MU's Millett Hall.

Miami improves to 13-10 on the season and 7-5 in Mid-American Conference play, while the Falcons fall to 7-16 and 4-8, respectively.

Sophomore Stefanie Wenzel had 18 points to lead all scorers, while sophomore Lindsay Austin had 14 points and led BG in both rebounds and steals, with six of each. Junior Kim Griech had 12 points to round out the Falcon double-digit scorers.

Heather Cusick had 17 points to lead four RedHawks in double figures.

The Falcons battled the RedHawks nearly even for the game's first few minutes, and took an 11-8 lead on a pair of Wenzel free throws at the 15:31 mark. But, the RedHawks then went on a 25-5 run over the next 10 minutes, building a 33-16 lead with 5:48 left in the first half.

BGSU managed to hold the hosts to only six points over the final five minutes of the half, and the Falcons trailed by 15 points, 42-27, at the intermission. That deficit ballooned to 22 points, as a Kim Lancaster layup gave the RedHawks a 53-31 advantage with 15:32 to play.

Miami, which shot a blistering 57 percent from the field while maintaining a 22-9 edge on the boards in the first half, was up by 20 after a Kim Smith basket with 13:19 left. That bucket would prove to be the team's last for quite a while.

MU still led by 18 points, 60-42, after a pair of Melanie Kozlowski free throws at the 11:58 mark. Then, however, neither team would score a point for the next 3:51. That double drought was broken ith 8:07 remaining, as Miami's Beth Roederer was called for a foul, the RedHawks' seventh of the half.

Roederer was whistled for a technical foul at the same juncture, and BGSU made three of the ensuing four free throws, as Wenzel split a pair and junior Megan Jerome made both of her tosses. Jerome, who played point guard for the first time in her collegiate career in one second-half stretch, hit two more free throws less than a minute later.

The Falcons scored a hoop for the first time in over six minutes when Austin hit a jumper at the 5:45 mark. Miami got a point back on a Colleen Day free throw to lead by 14 with 4:57 left, but the Brown and Orange would not go away.

Wenzel came right back with a three-pointer, one of her three on the day. After a Cusick FT, Lewis hit a shot, and an Austin layup at the 3:34 mark closed the gap to 64-56. Then, after a defensive stop, Wenzel hit another trey at the 3:02 mark, and it was a five-point game.

The Falcon defense held the RedHawks without a basket for a whopping 10:36, but the hoop that broke that spell was crucial. Cusick hit a three-point field goal with 2:43 remaining. BG got a good look on the next possession, but the shot would not drop, and Day hit a triple on the RedHawks' next trip down the floor, giving the hosts an 11-point margin with 2:13 remaining.

In addition to Cusick, Kozlowski hit double digits for the RedHawks, with 13 points off the bench. Day and Lancaster each had 11 points and eight rebounds, tying for game honors in the latter category. The RedHawks held a 39-27 rebounding edge on the afternoon.

BGSU received inspired bench play to keep the game from becoming a runaway in the second half. Coach Curt Miller used all 12 players who suited up for the contest, and had at least four reserves on the floor for several minutes early in the second stanza. The backups played the RedHawks to a draw, enabling the BGSU starters to rest up for the comeback bid.

The performances by the Falcon bench players included a season-high four steals in 19 minutes of action from freshman Tene Lewis. Jerome had four points and ran the Falcon offense for that stretch. Rachel Hamilton saw her first action in MAC play this season, and had a rebound in five minutes.

The Falcons now return home for a Thursday (Feb. 14) contest vs. Western Michigan. That game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. at venerable Anderson Arena. BGSU then will make road trips to Marshall (Feb. 16) and Ohio (Feb. 19) before closing the regular season with a Feb. 23 home game vs. Eastern Michigan.