Bowling Green State University
Ohio (First Round)
Falcons Drop MAC Tourney Game At Ohio, 74-68
March 02, 2002 | Women's Basketball
March 2, 2002
ATHENS, Ohio - Host Ohio University rallied from a six-point halftime deficit for a 74-68 victory over the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team Saturday afternoon (March 2). The game, a first-round contest in the 2002 Kraft Mid-American Conference Tournament, was held at "The Convo."
With the loss, the ninth-seeded Falcons see the season come to an end with a 9-19 record. Ohio, now 13-15, advances to the quarterfinal round of the MAC Tournament, where the eighth-seeded Bobcats will meet top-seeded Kent State.
The game started slow, as neither team scored until sophomore Kelly Kapferer hit a left-side jumper 2:17 into the contest. That hoop began a 9-1 run for the Falcons, as sophomore Lindsay Austin had a steal and layup, junior Megan Jerome hit a three-point field goal and Austin sank another basket at the 14:24 mark.
Ohio answered with an Andrea Gay triple, but senior Dana Western-Schuka hit a trey of her own on the next possession, and a Kapferer basket at the 13:13 mark gave the Falcons a 10-point lead, their largest of the game.
The hosts battled back, getting as close to a single point at 18-17, but BG reopened an eight-point lead. Again, Ohio fought back, narrowing the lead to 33-31. But, Austin hit a basket in the final minute of the half, and the point guard then found Kapferer for a hoop with just five seconds left, giving BG a 37-31 lead at the break.
Ohio's two seniors, Lori Moorman and Cathy Szall, were playing their final home game, and Moorman began the second half on a tear. Moorman scored the first six points of the second half, lifting the Bobcats into a tie game for the first time all day, 37-37.
The Falcons responded with a 6-0 run of their own, beginning with a Kapferer hoop and followed by baskets by juniors Kim Griech and Karen Stocz. After an OU bucket, Austin hit a triple at the 14:11 mark to give the Brown and Orange a 46-39 advantage. Austin's trey came after an offensive rebound by Jerome, who made a diving grab of the ball, then flipped it to Western-Schuka, who kicked it out to Austin. But, the Bobcats would continue to come back.
A Szall three-pointer began an 8-2 run that brought the hosts within 48-47 at the 11:15 mark. Szall also ended that run, converting a three-point play.
Kapferer scored at the other end, but a Moorman free throw began a 5-0 run that gave the Bobcats the lead for the first time all day. Andrea Johnson's first (and only) basket of the game gave OU a 52-50 lead at the 9:44 mark.
A Griech hoop produced the first of four ties over the next four minutes, as the teams battled back and forth. Moorman scored at the 5:36 mark, and when Beckie Fisher hit a bucket at the 4:05 juncture, the 'Cats led by more than two points for the first time all game, at 62-58.
Ohio got a free throw for a five-point lead, but Austin's steal and layup narrowed the margin to 63-60 at the 2:46 mark. Johnson hit two free throws, but Kapferer scored while drawing a foul, and her free throw cut the lead to two points with 2:22 left. But, BG would draw no closer.
On the next possession, the Bobcats used the bulk of the shot clock, and a shot was off the mark. But, Ohio grabbed the rebound, worked the shot clock again, and got two points on a Candace Bates hoop with 1:21 remaining.
From that point, the Bobcats clinched the game at the free-throw line, going 6-of-9 from the stripe in the game's final 1:01.
The two Bobcat seniors, Moorman and Szall, combined for exactly half of Ohio's points. Moorman had a game-high 22, while Szall added 15. Fischer had 12 points off the bench for the hosts, while Andrea Gay had 10.
Kapferer paced the Falcons in scoring for the second-straight game, with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Austin had 13 points and game-high totals of six assists and three steals, while sophomore Stefanie Wenzel had 12 points, four assists and matched Austin with three steals.
Ohio enjoyed a 16-point advantage at the foul line, as the hosts were 18-of-25 from the charity stripe to BG's 2-of-4.
The Falcons got five points and a team-best 10 rebounds from Western-Schuka, the team's lone senior on the active roster. Western-Schuka, in what proved to be her final game as a Falcon, also had a game-high two blocked shots.
BGSU shot exactly 40 percent from the field, going 30-of-75 on the day. Both the Falcons' totals of field goals made and attempted represented season highs.
Falcon head coach Curt Miller, as mentioned, had just one senior on the active roster. The Brown and Orange will look to add Francine Miller, Giani Bowles and four incoming freshman to the bulk of the roster for the 2002-03 season. Francine Miller, who was named to the Preseason All-MAC Team, played in only four games this year, and has applied for a medical hardship and an additional year of eligibility. Bowles, a transfer from St. John's University, sat out this season and will have one year of eligibility remaining.
