Bowling Green State University
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Huskies' Fast Start Downs BG, 78-58
January 11, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2003
DeKALB, Ill. - Host Northern Illinois University scored 15 of the game's first 18 points and led from start to finish en route to a 78-58 win over the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team Saturday afternoon (Jan. 11). The Mid-American Conference game was held at NIU's brand-new Convocation Center.
With the win, the Huskies improve to 5-8 overall and 1-1 in MAC play, while BG drops to 8-5 and 1-1, respectively.
In the Falcons' first intradivisional game as a member of the MAC's West Division, BGSU made only six first-half field goals, shooting just .188 (6-of-32) in the first 20 minutes. By contrast, the hosts made six first-half shots from three-point land, going 6-of-9 (.667) from behind the arc and .567 overall prior to intermission.
NIU built a 25-point lead before the Falcons scored the last five points to go into halftime with a 40-20 deficit.
In the second half, the Falcons still trailed by 18 points, 47-29, with just under 16 minutes remaining, before scoring the next nine points as part of a 12-2 run. That run, capped by a Marisa Smith three-point field goal, cut the NIU lead to just eight points, at 49-41, with 11:37 remaining.
But, Jennifer Youngblood hit a trey of her own to spark an 8-0 Huskie run, and the lead remained double digits the rest of the way.
The Falcons got a game-high 21 points from senior Kim Griech, who made four of her eight three-point attempts in the game. Senior Francine Miller had 12 points, while Marisa Smith had eight points in just 10 minutes off the bench. Smith was 2-for-2 from three-point land, as the Falcons went 7-for-20 from long range.
BGSU made 10-of-20 field-goal attempts in the second half, to finish at .308 for the day. The Huskies shot .407 after the break and .491 for the game. NIU went 10-of-23 overall (.435) from three-point range.
The Falcons, after missing the first three free-throw attempts of the day, made the final 19 to finish .864 from the stripe. NIU went 12-of-16 from the line.
Lindsay Secrest scored 19 points for the Huskies, while Youngblood had 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. The hosts outrebounded the Falcons by a 44-24 margin in the game. BGSU committed 18 turnovers, but forced the Huskies into 22 miscues.
The road doesn't get any easier for the Brown and Orange, who now prepare for a Wednesday (Jan. 15) trip to face arch-rival Toledo. That contest will begin at 7:00 p.m. at UT's Savage Hall.
