Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
AKRON
Falcons Hold Off UA Threat, 65-62
February 22, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2003
AKRON, Ohio - It wasn't easy, but the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team picked up a Mid-American Conference road win Saturday afternoon (Feb. 22). The Falcons held off a late surge by the host University of Akron to post a 65-62 victory at UA's James A. Rhodes Arena.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 11-13 overall and 4-9 in MAC play. UA drops to 2-22 and 1-12, respectively. The win marks the first conference road victory of the season for the Brown and Orange.
Junior Stefanie Wenzel led the Falcons offensively, scoring a game-high 20 points, while senior Kim Griech added 17. Wenzel scored 16 of her points in the first half, while Griech had 14 markers in the second half.
Senior Francine Miller struggled from the field, but still finished in double digits, with 10 points. Miller had a game-high 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season and the 13th of her career.
For the host Zips, Dominique Harris had 16 points, including a 4-for-5 effort from three-point range, while Cassandra Martin added 13.
The Falcons began the game ice-cold, making just two of the team's first 15 shot attempts. Still, nearly six minutes into the game, the Brown and Orange trailed by just a 10-4 score. BGSU's defense stiffened, however, allowing Akron only five points in the final 14:22 of the half. At the other end, the Falcons heated up.
BGSU ended the half on a 27-5 run, with Wenzel scoring 14 of the Falcons' points during that time. Trailing by that 10-4 score, the visitors scored the game's next seven points, with a three-pointer by freshman Marisa Smith giving the team its first lead of the contest. UA countered with a Martin layup just over a minute later, but a Miller jumper began a 17-1 Falcon run. The Falcons scored seven-straight points, beginning with that Miller hoop and culminating with a basket by sophomore Sakima Smith at the 7:02 mark.
Then, neither team scored for nearly three minutes, before Martin split a pair of free throws to cut the BG lead to 18-13. A Wenzel triple just 23 seconds, however, begin an 11-0 BG surge in which the Falcon junior scored 10 points. Harris stopped the bleeding for UA, hitting a shot with 12.6 seconds left in the half, but Wenzel answered with a buzzer-beating basket to give BG a 31-15 lead at the break. In all, Wenzel scored the Falcons' last five field goals before the intermission, and had seven of the team's 12 baskets in the first 20 minutes.
The Zips began the second half by scoring the first two baskets, cutting the Falcon lead to 31-19. After Griech answered with a triple, Martin was fouled and converted both free throws, bringing Akron within 13 points at the 17:32 juncture. But, the Falcons answered with an 8-0 run which appeared to put the game out of reach.
Junior Lindsay Austin took a pass from freshman Jill Lause and hit a left-side triple, then Griech made a running shot in the lane. On the Falcons' next possession, a long pass on the fast break found Austin, who kicked the ball out to Griech for a three-pointer. The Falcons led, 42-21, as Akron called timeout with 15:46 left.
The hosts whittled away at the lead, getting within 12 points before Griech was fouled and awarded three free throws. She made them all, and BG led by a 52-37 count. After UA's Lindsay Hemmelgarn scored, Sakima Smith found senior Karen Stocz inside for a layup, and Austin grabbed a defensive rebound and found Griech ahead of the pack for another layup. The Falcons led by a 56-39 count as Akron called time.
The margin got to 19 points as Wenzel scored off a Stocz feed. Just 5:36 remained, and it appeared the Falcons had the game in hand. But, the Brown and Orange would score just one more field goal the rest of the way.
A Harris three-pointer began a 12-0 Zip run which cut the lead to seven points, 58-51, with 2:06 remaining. Wenzel took an Austin inbounds pass and hit a 10-footer with 1:36 left, but the Zips would not go away.
UA's Jen Arnold hit a three-pointer just as Wenzel was whistled for a foul while trying to get through a UA screen. The Zips' Reagan Johnson had a chance to give her team a five-point trip down the floor, but split her free throws. Still, the Falcons' lead was down to five points with 1:23 left.
Akron got the ball back after BG missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity, and Martin got a rebound layup with 41.1 seconds remaining, cutting the lead to three points. Then, The Falcons missed another free throw, but Miller grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 28.5 seconds left. She hit both tosses to give BG a 62-57 lead.
The Falcons fouled at the other end, however, and Arnold hit both free throws with 22.5 seconds left. The Zips fouled Griech for the home team's 10th foul of the half, and Griech made one-of-two tries with 20.7 seconds remaining. Akron got the ball to Martin, who scored to cut the lead to two points, 63-61, with 8.4 ticks on the clock.
BG inbounded the ball to Miller, who was fouled and made both free throws with 6.7 seconds left. But, the Falcons were called for a foul at the other end of the court with only 1.4 seconds left. Hemmelgarn made the first free throw, cutting the lead to 65-62, and she purposely missed the second shot. But, BG sophomore Tene Lewis grabbed the rebound as the clock ran out.
The Falcons, after that 2-of-15 start to the game, shot an even 40 percent from the field, while UA shot .412 from the floor. BGSU went 7-of-18 from three-point land (.389), while the Zips' 6-of-14 (.429) included a 5-for-7 long-range effort in the second half.
BGSU held a 39-33 advantage in rebounding, marking the first time in MAC play and the fourth time this season that the Falcons have outboarded the opponent.
Miller, despite going just 1-of-11 from the field, had her aforementioned 11 rebounds and added three assists. She made all eight of her free-throw attempts, including four in the game's final half-minute.
Austin had game-high totals of seven assists and three steals for the visitors, and added eight rebounds. A whopping six of those boards came at the offensive end, as BG tied a season high with 17 offensive boards in the game.
The Falcons now return home for a Wednesday (Feb. 26) game vs. Marshall. Tipoff is 7:00 p.m. at Anderson Arena.
