Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
MARSHALL
Herd Shuts Down Falcons, 69-50
February 26, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 26, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Marshall University used timely shooting and a sizable rebounding advantage to post a 69-50 win over the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team Wednesday night (Feb. 26). The Mid-American Conference game was held at BGSU's Anderson Arena.
The Thundering Herd improved to 10-15 overall and 6-8 in MAC play, while the Falcons drop to 11-14 and 4-10, respectively.
The visitors had four players score in double digits, and held a 48-32 rebounding margin in the contest. Marshall held the Falcons to a .350 field-goal percentage, and BGSU made just 3-of-16 shots from three-point range (.188).
Each team started slowly from the field, as the score was just 6-2, Marshall, at the first media timeout. A three-pointer by junior Stefanie Wenzel brought the Falcons within a point at the 14:55 mark, and classmate Lindsay Austin followed with a layup 35 seconds later to give BG the lead, 7-6.
Marshall's Nadia Swanigan scored at the other end of the court, giving the visitors the lead with 13:14 left in the first half. The lead would change hands eight times in the first stanza.
Senior Francine Miller gave the Falcons a 17-16 lead with a layup at the 7:26 mark of the opening half, but a pair of Amy Reed free throws gave the Herd the lead for good with 6:28 remaining before the intermission. Those free throws began an 11-2 run, capped by a Swanigan layup that gave MU a 27-19 edge with 2:50 remaining. The lead got as high as 11 points after a Catie Knable three-pointer (the Herd's only successful trey of the night) and Swanigan's free throw with just 19 seconds left in the half, before Miller took a pass from senior Karen Stocz and converted a layup just before the horn.
In the second half, senior Kim Griech, who had missed most of the first half due to foul trouble, hit a trey to cut the MU advantage to six points, 33-27. But, the Falcons would get no closer.
An Ida Dotson layup was followed by a Sikeetha Shepard-Hall basket, giving the visitors a double-digit lead. BGSU would cut the MU advantage to single digits only once in the final 17-plus minutes of the game, when freshman Jill Lause scored off a Megan Jerome assist with 11:24 left. At that point, the Falcons trailed by a 45-37 count, and BG held the Herd on the next possession. But, the hosts could not score at the other end, and Shepard-Hall made another hoop to restore the double-digit edge with 10:21 remaining.
The lead grew as large as 20 points in the final two minutes. Marshall had four players score in double digits, led by Reed with 16 points. Reed had a double-double, tying teammate Swanigan for game honors with 10 rebounds.
Amy Smith had 14 points off the bench for the visitors, while Shepard-Hall added 13 points and Dotson 10.
For the Brown and Orange, Miller led the Falcons with 16 points in a season-high 37 minutes. Lause had a double-digit effort, with 10 points in just 13 minutes off the bench. Lause made 5-of-6 field-goal attempts in the game.
Wenzel had nine points and a BG-best nine rebounds in the game, and also led the Falcons with four assists. But, the Thundering Herd held Wenzel scoreless in the second half. Austin had seven points and seven rebounds in the game, playing a game-high 39 minutes.
Marshall shot .444 from the field in the game, including a 15-of-31 (.484) second-half effort. The Herd made efficient use of the shot clock, scoring with the clock winding down on several occasions in the second half.
Next up, the Falcons will take to the road, meeting Kent State University in a Saturday afternoon (March 1) matchup. That contest will begin at 2:00 p.m. The Brown and Orange will close the regular season with a Tuesday (March 4) game vs. Eastern Michigan University. That game, scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. at Anderson Arena, marks "Senior Night," with the Falcon seniors recognized in pregame festivities.
