Bowling Green State University
Tennessee-Martin
BGSU Grounds Skyhawks
December 30, 2007 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2007
AMES, Iowa - The Bowling Green State University Falcons (10-3) used multiple scoring runs to down the Skyhawks of the University of Tennessee-Martin (3-10), 78-36, on the final day of the Iowa State Cyclone Shootout. The 42-point win is the second largest BG non-conference romping in the past six-plus seasons.
With the `W', the countdown thru Curt Miller's historic career with the Orange and Brown has reached a single game in order for the head coach to tie Jaci Clark's 135 overall win record. Miller, who has posted a 92-18 record since the start of the 2004-05 season, has a 134-63 overall record in his six-plus seasons as the head coach of the Falcons.
Lauren Prochaska (15), Kate Achter (14) and Sarah Clapper (10) paced the Falcons' scoring effort. Clapper's 10 points was a career-high; she is the sixth veteran to re-write her career-high point total in 2007. Nine other Falcons scored five or more points.
Prochaska and Achter were also named to the all-tournament team as the Falcons took the runner-up trophy back to Bowling Green, Ohio. Iowa State won the tournament posting a perfect 3-0 record while Hampton (2-1) and UTM followed suit with the third place and participant recognition.
In what looked to be a shootout at the aptly named Cyclone Shootout, UT-Martin took advantage of the BGSU opening turnover and scored first with Marie Goyette's baseline jumper. The 2-0 lead would be the only one of its kind for the Skyhawks. Goyette was the all-tournament selection for the Skyhawks.
The Falcons responded with an awkward Prochaska make, and much like BGSU, UT-Martin would score on three of their first four times down the court.
Off a BG inbounds, caused by an Adam's foul, Achter not only sunk her drive but also made her 12th consecutive free throw dating back to the Falcons' win at the University of Delaware (Dec. 21). She was a perfect 11-11 while in the state of Iowa. The senior's ensuing steal (16:43) and smooth lay-in (16:39) led to the Falcons first and final lead of the night.
By the 14:59 mark, 25 points had been scored with BG leading, 15-10.
With the five-point deficit in toe, the Skyhawks fell victim to a first-half cold spell which would last more than nine-minutes (9:23). In that time the Falcon's would go on an 11-0 tear and were up 21-12 once UTM finally converted their next field goal at 6:01.
At times it seemed as though everything was falling for the Falcons. With nearly seven minutes played, BGSU was 9-11 from the floor and was shooting above 80-percent. At the same time, the Skyhawks seemed to be knocking on the door of a big afternoon going 5-7, yet they were having problems with the Falcons' defense who had forced seven turnovers. By game's end, the Skyhawks would turn the ball over 13 additional times.
By 4:12 BGSU had a commanding 31-14 lead over the Skyhawks thanks to a pair of BG free throws by Prochaska. UTM was also now suffering from their second scoring drought, this time they had fallen victim to a problematic stage lasting the final 4:21 of the first-half. Near the same time, every BGSU player on the bench had reported in to the game.
At the half, BGSU was leading the Skyhawks, 40-14. At that time, five of the seven Falcons who recorded points were shooting 1.000 from the floor. As a unit, BGSU was 16-28 (.571) in the first 20-minutes. They would end the game at 30-54 (.556).
More impressively, today was the ninth time in 45 games in which the Falcons did not allow more than 20-points in the first half; not surprisingly, they are 9-0 under such circumstances.
UT-Martin's 14 points was a first-half season-low for the team. The last program to hold the Skyhawks to the same point total was the University of Tennessee. The two squads, each with ties to Tennessee head coach Pat Summit, met in Knoxville, Tenn. last season.
In the second half, the Falcon starters saw between five and nine minutes of action leaving the reserves to take care of business. The remaining seven players accounted for 29 points - the second best outing for the non-starters since scoring 43 against Florida Gulf Coast University in late November.
UT-Martin began the second-half once again struggling from the field with two turnovers and a missed jumper.
Breske's made free throws at 17:10 began yet another Falcon windfall of points. BGSU went on an 8-2 run over the next minute and was up 50-19 with sixteen full minutes remaining in the game.
As the clock ticked toward 00:00, Clapper, Whitney Taylor and Tracy Pontius combined for 20 points while Uhl led the posts with four boards and a block. Clapper, the leading scorer from the bench, was 4-of-6 in the second-half and was 2-of-3 from three-point land.
The BGSU reserves also kept the pressure on the Skyhawks creating nine turnovers and four steals in the second-half. Much like the first-half, Bowling Green kept UT-Martin off the scoreboard for 4:35 between 7:43 and 3:08. Additionally, the Orange and Brown allowed just four Skyhawk points in the final eight minutes of the game.
BGSU will close their non-conference season at home on Saturday, January 5, 2008 as Chicago State invades Anderson Arena. The New Year tip-off is set for 12:30 p.m. giving Falcon enthusiasts the chance to spend the day on the campus of Bowling Green State University hitting a trifecta of contests. After the women's squad takes on CSU, the men will open the conference season hosting Ohio at 4:00 p.m. Live action will then make its way to the BGSU Ice Arena where the #19 Falcons will host #1 Miami (OH). The first puck will drop at 7:35 p.m.
Most recently CSU beat Harvard, 60-57, on the second day (Dec. 30) of the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center Holiday Invitation hosted by the ACC squad in Atlanta, Ga.
Falcon Notes
*BGSU went 4-1 in tournament play this season finishing in the top two of each the Cornell and Iowa State tournaments. Guards Kate Achter and Lauren Prochaska were named to the all-tournament teams of each in-season tournament also.
*In their last two games, BG has out scored their opponents, 157-106. They are also 56-105 and are shooting 53.3-percent from the field. BGSU is also shooting 41-percent from behind the arc with Lauren Prochaska and Lindsey Goldsberry accounting for ten of the Falcons made three's.
*UTM did not shot a single free throw in the game, more over the finale foul count was BGSU-9, UTM-11.
* BGSU held UT-Martin without a score for 9:13 (15:24-6:11) earning the longest defensive stop of the season. The first-half drought marked the second longest cumulative span for a team to be held without a field goal. At Cornell, the Falcons held the Brown Bears without a FG for 14:05, but the hosts gained eight points from the free throw line.
* Eleven of twelve Falcons contributed points in the win. Freshman Kelly Zuerceher scored her first collegiate points in the first-half of the victory. Of the Falcons' active travel roster, every player saw at least 10-minutes of game action.
* The Falcons' 78 points are the most the Skyhawks have given up in 2007. Also, their 36 are the lowest points they have scored this season. Last night, Iowa State held the squad to 39 points.
* BGSU is 4-0 versus the state of Tennessee dating back to their second round win in the NCAA tournament over Vanderbilt last season (59-56, Mar. 20, 2007). BGSU has now beat three programs from the Volunteer State in 2007-08. Last season's Vanderbilt squad is the only Tennessee team to come within single-digits of the Falcons. The Falcons have beat Tennessee located programs by an average of 17 points.
* With more than 10-minutes remaining in the game, the UT-Martin radio broadcasters began discussing the timeout music that was played over the PA system. At the 12:00 media time out, Iowa State entertained the crowd with the Eagles classic, Hotel California.
##BGSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL##
