Sunday, November 15
Columbus, OH
2:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
72
at
91
Ohio State
Lavender, Ohio State Too Much for Falcons, 91-72
November 15, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Pontius leads BG with 18 points in Preseason WNIT quarterfinal
Led by All-American Jantel Lavender, the third-ranked Ohio State University opened up a large halftime lead en route to a 91-72 victory over the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team Sunday afternoon (Nov. 15). The game, a quarterfinal-round contest in the Preseason WNIT, was held at Value City Arena.
LINKS
OHIO STATE 91, BGSU 72 - HTML | OHIO STATE 91, BGSU 72 - PDF
BGSU's Cumulative Stats - PDF | POSTGAME AUDIO: Miller and Prochaska
With the win, the Buckeyes improve to 2-0 on the young season, and advance to the 16-team tournament's semifinal round. The Falcons, now 1-1 on the year, will play a third game in the tourney, with date, time and opponent to be determined.
Lavender scored 18 of her game-high 23 points in the first half, helping the Buckeyes open up a 55-28 lead at the intermission. The Brown and Orange outscored the home team by a 44-36 margin in the second half, but never could cut OSU's lead below 17 points.
Lavender, who averaged a double-double last season, had a game-high 14 rebounds on Sunday for her second double-double in as many games this year. She paced four double-digit scorers for the Scarlet and Gray, with Tayler Hill adding 19 points, Samantha Prahalis 16 and Sarah Schulze 15.
Junior Tracy Pontius led the Brown and Orange with 18 points, while classmate Lauren Prochaska added 11 points along with a team-leading eight rebounds. Another junior, Jen Uhl, added nine points off the bench.
The Falcons trailed by just seven points after Uhl sandwiched a three-point play around the eight-minute media timeout in the first half. Coming out of that break, her free throw cut OSU's lead to 27-20 with 7:21 on the clock.
But, the Buckeyes then held the Falcons scoreless for the next four-and-a-half minutes, scoring 14 unanswered points in that span. Hill capped that run with a free throw that gave the home team a 41-20 advantage with just under three minutes left in the half.
Ohio State shot 44.9 percent from the field on the day, while the Falcons shot 37.1%. BGSU had just a 30.3% success rate in that opening half, but the visitors went 16 of 37 (43.2%) in the final 20 minutes.
The Buckeyes took a 4-0 lead before senior Tara Breske got the Falcons on the board with a nifty turnaround shot. The BG senior co-captain, however, was whistled for a pair of fouls in the game's first two minutes.
Ohio State burst out to a 9-2 lead, but Pontius fed senior Tamika Nurse for a right-corner three-pointer, then went coast to coast for a layup, cutting the OSU lead to just 9-7.
BG's foul troubles were compounded, however, when junior Maggie Hennegan picked up her second foul of the day at the 16:04 mark. A Prahalis three-pointer and a Schulze jumper gave the hosts a 15-7 lead.
Uhl knocked down a triple with just over five minutes gone, and Pontius split a pair of free throws to cut the Buckeyes' lead to four points, but that was as close as the Falcons would get the rest of the day.
A few moments later, sophomore Jessica Slagle drove the lane and dished the ball to junior Chelsea Albert for an open layup, but the hosts scored the next six points to take a 27-15 lead with 8:26 left before halftime.
Slagle hit a nifty pull-up jumper, and Albert spotted Uhl inside for the aforementioned three-point play. Ohio State's lead was 27-20. But, Hill scored six of her team's points during OSU's 14-0 run that upped the home team's advantage to 21 points.
A Pontius triple finally stopped that run with 2:53 left in the half, but OSU would score the final six points of the period, capped by a Hill triple with just seven seconds left. That shot gave the Bucks a 55-28 lead as the teams headed to the lockerrooms.
Early in the second period, the Falcons went on a 6-0 run. Prochaska, held without a field goal in the first half, scored twice on baseline drives, and Hennegan's driving shot cut the BG deficit to 20 points, 57-37. But, Schulze hit one of several timely three-pointers on the day.
The triple was the first of three by the hosts, as Brittany Johnson and Schulze each connected in the next few minutes to give the Bucks a 29-point lead. The lead got as high as 32 points after Lavender's rebound and putback with 13 minutes remaining.
Nurse hit a three-pointer off a give-and-go with Breske, and Slagle knocked down a long two-pointer, then connected from beyond the arc with 9:24 left. The 8-0 run cut BG's deficit to 24 points, 73-49.
A few minutes later, Prochaska's triple got the Falcons within 22, but Schulze hit a trey of her own. Uhl took a pass from Nurse and hit a three-ball with just under eight minutes left, and OSU's lead was 77-55.
BG got the margin under 20 points on an Albert jumper with 4:06 left, and two Pontius free throws made the score 81-64. The margin fluctuated between 17 and 23 points over the final few minutes, with a late Emilee Harmon shot giving OSU the final 19-point advantage.
On the day, the Falcons went 10-of-21 from three-point land, with Pontius hitting three triples and Nurse and Uhl two apiece. BG forced the Buckeyes into 17 turnovers while committing 16 themselves.
Schulze had three of the Buckeyes' eight triples, with Hill and Prahalis connecting twice from beyond the arc. Ohio State was 21-of-28 from the free-throw line to the Falcons' 10-of-15.
OSU outrebounded the Falcons, 51-35, for the game. Lavender, as mentioned, had a game-high 14 boards, with Schulze pulling down eight. In addition to Prochaska's eight rebounds, the Brown and Orange got seven from Hennegan.
Nurse and Slagle scored seven points apiece in the game, with Hennegan adding six and Albert five.
The Falcons had a 21-16 advantage in points off turnovers, and BGSU got 28 points from players off the bench, compared to 13 for the Buckeyes. OSU, however, held a 32-18 margin in points in the paint.
BGSU's final WNIT opponent will not be determined until Monday night (Nov. 16). Three of the four quarterfinal-round games were held Sunday, with the fourth -- Marist at West Virginia -- scheduled for Monday evening. According to information disseminated by WNIT officials on Sunday evening, the Falcons will play the loser of that Marist/WVU game, with date and site TBA.
A FEW FALCON NOTES
* Sunday's game was the Falcons' first against a top-10 team since March 24, 2007 ... on that date, #9/10 Arizona State posted a 67-49 win to end the most successful season in BGSU -- and MAC history ... ASU's victory came in the third round of the NCAA Championships in Greensboro, N.C.
* BGSU's last win over a top-10 program had come just four days earlier, when the Brown and Orange downed #7/8 Vanderbilt, 59-56, in East Lansing, Mich. (March 20, 2007) ... that was the 31st and final win for the Falcons' 'Sweet Sixteen' team.
* Former BGSU standout Tanzania (Tangy) Williams is in her third year as the director of operations for the OSU women's basketball program ... Williams was a four-year letterwinner for the Falcons from 1991-94, helping BGSU to two MAC titles and two NCAA tournament appearances ... she earned her bachelor's degree from BGSU in 1995.
PRESEASON WNIT RESULTS
Second round games
Sunday, Nov. 15
Ohio State 91, Bowling Green 72
Oklahoma State 70, Georgia Tech 64
New Mexico 80, Florida Gulf Coast 64
Monday, Nov. 16
Marist at West Virginia, 7:00 p.m. ET
Semifinal games
Wednesday, Nov. 18
Oklahoma State at New Mexico, 9:00 p.m. ET
Thursday, Nov. 19
Marist-West Virginia winner at Ohio State, 7:00 p.m. ET
Consolation Round 3 games
Date(s) TBA
Bowling Green vs. Marist-West Virginia loser, site/time TBA
Florida Gulf Coast at Georgia Tech, time TBA
LINKS
OHIO STATE 91, BGSU 72 - HTML | OHIO STATE 91, BGSU 72 - PDF
BGSU's Cumulative Stats - PDF | POSTGAME AUDIO: Miller and Prochaska
With the win, the Buckeyes improve to 2-0 on the young season, and advance to the 16-team tournament's semifinal round. The Falcons, now 1-1 on the year, will play a third game in the tourney, with date, time and opponent to be determined.
Lavender, who averaged a double-double last season, had a game-high 14 rebounds on Sunday for her second double-double in as many games this year. She paced four double-digit scorers for the Scarlet and Gray, with Tayler Hill adding 19 points, Samantha Prahalis 16 and Sarah Schulze 15.
Junior Tracy Pontius led the Brown and Orange with 18 points, while classmate Lauren Prochaska added 11 points along with a team-leading eight rebounds. Another junior, Jen Uhl, added nine points off the bench.
The Falcons trailed by just seven points after Uhl sandwiched a three-point play around the eight-minute media timeout in the first half. Coming out of that break, her free throw cut OSU's lead to 27-20 with 7:21 on the clock.
But, the Buckeyes then held the Falcons scoreless for the next four-and-a-half minutes, scoring 14 unanswered points in that span. Hill capped that run with a free throw that gave the home team a 41-20 advantage with just under three minutes left in the half.
Ohio State shot 44.9 percent from the field on the day, while the Falcons shot 37.1%. BGSU had just a 30.3% success rate in that opening half, but the visitors went 16 of 37 (43.2%) in the final 20 minutes.
The Buckeyes took a 4-0 lead before senior Tara Breske got the Falcons on the board with a nifty turnaround shot. The BG senior co-captain, however, was whistled for a pair of fouls in the game's first two minutes.
Ohio State burst out to a 9-2 lead, but Pontius fed senior Tamika Nurse for a right-corner three-pointer, then went coast to coast for a layup, cutting the OSU lead to just 9-7.
BG's foul troubles were compounded, however, when junior Maggie Hennegan picked up her second foul of the day at the 16:04 mark. A Prahalis three-pointer and a Schulze jumper gave the hosts a 15-7 lead.
Uhl knocked down a triple with just over five minutes gone, and Pontius split a pair of free throws to cut the Buckeyes' lead to four points, but that was as close as the Falcons would get the rest of the day.
A few moments later, sophomore Jessica Slagle drove the lane and dished the ball to junior Chelsea Albert for an open layup, but the hosts scored the next six points to take a 27-15 lead with 8:26 left before halftime.
Slagle hit a nifty pull-up jumper, and Albert spotted Uhl inside for the aforementioned three-point play. Ohio State's lead was 27-20. But, Hill scored six of her team's points during OSU's 14-0 run that upped the home team's advantage to 21 points.
A Pontius triple finally stopped that run with 2:53 left in the half, but OSU would score the final six points of the period, capped by a Hill triple with just seven seconds left. That shot gave the Bucks a 55-28 lead as the teams headed to the lockerrooms.
Early in the second period, the Falcons went on a 6-0 run. Prochaska, held without a field goal in the first half, scored twice on baseline drives, and Hennegan's driving shot cut the BG deficit to 20 points, 57-37. But, Schulze hit one of several timely three-pointers on the day.
The triple was the first of three by the hosts, as Brittany Johnson and Schulze each connected in the next few minutes to give the Bucks a 29-point lead. The lead got as high as 32 points after Lavender's rebound and putback with 13 minutes remaining.
Nurse hit a three-pointer off a give-and-go with Breske, and Slagle knocked down a long two-pointer, then connected from beyond the arc with 9:24 left. The 8-0 run cut BG's deficit to 24 points, 73-49.
A few minutes later, Prochaska's triple got the Falcons within 22, but Schulze hit a trey of her own. Uhl took a pass from Nurse and hit a three-ball with just under eight minutes left, and OSU's lead was 77-55.
BG got the margin under 20 points on an Albert jumper with 4:06 left, and two Pontius free throws made the score 81-64. The margin fluctuated between 17 and 23 points over the final few minutes, with a late Emilee Harmon shot giving OSU the final 19-point advantage.
On the day, the Falcons went 10-of-21 from three-point land, with Pontius hitting three triples and Nurse and Uhl two apiece. BG forced the Buckeyes into 17 turnovers while committing 16 themselves.
Schulze had three of the Buckeyes' eight triples, with Hill and Prahalis connecting twice from beyond the arc. Ohio State was 21-of-28 from the free-throw line to the Falcons' 10-of-15.
OSU outrebounded the Falcons, 51-35, for the game. Lavender, as mentioned, had a game-high 14 boards, with Schulze pulling down eight. In addition to Prochaska's eight rebounds, the Brown and Orange got seven from Hennegan.
Nurse and Slagle scored seven points apiece in the game, with Hennegan adding six and Albert five.
The Falcons had a 21-16 advantage in points off turnovers, and BGSU got 28 points from players off the bench, compared to 13 for the Buckeyes. OSU, however, held a 32-18 margin in points in the paint.
BGSU's final WNIT opponent will not be determined until Monday night (Nov. 16). Three of the four quarterfinal-round games were held Sunday, with the fourth -- Marist at West Virginia -- scheduled for Monday evening. According to information disseminated by WNIT officials on Sunday evening, the Falcons will play the loser of that Marist/WVU game, with date and site TBA.
A FEW FALCON NOTES
* Sunday's game was the Falcons' first against a top-10 team since March 24, 2007 ... on that date, #9/10 Arizona State posted a 67-49 win to end the most successful season in BGSU -- and MAC history ... ASU's victory came in the third round of the NCAA Championships in Greensboro, N.C.
* BGSU's last win over a top-10 program had come just four days earlier, when the Brown and Orange downed #7/8 Vanderbilt, 59-56, in East Lansing, Mich. (March 20, 2007) ... that was the 31st and final win for the Falcons' 'Sweet Sixteen' team.
* Former BGSU standout Tanzania (Tangy) Williams is in her third year as the director of operations for the OSU women's basketball program ... Williams was a four-year letterwinner for the Falcons from 1991-94, helping BGSU to two MAC titles and two NCAA tournament appearances ... she earned her bachelor's degree from BGSU in 1995.
PRESEASON WNIT RESULTS
Second round games
Sunday, Nov. 15
Ohio State 91, Bowling Green 72
Oklahoma State 70, Georgia Tech 64
New Mexico 80, Florida Gulf Coast 64
Monday, Nov. 16
Marist at West Virginia, 7:00 p.m. ET
Semifinal games
Wednesday, Nov. 18
Oklahoma State at New Mexico, 9:00 p.m. ET
Thursday, Nov. 19
Marist-West Virginia winner at Ohio State, 7:00 p.m. ET
Consolation Round 3 games
Date(s) TBA
Bowling Green vs. Marist-West Virginia loser, site/time TBA
Florida Gulf Coast at Georgia Tech, time TBA
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