Bowling Green State University Athletics
Tuesday, December 1
Bowling Green, OH
7:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
77
vs
72
Saint Francis (Pa.)
Lauren Prochaska had a double-double in the Falcons' win over Saint Francis (Pa.)
Falcons Outlast Saint Francis, 77-72
December 01, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Prochaska has double-double as BGSU runs win streak to three games
Junior Lauren Prochaska's double-double helped lift the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team to a 77-72 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) University Tuesday night (Dec. 1). The non-conference game was held at venerable Anderson Arena.
BGSU 77, SAINT FRANCIS 72 - Final Stats
BGSU 77, SAINT FRANCIS 72 - PDF Boxscore
BGSU CUMULATIVE STATS - PDF
With the win, the Falcons improve to 4-2 on the season. BGSU has won three consecutive games after a 1-2 start. The Red Flash drop to 0-5 on the year.
Prochaska, the reigning Mid-American Conference Player of the Year, had 27 points and 10 rebounds on the night. Junior Tracy Pontius added 17 points, while senior Tamika Nurse added 12, helping the Falcons overcome a season-high 26 turnovers.
The Falcons also offset that high turnover total with an impressive rebounding performance. BGSU held a 48-30 advantage on the glass, including a 25-8 margin in the opening half. Junior Jen Uhl led the way with 14 rebounds, tying her career high.
In addition to Prochaska's 10 boards, the Falcons got an eight-rebound performance from junior Maggie Hennegan.
BG got to the line nearly twice as often as SFU. The Falcons made 27 free throws in 36 attempts, while the Red Flash went 12-of-19 from the stripe.
Britney Hodges scored a game-high 28 points for the visitors, making five of her team's 10 three-point field goals. Samantha Leach joined Hodges in double digits, with 11 points.
The Falcons, who came into the game averaging over 10 successful three-pointers per game, attempted just 12 on Tuesday night, making four. Pontius and Prochaska each went 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.
The game featured five ties and eight lead changes, all in the opening half. SFU's Allison Daly made a pair of three-pointers in the game's first seven minutes, with the second giving her team a 12-7 lead. The Falcons battled back with the game's next six points. Junior Chelsea Albert got the run started with a rebound and putback in traffic.
Albert's shot gave the Falcons two 'fourth-chance points,' as BGSU missed three shots on that possession, but got the offensive rebound each time. Albert had a season-high nine points in the game.
After a turnover by the visitors, freshman Allison Papenfuss grabbed a teammate's missed shot and hit a layup, then Albert took a pass from Nurse and converted another layup out of the game's second media timeout.
SFU's Kelley Doogan hit a triple to give her team the lead again. But, Albert picked Hodges' pocket at near midcout and got the ball to Nurse for a layup that tied the game at the 10:18 mark.
Back came the Red Flash, as Hodges knocked down a three pointer. Nurse hit a pair of free throws, but Hodges made a jumper to give SFU a 20-17 lead and force Miller to take a timeout.
Out of that timeout, the Falcons turned the ball over. Then, BGSU was whistled for three fouls in a span of just 13 seconds. But, SFU did not score on that possession, and BG's deficit remained three points.
Slowly, the Falcons went on a 7-0 run, with most of the points coming at the free-throw line. The lone field goal during that stretch came when Uhl made the 'extra pass,' with her bounce pass crossing the paint from right to left, finding an open Prochaska for a layup and a 22-20 lead. Pontius added two charity tosses to conclude that run.
Back came the Red Flash, as A Hodges triple began an 8-3 run that gave the visitors a 28-27 lead with just over six minutes left in the half. Pontius hit two more free throws with 5:48 left, and the Falcons never trailed again. But, the game was far from over.
Shene' Fleming's three-point play tied the score at 33-33 with 3:24 left in the half, but Prochaska quickly broke that deadlock with a layup 10 seconds later. Another Prochaska layup gave BG a four-point lead, and the Falcons took a 39-34 lead when Pontius eluded one defender with a behind-the-back move and took the ball to the hole with 1:43 left.
Another three-point play, this time by Kelsey Caruthers, brought the Red Flash within two points. But, the Falcons proceeded to score the final six points of the half. Albert answered the Caruthers 'and-one' layup with one of her own, rebounding her own miss and laying the ball in as Caruthers fouled her with 50.5 seconds left. A Pontius jumper gave the Brown and Orange a 45-37 lead at the break.
In the second half, the Falcons' lead, whittled to three points after two free throws by Hodges, ballooned to double digits courtesy of Prochaska. She made four free throws in a span of 37 seconds, then took a Pontius pass and drained a three-pointer -- BG's first triple of the game -- at the 15:21 mark.
The lead remained between seven and nine points over the next few minutes, before a six-point BG run gave the Falcons a game-high 12-point lead. Nurse scored the last four points in that 6-0 run, culminating with a layup with 7:52 left. Back, however, came the visitors.
The lead was double digits with 4:27 remaining, but the Red Flash scored seven of the next nine points to get within five points. But, Pontius hit what seemed to be a back-breaking three-pointer with just over two minutes left, off a pass from Nurse.
Saint Francis, coming off a narrow road loss to nationally-ranked Pittsburgh, battled back once again. Hodges hit a trey with 1:20 on the clock. With a minute left, Prochaska answered with a triple of her own, restoring the Falcons' eight-point advantage.
But, Hodges nailed another triple with roughly 45 seconds remaining. Then, the Red Flash forced a turnover, as Leach stole the ball and was fouled with 24.4 seconds left. She made both ends of her one-and-one opportunity, cutting the Falcons' lead to just three points at 75-72.
Falcon head coach Curt Miller called a timeout as the Falcons had trouble advancing the ball out of the backcourt. Out of that timeout, BG broke the SFU press, and Prochaska was fouled as she cut toward the basket with 13.0 seconds left. The junior hit two shots from the stripe to give BG a 77-72 lead. A Hodges three-point try was off the mark, and the Red Flash could not get off another shot before the horn sounded.
The Falcons shot 45.1 percent for the game, including a 15-of-28 (53.6%) effort in the first half. BG shot just 34.8% in the second half, but held SFU to a 31.4% rate after halftime. The Red Flash shot 37.9% on the night.
As mentioned, the visitors made 10 three-point tries, with Hodges hitting five. She also had five boards and a game-high four assists.
The teams combined for 45 turnovers and 46 fouls on the night. SFU turned the ball over 19 times and was whistled for 28 fouls. No player fouled out in the game, but five (four from SFU and one from BGSU) ended the night with four fouls, and six more had three apiece.
SFU starting center Janie Killian was limited to just nine minutes of action due to foul trouble. She was called for two fouls within the game's first 3:39, then picked up her third just 22 seconds into the second period. Both Killian and Hodges had four fouls with nearly nine minutes still remaining in the game.
The Falcons had a season-high six blocked shots, with juniors Prochaska, Albert and Kelly Zuercher picking up two apiece. Zuercher played seven minutes, all in the late stages of the game, and had a steal in addition to the two rejections.
BGSU now hits the road for the next five games, beginning with a Friday (Dec. 4) contest against nationally-ranked Vanderbilt University in Nashville. The Falcons' next home game is Dec. 23.
FALCON NOTES
* BGSU is now 3-0 at venerable Anderson Arena this season, and the Falcons have won 22 of the last 23 games in the building ... only five of those 22 wins, including Tuesday's game, were by single digits.
* BGSU's total of 26 turnovers was the team's highest since the Falcons' last game vs. Saint Francis ... on Nov. 25, 2008, the Brown and Orange also turned the ball over 26 times vs. SFU, but posted a 98-74 win in Loretto, Pa.
* The Falcons' had a +18 rebounding margin on the evening, with 48 boards to 30 for the Red Flash ... it marked BGSU's first double-digit advantage on the boards this year, and the Falcons' first since a +15 margin vs. Central Michigan in the quarterfinal round of the 2009 MAC Tournament.
* BGSU's highest rebounding margin last year came in the Saint Francis game (+17), as the Falcons had 39 rebounds to SFU's 22.
* The last time the Falcons had a rebounding advantage as high as 18 came in an 81-66 win at Miami on Feb. 23, 2008 ... BG had 47 boards to the RedHawks' 29 in that win in Oxford.
* Junior Chelsea Albert, as mentioned, scored a season-high nine points on Tuesday night ... Albert's career high came in last year's game vs. SFU ... she was a perfect 6-of-6 en route to 13 points in that BG win in Loretto.
BGSU 77, SAINT FRANCIS 72 - Final Stats
BGSU 77, SAINT FRANCIS 72 - PDF Boxscore
BGSU CUMULATIVE STATS - PDF
With the win, the Falcons improve to 4-2 on the season. BGSU has won three consecutive games after a 1-2 start. The Red Flash drop to 0-5 on the year.
Prochaska, the reigning Mid-American Conference Player of the Year, had 27 points and 10 rebounds on the night. Junior Tracy Pontius added 17 points, while senior Tamika Nurse added 12, helping the Falcons overcome a season-high 26 turnovers.
The Falcons also offset that high turnover total with an impressive rebounding performance. BGSU held a 48-30 advantage on the glass, including a 25-8 margin in the opening half. Junior Jen Uhl led the way with 14 rebounds, tying her career high.
In addition to Prochaska's 10 boards, the Falcons got an eight-rebound performance from junior Maggie Hennegan.
BG got to the line nearly twice as often as SFU. The Falcons made 27 free throws in 36 attempts, while the Red Flash went 12-of-19 from the stripe.
Britney Hodges scored a game-high 28 points for the visitors, making five of her team's 10 three-point field goals. Samantha Leach joined Hodges in double digits, with 11 points.
The Falcons, who came into the game averaging over 10 successful three-pointers per game, attempted just 12 on Tuesday night, making four. Pontius and Prochaska each went 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.
The game featured five ties and eight lead changes, all in the opening half. SFU's Allison Daly made a pair of three-pointers in the game's first seven minutes, with the second giving her team a 12-7 lead. The Falcons battled back with the game's next six points. Junior Chelsea Albert got the run started with a rebound and putback in traffic.
Albert's shot gave the Falcons two 'fourth-chance points,' as BGSU missed three shots on that possession, but got the offensive rebound each time. Albert had a season-high nine points in the game.
After a turnover by the visitors, freshman Allison Papenfuss grabbed a teammate's missed shot and hit a layup, then Albert took a pass from Nurse and converted another layup out of the game's second media timeout.
SFU's Kelley Doogan hit a triple to give her team the lead again. But, Albert picked Hodges' pocket at near midcout and got the ball to Nurse for a layup that tied the game at the 10:18 mark.
Back came the Red Flash, as Hodges knocked down a three pointer. Nurse hit a pair of free throws, but Hodges made a jumper to give SFU a 20-17 lead and force Miller to take a timeout.
Out of that timeout, the Falcons turned the ball over. Then, BGSU was whistled for three fouls in a span of just 13 seconds. But, SFU did not score on that possession, and BG's deficit remained three points.
Slowly, the Falcons went on a 7-0 run, with most of the points coming at the free-throw line. The lone field goal during that stretch came when Uhl made the 'extra pass,' with her bounce pass crossing the paint from right to left, finding an open Prochaska for a layup and a 22-20 lead. Pontius added two charity tosses to conclude that run.
Back came the Red Flash, as A Hodges triple began an 8-3 run that gave the visitors a 28-27 lead with just over six minutes left in the half. Pontius hit two more free throws with 5:48 left, and the Falcons never trailed again. But, the game was far from over.
Shene' Fleming's three-point play tied the score at 33-33 with 3:24 left in the half, but Prochaska quickly broke that deadlock with a layup 10 seconds later. Another Prochaska layup gave BG a four-point lead, and the Falcons took a 39-34 lead when Pontius eluded one defender with a behind-the-back move and took the ball to the hole with 1:43 left.
Another three-point play, this time by Kelsey Caruthers, brought the Red Flash within two points. But, the Falcons proceeded to score the final six points of the half. Albert answered the Caruthers 'and-one' layup with one of her own, rebounding her own miss and laying the ball in as Caruthers fouled her with 50.5 seconds left. A Pontius jumper gave the Brown and Orange a 45-37 lead at the break.
In the second half, the Falcons' lead, whittled to three points after two free throws by Hodges, ballooned to double digits courtesy of Prochaska. She made four free throws in a span of 37 seconds, then took a Pontius pass and drained a three-pointer -- BG's first triple of the game -- at the 15:21 mark.
The lead remained between seven and nine points over the next few minutes, before a six-point BG run gave the Falcons a game-high 12-point lead. Nurse scored the last four points in that 6-0 run, culminating with a layup with 7:52 left. Back, however, came the visitors.
The lead was double digits with 4:27 remaining, but the Red Flash scored seven of the next nine points to get within five points. But, Pontius hit what seemed to be a back-breaking three-pointer with just over two minutes left, off a pass from Nurse.
Saint Francis, coming off a narrow road loss to nationally-ranked Pittsburgh, battled back once again. Hodges hit a trey with 1:20 on the clock. With a minute left, Prochaska answered with a triple of her own, restoring the Falcons' eight-point advantage.
But, Hodges nailed another triple with roughly 45 seconds remaining. Then, the Red Flash forced a turnover, as Leach stole the ball and was fouled with 24.4 seconds left. She made both ends of her one-and-one opportunity, cutting the Falcons' lead to just three points at 75-72.
Falcon head coach Curt Miller called a timeout as the Falcons had trouble advancing the ball out of the backcourt. Out of that timeout, BG broke the SFU press, and Prochaska was fouled as she cut toward the basket with 13.0 seconds left. The junior hit two shots from the stripe to give BG a 77-72 lead. A Hodges three-point try was off the mark, and the Red Flash could not get off another shot before the horn sounded.
The Falcons shot 45.1 percent for the game, including a 15-of-28 (53.6%) effort in the first half. BG shot just 34.8% in the second half, but held SFU to a 31.4% rate after halftime. The Red Flash shot 37.9% on the night.
As mentioned, the visitors made 10 three-point tries, with Hodges hitting five. She also had five boards and a game-high four assists.
The teams combined for 45 turnovers and 46 fouls on the night. SFU turned the ball over 19 times and was whistled for 28 fouls. No player fouled out in the game, but five (four from SFU and one from BGSU) ended the night with four fouls, and six more had three apiece.
SFU starting center Janie Killian was limited to just nine minutes of action due to foul trouble. She was called for two fouls within the game's first 3:39, then picked up her third just 22 seconds into the second period. Both Killian and Hodges had four fouls with nearly nine minutes still remaining in the game.
The Falcons had a season-high six blocked shots, with juniors Prochaska, Albert and Kelly Zuercher picking up two apiece. Zuercher played seven minutes, all in the late stages of the game, and had a steal in addition to the two rejections.
BGSU now hits the road for the next five games, beginning with a Friday (Dec. 4) contest against nationally-ranked Vanderbilt University in Nashville. The Falcons' next home game is Dec. 23.
FALCON NOTES
* BGSU is now 3-0 at venerable Anderson Arena this season, and the Falcons have won 22 of the last 23 games in the building ... only five of those 22 wins, including Tuesday's game, were by single digits.
* BGSU's total of 26 turnovers was the team's highest since the Falcons' last game vs. Saint Francis ... on Nov. 25, 2008, the Brown and Orange also turned the ball over 26 times vs. SFU, but posted a 98-74 win in Loretto, Pa.
* The Falcons' had a +18 rebounding margin on the evening, with 48 boards to 30 for the Red Flash ... it marked BGSU's first double-digit advantage on the boards this year, and the Falcons' first since a +15 margin vs. Central Michigan in the quarterfinal round of the 2009 MAC Tournament.
* BGSU's highest rebounding margin last year came in the Saint Francis game (+17), as the Falcons had 39 rebounds to SFU's 22.
* The last time the Falcons had a rebounding advantage as high as 18 came in an 81-66 win at Miami on Feb. 23, 2008 ... BG had 47 boards to the RedHawks' 29 in that win in Oxford.
* Junior Chelsea Albert, as mentioned, scored a season-high nine points on Tuesday night ... Albert's career high came in last year's game vs. SFU ... she was a perfect 6-of-6 en route to 13 points in that BG win in Loretto.
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