.png&type=webp)
Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
MIAMI (OH)
RedHawks Top Falcons, 45-40, to End Numerous BG Winning Streaks
March 04, 2009 | Women's Basketball
March 4, 2009
Final Stats | BGSU-Miami Boxscore in PDF Format
Coach Miller Postgame Audio
OXFORD, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - For the first time in three-and-a-half months, the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team has lost a game. Host Miami University held the Falcons to just 20 percent shooting in a 45-40 win over the Brown and Orange Wednesday night (March 4) at Millett Hall.
With the win, the RedHawks improve to 14-14 overall and 6-9 in Mid-American Conference play, while the Falcons fall to 25-3 and 14-1, respectively. The loss snapped BG's school-record 25-game win streak.
The Falcons' last loss had come on Nov. 19, 2008, at Valparaiso. BG dropped the first two games of the year, at Temple and Valpo, before reeling off the record win streak.
The Falcons held the RedHawks to just 28.6 percent shooting from the field on the night. But, BGSU made a total of only 12 field goals in 60 attempts. The Falcons were held to season lows in points, assists, field-goal percentage, three-point FG pct. (12.0%; 3-for-25), free-throw pct. (61.9%; 13-of-21) and assists (six).
BG held Miami to 16 total field goals, tying the seaseon low for a Falcon opponent, and the Falcons held the foe without a three-pointer for the second consecutive game.
Trailing by two points with just under four minutes to go, the RedHawks went on a 10-0 run to take a 42-34 lead in the game's final minute. The Falcons got as close as three points, but two Ashley Hawkins free throws sealed the win for the hosts.
Rachael Hencke scored 13 points while Jenna Schone added 12 for MU. Sophomores Tracy Pontius and Lauren Prochaska had 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Falcons.
Not surprisingly, the Falcons set a season high with 51 rebounds. Sophomore Jen Uhl led all players with a career-high 14 boards, while Prochaska had eight and junior Tara Breske seven. BG held a 51-44 advantage on the boards.
The first half saw the teams combine for only 25 points, with the Falcons holding a 14-11 lead at the break. BG made only six field goals in the first half, but held the RedHawks to just five successful shots from the floor.
In the second half, however, the hosts went 11-of-28 from the field, while holding BGSU to just six makes once again.
The Falcons' offensive struggles included an epic span of nine minutes and 22 seconds without a point in the first half. After taking a 5-0 lead on a Prochaska triple from the left corner at the 16:34 mark, BG would not score again until only 7:12 remained in the half, on a Prochaska jumper in the paint. Amazingly, that shot tied the score at 7-7.
A Pontius triple gave BG a 10-7 advantage with 4:32 left in the half, and an offensive 'flurry' then saw the teams trade hoops less than a minute apart. After a Schone layup with just over a minute left before the break, Breske hit with 37 seconds remaining to give the Falcons that 14-11 margin at the half.
After scoring 11 points in the first 20 minutes, the RedHawks would score eight in the first 2:20 of the second half, with Hencke scoring four of those eight points. Her second jumper in that span gave MU a 19-17 lead. Then, however, the scoring slowed once again.
A Breske jumper at the 15:47 mark was answered by a Schone layup at the other end, before senior Lindsey Goldsberry's two free throws tied the game at 21-21 with 14;55 on the clock.
The 'Hawks would score the next four points, before Prochaska took an inbounds pass from Pontius and hit an 'and-one' layup at the 11:49 mark. Her free throw cut MU's lead to one. Moments later, a Pontius layup tied the score at 26.
Once again, however, the home team scored four-straight points to take the lead. Pontius hit two charity tosses out of the 7:56 media timeout, cutting that MU lead in half. Then, junior Sarah Clapper hit a key three-pointer with 5:58 left in the game, giving the Falcons a 31-30 lead. Clapper had been inserted into the game for the first time just 20 seconds prior to her triple.
Schone answered again with a layup after a teammate's miss, but Pontius got back to the line and hit two free throws. Uhl gave BG a 34-32 lead when she split two shots from the line with 3:54 left.
MU scored four-straight points at the line, though, sparking that 10-0 run and taking the lead for good. Hencke hit two shots at the 3:41 mark, and Michelle Oswalt did the same just under a minute later. Then, after a BG miss, Uhl grabbed an offensive rebound and received contact from several players. The ball came loose and went to MU's Jaclyn Leininger as play continued, and the resulting possession resulted in a Stephanie Ford layup with 2:02 left.
After a BG miss, the Falcons were called for a foul, and Ford made two free throws for a 40-34 lead. Another BG miss from three-point land was followed by a Miami defensive board, and Schone hit a baseline jumper with 49.4 seconds remaining, giving MU a game-high eight-point lead.
Uhl split two free throws, and Oswalt then was fouled and missed both of her tries from the stripe. Junior Niki McCoy made a free throw to cut MU's lead to six points, and the Falcons again fouled. This time, Schone split two free throws, putting the home team ahead, 43-36, with 22 seconds left.
Prochaska was hacked in the act of shooting a three-pointer, and made two of her resulting three charity tosses, cutting MU's lead to five points with 15.5 seconds left.
BG came up with a steal on the ensuing inbounds pass, as Prochaska knocked the ball away. Pontius came up withi the loose ball, missed a layup try, but got the rebound and laid the ball up and in with 8.1 seconds left. BG trailed by three points, at 43-40.
The Falcons nearly came up with a steal on the next inbounds pass, knocking the ball away once again. This time, however, the ball went out of bounds to Miami. The RedHawks were able to successfully inbound the ball, and BG fouled Hawkins, who sank two tosses with 7.5 seconds left to make it a two-possession game.
Breske had eight points in addition to her seven boards for the Falcons. After Hencke's 13 points and Schone's 12 for the RedHawks, no fewer than six other players had exactly four points apiece.
BGSU returns home to close the regular season with a Saturday (March 7) game vs. Ohio University. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m. at venerable Anderson Arena, with 'Senior Day' festivities preceding the game.
FALCON NOTES
* BGSU's loss at Miami snapped the team's school-record winning streak at 25 games ... that streak fell just one shy of the MAC record ... Central Michigan won 26-straight games in the 1983-84 season.
* The Falcons and RedHawks combined for just 25 points in the first half Wednesday night ... the NCAA Division-I record for fewest combined points for both teams in a half is 22, set by Radford (14) and Liberty (8) on Jan. 27, 2001.
