Saturday, January 16
Kent, OH
2:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
89
at
61
Kent State
Junior Lauren Prochaska scored 24 first-half points at KSU
Falcons Explode for 89-61 Win at Kent State
January 16, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Prochaska scores 24 points; BGSU rides first-half 3-point onslaught
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team rode a first-half offensive onslaught to a season-high scoring total, downing Kent State University, 89-61, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 16). The Mid-American Conference game was held at KSU's M.A.C. Center.
STATISTICS
BGSU 89, KENT STATE 61 - Final Stats
BGSU 89, KENT STATE 61 - PDF Boxscore
BGSU CUMULATIVE STATS - PDF
POSTGAME AUDIO
Curt Miller and Lauren Prochaska
With the win, the Falcons improve to 14-4 overall and 4-0 in the MAC. The Golden Flashes drop to 9-7 and 2-2, respectively.
Junior Lauren Prochaska scored a game-high 24 points, while classmate Tracy Pontius added 13 and senior Tamika Nurse 11. For the Flashes, Jamilah Humes was the lone double-digit scorer, with 17 points.
BGSU's 89-point total tied a season high, and the Falcons' 55-point first half was the team's most productive in 2009-10 to date.
Prochaska scored all 24 of her points in the opening half as the Falcons caught fire at the offensive end. The junior was 5-of-6 from three-point land in the first half as BGSU made nine triple tries in the half and 13 for the game.
Prochaska nearly outscored the entire KSU team in that first half, as BG took a 55-25 lead into the break. The Flashes had 22 points (to Prochaska's 24) before converting a three-point play just before halftime.
The victory was the 100th in the collegiate careers of seniors Tara Breske, Laura Bugher and Sarah Clapper. The Class of 2010 is the fourth consecutive group to amass a triple-digit win total in the Brown and Orange. Nurse, the Falcons' other senior, is in her first playing season with the Falcons after transferring from Oregon.
Nurse played a team-high 26 minutes, while Pontius and Prochaska played 24 and 20, respectively. Pontius played only six minutes and Prochaska four in the second half.
Three Falcons -- Breske, Clapper and junior Kelly Zuercher -- scored eight points apiece in the game. Clapper and Zuercher each hit a pair of three-pointers in the game, as BGSU went 13-of-28 from beyond the arc.
The point total(s) represented a season high for both Clapper and Zuercher. Zuercher tied her career best, and her two three-pointers matched the total for her entire BGSU career prior to Saturday.
Junior Jen Uhl scored six points, while freshman Chrissy Steffen scored five. Steffen played 21 minutes, the highest total of her career to date.
Believe it or not, the first few minutes of the game made it appear it would be a low-scoring, grind-it-out affair. The Falcons held a narrow 4-3 lead at the game's first media timeout. BG scored on the game's opening possession, as Uhl grabbed an offensive board and eventually scored off a lob pass from Breske. Then, however, neither team scored for nearly two minutes, until Taisja Jones split two free throws to get the hosts on the board at the 17:45 mark.
Breske knocked down a jumper less than a minute later, but when KSU's Lorriane Odhiambo scored her team's first basket of the day, the Flashes were down by just one point. But, with 15:10 left in the half, Prochaska took an inbounds pass from Pontius and hit a three-pointer from the left elbow.
That triple sparked an 11-0 run for the Brown and Orange. Nurse hit a pair of free throws, and Prochaska hit another trey off another inbounds pass from Pontius. The Flashes misfired on a three-point try at the other end, and Steffen grabbed the rebound and headed upcourt. The Falcon freshman spotted Pontius stationed at the arc, and Pontius nailed a three-pointer at the 13:39 mark. BG's lead was 15-3, and KSU used a timeout.
After scoring 12 points in just over 90 seconds, BG would go scoreless for nearly three minutes. But, the Falcon defense kept the hosts off the scoreboard for the first two of those minutes. The Flashes were 1-of-11 from the field to start the game, before Yoshica Spears hit a three-point try with 11:35 left in the period. BG's lead was back to single digits, at 15-6.
KSU forced a BG miss, getting the ball back. But, after Humes missed a layup, Nurse got the rebound and fired a long outlet pass to an open Uhl, who laid the ball in. The Falcons' lead remained in double digits for the rest of the day.
BG slowly increased the lead. A three-point play by Nurse gave the Falcons a 20-6 lead, and after Chenel Harris scored for the hosts, Clapper answered with a three-pointer. Harris scored again, but the Falcons were hitting threes to the Flashes' twos, and Prochaska connected yet again from long distance. Then, Breske stole the ball from Odhiambo near midcourt, and on a 2-on-2 break, fed Prochaska for an 'and-one' layup sandwiched around the 7:22 media timeout. Prochaska's free throw out of the break gave BG a 29-10 lead.
The Goldsn Flashes would make a run, however, scoring seven-straight points to prompt a BG timeout. Jena Stutzman and Rachel Bennett each hit three-pointers for KSU during that run.
After the timeout, the Falcons broke the run when Prochaska found Uhl for a layup. Jones answered at the other end, but two Prochaska free throws began a 12-1 run for the visitors. A Pontius jumper was followed by a Humes free throw, making the score 35-20, BG. Humes' second free throw did not drop, but the Flashes got the rebound, and Stephanie Gibson's three-point try was halfway down before rattling out. That shot would have cut the Falcons' lead to 12 points.
On the ensuing possession, Pontius fed Prochaska for a trey, and Pontius then hit a three-ball of her own at the 3:29 mark. Then, Pontius stole Leslie Schaefer's cross-court pass and sailed in all alone for a layup and a 43-20 Falcon lead.
Prochaska made four consecutive free throws, and junior Maggie Hennegan's offensive rebound and layup gave the visitors a 49-22 advantage with 1:34 left before halftime. After a pair of KSU misses, Zuercher hit her first three-pointer of the season with 52 seconds left in the half. Then, Prochaska drained her fifth trey of the half with 18 seconds left, giving her 24 points and her team a 55-22 lead. Ellie Shields converted a three-point play to get the home team within 30 points at the intermission.
In the second half, the Falcons' lead grew as high as 37 points on several occaions, the last at 85-48 after another Hennegan putback with 5:50 on the clock. The Flashes ended the game on a 13-4 run to cut the deficit under 30 points before the final horn.
Breske scored BG's first six second-half points, and Prochaska fed Pontius for a three-pointer and a 64-30 lead with 17:28 left. Prochaska exited the game for good with 15:25 left, and Breske took a seat with 14:28 remaining. Pontius fed Steffen for a triple and a 67-34 lead before heading to the bench with 13:08 left.
Midway through the period, two Humes free throws got the Flashes within 30 points, at 76-46. But, Zuercher rattled home a straightaway triple try, for her second long-distance shot of the game. That shot sparked a 7-0 Falcon run, which included a Clapper three-pointer off of Hennegan's drive and dish. That run gave BG an 83-46 advantage with 7:05 left.
Shields made a layup for the hosts, but Hennegan's aforementioned putback gave the Brown and Orange that 85-48 lead prior to KSU's game-ending run.
Pontius had a team-leading five assists, while Nurse had four. Nurse led the Brown and Orange with a season-high seven rebounds, as the Falcons had a 42-35 margin on the boards.
The win gave the Falcons a point in the Centennial Cup, a year-long contest between BGSU and KSU to celebrate each institution's 100th anniversary. The series is now deadlocked at 3.5 to 3.5 heading into Sunday's (Jan. 17) men's basketball game between the teams.
Now, the women's basketball Falcons return to Northwest Ohio for a season-long three-game homestand, beginning with a Tuesday (Jan. 19) game vs. Miami University. TIpoff for that game is at 7:00 p.m. at venerable Anderson Arena.
A FEW FALCON NOTES
* Junior Lauren Prochaska has moved into 11th place on the BGSU career scoring list ... Prochaska now has a career total of 1,416 points in 86 games ... she moved past Angie Bonner (1,412 pts from 1986-90) in the KSU game ... Prochaska is just 16 points shy of seventh place on the BG career list, and has a chance to move ahead of Chris Tuttle (1,420 pts.), Lori Albers (1,424), Charlotta Jones (1,430) and Talita Scott (1,432) in the near future.
* Prochaska ranks second on the BGSU career list for three-point field goals made ... with five successful treys on Saturday, she now has 196 in her career ... Prochaska trails the school record-holder, Liz Honegger, by 20.
* Prochaska tied her career high for three-pointers made ... she has made five triples in a game no fewer than seven times in her Falcon career.
* BGSU is 2-0 in MAC road games this season, having won those games by an average of 31.5 points ... the Falcons downed Ohio, 77-42, in Athens last Saturday (Jan. 9).
* Prochaska scored 49 points in a two-half span vs. Kent State ... last Feb. 28 in Anderson Arena, she was held scoreless in the first half of the Falcons' game vs. KSU ... but, Prochaska exploded for 25 second-half points, reaching 1,000 career points in the process, in BG's 61-54 win ... then, of course, Prochaska had 24 points in the first half of Saturday's game at the M.A.C. Center.
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