Saturday, February 27
Bowling Green, OH
12:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
69
vs
55
Kent State
Tamika Nurse scored a career-high 24 points in the Falcons' Senior Day win over KSU
Nurse, Falcons Clinch Division Title with 69-55 Senior Day Win
February 27, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Senior scores career-high 24 points in victory over Kent State
Senior Tamika Nurse scored a career-high 24 points, helping the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team clinch a division title with a 69-55 win over Kent State University Saturday afternoon (Feb. 27). The Mid-American Conference game was held at venerable Anderson Arena.
STATS: Final Stats - HTML | Boxscore - PDF
POSTGAME AUDIO: Curt Miller | Tamika Nurse (video available at bottom of this page)
BGSU-KSU Photo Gallery
With the win on Senior Day, the Falcons improve to 23-6 overall and 13-2 in MAC play. BGSU has clinched the MAC's East Division title, winning a divisional crown for the sixth-straight year (one West, five East). KSU drops to 18-9 and 11-4, respectively.
Juniors Lauren Prochaska and Tracy Pontius added 12 points apiece for the Falcons, who conclude the home portion of the regular-season schedule with a perfect 13-0 record at "The House That Roars."
Prochaska had a double-double, pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds as the Falcons held a 40-28 advantage on the boards. Junior Jen Uhl had nine boards, to go along with seven points.
Jamilah Humes, the lone player in double digits for the Golden Flashes, had 17 points. Jena Stutzman added nine off the bench.
BGSU shot an even 50 percent from the field, the team's highest percentage in conference play this season. The Falcon defense held KSU to a .356 field-goal rate, including a 7-of-28 (.250) performance in the opening half.
With the score tied at 12, the Falcons used a 15-0 run, holding the Flashes without a point for over five minutes, to take the lead for good. In fact, BGSU's lead never dropped below double digits the rest of the way.
With the win, the Falcons have completed the home portion of the regular-season schedule without a loss for the second consecutive year and the seventh time in school history.
Both teams had trouble finding the range in the game's first few minutes. Senior Tara Breske hit a jumper with just over a minute gone, that that would be the only points for either club in the first three-plus minutes. The Flashes missed their first six shot attempts of the day, but when Taisja Jones knocked down a jumper at the 16:09 mark, the game was tied at 2-2. Nurse came right back with a pull-up jumper, giving the Falcons the lead at the first media timeout of the game.
Chenel Harris hit a three, but Breske made a sweet shot fake, getting a defender in the air, then drove the lane and fed fellow senior Laura Bugher for an 'and-one' layup. The free throw did not drop, but the Falcons had a 6-5 lead.
Prochaska's rebound and putback gave the Brown and Orange a three-point cushion, but Humes and Leslie Schaefer hit shots to put the visitors in front. Sophomore Jessica Slagle's hoop put BG back on sop, however, and a Pontius jumper gave the Falcons a 12-9 lead.
Stutzman knotted the score with her first of three three-pointers on the day, at the 8:19 mark. But, the Falcons were about to go on that aforementioned 15-0 run. Pontius took a pass from classmate Prochaska and hit a trey, giving the hosts the lead for good. Then, after a KSU miss, Pontius spotted a wide-open Nurse, and the senior knocked down a long-distance shot from the left side, giving BG an 18-12 lead and prompting a KSU timeout.
The timeout did nothing to slow the Falcons, however. The BG defense forced a KSU miss, and the Falcons got the ball right back. Nurse drew a foul, getting to the line and splitting a pair of free throws. Then, Prochaska nailed a triple, and the Falcons' lead was 25-12, forcing the Flashes to take another timeout.
Another KSU miss, though, gave the ball back to BG, and junior Kelly Zuercher took a pass from Nurse and hit a long two-point jumper. Finally, Stutzman broke her team's scoreless streak with a three-pointer, but the Falcons maintained the double-digit lead. Nurse's trey in the final minute of play gave the Falcons a 33-19 lead at the half.
The Falcons got off to a slow start in the second half,as KSU got within 10 points on a pair of layups b Lorriane Odhiambo. But, Uhl trew in a three-pointer, and Nurse hit a trey less than a minute later, giving the Brown and Orange a 39-23 lead. KSU got within 12 on four-straight points by Humes, but the Falcons responded with seven-straight points, including a Pontius triple off of Zuercher's kickout, and BG took a 44-27 lead.
The Falcons' margin grew to 21 as Prochaska hit a driving layup after a steal by junior Maggie Hennegan. That layup came with just over eight minutes left. BG led by 21 on three occasions, before KSU cut the lead to 12 points in the final minute of play. A late Hennegan jumper closed the scoring.
For the game, the Falcons hit 23 of their 46 shots, including an 8-for-15 effort (.533) from three-point range. Nurse led the way with four triples, tying her career high for the second-straight game. She has hit four three-pointers on four separate occasions this season. Nurse was 8-of-10 from the free-throw line vs. the Flashes.
KSU shot .356 from the floor for the game, and went 5-of-18 (.278) from long distance.
The Falcons now prepare for the final regular-season game, a Tuesday (March 2) contest at Miami University.
A FEW FALCON NOTES
* The Falcons, as mentioned, clinched the MAC's East Division title with the victory ... BGSU is two games ahead of Kent State and three games up on Akron with just one regular-season game remaining.
* BGSU has won six consecutive division titles, winning the West Division in 2005 and capturing the East Division crown in each of the next five years.
* The Falcons' 13-2 MAC record is the best in the league, a game ahead of Toledo ... BGSU can clinch the MAC's best overall record for the sixth-straight season with a win at Miami Tuesday, or a loss by UT ... the Rockets end the regular season with a Tuesday game at Eastern Michigan.
* BGSU has posted a 13-0 regular-season record at Anderson Arena for the second consecutive year ... BGSU has won 30 consecutive regular-season games at "The House That Roars" ... the last regular-season home loss for the Falcons came to Western Michigan, 79-73, on Jan. 30, 2008.
* Saturday was 'Senior Day' for the BGSU women's basketball program ... the team's four seniors -- Tara Breske, Laura Bugher, Sarah Clapper and Tamika Nurse -- were recognized in pregame festivities ... led by Nurse, the BG seniors scored 30 of the 69 points vs. the Flashes.
* The three fourth-year seniors -- Breske, Bugher and Clapper - have won 109 games at BGSU, the second-highest four-year total in MAC basketball (men's or women's) history ... even if the Falcons don't win another game this season, that trio has averaged 27.25 wins per season over their four years.
STATS: Final Stats - HTML | Boxscore - PDF
POSTGAME AUDIO: Curt Miller | Tamika Nurse (video available at bottom of this page)
BGSU-KSU Photo Gallery
With the win on Senior Day, the Falcons improve to 23-6 overall and 13-2 in MAC play. BGSU has clinched the MAC's East Division title, winning a divisional crown for the sixth-straight year (one West, five East). KSU drops to 18-9 and 11-4, respectively.
Juniors Lauren Prochaska and Tracy Pontius added 12 points apiece for the Falcons, who conclude the home portion of the regular-season schedule with a perfect 13-0 record at "The House That Roars."
Prochaska had a double-double, pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds as the Falcons held a 40-28 advantage on the boards. Junior Jen Uhl had nine boards, to go along with seven points.
Jamilah Humes, the lone player in double digits for the Golden Flashes, had 17 points. Jena Stutzman added nine off the bench.
BGSU shot an even 50 percent from the field, the team's highest percentage in conference play this season. The Falcon defense held KSU to a .356 field-goal rate, including a 7-of-28 (.250) performance in the opening half.
With the score tied at 12, the Falcons used a 15-0 run, holding the Flashes without a point for over five minutes, to take the lead for good. In fact, BGSU's lead never dropped below double digits the rest of the way.
With the win, the Falcons have completed the home portion of the regular-season schedule without a loss for the second consecutive year and the seventh time in school history.
Both teams had trouble finding the range in the game's first few minutes. Senior Tara Breske hit a jumper with just over a minute gone, that that would be the only points for either club in the first three-plus minutes. The Flashes missed their first six shot attempts of the day, but when Taisja Jones knocked down a jumper at the 16:09 mark, the game was tied at 2-2. Nurse came right back with a pull-up jumper, giving the Falcons the lead at the first media timeout of the game.
Chenel Harris hit a three, but Breske made a sweet shot fake, getting a defender in the air, then drove the lane and fed fellow senior Laura Bugher for an 'and-one' layup. The free throw did not drop, but the Falcons had a 6-5 lead.
Prochaska's rebound and putback gave the Brown and Orange a three-point cushion, but Humes and Leslie Schaefer hit shots to put the visitors in front. Sophomore Jessica Slagle's hoop put BG back on sop, however, and a Pontius jumper gave the Falcons a 12-9 lead.
Stutzman knotted the score with her first of three three-pointers on the day, at the 8:19 mark. But, the Falcons were about to go on that aforementioned 15-0 run. Pontius took a pass from classmate Prochaska and hit a trey, giving the hosts the lead for good. Then, after a KSU miss, Pontius spotted a wide-open Nurse, and the senior knocked down a long-distance shot from the left side, giving BG an 18-12 lead and prompting a KSU timeout.
The timeout did nothing to slow the Falcons, however. The BG defense forced a KSU miss, and the Falcons got the ball right back. Nurse drew a foul, getting to the line and splitting a pair of free throws. Then, Prochaska nailed a triple, and the Falcons' lead was 25-12, forcing the Flashes to take another timeout.
Another KSU miss, though, gave the ball back to BG, and junior Kelly Zuercher took a pass from Nurse and hit a long two-point jumper. Finally, Stutzman broke her team's scoreless streak with a three-pointer, but the Falcons maintained the double-digit lead. Nurse's trey in the final minute of play gave the Falcons a 33-19 lead at the half.
The Falcons got off to a slow start in the second half,as KSU got within 10 points on a pair of layups b Lorriane Odhiambo. But, Uhl trew in a three-pointer, and Nurse hit a trey less than a minute later, giving the Brown and Orange a 39-23 lead. KSU got within 12 on four-straight points by Humes, but the Falcons responded with seven-straight points, including a Pontius triple off of Zuercher's kickout, and BG took a 44-27 lead.
The Falcons' margin grew to 21 as Prochaska hit a driving layup after a steal by junior Maggie Hennegan. That layup came with just over eight minutes left. BG led by 21 on three occasions, before KSU cut the lead to 12 points in the final minute of play. A late Hennegan jumper closed the scoring.
For the game, the Falcons hit 23 of their 46 shots, including an 8-for-15 effort (.533) from three-point range. Nurse led the way with four triples, tying her career high for the second-straight game. She has hit four three-pointers on four separate occasions this season. Nurse was 8-of-10 from the free-throw line vs. the Flashes.
KSU shot .356 from the floor for the game, and went 5-of-18 (.278) from long distance.
The Falcons now prepare for the final regular-season game, a Tuesday (March 2) contest at Miami University.
A FEW FALCON NOTES
* The Falcons, as mentioned, clinched the MAC's East Division title with the victory ... BGSU is two games ahead of Kent State and three games up on Akron with just one regular-season game remaining.
* BGSU has won six consecutive division titles, winning the West Division in 2005 and capturing the East Division crown in each of the next five years.
* The Falcons' 13-2 MAC record is the best in the league, a game ahead of Toledo ... BGSU can clinch the MAC's best overall record for the sixth-straight season with a win at Miami Tuesday, or a loss by UT ... the Rockets end the regular season with a Tuesday game at Eastern Michigan.
* BGSU has posted a 13-0 regular-season record at Anderson Arena for the second consecutive year ... BGSU has won 30 consecutive regular-season games at "The House That Roars" ... the last regular-season home loss for the Falcons came to Western Michigan, 79-73, on Jan. 30, 2008.
* Saturday was 'Senior Day' for the BGSU women's basketball program ... the team's four seniors -- Tara Breske, Laura Bugher, Sarah Clapper and Tamika Nurse -- were recognized in pregame festivities ... led by Nurse, the BG seniors scored 30 of the 69 points vs. the Flashes.
* The three fourth-year seniors -- Breske, Bugher and Clapper - have won 109 games at BGSU, the second-highest four-year total in MAC basketball (men's or women's) history ... even if the Falcons don't win another game this season, that trio has averaged 27.25 wins per season over their four years.
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