Prochaska Leads Falcons Past Buffalo, 72-61

Tuesday, January 18

Buffalo, N.Y.

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Buffalo

Lauren Prochaska scored 30 points in the win at Buffalo. Prochaska and the Falcons host CMU Saturday in a 'Throwback Game'

January 18, 2011 | Women's Basketball

Falcon senior scores 30 points as BG improves to 4-1 in MAC action

By: BUFFALO, N.Y. (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Senior Lauren Prochaska scored 30 points to lead the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team to a 72-61 win over the University at Buffalo Tuesday night (Jan. 18). The Mid-American Conference game was held at UB's Alumni Arena.

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With the win, the Falcons improve to 16-2 overall and 4-1 in MAC play. The Bulls drop to 9-9 and 2-3, respectively.

Prochaska hit four three-point field goals and went a perfect 12-for-12 from the free-throw line on the night. She had 17 points in the first half, including 10 in the final seven-plus minutes as the Falcons went on a 21-4 run to end the period. BGSU took a 38-29 lead into the intermission, and the Brown and Orange never trailed in the second half.

Sophomore Chrissy Steffen had 11 points and a career-high nine rebounds for the Falcons. Kourtney Brown had 14 points to lead four UB players in double digits, and also had a game-high 15 rebounds.

BGSU took a 4-2 lead as Prochaska and Steffen each hit a pair of free throws, but the Bulls then went on an 8-0 run. Brittany Hedderson's three-point play during that run gave the hosts an 8-4 advantage, and Ashley Zuber's coast-to-coast drive and layup put the Bulls ahead by six points.

Prochaska snapped that run with a layup -- the Falcons' first field goal of the game -- at the 15:04 mark, but Zuber came right back with another layup to give the Bulls a 12-6 advantage at the first media timeout of the night.

Senior Chelsea Albert scored on a nifty reverse layup several moments later, but back-to-back baskets by Brown gave the Bulls a 10-point margin, 18-8, as Falcon coach Curt Miller called a timeout just under eight minutes into the game.

Out of that timeout, the Falcons scored seven-straight points. Sophomore Allison Papenfuss contributed to that 7-0 run with a jumper, a rebound and an assist, not in that order.

Papenfuss fired a cross-court pass to Prochaska for a three-pointer after the Falcons' timeout, then hit a jumper of her own after a media timeout. Prochaska threw a pass inside to Albert, and the senior scored over Brown to cut BG's deficit to 18-15.

Back came the Bulls, however, with five points in a 20-second span. A basket by Hedderson was followed by Jessica Fortman's three-pointer, giving UB a 23-15 lead with 9:09 left in the half.

Junior Jessica Slagle scored for the Falcons, but Fortman answered with a jumper for the Bulls. Then, however, the Falcons proceeded to go on that 21-4 run over the final seven-plus minutes of the period.

That run began when Slagle found senior Jen Uhl with a nifty pass that led to an uncontested layup. The two teamed up again, as Uhl scored off of Slagle's inbounds pass with 6:10 left in the half.

Steffen drained a three-point try, and BG was down by just a point, 25-24. Then, freshman Jill Stein's smothering defense on UB's Bridgette Kendricks caused Kendricks to turn the ball over, and BG regained possession with five minutes left in the period.

Prochaska drove the lane and drew Zuber's second foul of the game, converting two free throws to give BG the lead for the first time in the game. Kendricks answered with a left-side jumper at the other end, but Prochaska scored six points in six seconds to give the Falcons the lead for good.

The bank was open for some special evening hours, as Prochask'a three-point try from the right elbow caromed off the glass and threw the hoop. The Bulls immediately committed an unforced turnover after inbounding the ball, and Prochaska fired another three-point try off of the ensuing inbounds pass. This time, the backboard did not come into play, as the senior's shot found nothing but net. The Falcons had a 32-27 lead with 2:52 left before halftime.

Kendricks scored for the hosts, but Prochaska's 'extra pass' led to a wide-open three-point shot for Steffen, and the sophomore buried that shot for a 35-29 lead. A would-be tip-in by Brown was negated by a foul call on the UB senior, and Stein split a pair of free throws with 50 seconds left. Prochaska's layup in the final seconds of the period gave the Falcons a 38-29 lead at the break.

UB scored the first basket of the second half, but senior Maggie Hennegan scored five-straight points to give the Brown and Orange a 12-point lead. Hennegan first hit a layup, then grabbed a defensive rebound after a UB miss. On BG's next trip down the court, the senior found herself open out top, and nailed a triple try for a 43-31 Falcon lead with just over a minute gone.

The Bulls, however, responded with a 7-0 run to cut the Falcons' lead to five points. Uhl stopped that run with a layup, but Brown answered with a layup of her own.

Slagle came up with a steal at midcourt and sailed in for an easy layup and a 47-40 BG lead. Then, Prochaska stole the ball and was fouled by Zuber on her drive to the hoop. Prochaska's free-throw tries were good, and BG held a nine-point lead with 12:32 left.

Prochaska scored on a running layup in traffic, and -- after Zuber's fourth foul of the game -- senior Tracy Pontius converted a driving layup for a 53-40 lead. After Brown's third foul, Prochaska made two charity tosses, and BG's lead was 15 points with eight-and-a-half minutes left.

The Bulls, looking to seize some momentum, cut the Falcons' lead to 11 points, but Pontius found herself with some space at the top of the arc and hit a rainbow three for a 58-44 lead with 6:49 left.

Again, though, the Bulls battled back, with six consecutive points in the next two minutes. At the five-minute mark, BG's lead was down to eight points, 58-50.

Prochaska was hacked on a drive to the hoop, and made two more free throws. After Hedderson's layup, Prochaska hit yet another three-pointer for a 63-52 lead with just under four minutes remaining.

Zuber's jumper got the Bulls within nine points, but UB could draw no closer. The Falcons made seven-of-eight free throws over the next several minutes, building a 14-point lead in the process. Hedderson's three-pointer at the buzzer got UB within the final 11-point margin.

For the game, the Falcons went 20-of-22 from the free-throw line (90.9%), to UB's 6-of-11 night from the stripe. BGSU also made eight three-pointers to the Bulls' three.

As mentioned, Prochaska made four triples and 12 free throws. Steffen hit two treys and was 5-of-6 from the line.

Uhl scored eight points for the Falcons, while Hennegan added seven and Pontius five. For the Bulls, Hedderson had 13 points and seven rebounds, while Fortman scored 10 points and pulled down nine boards. Zuber had 10 points and a game-high nine assists.

The Falcons return home for the next two games, beginning with Saturday's (Jan. 22) contest vs. Central Michigan. Tipoff for that game -- the Falcons' Throwback Game -- is 12:07 p.m. at Anderson Arena. The contest will be televised by SportsTime Ohio, and also will air on ESPN3.com and ESPN Full Court.