Falcons Roll Along to 90-52 Win over Miami

Saturday, January 8

Bowling Green, Ohio

2:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Miami

Chrissy Steffen (21) and Tracy Pontius scored 15 & 13 points, respectively, in Saturday's win (Brad Phalin photo)

January 08, 2011 | Women's Basketball

Steffen has 15 to pace four double-digit scorers in MAC home opener

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team put together one of its most complete games of the season to date, posting a 90-52 win over Miami University Saturday afternoon (Jan. 8). The Mid-American Conference game was held at venerable Anderson Arena.

FINAL STATS - HTML | BOXSCORE - PDF
PHOTO GALLERY
POSTGAME AUDIO: Curt Miller | Chrissy Steffen & Tracy Pontius
Scroll to the bottom of the page for video of the postgame interviews

With the win, the Falcons improve to 14-1 overall and 2-0 in the MAC. BGSU has won 14 consecutive games. The RedHawks drop to 8-7 and 0-2, respectively.

No fewer than 13 different BGSU players found the scoresheet in the win. Sophomore Chrissy Steffen tied her career high with 15 points to pace four players in double digits, while four more Falcons had at least six points in the win.

The Falcons forced Miami into 24 turnovers, and BGSU had an eye-popping 40-3 advantage in points off turnovers in the game. Additionally, the Brown and Orange shot 50.9 percent from the field, including an 18-of-29 (62.1%) performance in the second period.

The Falcons' field-goal percentage was a season best, and BGSU also set a season high with a total of 22 assists.

BGSU made 13 three-point field goals, shooting 44.8% (13-of-29) from long distance. Steffen led the way, going 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. She tied her career bests in both three-pointers made and total points.

Seniors Tracy Pontius, Lauren Prochaska and Maggie Hennegan all joined Steffen in double digits. Pontius scored 13 points, while Prochaska had 12 and Hennegan 11.

Kirsten Olowinski led the RedHawks with 13 points on the afternoon.

The Falcons never trailed, and BGSU opened up a 42-20 lead at the half. The BGSU defense held Miami's top-three scorers -- Courtney Osborn, Maggie Boyer and Rachael Hencke -- scoreless in the first half. That trio entered the game averaging a combined 41.4 points per game.

BGSU took leads of 14-2, 24-6 and 30-10 en route to that halftime lead. Hennegan gave the Falcons the lead -- for good, as it turned out -- taking a pass from Steffen and converting an 'and-one' layup on BG's second possession of the game. Hennegan's resulting free throw gave the home team a 3-0 lead.

Olowinski got to the line and hit a pair of free throws, but the Falcons then proceeded to go on an 11-0 run. Pontius had nine of the 11 points during that time, beginning and ending the run with three-pointers.

Her first triple during that span came after a give-and-go play with fellow senior Jen Uhl. Pontius took the return pass and knocked down a shot from the right elbow. Then, a minute and a half later, Pontius was fouled on a free-throw try and hit all three charity tosses for a 9-2 advantage.

Steffen converted a nice driving baseline layup, then came up with a steal and fed Pontius for another triple try. When that shot swished through the net, the Falcons had a 14-2 lead and the RedHawks took a timeout with 14:32 left in the half.

That 11-0 BG run included eight points in a span of just 50 seconds.

The teams traded points over the next few minutes, before the Brown and Orange went on a 6-0 run. That run began after Miami's seventh foul of the half put BG in the bonus with 11:35 still remaining in the period. Junior Jessica Slagle split a pair of free throws for a 19-6 Falcon lead.

Freshman Jill Stein took a pass from Prochaska and drained a jumper in the paint, and Prochaska came up with a steal and wound up finding Slagle for a three-ball from the left corner, That shot gave the hosts a 24-6 lead, and the visitors used another timeout midway through the period.

MU scored four-straight points out of that timeout, getting a pair of shots from Olowinski, but the Falcons responded with a pair of transition baskets. First, Pontius corralled a long rebound at the defensive end and took off down the floor. Redshirt sophomore Danielle Havel filled the lane nicely, and the duo executed a two-on-one break to perfection. Pontius made the defender commit to her, then threw a bounce pass to a wide-open Havel for a layup-drill-style layup.

Twenty seconds later, Havel came up with a steal of her own, taking the ball downcourt and hitting a layup over Osborn. The Falcons' lead was 28-10, and the RedHawks called their third timeout of the half.

The lead fluctuated between 18 and 22 points over the remainder of the half, with the hosts taking that 42-20 lead into the lockerroom.

BGSU enjoyed a 23-0 advantage in points off turnovers in the opening 20 minutes of play. That first half saw the teams combine for 23 fouls (16 called on Miami) and 21 turnovers (15 by the RedHawks).

For the visitors, the second half could not have gotten off to a more frustrating start. Trailing by that 22-point margin, the RedHawks were whistled for an offensive foul on the first possession of the period, then saw the Falcons come down and hit a three-pointer, as Prochaska fed Steffen for a triple.

The RedHawks missed a pair of shots on the next possession, and BG connected again from long distance. This time, Steffen's pass led to Uhl's trey from out top, and the Falcons had a 48-20 lead with one minute gone in the period. The 'Hawks used their fourth timeout of the game.

With MU's Hannah Robertson already on the bench with four fouls, Boyer picked up her fourth with 18:36 still left in the game, and headed to the bench. Prochaska's jumper gave the Brown and Orange a 50-20 lead.

That advantage increased to 33 points as Pontius knocked down a triple try, which came after a nifty hustle play by Steffen. After a pass from a teammate went awry, Steffen saved the ball before it went into the backcourt, whipping it to Pontius before crossing the midcourt line. The sequence of plays had the house roaring.

Boyer, back into the game, hit a three-pointer -- Miami's first of the game -- with 16:22 remaining, sparking an 8-0 run for the visitors. The Falcons answered that run with a 5-0 run, as Pontius fired a pass ahead to Hennegan for a transition layup, and Prochaska nailed another BG trey. The lead was 30 points once again, at 58-28.

The remaining 12 minutes saw the RedHawks get within 22 points before the Falcons gradually extended the lead. The final 38-point margin was the game's largest.

Those last 12-plus minutes had no shortage of crowd-pleasing plays. Stein banked home a layup after a sweet no-look pass from Havel with 11:03 remaining, and senior Chelsea Albert tossed a pass into the paint for a Havel layup two minutes later.

Steffen drove the lane and fired a bounce pass to a cutting Uhl for an easy baseline layup just before the eight-minute media timeout, giving BG a 64-40 lead.

With just under seven minutes left, Steffen converted a four-point play, drilling a three-pointer despite being knocked to the ground, then getting up and hitting the free throw for a 68-41 advantage.

Just over a minute later, Steffen hit another three, and Albert spotted sophomore Allison Papenfuss for a layup with 5:14 left.

Freshmen Noelle Yoder and Jillian Halfhill, redshirt sophomore Maribeth Giese and senior Kelly Zuercher all found the scoresheet in the final four-plus minutes, as the Falcons hit the 90-point mark for the game.

In addition to her 13 points, Pontius dished out a game-high six assists without committing a turnover. The Falcons had 22 assists on 29 baskets for the game, while turning the ball over 14 times. MU, as mentioned, had 24 turnovers on the day.

Prochaska had a team-leading six rebounds as the Falcons had a 32-25 advantage in that category. She also had three assists and a pair of steals. Steffen had two steals in the game as well, and handed out four assists.

Slagle scored seven points off the bench, while Uhl, Giese and Havel all had six. Slagle was a perfect 2-of-2 from three-point range. Giese had her six points, along with two rebounds and an assist, in just four minutes of action.

The Falcons will return to action on Wednesday (Jan. 12), hosting the University of Akron in a 7:00 p.m. start at Anderson.