Second-Half Surge Leads Falcons Past Findlay, 72-45

Tuesday, November 1

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Findlay

Redshirt sophomore Alexis Rogers works against UF's Kaleigh Kenny during first-half action (photo by Dave Meyer)

November 01, 2011 | Women's Basketball

BGSU downs Oilers in Tuesday's exhibition at the Stroh Center

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team dialed up the defensive intensity in the second half, riding a big run to a 72-45 win over the University of Findlay Tuesday night (Nov. 1). The exhibition game was held at the brand-new Stroh Center on the BGSU campus.

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PHOTO GALLERY - photo by BGSU Athletic Communications
POSTGAME AUDIO: Havel & Pastor | Miller
Scroll down for postgame interviews with Logan Pastor, Danielle Havel & Curt Miller

Junior Chrissy Steffen led a balanced BGSU scoring attack with 12 points in the win, while redshirt junior Danielle Havel had nine points and a game-high 14 rebounds. The Falcons outrebounded the Oilers by a 55-30 count.

All 12 BGSU players who saw action in the game made at least one field goal. Sophomore Noelle Yoder had eight points off of the bench, while three teammates had seven points apiece. That list included senior Jessica Slagle, redshirt sophomore Alexis Rogers and freshman Jasmine Matthews.

The Falcons, leading by a 35-24 score at the half, spotted the visitors two quick second-half baskets, including a three-point field goal, to cut the lead to just six points. But, the Brown and Orange then held the Oilers without a hoop for a span of 14-and-a-half minutes. After the visitors' Kayla Brown hit a layup off of a steal with 18:16 remaining, BGSU forced Findlay to miss 19 consecutive field-goal attempts. BG's lead ballooned to 30 points before Lacey Kessler broke UF's drought with 3:48 remaining.

In addition to her 14 rebounds, Havel had a game-high total of four blocked shots on the night.

Let the record show that Findlay's Kaitlyn Nelson scored the first basket in a game between two collegiate teams at the Stroh Center, as her layup 54 seconds in gave the Oilers a 2-0 lead. Havel answered with a layup for BG's first points at the 17:55 mark of the opening period.

The teams traded the lead back and forth in the early going, with BG holding an 8-6 lead at the first media timeout of the night. Slagle took a pass from Rogers and knocked down a three-point field goal from the right elbow -- one of nine BGSU triples on the night -- for an 11-6 advantage. Freshman Logan Pastor hit a trey at the 11:53 mark to give the hosts a 16-8 lead. That shot came on Pastor's first possession after checking into the game.

Findlay would respond, however, scoring seven-straight points to get within 18-17 after a layup by Kessler. BG's lead was still just a single point several minutes later before a three-pointer from Matthews began an 11-0 run. Five different Falcons scored during that run, which was capped by Havel's putback for a 32-20 lead with under three minutes remaining in the half.

Steffen hit a three-pointer on the fast break with just 11 seconds left in the half, giving the hosts a 35-24 lead at the intermission. The Oilers, as mentioned, scored the first five points of the second half, as Ashley Andrews hit a trey and Brown converted a layup after a steal by UF's Kaleigh Kenny. BG turned the ball over on the next possession, and Falcon coach Curt Miller used a timeout as his team's lead had been cut to five points.

Out of that timeout, which came with 18:06 on the clock, BGSU got a defensive stop. Kenny's miss on that possession was the first of 19-straight UF field-goal tries that did not find the mark. Two Slagle free throws began a 7-0 run, which also included a Rogers trey and a Havel jumper.

Brown made a pair of free throws at the 13:19 mark, but Matthews hit a jumper for the first of 16 consecutive BGSU points. The Falcons held Findlay without a point for a span of 7:53, and the Oilers did not even get a shot off for a stretch of nearly two-and-a-half minutes during that run, with turnovers on six-straight possessions.

After Matthews' shot, BG's next five points came from the free-throw line, before Pastor stole the ball and fired a long pass ahead for her fellow freshman. That Matthews layup gave BG a 20-point lead, 51-31, with 9:05 left.

Sophomore Noelle Yoder made a free throw, and classmate Jillian Halfhill knocked down a three-point try. Then, Halfhill fed freshman Deborah Hoekstra for another tray, and the lead was 58-31 with 6:21 on the clock.

BG's advantage became 30 points for the first time after Yoder scored five-straight points, the last three coming on a long-range connection with 4:12 left. Another Hoekstra trey gave the Falcons their largest lead of the game, a 31-point margin, with 3:30 left.

The Falcons' nine three-point field goals came from eight different players, with only Hoekstra hitting more than one. Hoekstra had six points in just seven minutes of action, going a perfect 2-of-2 from three-point land, while classmate Pastor scored five points. Pastor added four assists to tie for team honors, and she led the Brown and Orange with three steals.

Junior Allison Papenfuss scored four points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Halfhill had three points and sophomore Jill Stein and freshman Shanique Ogle two points each. Stein had eight rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots, and she was one of five Falcons to record two steals.

The Falcons will play a closed scrimmage on the road this weekend before beginning the regular season next weekend. The regular-season opener is scheduled for Friday night, Nov. 11, at the University of Dayton.