Sunday, November 20
Bowling Green, Ohio
12:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
71
vs
54
Evansville
Sophomore Noelle Yoder had a career-high 14 points in Sunday's win over Evansville (photo by Brandon Heiss, BGSU Marketing & Communications)
Second-Half Run Lifts Falcons Past Pesky Evansville, 71-54
November 20, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Back-to-back three-pointers keyed a 10-0 second-half run as the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team pulled away from a pesky University of Evansville squad for a 71-54 win Sunday afternoon (Nov. 20). The non-conference game was held at the Stroh Center on the BGSU campus.
FINAL STATISTICS: HTML | PDF
PHOTO GALLERY - Brandon Heiss, BGSU Marketing & Communications
POSTGAME AUDIO: Danielle Havel & Noelle Yoder | Curt Miller
Scroll down for video of the postgame press conferences
With the win, the Falcons improve to 1-2 on the young season, while dropping the Purple Aces to 0-3 on the year.
Junior Chrissy Steffen scored 16 points to lead three BGSU players in double digits. Sophomore Noelle Yoder had a career-high 14 points, including a game- and career-high three three-point field goals. Yoder made five field goals against the Aces, matching her career total entering the game.
Senior Jessica Slagle had 10 points to round out BG's double-figure scorers. Redshirt junior Danielle Havel and freshman Jasmine Matthews scored nine points apiece. Havel was just one point shy of a double-double, as she had a team and career-high 10 rebounds on the day.
Taylor Ware paced the Aces with 17 points off the bench. She was the lone UE player in double digits in the scoring column.
The Falcons scored the game's first seven points, and BGSU opened up a 23-7 lead on a Yoder three-pointer midway through the first half. The Aces, however, got as close as four points before BG took a 36-29 advantage into halftime.
A 6-0 Evansville run early in the second half shrunk BG's lead to just three points, 38-35, and the Aces had several chances to creep even closer. But, UE's next three possessions resulted in a missed shot and a pair of turnovers, and a layup by Steffen began a 5-0 run for the home team.
The Aces were still hanging around with just under eight minutes remaining, however, as a three-ball by Samantha Heck cut BG's lead to 10 points, 55-45. But, a steal and breakaway layup by Matthews began the 10-0 run that put the game away. Yoder and Matthews hit long-range shots just 21 seconds apart during that run, and when Havel converted a layup after a nifty shot fake, BG's lead was 20 points with 4:19 left.
Yoder and Matthews combined for all five of BGSU's successful three-pointers on the day, with Yoder going 3-of-7 from beyond the arc and Matthews hitting two of her four long-range attempts.
The Falcons shot just 36.9 percent from the field, but BGSU held UE to a 33.3% success rate, including an 8-for-30 (26.7%) performance in the second period. BGSU forced 23 Evansville turnovers, and the Falcons posted a double-digit steal total for the third time in as many games this year, with 15.
BG had advantages of 38-22 in points in the paint, 23-11 in points off turnovers and 16-2 in fast-break points.
Layups by Havel and Steffen staked the Falcons to an early 4-0 lead. Slagle, who had assisted on Havel's hoop with a nifty bounce pass, drove the left baseline for an 'and-one' layup. The senior's free-throw gave the home team a seven-point advantage with less than three minutes gone.
The Aces got within 10-5 before the home team scored five-straight points. Havel converted an old-fashioned three-point play, and Steffen drove down the lane for an easy layup, prompting an Evansville timeout at the 12:24 mark.
Out of that timeout, Chelsea Falkenstein put back her own miss, but Yoder converted the Falcons' third three-point play in the game's first 10 minutes. Then, a steal by Steffen led to an acrobatic scoop shot by sophomore Jillian Halfhill. On BG's next possession, Halfhill fired a long pass ahead to Yoder for a transition three-pointer and a 23-7 advantage.
The Falcons' lead stayed in double digits for much of the remainder of the half, and the Falcons still led by 13 points after Slagle's layup with 3:31 on the clock. But, Katie Ellerson hit from long range for the visitors, and two free throws by Ware cut the lead to eight points, 30-22.
After a free throw by redshirt soph Alexis Rogers, the Aces used the same combination in reverse order. Ware got back to the line and knocked down two more tosses, and Ellerson hit another shot from beyond the arc. With 1:26 left before halftime, the Falcons' lead was down to four points.
On the next possession, Steffen was fouled on a drive and hit a pair of free throws, and Yoder drained a long three-point try with 43 seconds left in the period. Ware's layup cut BG's lead to seven points at the break.
The second half began with a Slagle jumper, but the Aces got layups from Ware, Staci Gillum and Falkenstein. Suddenly, the Falcons' lead was just three, at 38-35. And, after a charging call against BGSU, the ball went back over to Evansville.
BG's defense forced a miss, but the Falcons couldn't convert a jumper at the other end. The Aces turned the ball over on the next two possessions. BG did not capitalize on the first turnover, but after the second, a Steffen layup increased the lead to five points at the 16:10 mark.
Just over a minute later, Halfhill was fouled and went to the line. She made her first free-throw toss, but saw the second bounce off the rim. After a lengthy scrum, junior Allison Papenfuss came up with the rebound in traffic and got the ball to Havel. Havel quickly fed Halfhill for a layup and a 43-35 lead.
Moments later, Halfhill came up with a steal and fired the ball ahead to Slagle for a layup in transition. Then, Steffen's nifty driving layup gave the Brown and Orange a 47-37 lead with 12:39 on the clock.
The teams traded free throws during the next several minutes, before Halfhill drove and dished to Havel for a layup and a 52-41 lead. Heck split two tosses, before Matthews dribbled around the arc and nailed a three-pointer for a 55-42 lead.
Heck responded with a long-distance shot of her own, and the Aces had three opportunities to trim their deficit to single digits. But, two UE shots were off the mark, and Matthews picked Gillum's pocket and banked home a layup try with 6:45 left, for the first of 10-straight BGSU points.
After the triples by Yoder and Matthews during that run, Havel's layup gave BG a 20-point lead, the largest of the game.
The Aces would get as close as 13 points, but freshman Logan Pastor hit two tosses, then found Yoder for a layup with just over two minutes left as BG salted away the victory.
Yoder and Slagle each hit double figures in the scoring column in just 16 minutes of work on the day. Papenfuss had eight rebounds, including four at the offensive end, in 12 minutes of action.
Rogers grabbed nine rebounds in the game, while Halfhill had seven points, five assists and three steals, setting career bests in all three categories. Steffen had four steals to lead all players in that department.
BGSU has a quick turnaround, as the Falcons play one more game before taking a brief break for the Thanksgiving holiday. BG will conclude a stretch of three games in six days on Tuesday (Nov. 22), heading to the Motor City to face Detroit in a 7:00 p.m. tip.
FINAL STATISTICS: HTML | PDF
PHOTO GALLERY - Brandon Heiss, BGSU Marketing & Communications
POSTGAME AUDIO: Danielle Havel & Noelle Yoder | Curt Miller
Scroll down for video of the postgame press conferences
With the win, the Falcons improve to 1-2 on the young season, while dropping the Purple Aces to 0-3 on the year.
Junior Chrissy Steffen scored 16 points to lead three BGSU players in double digits. Sophomore Noelle Yoder had a career-high 14 points, including a game- and career-high three three-point field goals. Yoder made five field goals against the Aces, matching her career total entering the game.
Senior Jessica Slagle had 10 points to round out BG's double-figure scorers. Redshirt junior Danielle Havel and freshman Jasmine Matthews scored nine points apiece. Havel was just one point shy of a double-double, as she had a team and career-high 10 rebounds on the day.
Taylor Ware paced the Aces with 17 points off the bench. She was the lone UE player in double digits in the scoring column.
The Falcons scored the game's first seven points, and BGSU opened up a 23-7 lead on a Yoder three-pointer midway through the first half. The Aces, however, got as close as four points before BG took a 36-29 advantage into halftime.
A 6-0 Evansville run early in the second half shrunk BG's lead to just three points, 38-35, and the Aces had several chances to creep even closer. But, UE's next three possessions resulted in a missed shot and a pair of turnovers, and a layup by Steffen began a 5-0 run for the home team.
The Aces were still hanging around with just under eight minutes remaining, however, as a three-ball by Samantha Heck cut BG's lead to 10 points, 55-45. But, a steal and breakaway layup by Matthews began the 10-0 run that put the game away. Yoder and Matthews hit long-range shots just 21 seconds apart during that run, and when Havel converted a layup after a nifty shot fake, BG's lead was 20 points with 4:19 left.
Yoder and Matthews combined for all five of BGSU's successful three-pointers on the day, with Yoder going 3-of-7 from beyond the arc and Matthews hitting two of her four long-range attempts.
The Falcons shot just 36.9 percent from the field, but BGSU held UE to a 33.3% success rate, including an 8-for-30 (26.7%) performance in the second period. BGSU forced 23 Evansville turnovers, and the Falcons posted a double-digit steal total for the third time in as many games this year, with 15.
BG had advantages of 38-22 in points in the paint, 23-11 in points off turnovers and 16-2 in fast-break points.
Layups by Havel and Steffen staked the Falcons to an early 4-0 lead. Slagle, who had assisted on Havel's hoop with a nifty bounce pass, drove the left baseline for an 'and-one' layup. The senior's free-throw gave the home team a seven-point advantage with less than three minutes gone.
The Aces got within 10-5 before the home team scored five-straight points. Havel converted an old-fashioned three-point play, and Steffen drove down the lane for an easy layup, prompting an Evansville timeout at the 12:24 mark.
Out of that timeout, Chelsea Falkenstein put back her own miss, but Yoder converted the Falcons' third three-point play in the game's first 10 minutes. Then, a steal by Steffen led to an acrobatic scoop shot by sophomore Jillian Halfhill. On BG's next possession, Halfhill fired a long pass ahead to Yoder for a transition three-pointer and a 23-7 advantage.
The Falcons' lead stayed in double digits for much of the remainder of the half, and the Falcons still led by 13 points after Slagle's layup with 3:31 on the clock. But, Katie Ellerson hit from long range for the visitors, and two free throws by Ware cut the lead to eight points, 30-22.
After a free throw by redshirt soph Alexis Rogers, the Aces used the same combination in reverse order. Ware got back to the line and knocked down two more tosses, and Ellerson hit another shot from beyond the arc. With 1:26 left before halftime, the Falcons' lead was down to four points.
On the next possession, Steffen was fouled on a drive and hit a pair of free throws, and Yoder drained a long three-point try with 43 seconds left in the period. Ware's layup cut BG's lead to seven points at the break.
The second half began with a Slagle jumper, but the Aces got layups from Ware, Staci Gillum and Falkenstein. Suddenly, the Falcons' lead was just three, at 38-35. And, after a charging call against BGSU, the ball went back over to Evansville.
BG's defense forced a miss, but the Falcons couldn't convert a jumper at the other end. The Aces turned the ball over on the next two possessions. BG did not capitalize on the first turnover, but after the second, a Steffen layup increased the lead to five points at the 16:10 mark.
Just over a minute later, Halfhill was fouled and went to the line. She made her first free-throw toss, but saw the second bounce off the rim. After a lengthy scrum, junior Allison Papenfuss came up with the rebound in traffic and got the ball to Havel. Havel quickly fed Halfhill for a layup and a 43-35 lead.
Moments later, Halfhill came up with a steal and fired the ball ahead to Slagle for a layup in transition. Then, Steffen's nifty driving layup gave the Brown and Orange a 47-37 lead with 12:39 on the clock.
The teams traded free throws during the next several minutes, before Halfhill drove and dished to Havel for a layup and a 52-41 lead. Heck split two tosses, before Matthews dribbled around the arc and nailed a three-pointer for a 55-42 lead.
Heck responded with a long-distance shot of her own, and the Aces had three opportunities to trim their deficit to single digits. But, two UE shots were off the mark, and Matthews picked Gillum's pocket and banked home a layup try with 6:45 left, for the first of 10-straight BGSU points.
After the triples by Yoder and Matthews during that run, Havel's layup gave BG a 20-point lead, the largest of the game.
The Aces would get as close as 13 points, but freshman Logan Pastor hit two tosses, then found Yoder for a layup with just over two minutes left as BG salted away the victory.
Yoder and Slagle each hit double figures in the scoring column in just 16 minutes of work on the day. Papenfuss had eight rebounds, including four at the offensive end, in 12 minutes of action.
Rogers grabbed nine rebounds in the game, while Halfhill had seven points, five assists and three steals, setting career bests in all three categories. Steffen had four steals to lead all players in that department.
BGSU has a quick turnaround, as the Falcons play one more game before taking a brief break for the Thanksgiving holiday. BG will conclude a stretch of three games in six days on Tuesday (Nov. 22), heading to the Motor City to face Detroit in a 7:00 p.m. tip.
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