Purdue Hands Falcons First Loss of Season, 59-45

Monday, November 19

West Lafayette, IN

7:30 PM

Bowling Green State University

Purdue

November 19, 2012 | Women's Basketball

Nationally-ranked Boilermakers grab early lead to take control

By: WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Host Purdue University scored on its first five possessions, taking an early lead en route to a 59-45 win over Bowling Green State University Monday night (Nov. 19). The non-conference game was held at Mackey Arena.

FINAL STATS: PDF | AUDIO: Jennifer Roos

With the victory, the nationally-ranked Boilermakers improve to 3-0 on the young season, while handing the Falcons the first loss of the Jennifer Roos Era. BGSU drops to 2-1 on the year.

Drey Mingo and Sam Ostarello paced the hosts, as each recorded a double-double in the win. Mingo had 13 points and 12 rebounds on the night, while Ostarello scored 12 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked a game-high four shots. Chantel Poston also had 12 points for Purdue.

For the Falcons, four players scored between seven and nine points. Fifth-year senior Danielle Havel, a native of Carmel, Ind., had a BG-best nine points on the night, while senior Chrissy Steffen and redshirt junior Alexis Rogers scored eight points each and senior Allison Papenfuss seven. Steffen, like Havel, hails from Carmel.

Rogers led the Falcons with seven rebounds in the game. The Boilermakers had a narrow 37-33 advantage in that category.

The Boilermakers got off to a fast start, scoring six points before the game was a minute old. Mingo sandwiched a pair of layups around two KK Houser free throws. Rogers got the Falcons on the scoreboard, taking a pass from Havel and hitting a jumper from the right side, but Poston got to the line and hit two tosses, and a jumper by Ostarello gave the hosts a 10-2 advantage.

Rogers put back a teammate's miss, beginning a 6-2 run for the Falcons. After another Ostarello jumper, Rogers hit two charity tosses, and Havel took a pass from junior Katrina Salinas and hit a driving layup. BGSU was within four points, at 12-8, with six-and-a-half minutes gone.

The home team, however, pounded the ball inside to Mingo for a layup, and a three-point field-goal attempt by Courtney Moses rolled around the rim and dropped through. Purdue had a 17-8 lead, and the hosts went ahead by a double-digit margin for the first time on a Poston layup midway through the half.

BGSU got a pair of free throws, but Mingo put back her own miss with 6:36 on the clock. Rogers got an offensive rebound and kicked a pass out to Havel for a long two-pointer, and BGSU trailed by a 21-12 score.

Houser scored on a driving layup at the four-minute mark, but Havel took a Steffen pass and knocked down a three-pointer from the right elbow. Poston hit a pair of free throws, but Rogers answered with a pair of tosses, and a Havel putback cut BG's deficit to just seven points, 25-18, at the break.

In the opening half, Havel (four) and Rogers (two) combined for all six of BGSU's field goals and 16 of the Falcons' 18 points. That duo also had eight of BG's 15 first-half rebounds.

Steffen began the second period with a layup on the Falcons' first possession, cutting Purdue's lead to five points. But, the Boilermakers went on a run to take a double-digit lead for good.

Ostarello rebounded her own missed shot, putting the ball back up and in. Poston hit a layup, and Moses came off of a screen to take a pass and hit a three-pointer, then stole the ball and hit a wide-open layup. Suddenly, the home team's lead was 34-20.

Rogers stopped the PU 9-0 run with a free throw, but the Boilermakers then scored the next eight points to take a 42-21 lead. The latter run included four-straight points from Poston, a baby hook from Ostarello, and a Taylor Manuel layup.

Papenfuss made a nice move to get a layup of her own and end Purdue's run. Moments later, Salinas took a handoff from Havel and drove past Mingo for a layup. Steffen hit a three-pointer with 7:10 left, and BG was within 16 points, at 44-28.

After two Ostarello free throws, junior Jillian Halfhill took Steffen's pass from underneath the hoop and hit a trey from the left corner, cutting Purdue's lead to 15.

The home team's lead dropped to 14 points when freshmen Miriam Justinger made two shots from the stripe with 4:08 left, but April Wilson threw in a three-point try on the Boilermakers' next possession.

Papenfuss hit an 'and-one' layup and converted the ensuing free throw with 3:19 on the clock, and two more Justinger free throws cut Purdue's lead to 12 points, 53-41, with just over two minutes remaining. Mingo, however, hit a trey on the following possession to help seal the game.

BGSU shot just 27.5 percent for the game, while the hosts shot 39.2% from the field, including an 11-for-26 (42.3%) effort in the second period. Each team hit four triples on the night.

Purdue had advantages of 30-16 in points in the paint and 17-6 in points off turnovers, but the Falcons had 18 second-chance points to the Boilermakers' eight, and BG had a 17-10 edge in bench scoring.

The Falcons now will prepare for a trip westward, as BGSU plays two games in this weekend's Lady Rebel Round-Up. BG will face Villanova on Saturday (Nov. 24), and either Montana or host UNLV the following day.