Villanova Tops Falcons, 53-42, in Vegas

Saturday, November 24

Las Vegas, NV

3:30 PM PT

Bowling Green State University

Villanova

November 24, 2012 | Women's Basketball

BGSU to face host UNLV on Sunday

By: LAS VEGAS, Nev. (BGSU Athletic Communications)

BGSU women's basketball v Madonna - Nov 10 2012

Laura Sweeney had a double-double to lead Villanova University to a 53-42 win over the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team Saturday afternoon (Nov. 24). The game, a first-round contest at the Lady Rebel Round-Up, was held at Cox Pavilion on the UNLV campus.

FINAL STATS: HTML   |   PDF
POSTGAME AUDIO: Jennifer Roos
UPDATED CUME STATS: BGSU   |   UNLV

With the win, the Wildcats improve to 3-1 on the season. Villanova will face Montana in the championship game of the Lady Rebel Round-Up on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 25). The Falcons, now 2-2, will meet host UNLV in the consolation game.

The BGSU-UNLV game will begin at 1:00 p.m. locally (4:00 p.m. Eastern Time).

Junior Jillian Halfhill led the Falcons with 15 points in the game, while senior Danielle Havel added nine and sophomore Jasmine Matthews eight.

The Falcons outrebounded the Wildcats, 43-34, and BGSU, for the most part, played well at the defensive end and displayed great hustle at both ends of the floor. But, BG just could not overcome a cold shooting performance.

BGSU shot just 24.1 percent from the field in the loss, going an identical 7-for-29 in each half. The Wildcats shot only 37.3% themselves, but VU's five extra field goals made basically accounted for the difference in the game.

Sweeney had 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead all players in both categories. She also had game-high totals of four steals and four blocked shots in just 28 minutes of action. Rachel Roberts also hit double figures for the Wildcats, with 11 points.

Devon Kane and Megan Pearson scored nine points apiece for VU. Kane did most of her damage at the free-throw line, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the stripe, while all of Pearson's points came from long distance, as she was 3-of-5 from three-point land.

Halfhill also made 3-of-5 three-pointers, as each team hit six shots from beyond the arc.

Sweeney scored six of the Wildcats' first eight points of the game, as VU went 4-of-4 from the field to take an early 8-0 lead and prompt a BGSU timeout.

While 'Nova made the first four shots of the afternoon, the Falcons missed seven shots to begin the game, going scoreless for four-and-a-half minutes. BG got on the board at the 15:29 mark, when freshman Bailey Cairnduff found Havel for a layup.

Roberts countered with a three-pointer for a nine-point VU lead, but Halfhill answered with a triple of her own. The junior point guard scored eight consecutive BGSU points during a two-minute stretch, knocking down a pull-up jumper in traffic, then hitting another triple from the right wing to cut the deficit to just three points, at 13-10.

Pearson countered with a trey of her own, before Matthews banked a runner off glass and in. Lauren Burford, though, hit a straightaway three to give her team a 19-12 lead with 8:23 left before halftime.

Jill Stein, however, helped the Falcons make a 5-0 mini-run.  The junior hit a layup, then made a nice touch pass that led to a Matthews three-pointer.  Freshman Miriam Justinger threw the ball inside to Stein, who quickly redirected it to Matthews at the right elbow. The resulting shot cut 'Nova's lead to 19-17.

That Matthews triple, which came with 6:27 on the clock, would be BGSU's last field goal of the half.

Sweeney put back her own miss, then hit a reverse layup, and the Wildcats' lead was six points. After a Halfhill free throw, Sweeney canned a jumper in the paint for a 25-18 advantage. Three charity tosses by senior Chrissy Steffen, along with a Roberts jumper, made the score 27-21 at the half.

Sweeney had 12 of her 16 points in that opening half. She and Roberts combined for 21 of their team's 27 points before the intermission.

In the first three-plus minutes of the second half, the Falcons allowed VU to make just one field goal, and BG forced the Wildcats into four turnovers. But, BG could not cash in at the offensive end, and the deficit increased to 10 points as Taylor Holeman hit a layup and Jesse Carey made two shots from the stripe.

With 18:13 left in the half and Carey at the line, Matthews and fellow sophomore Deborah Hoekstra entered the game for the Falcons, and the substitutions seemed to give the Brown and Orange a spark.

Hoekstra, seeing her first playing time of the season, drove the baseline and kicked the ball to Halfhill for a three-pointer. Sweeney hit a layup, but Hoekstra drove once again, this time banking the ball home in traffic.

Moments later, the Falcons got three offensive rebounds on the same possession, including boards by Stein and Hoekstra, and the possession culminated with a Havel fourth-chance jumper as the shot-clock buzzer sounded. The shot cut VU's lead to 35-29 with 13:26 left.

BG forced a miss and got the ball back, looking to reduce the deficit even further. But, two shots, including a three-point try, were off the mark, and Kane knocked down a long-range shot at the other end. Then, after a BG turnover, Pearson hit a triple of her own, and 'Nova's lead was 41-29.

The Falcons kept battling. Junior Allison Papenfuss and Hoekstra fought several VU players for a rebound, and Papenfuss grabbed it. She flipped it to the charging Hoekstra, who was fouled underneath the hoop. The sophomore split her two free-throw tries with 11 minutes left.

After a Kane miss, Halfhill got the rebound and went coast to coast for a layup to cut the deficit to single digits. Emily Leer made a free throw for the Wildcats, but Halfhill fed Papenfuss for a right-side fadeaway bank shot, and VU's lead was just 42-34.

But, Leer drove and dished the ball to Pearson for a three-pointer, and a Sweeney jumper restored Villanova's lead to 13, at 47-34. The margin increased to 15 on a Roberts bucket at the 6:37 mark.

After the aforementioned Papenfuss banker, the Falcons went 7:44 without another field goal. But, that Roberts bucket with 6:47 remaining would be the Wildcats' last of the game.

Two Havel free throws cut the Falcons' deficit to 49-36 with 5:28 on the clock, and the score remained the same for nearly three and a half minutes.

Finally, out of a timeout, Matthews hit a three-pointer with 2:04 left. And, after Stein came up with a steal, Matthews found Havel for another triple with 1:01 left. BG was within seven points. But, the Falcons would get no closer.

BG fouled Kane on the ensuing possession, and she made both of the resulting free throws. After a BG turnover and another foul, two more Kane tosses closed the scoring.

The Falcons' total of 43 rebounds included 16 offensive boards. Stein led BG with six total rebounds, with all but one coming at the offensive end. Eight of her teammates had between three and five rebounds apiece.

Halfhill, Havel and Matthews combined for 32 of their team's 42 points in the game. No other player scored more than three points in the game.

BGSU and UNLV, as mentioned, will meet at 1:00 p.m. locally (4:00 p.m. Eastern) at Cox Pavillion on Sunday (Nov. 25). The Lady Rebels are 2-3 on the season after dropping a 69-65 overtime decision to Montana in Saturday's first game.

Sunday's meeting will be the first-ever women's basketball matchup between BGSU and UNLV.