Friday, March 9
Cleveland, Ohio
12:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
66
vs
69
Central Michigan (Semifinals)
Jessica Slagle scores 2 of her 12 points in Friday afternoon's game (photo by Brandon Heiss)
Chippewas Edge Falcons, 69-66, in Cleveland
March 09, 2012 | Women's Basketball
BGSU falls in MAC Tournament semifinal, now awaits postseason bid
Central Michigan University freshman Crystal Bradford was dominant down the stretch, lifting the Chippewas to a 69-66 win over the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team Friday afternoon (March 9). The game, a semifinal-round contest in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, was held at Quicken Loans Arena.
FINAL STATS: HTML | PDF
PHOTO GALLERY - Brandon Heiss & Kara Fallon, BGSU Mkt. & Comm.
POSTGAME AUDIO: Curt Miller, Alexis Rogers & Chrissy Steffen
With the win, the Chippewas improve to 20-14 on the season and advance to the championship game. CMU will face Eastern Michigan in Saturday's (March 10) final.
The Falcons, now 24-6 on the year, will await Monday night's postseason tournament announcements. Both the NCAA and WNIT fields will be revealed that night. BGSU, as the MAC's regular-season champion, has clinched the league's automatic berth in the WNIT field.
Bradford scored 18 of her game-high 20 points after halftime, including seven in the final 1:36 of the contest. After a pair of free throws by Falcon senior Jessica Slagle cut Central's lead to a single point with just over two minutes remaining, Bradford hit a driving 'and-one' layup with 96 seconds left. Her free throw gave the Chippewas a 63-59 lead.
BGSU came back with a three-pointer by junior Chrissy Steffen, but Bradford responded with a jumper. Redshirt sophomore Alexis Rogers hit a jumper with 53 seconds left, cutting CMU's lead to 65-64, but Bradford hit a layup with 34.3 seconds on the clock.
On BG's next possession, Bradford came up with a steal and threw the ball ahead to Jessica Green for a layup and a five-point lead with only 12 seconds left. The Falcons got a late Slagle layup, but it was not enough as CMU moved on to the title game.
Bradford had 20 points, and tied for game honors with 12 rebounds. Taylor Johnson had 14 points for the Chippewas, with Jas'Mine Bracey and Niki DiGuilio scoring 12 apiece. Bracey, like Bradford, had 12 boards in the win.
In addition to her scoring and rebounding totals, Bradford also had a game-high total of eight assists.
For the Falcons, Rogers had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Steffen also had 14 points, while Slagle added 12.
The Chippewas held BGSU without a field goal for the last 10:09 of the opening half, but led by just three points at the break. After committing 11 turnovers in the first half, Central shot 44.7 percent from the field in the second period, turning the ball over once after halftime.
For their part, BGSU shot 42.9% in the second half, and the Falcons had only three second-half turnovers. For the game, the Brown and Orange had 13 turnovers to CMU's 12.
The Falcons shot 47.1% over the game's first 10 minutes, before Slagle went to the bench after picking up her second foul with 9:55 left in the half. BG led by a 21-15 count at that juncture, but then missed 11 field-goal tries to end the half.
The Falcons spotted Central a 6-0 lead, with Johnson sandwiching layups around a Green basket. Finally, with exactly three minutes gone, a Slagle pull-up jumper got the Brown and Orange on the scoreboard.
That Slagle shot began a 21-9 run for the Falcons over a seven-minute span. After Bracey gave CMU an 8-2 lead with a jumper in the paint, BGSU got back-to-back three-point field goals to tie the contest at 8-8.
First, freshman Jasmine Matthews slipped out to the right corner, taking a Steffen pass and knocking down a triple try. Then, Steffen flipped the ball to Rogers for a trailing 3, and the game was tied with just over four minutes gone.
Johnson knocked down a jumper, but Slagle went coast to coast for a layup that knotted the score at the day's first media timeout.
Sophomore Jillian Halfhill found Steffen for a three-ball from the left side, but Johnson came right back with a three-pointer of her own. That shot gave Johnson nine points on 4-of-4 shooting, and tied the score again, at 13-13.
Halfhill was fouled on a drive, making both of her free-throw attempts at the 12:11 mark. After Bradford drove and dished to Bracey for a layup, Slagle fired a sweet bounce pass through traffic to a cutting Steffen for an easy layup at the other end.
BG forced a CMU miss, and Slaghe again assisted on a layup, this time finding redshirt junior Danielle Havel with an entry pass. After three Central shots would not drop on the next possession, Slagle took it inside herself, converting a layup for a 21-15 lead.
After contributing directly to BG's six points on three consecutive possessions, Slagle was called for her second foul of the day with 9:55 left in the period. The Falcons would not make another field goal in the opening half.
BG did, however, score some points at the foul line. Halfhill hit a pair of charity tosses at the 8:16 mark, and Steffen split two tries for a 24-17 Falcon lead with 6:42 left in the period.
Johnson hit a trey for the Chippewas, but two Havel tosses gave the Brown and Orange a 26-20 advantage with 4:40 to go in the half. A DiGuilio jumper, though, began a 9-0 CMU run to end the period.
Hoops by Bracey and Bradford were followed by DiGuilio's three-pointer in the final minute of the half, giving the Chippewas a 29-26 lead at the intermission.
Central shot 39.4% in the opening half, holding the Falcons to just an 8-of-28 (28.6%) effort before the break.
BG's field-goal drought came to an end on the opening possession of the second period, as Rogers put back a teammate's miss. Central, however, proceeded to score the game's next seven points, with Bradford assisting on a layup by Green, then stepping out beyond the arc to hit a shot for a 36-28 lead.
Matthews cut into BG's deficit with a three-ball off of a Rogers pass. After a Bradford jumper, Steffen hit a three-pointer after Havel came off with an offensive rebound and kicked it out to her former Carmel (Ind.) H.S. teammate in the left corner. The Falcons were down by four.
Bracey scored inside, but Havel made a nifty move and hit a scoop shot in the paint. Moments later, Rogers hit a layup to cut the margin to three points with 13:57 left. But, the Chips went on another run.
Central scored seven-straight points in less than a minute, with Bradford and Brandie Baker hitting layups, and DiGuilio knocking down a second-chance 3 in between. The Baker layup gave CMU a 10-point lead with 12:49 remaining.
Falcon sophomore Noelle Yoder drained a three-pointer to end that run, and Havel put back a teammate's miss, making it a five-point game. But, DiGuilio hit a layup, and Johnson made two free throws after Rogers was whistled for a dead-ball technical foul with 11 minutes left.
When Bradford scored on a run-out from Green's defensive rebound and long pass ahead, the Chippewas' lead was a game-high 11 points, 54-43, with 10:18 remaining. But, the Falcons began to chip away at the lead.
Steffen got an offensive board and a layup, and Slagle was fouled on a drive, knocking down both free throws. After a DiGuilio miss and a defensive rebound in traffic by soph Jill Stein, Steffen found Matthews on the right wing, and the freshman drilled a three-pointer at the 8:04 mark. CMU's lead was just 54-50.
Bradford, however, came right back with a jumper in the paint, and Bracey's jumper made the score 58-50 with six-and-a-half minutes left.
Rogers, after sitting out for nearly six minutes with four fouls, checked back in with 5:04 on the clock and promptly grabbed a tough offensive board and converted an 'and-one' layup. Her free throw was good, and the Falcons were within five points.
Bracey scored on CMU's next possession, but Rogers hit another layup with 4:10 left. Halfhill's coast-to-coast layup cut the Chippewas lead to 60-57 as the clock ticked under three minutes.
After a CMU timeout, Baker missed a layup try, then went over Rogers' back for a foul on the rebound. That was Central's sixth foul of the half, but Bracey committed CMU's seventh foul just seconds later, sending Slagle to the line. The senior made both of her tosses with 2:08 left, and BG trailed by a single point, 60-59.
Bradford, though, simply would not be stopped. After Green missed a three-point try, Bracey came up with the offensive board and got the ball to Bradford. The freshman drove right-to-left across the paint and finished a layup as she was fouled with 1:36 left. Bradford's charity toss gave her team a 63-59 lead.
Quickly, the Falcons responded, as Steffen took a Matthews pass and knocked down another 3. BGSU took a timeout with 1:20 remaining and the Falcons down by just 63-62.
But, Bradford scored with approximately 70 seconds left. After Rogers hit a shot inside with 53 seconds to go, Bradford converted another layup with 34.3 seconds on the clock, giving the Chips a 67-64 lead.
BG's next possession saw Bradford strip the ball from Havel at the top of the arc, then fire a long pass ahead to a streaking Green for a wide-open layup. That layup gave CMU a five-point advantage and all but sealed the deal.
Slagle got a layup with just one second left, but CMU successfully inbounded the ball as the final horn sounded.
For the game, the Chippewas shot 42.3% from the floor to the Falcons' 36.5%.
Green had eight points and eight rebounds for the Chippewas, who owned a 43-39 rebounding advantage on the day. For the Falcons, Matthews had nine points and a career-high six rebounds, while Havel had eight points and five boards.
Both Matthews and Steffen made three three-pointers, as BG was 8-of-24 from long range. The Chippewas made five treys in 18 tries.
CMU, as mentioned, will face Eastern Michigan in Saturday's (March 10) MAC Tournament championship game. The Eagles downed Toledo, 59-57, in Friday's second semifinal.
The NCAA Championships field of 64 will be announced on Monday evening (March 12), with the selection show televised by ESPN. The show will be broadcast on the video board at the Stroh Center, and the event is free and open to the public.
The WNIT field will be revealed late Monday night, following the announcement of the NCAA bracket.
FINAL STATS: HTML | PDF
PHOTO GALLERY - Brandon Heiss & Kara Fallon, BGSU Mkt. & Comm.
POSTGAME AUDIO: Curt Miller, Alexis Rogers & Chrissy Steffen
With the win, the Chippewas improve to 20-14 on the season and advance to the championship game. CMU will face Eastern Michigan in Saturday's (March 10) final.
The Falcons, now 24-6 on the year, will await Monday night's postseason tournament announcements. Both the NCAA and WNIT fields will be revealed that night. BGSU, as the MAC's regular-season champion, has clinched the league's automatic berth in the WNIT field.
Bradford scored 18 of her game-high 20 points after halftime, including seven in the final 1:36 of the contest. After a pair of free throws by Falcon senior Jessica Slagle cut Central's lead to a single point with just over two minutes remaining, Bradford hit a driving 'and-one' layup with 96 seconds left. Her free throw gave the Chippewas a 63-59 lead.
BGSU came back with a three-pointer by junior Chrissy Steffen, but Bradford responded with a jumper. Redshirt sophomore Alexis Rogers hit a jumper with 53 seconds left, cutting CMU's lead to 65-64, but Bradford hit a layup with 34.3 seconds on the clock.
On BG's next possession, Bradford came up with a steal and threw the ball ahead to Jessica Green for a layup and a five-point lead with only 12 seconds left. The Falcons got a late Slagle layup, but it was not enough as CMU moved on to the title game.
Bradford had 20 points, and tied for game honors with 12 rebounds. Taylor Johnson had 14 points for the Chippewas, with Jas'Mine Bracey and Niki DiGuilio scoring 12 apiece. Bracey, like Bradford, had 12 boards in the win.
In addition to her scoring and rebounding totals, Bradford also had a game-high total of eight assists.
For the Falcons, Rogers had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Steffen also had 14 points, while Slagle added 12.
The Chippewas held BGSU without a field goal for the last 10:09 of the opening half, but led by just three points at the break. After committing 11 turnovers in the first half, Central shot 44.7 percent from the field in the second period, turning the ball over once after halftime.
For their part, BGSU shot 42.9% in the second half, and the Falcons had only three second-half turnovers. For the game, the Brown and Orange had 13 turnovers to CMU's 12.
The Falcons shot 47.1% over the game's first 10 minutes, before Slagle went to the bench after picking up her second foul with 9:55 left in the half. BG led by a 21-15 count at that juncture, but then missed 11 field-goal tries to end the half.
The Falcons spotted Central a 6-0 lead, with Johnson sandwiching layups around a Green basket. Finally, with exactly three minutes gone, a Slagle pull-up jumper got the Brown and Orange on the scoreboard.
That Slagle shot began a 21-9 run for the Falcons over a seven-minute span. After Bracey gave CMU an 8-2 lead with a jumper in the paint, BGSU got back-to-back three-point field goals to tie the contest at 8-8.
First, freshman Jasmine Matthews slipped out to the right corner, taking a Steffen pass and knocking down a triple try. Then, Steffen flipped the ball to Rogers for a trailing 3, and the game was tied with just over four minutes gone.
Johnson knocked down a jumper, but Slagle went coast to coast for a layup that knotted the score at the day's first media timeout.
Sophomore Jillian Halfhill found Steffen for a three-ball from the left side, but Johnson came right back with a three-pointer of her own. That shot gave Johnson nine points on 4-of-4 shooting, and tied the score again, at 13-13.
Halfhill was fouled on a drive, making both of her free-throw attempts at the 12:11 mark. After Bradford drove and dished to Bracey for a layup, Slagle fired a sweet bounce pass through traffic to a cutting Steffen for an easy layup at the other end.
BG forced a CMU miss, and Slaghe again assisted on a layup, this time finding redshirt junior Danielle Havel with an entry pass. After three Central shots would not drop on the next possession, Slagle took it inside herself, converting a layup for a 21-15 lead.
After contributing directly to BG's six points on three consecutive possessions, Slagle was called for her second foul of the day with 9:55 left in the period. The Falcons would not make another field goal in the opening half.
BG did, however, score some points at the foul line. Halfhill hit a pair of charity tosses at the 8:16 mark, and Steffen split two tries for a 24-17 Falcon lead with 6:42 left in the period.
Johnson hit a trey for the Chippewas, but two Havel tosses gave the Brown and Orange a 26-20 advantage with 4:40 to go in the half. A DiGuilio jumper, though, began a 9-0 CMU run to end the period.
Hoops by Bracey and Bradford were followed by DiGuilio's three-pointer in the final minute of the half, giving the Chippewas a 29-26 lead at the intermission.
Central shot 39.4% in the opening half, holding the Falcons to just an 8-of-28 (28.6%) effort before the break.
BG's field-goal drought came to an end on the opening possession of the second period, as Rogers put back a teammate's miss. Central, however, proceeded to score the game's next seven points, with Bradford assisting on a layup by Green, then stepping out beyond the arc to hit a shot for a 36-28 lead.
Matthews cut into BG's deficit with a three-ball off of a Rogers pass. After a Bradford jumper, Steffen hit a three-pointer after Havel came off with an offensive rebound and kicked it out to her former Carmel (Ind.) H.S. teammate in the left corner. The Falcons were down by four.
Bracey scored inside, but Havel made a nifty move and hit a scoop shot in the paint. Moments later, Rogers hit a layup to cut the margin to three points with 13:57 left. But, the Chips went on another run.
Central scored seven-straight points in less than a minute, with Bradford and Brandie Baker hitting layups, and DiGuilio knocking down a second-chance 3 in between. The Baker layup gave CMU a 10-point lead with 12:49 remaining.
Falcon sophomore Noelle Yoder drained a three-pointer to end that run, and Havel put back a teammate's miss, making it a five-point game. But, DiGuilio hit a layup, and Johnson made two free throws after Rogers was whistled for a dead-ball technical foul with 11 minutes left.
When Bradford scored on a run-out from Green's defensive rebound and long pass ahead, the Chippewas' lead was a game-high 11 points, 54-43, with 10:18 remaining. But, the Falcons began to chip away at the lead.
Steffen got an offensive board and a layup, and Slagle was fouled on a drive, knocking down both free throws. After a DiGuilio miss and a defensive rebound in traffic by soph Jill Stein, Steffen found Matthews on the right wing, and the freshman drilled a three-pointer at the 8:04 mark. CMU's lead was just 54-50.
Bradford, however, came right back with a jumper in the paint, and Bracey's jumper made the score 58-50 with six-and-a-half minutes left.
Rogers, after sitting out for nearly six minutes with four fouls, checked back in with 5:04 on the clock and promptly grabbed a tough offensive board and converted an 'and-one' layup. Her free throw was good, and the Falcons were within five points.
Bracey scored on CMU's next possession, but Rogers hit another layup with 4:10 left. Halfhill's coast-to-coast layup cut the Chippewas lead to 60-57 as the clock ticked under three minutes.
After a CMU timeout, Baker missed a layup try, then went over Rogers' back for a foul on the rebound. That was Central's sixth foul of the half, but Bracey committed CMU's seventh foul just seconds later, sending Slagle to the line. The senior made both of her tosses with 2:08 left, and BG trailed by a single point, 60-59.
Bradford, though, simply would not be stopped. After Green missed a three-point try, Bracey came up with the offensive board and got the ball to Bradford. The freshman drove right-to-left across the paint and finished a layup as she was fouled with 1:36 left. Bradford's charity toss gave her team a 63-59 lead.
Quickly, the Falcons responded, as Steffen took a Matthews pass and knocked down another 3. BGSU took a timeout with 1:20 remaining and the Falcons down by just 63-62.
But, Bradford scored with approximately 70 seconds left. After Rogers hit a shot inside with 53 seconds to go, Bradford converted another layup with 34.3 seconds on the clock, giving the Chips a 67-64 lead.
BG's next possession saw Bradford strip the ball from Havel at the top of the arc, then fire a long pass ahead to a streaking Green for a wide-open layup. That layup gave CMU a five-point advantage and all but sealed the deal.
Slagle got a layup with just one second left, but CMU successfully inbounded the ball as the final horn sounded.
For the game, the Chippewas shot 42.3% from the floor to the Falcons' 36.5%.
Green had eight points and eight rebounds for the Chippewas, who owned a 43-39 rebounding advantage on the day. For the Falcons, Matthews had nine points and a career-high six rebounds, while Havel had eight points and five boards.
Both Matthews and Steffen made three three-pointers, as BG was 8-of-24 from long range. The Chippewas made five treys in 18 tries.
CMU, as mentioned, will face Eastern Michigan in Saturday's (March 10) MAC Tournament championship game. The Eagles downed Toledo, 59-57, in Friday's second semifinal.
The NCAA Championships field of 64 will be announced on Monday evening (March 12), with the selection show televised by ESPN. The show will be broadcast on the video board at the Stroh Center, and the event is free and open to the public.
The WNIT field will be revealed late Monday night, following the announcement of the NCAA bracket.
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