Falcons Down NIU, 60-49, Behind Long-Range Attack

Saturday, February 16

DeKalb, IL

4:00 PM ET

Bowling Green State University

Northern Illinois

February 16, 2013 | Women's Basketball

Havel, Steffen score 14 points apiece, combine for 7 three-pointers

By: DeKALB, Ill. (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Danielle Havel v Toledo - Kara Fallon photo

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team used a torrid shooting start to take an early lead en route to a 60-49 win at Northern Illinois University Saturday afternoon (Feb. 16). The Mid-American Conference game was held at the Convocation Center.

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With the win, the Falcons improve to 16-8 overall and 7-4 in MAC action. BGSU remains in second place in the MAC's East Division, one game behind division-leading Akron. The Falcons host the Zips on Wednesday night.

The Huskies drop to 7-17 and 2-9, respectively.

Seniors Danielle Havel and Chrissy Steffen scored 14 points apiece as all 10 BG players to see action scored at least two points. The two Carmel, Ind., natives combined for seven of the Falcons' 10 three-point field goals in the win.

Havel's point total tied her career high. She was a perfect 3-of-3 from long range, setting a career best for three-pointers made. Steffen went 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.

BGSU hit five-straight three-point tries to begin the game. The Falcons went 8-of-15 from long distance in the first half and connected on 10-of-23 triple tries on the day.

Junior Jillian Halfhill connected on two of her three shots from beyond the arc, as BGSU's starters combined to go 10-of-18 from long range.

Amanda Corral was the lone double-figure scorer for the Huskies, with 12 points.

The lead changed hands three times in the first three-plus minutes of the game, but after Havel hit from long range to give the Falcons a 6-4 lead, the Brown and Orange would not trail again. BG scored on seven consecutive possessions to wrest control of the game.

Halfhill's tri-lighter at the 14:26 mark gave the visitors a 17-6 advantage, and the Falcons' lead never dropped below double digits the rest of the way.

Another Havel trey gave BG a game-high 21-point lead late in the first half. The Huskies crept within 12 points on two occassions in the second period, but NIU would draw no closer until a layup with just 33 seconds left provided the final margin.

BGSU shot 42.6 percent from the field for the game, including a 14-of-30 (46.7%) effort in the first period. The Falcon defense held the Huskies to a 32.0% percent rate in the first 20 minutes, as NIU went 8-of-25 from the floor. Northern shot 36.7% on the game.

The Falcons' first two possessions of the day resulted in an offensive foul and a shot-clock violation. Then, however, BGSU proceeded to score on each of the next seven trips down the floor.

Those seven possessions included a perfect 5-for-5 effort from three-point range, as four different players connected from beyond the arc. All five Falcon starters scored at least one bucket during that seven-possession stretch, which resulted in a 19-4 run for the visitors.

Steffen hit the first of those five treys, knocking down a shot from the corner after Havel's baseline drive and dish. After an Ashley Sneed jumper at the other end, Havel hit a shot from out top, and the Falcons were up, 6-4.

The lead grew to 9-4 after Halfhill, pushing the tempo, dribbled upcourt and found freshman Miriam Justinger for a trailing three. The Huskies took a timeout with 16:16 left before halftime.

Out of that break, however, Justinger stole the ball from McKenzie Hoelmenn and hit an uncontested layup. Corral scored for the hosts, but Havel knocked down her second trey of the day, and the Falcons' lead was 14-6 heading into the first media break of the day.

The next possession saw Havel block a shot by Jenna Thorp, then grab the rebound. Halfhill hit the Falcons' fifth three-pointer in a three-and-a-half-minute span, and after another NIU miss, redshirt junior Alexis Rogers threw in a shot in the lane. The Falcons were up, 19-6, as the Huskies used another timeout.

Moments later, Steffen's second three-pointer of the game gave the Brown and Orange a 22-8 advantage with 12:01 to go before halftime. Steffen's corner three was the Falcons' eighth successful field goal of the day, after BG had made just seven shots during the entire first half of the team's most recent game, a loss at Western Michigan on Sunday (Feb. 10).

Junior Jill Stein entered the game and made her presence felt, hitting a turnaround jumper, then getting a one-handed scoop shot to drop as the shot-clock buzzer sounded. The Falcons' lead was 26-13.

Freshman Bailey Cairnduff saw a three-point try bounce off the rim, but alertly followed her shot, slipping through traffic to rebound her own miss and quickly lay the ball off glass and in.

Moments later, sophomore Deborah Hoekstra's layup gave the Falcons a 30-15 advantage with 3:11 left before halftime. Hoekstra's shot began an 8-0 run for the visitors, as Halfhill took a pass from Havel and threw in a right-wing three as the shot-clock horn went off, and Havel then hit a trey of her own off of a Halfhill pass. Havel's shot, with 1:30 left in the half, gave the Falcons a 36-15 lead and resulted in Northern's third timeout of the half. Alicia Johnson's layup for the hosts closed the first-half scoring.

Eight different Falcons scored at least one first-half basket. Havel led the way with nine points, on the strength of a 3-for-3 three-point performance.

The second half saw NIU's Thorp score on the opening possession, but Havel answered with an 'and-one' layup, converting the free throw for a 39-19 lead.

The Huskies, however, proceeded to score seven-straight points. After Shaakira Haywood converted a three-point play of her own, she got back to the line and split a pair of free throws. Then, Corral's three-ball cut the Falcons' lead to 39-26, and BG used a timeout with 17:33 to go.

Rogers hit a shot to stop the run, and after a Sneed jumper, Justinger fed Steffen for a three-pointer from the left side. BG forced Northern into a shot-clock violation, and Havel fed Stein for a shot off glass and a 47-28 BG lead.

Once again, however, the Huskies had an answer. After a Sneed layup, Corral scored five-straight points, on a triple and a short-corner jumper. Suddenly, the Falcons' lead was down to 12 points with just over 10 minutes to go.

The Falcons were unsuccessful on the next trip, missing a jumper, and NIU rebounded. Steffen jumped the passing lane, though, stealing Sneed's outlet pass deep in Northern's end of the court and hitting a quick layup.

After Johnson split a pair of free throws, Steffen took a return pass from Justinger and drained a three-pointer. Northern threw the ball away, and Rogers hit a turnaround shot in the paint with 8:31 remaining. BGSU's lead was 54-36 as NIU took another timeout.

The teams traded free throws over the next few minutes, before junior Katrina Salinas connected on a long two-pointer for a 58-40 lead with just over four minutes remaining. A three-pointer by Alexis Lindsrom, however, was followed by a Natecia Augusta conventional three-point play, and the Falcons' advantage was just 12 points with 2:52 on the clock.

Senior Allison Papenfuss answered with a jumper off of an entry pass by Cairnduff, That shot, coming with 2:36 remaining, would be BG's final bucket of the day, but the Falcons held NIU without a field goal until only 33 seconds were left. The Huskies got just one free throw over a two-minute span, before Augusta's layup closed the game's scoring.

In addition to her 15 points, Havel had seven rebounds to lead the Falcons in that category. Halfhill had seven points, five boards and a game-high four assists, while Rogers and Stein scored six points each.

Sneed had eight points and six boards for the hosts, while Lindstrom scored five points and led Northern witih eight rebounds. The Huskies had a 34-30 edge on the glass.

The Falcons now close the regular season with five consecutive games against MAC East Division foes, beginning with Wednesday's (Feb. 20) game vs. Akron. Tipoff is 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.