BGSU Rallies for 72-61 Win at Ball State

Wednesday, January 15

Muncie, IN

6:07 PM

Bowling Green State University

Ball State

January 15, 2014 | Women's Basketball

Falcons shoot 52% from field, 88% from line in the second half

By: MUNCIE, Ind. (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team shot 52 percent from the field and 88% from the free-throw line in the second half, rallying from a halftime deficit for a 72-61 win at Ball State University Wednesday night (Jan. 15). The Mid-American Conference game was held at Worthen Arena.

FINAL STATISTICS: HTML | PDF
POSTGAME AUDIO: Jennifer Roos

With the win, the Falcons improve to 14-2 overall and 4-0 in MAC play. The host Cardinals drop to 7-8 and 2-2, respectively.

BGSU struggled from the field in the first half, going just 6-of-21 from the floor (28.6%) in the first 20 minutes. But, the Brown and Orange went 12-of-16 from the free-throw line in the opening period, and BG trailed by just three points, 31-28, at the intermission.

In the second period, however, the Falcons went 12-of-23 (52.2%) from the field, including a 5-of-8 (62.5%) effort from three-point range, and BG made 15-of-17 shots from the stripe (88.2%).

Sophomore Miriam Justinger scored a career-high 18 points to lead three double-digit scorers for the Falcons. Seniors Alexis Rogers and Jillian Halfhill had 15 and 13 points, respectively, in the win.

For the Cardinals, Nathalie Fontaine scored a game-high 20 points, while Brittany Carter had 15.

The BG defense held Ball State to just a 1-for-14 effort from three-point land, and BSU had 21 turnovers to the Falcons' 13.

The Falcons trailed for nearly all of the first half, and BG was down by five points early in the second period. But, Rogers hit a three-pointer, and Justinger stole the ball from Fontaine and converted a transition layup to tie the score, 33-33, with just over a minute gone.

Fontaine answered with a layup to briefly give the hosts the lead once again, but senior Jill Stein's jumper tied the score, and began a 9-0 run that gave the Brown and Orange the lead for good.

BGSU had begun the game by going scoreless on the first four possessions. The Falcons went 0-of-7 from the field in the first few minutes, while BSU was 1-of-1 at the other end of the court. But, after a pair of misses on the Falcons' fifth possession, Justinger grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled. Her resulting free throws tied the score at 2-2 with nearly three minutes gone.

Two more Justinger tosses knotted the score at 4-4, and the sophomore gave BG the lead with a left-corner three-pointer at the 15:39 mark. The Falcons had a 7-6 advantage, and Justinger had all seven points.

BSU took a 10-7 advantage, but after going scoreless for a three-and-a-half-minute span, Stein took a Halfhill pass and knocked down a three-ball. Then, after a Renee Bennett putback, junior Jasmine Matthews made the 'extra pass' to classmate Deborah Hoekstra, who hit a corner three for a 13-12 lead with 11:14 left in the half.

Midway through the period, Halfhill was whistled for her second foul of the game. She joined Donovan, who also had two fouls, on the BG bench.

The Cardinals were called for foul number seven at the 8:16 mark, however, putting BGSU in the bonus, and freshman Rachel Konieczki hit a pair of shots from the stripe to tie the game at 16-all.

The Cards scored the next four points, but Justinger (figuratively) broke a defender's ankle on a right-side drive and hit a pull-up jumper. Fontaine answered with a three-point play, but two Justinger free throws made it a 23-21 Ball State lead with 4:28 left in the period. Justinger had 12 of the Falcons' first 21 points on the night.

The hosts took a six-point lead -- Ball State's largest advantage of the game -- on layups by Carter and Fontaine, but Konieczki got back to the line and hit a pair of shots, and the freshman then fed Matthews for a long two-pointer from the right side. The Falcons were within two points, at 27-25.

Then, after Jill Morrison made a pair of shots at the stripe, Matthews took a Justinger cross-court pass and hit a three-pointer from the left wing. Carter's two free throws closed the first-half scoring.

In the second period, Shelbie Justice was fouled on the opening possession and made two shots from the line, but Rogers found herself wide open at the top of the arc, taking and making a three-pointer. Then, the Justinger steal and layup tied the score.

Fontaine's bucket gave the Cardinals the lead momentarily, but Stein responded with the shot that began BG's 9-0 run. The Falcons experienced some foul trouble, however, as Donovan was called for two fouls in just under a minute. Her second foul was her fourth of the game, and sent her to the bench with 15:55 remaining.

Meanwhile, though, Halfhill made a free throw, then dribbled around the top of the arc and knocked down a trey at the 14:13 mark. Then, Halfhill and Rogers teamed up for a highlight-reel play a minute later.

That play began with Halfhill inbounding the ball from under the basket in the Falcons' offensive end of the court. Halfhill lobbed a pass to Rogers in the paint. Rogers jumped and caught the ball in the air, shooting in one motion as she was fouled by BSU's Brandy Woody. The shot found nothing but net, and Rogers completed the three-point play with a free throw that gave BG a 42-35 lead.

The teams traded successful possessions over the next few minutes, as Fontaine's jumper was answered by Halfhill's two free throws. Bennett knocked down a jumper, but Hoekstra took a Donovan pass and hit a three-pointer for a 47-39 lead with 10:30 to go. During that stretch, however, both Rogers and Stein picked up foul number three.

The Falcons continued to get to the free-throw line, though, and BG continued to convert. Both Justinger and Halfhill hit a pair of shots at the stripe, and after a Hoekstra steal, Donovan was fouled and made two tosses for a 53-41 lead at the 9:20 mark. When BG forced a Ball State miss on the next possession, Hoekstra grabbed the rebound, and Justinger was fouled and hit two more shots for a 55-41 lead.

Carter made a layup to snap an 8-0 BG run, but Stein's lead gave the Falcons a 15-point lead, the largest of the game, with 8:07 on the clock. But, the Cardinals were far from finished.

Fontaine's three-pointer began a 9-1 run for the home side. Matthews split a pair of free throws, but Fontaine made a layup, and Woody hit two free throws. Then, a BG turnover deep in the Falcons' own end of the court led to an easy layup for Carter, putting the Cardinals within seven points.

The Falcons missed a shot, and Carter responded with a three-point play with just under five minutes to go. Stein was called for her fourth foul on the play, and the free throw cut the Falcons' lead to just four points, at 59-55.

BG quickly responded, however, as Matthews drove and found Rogers inside for a layup. Fontaine scored on a jump-stop banker in the lane, but Stein's pass found Halfhill for a key three-pointer from the left side. Halfhill's shot gave BG a 64-57 lead with just over four minutes left.

The Cardinals missed a layup try, and Halfhill took a Rogers pass and knocked down a short jumper. Morrison's two tosses cut the Falcons' lead to 68-61, but those free throws would prove to be BSU's last points of the game.

After a Halfhill three-point try went in and out with just over 90 seconds to go, the Falcon defense forced Fontaine to miss a shot, and the BSU soph fouled Rogers on the rebound. Rogers hit two shots from the line with 1:06 left, and the Falcon senior made a last-minute layup to close the scoring.

For the game, the Falcons shot 40.9% from the field. Ball State had a slightly better field-goal percentage, at 42.6%, and the Cardinals held a slim 31-29 rebounding advantage. But, BG went 9-of-19 from three-point range on the night, while BSU was just 1-for-14 from the arc.

Additionally, the Falcons made 27 free throws in 33 attempts, for a success rate of 81.8%. BSU was 20-of-25 from the line.

Stein had eight points and game-high totals of seven rebounds and four steals for the Brown and Orange. Justinger's 18-point night included an 11-of-12 effort from the stripe.

Matthews and Hoekstra had six points apiece, while Konieczki scored four.

The Falcons now prepare for a Saturday (Jan. 18) game at Central Michigan University. That contest, which is scheduled to start at 12:07 p.m., will be BG's second consecutive game to be televised by Time Warner Cable SportsChannel, ESPN3 and WatchESPN.