Bowling Green State University Athletics

Photo by: Bianca Garza, BGSU Marketing and Communications
Late LMU Rally Lifts Lions Past BGSU, 51-48
November 29, 2014 | Women's Basketball
Donovan, Myers named to all-tournament team
A late rally by host Loyola Marymount University lifted the Lions past the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, 51-48, Saturday evening (Nov. 29). The game, the championship contest in the DoubleTree LA Westside Thanksgiving Classic, was held at LMU's Gersten Pavilion.
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LINKS
FINAL STATISTICS: HTML | PDF
POST-GAME AUDIO: Coach Roos
With the win, the Lions improve to 2-3 on the young season, and LMU captures the tournament title. The Falcons drop to 3-2 on the year. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for BGSU.
"This was a game where I think we got better," said Falcon coach Jennifer Roos. "We were able to string together some consecutive minutes of consistent play on the road in a tournament championship game. But, we had a five-to-seven-minute lapse in the second half where we struggled to score points.
"We had a chance to finish out that game. I'm happy that we put ourselves in position to win -- we had a shot to tie the game at the buzzer that didn't go, we had a layup with a chance to take the lead with a minute left that didn't go. We executed well for the majority of the game, but just couldn't close the deal tonight."
The Falcons never trailed in the first half, but Sophie Taylor's free throws with 15:46 left gave the hosts a 29-27 advantage. It marked the first time BGSU trailed in the tournament, as the Brown and Orange led from wire to wire in Friday's (Nov. 28) first-round win over UC Irvine.
After falling behind for the first time, however, the Falcons proceeded to score 12-straight points to take a 39-29 lead with 12;09 remaining. Freshman Rachel Myers scored the last five points during that run. BG's lead reached a game-high 11 points, 42-31, midway through the half, but the Lions' Leslie Lopez-Wood scored six-straight points, with four coming at the free-throw line, to make it a five-point game.
BG answered with a bucket, and after the teams traded jumpers, a Lopez-Wood three-pointer with 3:04 to go got the Lions within two points. Junior Miriam Justinger scored for the Falcons, but back-to-back buckets by Taylor Anderson tied the score at 48-48 with 1:44 remaining.
All four of Anderson's points came on the same trip down the floor, as she hit an 'and-one' layup and missed the ensuing free throw, but a teammate's offensive rebound kept the possession alive. Anderson knocked down a left-side jumper to knot the score.
On BGSU's next possession, redshirt junior Erica Donovan's three-point try would not drop, but senior Deborah Hoekstra came up with offensive rebound. Donovan's runner went in and out, the Lions rebounded, and the Falcons were called for a foul at the other end with 50.3 seconds left. Deanna Johnson made two free throws to give LMU a 50-48 advantage.
The next possession saw sophomore Rachel Konieczki's three-point try go long, with Johnson grabbing the rebound. Justinger fouled her with 16.9 seconds left, and the LMU junior missed her first charity toss, but made the second.
As the clock wound down, the Falcons looked to make a game-tying three-pointer, but freshman Haley Puk's shot caromed off the back rim. Donovan grabbed the rebound, but the clock ran out and the Lions had the victory.
Donovan and Myers were named to the all-tournament team. They were joined by Johnson and Lopez-Wood from the host school, with Lopez-Wood being chosen as the tourney's MVP.
UC Irvine's Methlyn Onogomuho and UAB's Janae Smith rounded out the all-tournament team.
Donovan led the Falcons with 14 points and nine rebounds on Saturday. Myers and senior Jasmine Matthews scored eight points apiece, and Justinger added seven. Matthews was second on the team with five rebounds, and led BG with three assists.
Lopez-Wood had a game-high 16 points, while Anderson and Taylor scored 10 apiece for the hosts.
The Falcons got off to a solid start on Saturday. After BG forced an LMU turnover on the game's first possession, Konieczki faked a three-point attempt, took a few dribbles and hit a long two-pointer. Johnson tied the score with a jumper, but Justinger's corner three began a 7-0 run for the Brown and Orange. Matthews hit Justinger with that pass, and Justinger returned the favor, firing the ball to Matthews for a shot from just inside the three-point line. When Matthews found Donovan for a layup inside, BGSU's lead was 9-2.
Taylor's layup out of the game's first media timeout cut that lead to 9-4, and Taylor scored again moments later. Donovan took a Matthews pass and knocked down a straightaway trey for a 12-6 advantage, but the hosts proceeded to score three-straight buckets to tie the game. Sophomore Abby Siefker drove the lane and hit a layup for a 14-12 BGSU lead at the game's second media break.
Moments later, Donovan hit a jumper from the foul line extended, and Hoekstra drilled a pull-up jumper for an 18-14 Falcon lead just over halfway through the period. The hosts got a layup from Johnson, before Matthews got a one-hander to go. A Lopez-Wood three-pointer cut the BG lead to a single point, but Matthews got herself to the line and knocked down a pair of free throws with just under four minutes left in the half.
Again, the hosts crept within one point, but Donovan made her presence known on the offensive glass. She grabbed a teammate's miss and put the ball back up off glass. Her shot would not drop, but Donovan again got the rebound and again quickly laid the ball up and off the backboard. This time, it dropped through the net as a foul was called. Donovan's free throw gave BGSU a 25-21 lead, and Anderson's layup cut the Falcons' lead in half as the teams went to the half.
The second half saw Taylor score on the first possession to tie the score, before Donovan's jumper gave BG the lead once again. Emily Ben-Jumbo's layup made it a 27-27 game, and Taylor's free throws at the 15:46 mark left the Falcons trailing for the first time all weekend.
But, after Donovan kept an offensive possession alive with a rebound in traffic, Matthews hit a floater in the lane to tie the score. Then, Hoekstra's cross-court pass found Puk, who drained a three-point try for a 32-29 lead. Hoekstra dribbled around the arc, found some space and hit a shot just beyond the foul line to give the Falcons a five-point advantage.
The Lions used a timeout, but Ben-Jumbo was called for an offensive foul, and Myers knocked down a corner three, then hit a pull-up jumper in the paint for a 39-29 Falcon lead with 12:09 to go.
Taylor's putback snapped BG's 12-0 run, but another Myers three made it an 11-point game midway through the half. Lopez-Wood, however, scored the game's next seven points, as the Falcons went scoreless for a four-and-a-half-minute span. The LMU sophomore hit a pair of charity tosses with 9:35 left, got a layup to go with 8:12 remaining, then got back to the line and made two more shots with 5:50 to go.
Justinger's nice drive and layup upped the BG lead to seven, but Anderson hit a tough shot from the foul line, and a Lopez-Wood floater made it a 44-41 game with 4:27 to play.
Donovan banked a shot home with 3:21 to go, but Lopez-Wood hit a three-pointer with a defender's hand in her face. Back came BG, as Justinger scored from nearly the same spot as Donovan just had, but Johnson fed Anderson for an 'and-one' layup with 2:09 on the clock. Anderson's free throw did not drop, but the Lions got the rebound, and the possession culminated with an Anderson jumper from the left side. The game was tied, 48-48, with 1:44 remaining, setting the stage for the frenetic finish.
"You've got to give Loyola credit for making big shots down the stretch," said Roos. "We played well for the majority of this game but couldn't finish. It probably stings a little more than usual because we had our chances to win, but it's a great learning opportunity for us. This trip has made us better. We've gotten better as a team on the floor, we've grown together as a team both on and off the floor, and those are the things you look for. It was disappointing that we didn't get two wins here in L.A., but we got better on this trip."
The game featured seven ties and three lead changes. The teams had very similar shooting percentages, as BGSU was 20-of-49 and LMU 20-for-48 from the field. The Falcons hit five three-pointers to Loyola's two, but the Lions went 9-of-13 from the foul line, while BG took just three shots (making all three) from the stripe.
The Falcons now prepare for a rare non-conference home game next weekend. BGSU will face Cincinnati next Sunday (Dec. 7) at the Stroh Center, with tipoff scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
DOUBLETREE LA WESTSIDE THANKSGIVING CLASSIC
Friday, Nov. 28
Bowling Green 62, UC Irvine 54
Loyola Marymount 66, UAB 61
Saturday, Nov. 29
Consolation - UAB 69, UC Irvine 65 (OT)
Championship - at Loyola Marymount 51, Bowling Green 48
All-Tournament Team
Leslie Lopez-Wood, LMU (MVP)
Deanna Johnson, LMU
Erica Donovan, BGSU
Rachel Myers, BGSU
Methlyn Onogomuho, UC Irvine
Janae Smith, UAB
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LINKS
FINAL STATISTICS: HTML | PDF
POST-GAME AUDIO: Coach Roos
With the win, the Lions improve to 2-3 on the young season, and LMU captures the tournament title. The Falcons drop to 3-2 on the year. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for BGSU.
"This was a game where I think we got better," said Falcon coach Jennifer Roos. "We were able to string together some consecutive minutes of consistent play on the road in a tournament championship game. But, we had a five-to-seven-minute lapse in the second half where we struggled to score points.
"We had a chance to finish out that game. I'm happy that we put ourselves in position to win -- we had a shot to tie the game at the buzzer that didn't go, we had a layup with a chance to take the lead with a minute left that didn't go. We executed well for the majority of the game, but just couldn't close the deal tonight."
The Falcons never trailed in the first half, but Sophie Taylor's free throws with 15:46 left gave the hosts a 29-27 advantage. It marked the first time BGSU trailed in the tournament, as the Brown and Orange led from wire to wire in Friday's (Nov. 28) first-round win over UC Irvine.
After falling behind for the first time, however, the Falcons proceeded to score 12-straight points to take a 39-29 lead with 12;09 remaining. Freshman Rachel Myers scored the last five points during that run. BG's lead reached a game-high 11 points, 42-31, midway through the half, but the Lions' Leslie Lopez-Wood scored six-straight points, with four coming at the free-throw line, to make it a five-point game.
BG answered with a bucket, and after the teams traded jumpers, a Lopez-Wood three-pointer with 3:04 to go got the Lions within two points. Junior Miriam Justinger scored for the Falcons, but back-to-back buckets by Taylor Anderson tied the score at 48-48 with 1:44 remaining.
All four of Anderson's points came on the same trip down the floor, as she hit an 'and-one' layup and missed the ensuing free throw, but a teammate's offensive rebound kept the possession alive. Anderson knocked down a left-side jumper to knot the score.
On BGSU's next possession, redshirt junior Erica Donovan's three-point try would not drop, but senior Deborah Hoekstra came up with offensive rebound. Donovan's runner went in and out, the Lions rebounded, and the Falcons were called for a foul at the other end with 50.3 seconds left. Deanna Johnson made two free throws to give LMU a 50-48 advantage.
The next possession saw sophomore Rachel Konieczki's three-point try go long, with Johnson grabbing the rebound. Justinger fouled her with 16.9 seconds left, and the LMU junior missed her first charity toss, but made the second.
As the clock wound down, the Falcons looked to make a game-tying three-pointer, but freshman Haley Puk's shot caromed off the back rim. Donovan grabbed the rebound, but the clock ran out and the Lions had the victory.
Donovan and Myers were named to the all-tournament team. They were joined by Johnson and Lopez-Wood from the host school, with Lopez-Wood being chosen as the tourney's MVP.
UC Irvine's Methlyn Onogomuho and UAB's Janae Smith rounded out the all-tournament team.
Donovan led the Falcons with 14 points and nine rebounds on Saturday. Myers and senior Jasmine Matthews scored eight points apiece, and Justinger added seven. Matthews was second on the team with five rebounds, and led BG with three assists.
Lopez-Wood had a game-high 16 points, while Anderson and Taylor scored 10 apiece for the hosts.
The Falcons got off to a solid start on Saturday. After BG forced an LMU turnover on the game's first possession, Konieczki faked a three-point attempt, took a few dribbles and hit a long two-pointer. Johnson tied the score with a jumper, but Justinger's corner three began a 7-0 run for the Brown and Orange. Matthews hit Justinger with that pass, and Justinger returned the favor, firing the ball to Matthews for a shot from just inside the three-point line. When Matthews found Donovan for a layup inside, BGSU's lead was 9-2.
Taylor's layup out of the game's first media timeout cut that lead to 9-4, and Taylor scored again moments later. Donovan took a Matthews pass and knocked down a straightaway trey for a 12-6 advantage, but the hosts proceeded to score three-straight buckets to tie the game. Sophomore Abby Siefker drove the lane and hit a layup for a 14-12 BGSU lead at the game's second media break.
Moments later, Donovan hit a jumper from the foul line extended, and Hoekstra drilled a pull-up jumper for an 18-14 Falcon lead just over halfway through the period. The hosts got a layup from Johnson, before Matthews got a one-hander to go. A Lopez-Wood three-pointer cut the BG lead to a single point, but Matthews got herself to the line and knocked down a pair of free throws with just under four minutes left in the half.
Again, the hosts crept within one point, but Donovan made her presence known on the offensive glass. She grabbed a teammate's miss and put the ball back up off glass. Her shot would not drop, but Donovan again got the rebound and again quickly laid the ball up and off the backboard. This time, it dropped through the net as a foul was called. Donovan's free throw gave BGSU a 25-21 lead, and Anderson's layup cut the Falcons' lead in half as the teams went to the half.
The second half saw Taylor score on the first possession to tie the score, before Donovan's jumper gave BG the lead once again. Emily Ben-Jumbo's layup made it a 27-27 game, and Taylor's free throws at the 15:46 mark left the Falcons trailing for the first time all weekend.
But, after Donovan kept an offensive possession alive with a rebound in traffic, Matthews hit a floater in the lane to tie the score. Then, Hoekstra's cross-court pass found Puk, who drained a three-point try for a 32-29 lead. Hoekstra dribbled around the arc, found some space and hit a shot just beyond the foul line to give the Falcons a five-point advantage.
The Lions used a timeout, but Ben-Jumbo was called for an offensive foul, and Myers knocked down a corner three, then hit a pull-up jumper in the paint for a 39-29 Falcon lead with 12:09 to go.
Taylor's putback snapped BG's 12-0 run, but another Myers three made it an 11-point game midway through the half. Lopez-Wood, however, scored the game's next seven points, as the Falcons went scoreless for a four-and-a-half-minute span. The LMU sophomore hit a pair of charity tosses with 9:35 left, got a layup to go with 8:12 remaining, then got back to the line and made two more shots with 5:50 to go.
Justinger's nice drive and layup upped the BG lead to seven, but Anderson hit a tough shot from the foul line, and a Lopez-Wood floater made it a 44-41 game with 4:27 to play.
Donovan banked a shot home with 3:21 to go, but Lopez-Wood hit a three-pointer with a defender's hand in her face. Back came BG, as Justinger scored from nearly the same spot as Donovan just had, but Johnson fed Anderson for an 'and-one' layup with 2:09 on the clock. Anderson's free throw did not drop, but the Lions got the rebound, and the possession culminated with an Anderson jumper from the left side. The game was tied, 48-48, with 1:44 remaining, setting the stage for the frenetic finish.
"You've got to give Loyola credit for making big shots down the stretch," said Roos. "We played well for the majority of this game but couldn't finish. It probably stings a little more than usual because we had our chances to win, but it's a great learning opportunity for us. This trip has made us better. We've gotten better as a team on the floor, we've grown together as a team both on and off the floor, and those are the things you look for. It was disappointing that we didn't get two wins here in L.A., but we got better on this trip."
The game featured seven ties and three lead changes. The teams had very similar shooting percentages, as BGSU was 20-of-49 and LMU 20-for-48 from the field. The Falcons hit five three-pointers to Loyola's two, but the Lions went 9-of-13 from the foul line, while BG took just three shots (making all three) from the stripe.
The Falcons now prepare for a rare non-conference home game next weekend. BGSU will face Cincinnati next Sunday (Dec. 7) at the Stroh Center, with tipoff scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
DOUBLETREE LA WESTSIDE THANKSGIVING CLASSIC
Friday, Nov. 28
Bowling Green 62, UC Irvine 54
Loyola Marymount 66, UAB 61
Saturday, Nov. 29
Consolation - UAB 69, UC Irvine 65 (OT)
Championship - at Loyola Marymount 51, Bowling Green 48
All-Tournament Team
Leslie Lopez-Wood, LMU (MVP)
Deanna Johnson, LMU
Erica Donovan, BGSU
Rachel Myers, BGSU
Methlyn Onogomuho, UC Irvine
Janae Smith, UAB
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Team Stats
BGSU
LMU
FG%
.408
.417
3FG%
.238
.133
FT%
1.000
.692
RB
27
32
TO
17
16
STL
8
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Players Mentioned
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