Hoekstra, Falcons Shoot Past SFU, 76-62

Saturday, December 13

Johnstown, PA

2:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

5-2

Saint Francis (Pa.)

0-7

Bowling Green

Saint Francis U

Erica Donovan Deborah Hoekstra v Cincinnati - Dec 7 2014 - Craig Bell

Deborah Hoekstra (center) had a career-high 22 points, while Erica Donovan (left) scored 20 vs. SFU

Photo by: Craig Bell, BGSU Marketing and Communications

December 13, 2014 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Senior scores a career-high 22 points, BGSU hits 10 three-pointers in win

By: JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Senior Deborah Hoekstra scored a career-high 22 points, leading the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team to a 76-62 victory over Saint Francis University Saturday afternoon (Dec. 13). The non-conference game was held at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, Pa.

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POSTGAME AUDIO: Hoekstra & Roos

With the win, the Falcons improve to 5-2 on the season, while dropping the Red Flash to 0-7 on the year.

Hoekstra made 8-of-11 shots from the field, including a 4-for-6 performance from three-point range, in Saturday's win. As a team, the Falcons shot 50 percent from long distance, going 10-for-20 from beyond the arc.

Redshirt junior Erica Donovan scored 20 points and pulled down a game-high seven rebounds on her birthday. Donovan was 6-of-10 from the floor and 7-of-10 from the free-throw line. Hoekstra had six rebounds and three assists in addition to her game- and career-high point total.

Sophomore Rachel Konieczki scored 10 points, while junior Miriam Justinger had nine points, seven boards and three assists. The Falcons had a 37-28 rebounding advantage and made 22 free throws to SFU's eight.

Alexa Hayward scored 21 points and added eight assists for the Red Flash. Hayward entered the day as the nation's leading scorer, averaging 27.7 points per game heading into Saturday's contest.

SFU broke out to an early 6-1 lead, and after a Donovan layup, Hope Phillips quickly answered with a layup of her own for an 8-3 Red Flash lead. Then, however, the Falcons scored nine-straight points to take the lead.

That 9-0 run began with Hoekstra's driving 'and-one' layup. The free throw cut the SFU lead to two points, and after a missed shot by the Red Flash, Hoekstra grabbed the rebound. The next possession saw the senior take a pass from Konieczki and hit a straightaway three-pointer.

After the game's first media timeout, Konieczki found Donovan for a three-pointer from the left wing, and the Falcons had a 12-8 lead. Hayward got to the line and knocked down a pair of free throws, but, as the Red Flash tried to trap the Falcons, Donovan's pass from midcourt found Justinger for a triple and a 15-11 advantage.

The Red Flash battled back, and a layup by Phillips capped a 5-0 run and tied the game at 18-18. But, freshman Haley Puk took a Justinger pass and drained a three-point try from the left side, giving the Falcons the lead for good.

A right-side floater by Hoekstra gave the Falcons a five-point lead, but Hayward came right back with a three-pointer to make it a 23-21 game. Konieczki drove the baseline and laid the ball off glass and in, though, and when Hoekstra scored inside a few minutes later, the Brown and Orange had a 28-23 lead.

Phillips hit a three to cut the lead to two points, but Hoekstra came right back with a driving layup, and Justinger finished a drive with a one-handed shot for a 32-26 lead. Then, Hoekstra fired the ball ahead to Puk for a three-pointer on the break, giving BG a nine-point margin with 3:07 left in the half. The Red Flash got a Hayward three-pointer, but Donovan scored the Falcons' last five points of the half.

First, the redshirt junior split a pair of free throws with 2:31 to go. Then, after Aisha Brock's layup cut the BG lead to 36-31 with 1:10 to go, Donovan hit a floater, then corralled a teammate's missed shot and laid the ball up and in for a 40-31 lead at the intermission.

Hayward scored a pair of baskets in the first minute of the second period, and Falcon coach Jennifer Roos used a timeout. Donovan drove, drew a foul on Phillips and split a pair of free throws. Then, after a BG miss, sophomore Abby Siefker grabbed the rebound under the basket and fired a pass to Hoekstra for a corner three and a 44-35 lead.

That lead reached 12 points when Justinger found Hoekstra for another three, this time from the wing. The BG three-for-all continued as Hoekstra returned the favor, finding Justinger for a three-pointer with 15:22 left in the game. The Falcon run was 10-0, and the BG lead was 15, at 50-35.

That run continued with a Donovan jumper, before Hayward stopped the BG streak at 12-straight points with a free throw at the 14:08 mark. Cydney Smith's jumper cut the lead to 14, before Siefker took a pass from Justinger and banked home a shot in the paint.

Phillips was called for her fourth foul as she went over the back of a BG player chasing after a rebound, and before the Red Flash could sub her out of the game, she was whistled for her fifth foul on the Falcons' next trip down the floor. She headed to the bench with 10:56 remaining.

Corissa Archer scored for SFU, but Puk fed Hoekstra for another triple, and a pair of Donovan free throws made it a 59-40 game with nine minutes left. After a pair of free throws by Adila Gathers, Konieczki connected on a corner three for a 62-42 lead with 8:06 to go.

Believe it or not, Konieczki's three-pointer would prove to be the Falcons' last successful field goal of the afternoon. But, BGSU
made 14 free throws to maintain a comfortable lead the rest of the way. The Red Flash could draw no closer than the final 14-point margin.

Redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick was 7-of-8 from the stripe during that game-ending stretch, while Konieczki hit four free throws, Donovan two and Hoekstra one over the final seven-plus minutes of play.

The Falcons shot 44.0 percent from the field, including a 15-of-28 effort (53.6%) in the first half. BG, as mentioned, went 10-of-20 from three-point range, and the Brown and Orange hit 22 free throws in 31 attempts.

Saint Francis shot 43.1% from the floor in the loss. The Red Flash went 10-of-27 from long distance, with Wynn making 4-of-8 triple tries, and SFU was 8-of-13 from the stripe.

The Falcons now prepare for a trip to Illinois next weekend, taking on Illinois State Friday (Dec. 19) and Bradley Sunday (Dec. 21).