Falcons Clinch Outright Division Title with 73-56 win at Miami

Wednesday, March 5

Oxford, OH

12:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Miami

March 05, 2014 | Women's Basketball

Rogers has 21 points & keys BGSU's rally on Wednesday afternoon

By: OXFORD, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Alexis Rogers at Miami - March 5 2014 - Miami Athletics

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team overcame a frigid start, rallying for a 73-56 win over Miami University on Wednesday afternoon (March 5). The Mid-American Conference game was held at Millett Hall.

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With the win, the Falcons improve to 26-3 overall and 16-1 in MAC play, and BGSU has clinched the MAC's East Division title outright. The division title is BGSU's ninth in the last 10 years.

Miami dropped to 7-21 and 3-14, respectively.

Senior Alexis Rogers scored a game-high 21 points and played a key role in the Falcons' rally. Rogers also had six steals to lead all players.

Senior Jillian Halfhill and junior Deborah Hoekstra had 15 points apiece, and Halfhill added six assists without committing a turnover.

Hannah Robertson was the lone RedHawk to reach double figures, scoring 19 points before fouling out late in the contest.

The Falcons have clinched no worse than the second seed for next week's MAC Tournament, and BGSU has earned a 'triple-bye' and an automatic berth in the league tourney's semifinal round on Friday, March 14.

With nearly 10 minutes gone, the Falcons had scored just three points, and BG trailed by nine before a Hoekstra three-pointer doubled her team's scoring output and cut the deficit to six.

Miami led by eight points, 16-8, when junior Jasmine Matthews hit two free throws with just over eight minutes left in the half. Those charity tosses began an 8-0 run that was part of a larger 22-8 run to end the period.

Rogers scored 11-straight points around the intermission, with the final eight points of the first half and the first three points of the second. That run took BGSU from a two-point deficit to a 33-24 lead.

MU cut the Falcons' lead to four points early in the second half, but another Hoekstra triple began a 7-0 run that gave the visitors a 45-34 advantage with 13:00 to go. Miami got within seven points a few minutes later, but senior Jill Stein's layup started a 6-0 run that put BG's lead into double figures for the rest of the afternoon.

Matthews and freshman Rachel Konieczki had seven points apiece, while Stein scored five and redshirt sophomore Erica Donovan three. Matthews had four assists, while Stein blocked three Miami shots.

The Falcons shot 35.6 percent from the field, including a 44.4% rate in the second period, while holding Miami to a 34.4% field-goal percentage.

BGSU shot 27% from three-point range, hitting 10 long-range shots as a team. Both Halfhill and Hoekstra made three shots from beyond the arc, while Rogers hit a pair.

BG's total of 37 three-point field goals attempted fell just one shy of the school single-game record, set on Jan. 26, 2000, vs. Akron.

The Falcons went 21-of-24 from the free-throw line, with Rogers going 5-for-5 from the stripe and Hoekstra and Konieczki both making 4-of-4 shots. Miami was 5-for-29 from the three-point line and 7-of-10 at the charity stripe.

The teams got off to a slow start, combining to miss nine shots in the first two minutes. At a stoppage in play with 18:05 left before halftime and the game still scoreless, it was discovered that the teams had been using a men's basketball for the first 115 seconds of play. A proper basketball was fetched, and the game continued.

The first shot taken with a women's basketball was also the first successful shot of the game, as Courtney Larson knocked down a three-pointer for the hosts at the 17:46 mark. Stein split a pair of free throws just under two minutes later, and a steal and easy layup by Rogers broke a streak of seven-straight misses from the field to begin the game. The Falcons trailed by just one, 4-3, with 14:20 to go in the half.

Quickly, however, the RedHawks answered, as Jillian Spurlock got to the line and made a pair of shots, then rebounded a teammate's miss and laid the ball back up and in for an 8-3 MU lead. Hannah McCue rebounded her own missed shot a few minutes later, was fouled and hit both charity tosses for a 10-3 lead at the 12:04 mark.

The Falcons missed shots on the next two possessions, and the RedHawks got yet another offensive rebound, with Jessica Rupright following her own shot, grabbing the ball and laying it in for a 12-3 Miami lead as BGSU used a timeout.

BG missed two more shots before Hoekstra took a pass from Halfhill and knocked down a left-side three at the 10:08 mark. That broke a 1-for-15 Falcon shooting slump to begin the game, and gave the Brown and Orange six points midway through the half.

The RedHawks quickly responded, as Erica Almady's layup restored the home team's eight-point lead. Hoekstra came up with an offensive rebound underneath the bucket and put it up and in, but Hannah Robertson's layup made it a 16-8 MU lead. But, the Falcons were about to go on a run.

That 8-0 run started innocently enough, as Matthews hit a pair of free throws with 8:15 left in the period. The BG defense got back-to-back stops, and Halfhill's 'extra pass' led to an open three-point try for Hoekstra. The junior's drilled that shot, then found classmate Matthews for another BG three on the next possession. The game was tied, 16-16, with 6:25 left before the break.

Hannah Robertson scored four-straight points, hitting a floater, then scoring again afer stealing a BG outlet pass moments later. But, Donovan's putback was followed by a Rogers steal. BG headed downcourt, and Rogers found Donovan on a 2-on1 break. The redshirt soph was fouled and split a pair of charity tosses after the final media timeout of the half, putting the Falcons within one point.

After a layup by MU's Nicole Anderson, Konieczki took a pass from Halfhill and drained a three-point try from out top, and the game was tied, 22-22. Rupright's layup gave the RedHawks the lead for one last time, but the Falcons then ended the half on an 8-0 run.

That run began when Halfhill found Rogers for an 'and-1' layup. The free throw gave the Falcons a 25-24 lead with 1:44 to go in the period, and BGSU never trailed again.

Rogers scored all eight points in the BG run, and took care of business at the other end of the court as well. After the three-point play, Rogers came up with a steal, and the following possession saw her hit a three-pointer for a 28-24 advantage. After a Miami miss, Rogers was fouled and hit a pair of shots with 51.1 left in the half.

With just seconds left in the half, Rogers stole the ball from Haley Robertson near her own baseline. Rogers quickly dribbled through traffic, crossed halfcourt and heaved a shot just before the horn sounded. The shot rimmed out, and BG took a 30-24 lead into the halftime break.

The teams each went 9-of-32 from the field in the opening half, with BG going 3-for-5 to end the period.

Rogers' personal scoring run reached 11 points as she took a pass from Stein and knocked down a straightaway trey just 10 seconds into the second half, giving the Falcons a 33-24 lead.

Anderson answered with a three-pointer, and after Halfhill lobbed the ball inside to Rogers for a layup, Hannah Robertson hit a layup of her own. Halfhill took a Matthews pass and hit a long-range shot, but McCue's three was followed by a Hannah Robertson jumper, and the Falcons' lead was just four, 38-34, with just under 16 minutes to play. But, the visitors would respond.

Halfhill's cross-court pass found Hoekstra for a left-wing three that began a 7-0 run. That run saw Donovan lob the ball in to Rogers for a quick layup in traffic, and Halfhill then drove the lane, was fouled and hit two free throws for a 45-34 lead, BG's first double-digit advantage, with 13:00 to go.

Also during that BGSU 7-0 run, MU's Hannah Robertson was called for offensive fouls on back-to-back RedHawk possessions, giving her four fouls with nearly 14 minutes to play. Miami's top scorer headed to the bench.

Rupright hit a pair of shots inside, but Halfhill drained a long three pointer for a 10-point lead. Moments later, Rogers found Stein for a nifty one-handed shot in the paint, and a pair of Rogers tosses made it a 52-41 game with nine minutes to play. A second-chance bucket by Matthews gave BG a 13-point lead.

Kindsay Brandt's three-pointer cut it to a 10-point game with 6:44 remaining, but an entry pass by Hoekstra led to a Stein layup and a 56-45 lead just over a minute later. After a steal by Stein, Halfhill knocked down a left-corner three for a 14-point BG lead, and the outcome was all but decided.

Hoekstra made a pair of free throws with 3:49 to go, and after Hannah Robertson hit a three, Halfhill's drive down the lane resulted in a hoop and some harm. Her three-point play gave BG a 64-50 lead.

Hannah Robertson's foul-line jumper was good with 2:43 on the clock, and the Falcons missed a shot on the next possession. But, Rogers stole the ball from Brandt and sailed in for an easy layup and a 66-52 lead.

The Falcons went 7-for-8 from the free-throw line over the game's final 1:23, easily offsetting a pair of Miami layups. Konieczki came up with steals on back-to-back Miami possessions late in the game, getting fouled and making a pair of charity tosses on each occasion.

The Falcons had a 24-7 advantage in points off turnovers, and BG had 11 steals on 17 Miami turnovers on the day. BG turned the ball over just nine times, and the Brown and Orange had 14 assists on 21 buckets.

Miami had a 47-35 rebounding advantage, with Anderson and McCue each pulling down eight boards and Hannah Robertson six.

BGSU ends the regular season this weekend, heading to Northeast Ohio for a Saturday (March 8) game against the University of Akron. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at James A. Rhodes Arena.