Second-Half Three-for-All Lifts Falcons Past NIU, 65-59

Wednesday, January 14

Bowling Green, OH

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

8-7, 1-3MAC

Northern Illinois

5-8, 1-2MAC

Northern Illinois

Bowling Green

Photo by: Larry Clapper

January 14, 2015 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BG hits five second-half triples; Hoekstra has second double-double in three games

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team hit five three-point field goals in the second half, building a 20-point lead en route to a win over Northern Illinois University Wednesday night (Jan. 14). The Falcons held off an NIU comeback bid, downing the Huskies, 65-59, in Mid-American Conference action at the Stroh Center.

With the win, the Falcons improve to 8-7 overall, and BGSU is now 1-3 in the MAC. The Huskies drop to 5-8 and 1-2, respectively.

Leading by seven at the half, the Falcons hit four three-pointers in a span of under five minutes to build a 15-point lead just over midway through the second half, and a fifth trey gave the home team a 55-35 lead with 6:44 remaining. BGSU went 5-of-6 from three-point range during that eight-minute stretch. The Brown and Orange shot 60 percent overall (12-of-20) and 50% from long distance in the second half.

Senior Deborah Hoekstra had her second double-double in as many Wednesdays, tying for game honors with 14 points and leading all players with 10 rebounds in the win. Junior Miriam Justinger scored 13 points, including nine in the first half, while freshman Rachel Myers joined that duo in double digits with a 10-point game. Myers and senior Jasmine Matthews hit two three-pointers apiece, as six different Falcons connected from long distance in the win.

For NIU, all five starters scored in double figures, led by Amanda Corral's 14 points. Ally Lehman had 12 points for the Huskies, while Danny Pulliam, Renee Sladek and Jenna Thorp all had 10 points on the night. Sladek had eight rebounds and Lehman seven as the teams battled to a 32-32 draw on the glass.

BGSU has won 13 consecutive games vs. NIU. The Huskies' last win over the Falcons was a four-overtime affair at Anderson Arena in 2004.

Wednesday's game was scoreless for over three minutes, before Pulliam's three-point play gave the visitors the lead at the 16:35 mark. Justinger, who scored the Falcons' first seven points of the game, countered by taking a Myers pass and banking home a shot a minute later, and the junior corralled a defensive rebound and went coast to coast, hitting a floater in the paint for a 4-3 BG lead.

Corral gave the visitors the lead once again, hitting a three-pointer, but Justinger connected from long range just 21 seconds later, and the hosts took a 7-6 lead seven minutes into the contest.

The Huskies got a pair of jumpers to regain the lead, but Hoekstra knocked down a triple try from the right side, tying the contest at 10-10 with 9:23 left in the period. Corral knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Huskies a two-point advantage, but the hosts then proceeded to go on a 9-0 run, holding NIU scoreless for nearly five minutes.

That nine-point run began when Justinger got to the line and hit two charity tosses, and after a steal by Hoekstra, freshman Haley Puk drove the lane and hit a nifty 'and-one' shot, finishing the three-point play to give BG a 15-12 lead. Myers hit a long two-pointer at the 5:39 mark, and the Huskies used a timeout.

But, after the Falcons forced a miss, Puk got the rebound and was fouled by the Huskies. The freshman went to the line and made a pair of shots for a 19-12 advantage.

Back came the visitors, as Corral connected from three-point range. Hoekstra hit two tosses, however, and Matthews drilled a long three-point try with the shot clock winding down, giving the Brown and Orange a 24-15 lead. Corral's jumper closed the first-half scoring.

The Falcons ended the first half on a 14-5 run, and BGSU scored the first four points of the second period, as Hoekstra and Justinger each hit jumpers from approximately 10 feet out. The hosts led, 28-17, as the visitors used an early timeout.

A quick 5-0 run, however, nearly cut BG's lead in half, as Lehman's long two-pointer was followed by a Pulliam three. Hoekstra, however, drove past several players to lay the ball off glass with her left hand, with the bucket making it a 30-22 game.

Then, Myers found sophomore Rachel Konieczki for a left-wing three-pointer at the 14:19 mark, beginning the Falcons' 5-for-6 stretch from long range. Sladek scored inside for the Huskies, but Puk fed Myers for a corner three from in front of the Falcons' bench. BG's lead was 36-24 with 12:41 to go.

Sladek knocked down two free throws, but Myers hit her second trey from the same spot in a 40-second span. The freshman headed to the corner, in front of BG's student managers and graduate assistant athletic trainer, took a pass from Hoekstra and drained another triple for a 39-26 lead.

The Huskies scored three-straight points, but Justinger's handoff resulted in a Konieczki layup, and Puk's three-pointer at the 9:23 mark made it a 44-29 BG lead. Redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick's driving layup moments later gave the hosts a 17-point advantage.

The lead stayed between 15 and 17 points over the next few minutes, with Hoekstra knocking down two free throws and Kirkpatrick hitting another layup, and Kirkpatrick then fed Matthews for a left-corner three and a 53-33 lead with 6:44 on the clock. Thorp scored at the other end, but Kirkpatrick hit a foul-line jumper over her defender to restore BG's 20-point advantage. But, the Huskies were far from finished.

Kirkpatrick's jumper, with 5:57 remaining, would prove to be BG's final field goal of the game. A jumper by Corral began a 12-1 run for the Huskies. Konieczki split a pair of free throws after Corral fouled her with the shot clock winding down, giving the home side a 56-37 advantage.

But, Lehman's three-pointer was followed by a Sladek layup with 3:37 remaining, and a steal on the ensuing inbounds pass gave the ball back to the Huskies. That possession ended with Sladek getting to the line and hitting two tosses, cuting BG's lead to 12 points with 3:25 remaining.

The Falcons missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity, and Lehman knocked down a three-pointer to cut BG's lead to single digits, 56-47, with 2:49 remaining. NIU fouled Myers after BG inbounded the ball, and the freshman hit both shots with 2:43 to go. Beginning with those Myers shots, the Falcons went 9-for-10 from the stripe to end the game.

Lehman hit a jumper, and after the Falcons were called for a five-second violation, Thorp's free throws made it a seven-point differential. Hoekstra was fouled and drained two shots, but a Thorp jumper and a steal and layup by Pulliam cut the Falcons' lead to 60-55 with 1:46 remaining.

Konieczki, however, was fouled and made two shots, and after a pair of layup tries by Corral would not drop, Justinger rebounded the second miss and was fouled. She hit both shots for a 64-55 advantage with 1:18 remaining.

Quickly, however, the Huskies got a Lehman jumper, cutting the lead to seven points. Hoekstra split two shots from the line, and the Falcons forced a missed three-pointer on the next possession, with the ball going out of bounds to BG.

The Falcons used all of the shot clock on the ensuing possession, missing a long-range shot. NIU rebounded, but only 23 seconds remained, and a late layup by Sladek was all the Huskies could muster.

BGSU was 12-of-20 from the field in the second half, and the Falcons shot 45.2% from the floor for the game. The BG defense held NIU to a 37.3% success rate on the evening. The Brown and Orange went 8-of-22 from three-point range, as Matthews and Myers hit two triples apiece to lead the charge. The Huskies were 5-of-21 from long distance.

Konieczki had eight points for the Falcons, while Matthews and Kirkpatrick scored six points apiece.

Senior Erica Fullenkamp, who joined the BG women's basketball team less than a week ago, made her debut in the game. Fullenkamp, a four-year Falcon volleyball letterwinner, played a total of five minutes and pulled down a rebound.

The Falcons now return to the road for the next two games, beginning with a short trip north on Saturday (Jan. 17). BGSU will head to Ypsilanti, Mich., to face Eastern Michigan University, with tipoff set for 2:30 p.m. at the Convocation Center.