Flashes Hold Off Falcons Despite Furious Comeback Bid

Saturday, February 21

Bowling Green, OH

5:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

9-16, 2-12MAC+

Kent State

5-20, 3-11MAC

Kent State

Bowling Green

Miriam Justinger scored a game-high 19 points on Saturday

Photo by: Larry Clapper

February 21, 2015 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Kent State escapes the Stroh Center with a 62-58 win

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

A furious comeback bid by the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team fell just short, as visiting Kent State University escaped the Stroh Center with a 62-58 win Saturday evening (Feb. 21).

The Golden Flashes (5-20, 3-11 Mid-American Conference) led by as many as 16 points early in the second half, but the Falcons (9-16, 2-12) battled back to within one possession in the final minutes. But, BGSU could not convert on three consecutive trips down the floor, and the visitors -- despite making just 2-of-6 free-throw attempts in the final 30 seconds of the game, got a Mikell Chinn charity toss with just 6.9 seconds to go to extend the margin to four points.

Junior Miriam Justinger led all players with 19 points, while redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick added 13 points off the bench for the Falcons. Larissa Lurken paced three double-digit scorers with 16 points for the Flashes, including four three-point field goals.

KSU led by five points at the half, but a 10-0 run early in the second period put the visitors in front by 15 points, 46-31. That lead reached a game-high 16 points when McKenna Stephens hit a jumper with 12:35 to go, giving the Flashes a 52-36 advantage. But, the Falcons would come roaring back.

After CiCi Shannon's layup with 5:42 remaining put the Flashes ahead by a 60-46 count, Kent State would not make another field goal. A Kirkpatrick layup began a 12-0 run for the Falcons. That driving layup came with 5:29 on the clock, and moments later, a steal by senior Deborah Hoekstra began a BG possession that resulted in a Hoekstra banker from close range. KSU's lead was 10 points, 60-50, with just under four minutes remaining.

Out of the game's final media timeout, BG fouled Melanee Stubbs, who missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity. Justinger knocked down a three-point try on the next possession, and suddenly, the Falcons were within seven points.

Lurken missed a corner three, and freshman Sarah Baer battled the much taller Shannon for the rebound. A jump ball was called, with BG awarded the ball on alternating possession with 3:03 remaining.

Hoekstra was fouled on a drive, and knocked down two free-throw tries with 2:39 left, cutting her team's deficit to five points. On KSU's next possession, Baer altered a Chinn shot from close range, and the BG freshman was fouled as she grabbed the rebound. Baer split a pair of charity tosses to cut the Flashes' lead to 60-56.

Chinn was called for traveling with 1:44 remaining, and on BG's next possession, an inbounds pass by freshman Rachel Myers found Justinger wide open under the basket. Justinger's layup was good, and the Falcons trailed by only two points with 1:18 to go.

Kent State used nearly all of the shot clock on the next trip down the floor, but Jordan Korinek's jumper was no good, and Hoekstra's rebound gave the ball back to the Brown and Orange. After Kirkpatrick kicked the ball out to Hoekstra on the next possession, though, the BG senior was called for a traveling violation just before she attempted a three-point try.

The ball went back to KSU with 29.7 seconds left, and a long inbounds pass found Stephens ahead of the pack. Hoekstra fouled Stephens before she could shoot a layup, however, and Stephens then missed two-straight free-throw tries, with Hoekstra rebounding the second miss.

The next possession saw Hoekstra find Baer with an entry pass, but the freshman's shot would not drop, and Stephens rebounded the miss. Hoekstra fouled Stephens, sending her back to the line with 13.7 seconds on the clock. Stephens missed her first shot from the stripe, but she made her second try to give KSU a three-point lead.

The Falcons raced downcourt, but as sophomore Rachel Konieczki crossed midcourt, the ball was deflected out of bounds, with BG the last to touch it. KSU inbounded the ball with 8.0 seconds left, and Konieczki fouled Chinn with 6.9 ticks on the clock. Chinn missed her first shot at the line, but hit the second to give the Flashes a four-point lead.

Shannon had 10 points for the Flashes, adding a game-high eight rebounds as KSU had a narrow 25-23 advantage on the glass. Chinn had seven points and a Stroh Center-record 10 assists for the visitors.

Hoekstra and Konieczki scored eight points apiece for the Falcons, with Hoekstra pulling down a team-leading seven rebounds.

Kent State shot 52.4 percent from the field in the second half and an even 50% for the game. BG shot 50% after halftime, making 9-of-18 shots in the second period, en route to a 44.7% rate on the evening.

The Falcons hit seven three-point tries, with Justinger, Kirkpatrick and Konieczki making two long-range shots apiece. Lurken had four triples to pace KSU's 5-of-10 long-distance effort.

BGSU hit 17-of-21 free-throw tries (81.0%), while the Flashes were 11-of-17 from the line.

Lurken scored the game's first six points, hitting a pair of three-pointers before Konieczki got the Falcons on the board with a triple at the 17:28 mark. The Flashes extended the lead to 10-3, but Kirkpatrick's trey -- which was originally ruled a two-pointer -- cut the margin to four points. After Stubbs hit a long two-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer, Justinger answered with a three-ball.

But, KSU scored the next four points, taking a 16-9 lead, before Kirkpatrick's driving layup resulted in a three-point play that bridged the under-12-minute media timeout. Naddiyah Cross connected from long distance, before Kirkpatrick made another layup midway through the period.

After a Chinn jumper, Myers scored four-straight points, getting fouled on a jumper and knocking down two shots from the line before knocking down a right-side floater. The Flashes' lead was down to three points, at 21-18.

Shannon scored inside after grabbing an offensive rebound, but moments later, a Justinger three-pointer cut KSU's lead to 23-22. The Flashes went on a 5-0 run, but Kirkpatrick cut her team's six-point deficit in half with a three-ball at the 1:29 mark. KSU, however, got a late bucket from Chinn to take a 32-27 lead into the half.

Justinger began the second period by draining a foul and hitting two free throws, before Korinek answered with a jumper. Shannon hit a layup just over a minute later, and Justinger responded with a short jumper to cut KSU's lead to 36-31. But, Lurken scored eight-straight points, beginning with two shots from outside the arc, giving the visitors a 13-point lead.

Shannon made it a 10-0 run with a layup at the 15:11 mark, before freshman Haley Puk's three-point try was on target, cutting the KSU lead to 46-34. That lead dropped to 10 points as Myers hit two tosses, but Korinek's easy layup began a quick 6-0 run, capped by the Stephens bucket that gave the visitors that game-high 16-point lead.

BG answered with a six-point run, as Justinger banked home a shot, Hoekstra hit a jumper and Justinger converted a driving layup with 9:16 to go. A Stephens shot made it a 54-42 lead, and after Hoekstra scored twice from the stripe, the visitors' Krista White scored four-straight points.

Justinger got to the line and made a pair of shots with 5:50 left, but Shannon came right back with the layup that gave her team a 60-46 lead and set up the frantic finish.

Justinger scored 15 of her 19 points in the second half, going a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line after halftime. Hoekstra had eight second-half points for the home team, but Chinn dished out seven of her 10 assists in that second period.

The Falcons hit the road for a pair of games next week, beginning with a Wednesday (Feb. 25) matchup with Miami. That game will begin at 7:00 p.m. at MU's Millett Hall. Then, following a Saturday (Feb. 28) game at Ohio, the Brown and Orange will return home for games vs. Buffalo (March 4) and Akron (March 7) to end the regular season. The MAC Tournament begins on Monday, March 9.