Late Rally Sends Bearcats Past Falcons

Tuesday, November 15

Bowling Green, OH

12:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

0-2

Cincinnati

2-0

Cincinnati

Bowling Green

Abby Siefker, shown here recording 1 of her 4 blocks, had a monster game vs. UC (Larry Clapper photo)

Photo by: Larry Clapper

November 15, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Siefker has a monster game, but UC escapes the Stroh with a win

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The University of Cincinnati took the lead with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and the Bearcats hit their free throws down the stretch to post a 68-58 win over the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 15). The non-conference game was held at the Stroh Center.

Senior Abby Siefker had the finest game of her career for the Falcons, with 14 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. The Ottoville, Ohio, native set career highs in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots (four) and she tied her career best with five assists.

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The double-double was the first of Siefker's career, and the Falcons' second in as many games.

Shanice Johnson led all players with 25 points for the visitors, while Ana Owens added 20.

Sophomore Carly Santoro posted a double-figure scoring total for the second-straight game, with 12 points, while junior Rachel Myers had eight and classmate Haley Puk and freshman Caterrion Thompson seven apiece.

Siefker and the Falcons held a 38-28 rebounding advantage on Tuesday, and the Falcons shot 45.5 percent from the field to the Bearcats' 39.1%. But, after UC took the lead in the late stages of the contest, the visitors went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final minute.

The teams were called for a combined 41 fouls on the day, with the Falcons whistled for 23 and the Bearcats 18. UC had a pair of technical fouls in the first half, and both teams had multiple players in foul trouble for seemingly the entire game.

Siefker scored on each of BG's first two possessions of the game, but the Bearcats got a three-point field goal from Johnson and an Owens layup to take a 7-4 lead with just over three minutes gone. Siefker threw the ball inside to freshman Clare Glowniak, who was making her first collegiate start, for a layup.

But, moments later, Glowniak picked up her second foul with only four-and-a-half minutes gone. UC's Chelsea Warren had already been charged with her second foul of the day.

After an Owens jumper with 5:19 on the clock, the Falcons held UC off of the scoreboard for the remainder of the first period. BG scored the last 12 points of the quarter, beginning with a Siefker jumper in the paint. Santoro converted a three-point play around a media timeout, and the Falcons had an 11-9 lead.

Then, with the shot clock winding down, Puk hit a long, rainbow three-pointer to give the Falcons a 14-9 lead with 2:46 left in the period. BGSU was 6-for-8 from the field at that point, but the hosts would not attempt another field goal over the remainder of the first period.

Glowniak checked back into the contest late in the quarter, but was called for an offensive foul -- her third foul of the day. Another post player, sophomore Maddie Cole, was whistled for her second foul of the game roughly 30 seconds later. But, after Owens missed a jumper, Johnson fouled Siefker as the BG senior grabbed the rebound, and Johnson was then assessed a technical foul as well. With 3.4 seconds left in the quarter, Myers and Siefker hit two free throws apiece, and BG's lead was 18-9 after 10 minutes of play.

Siefker had eight points in the opening quarter, going a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor.

In addition to Warren, Johnson and Bianca Quisenberry ended the first period with two fouls for the 'Cats.

Antoinette Miller came up with a steal and transition layup to begin the second period, but sophomore Sydney Lambert answered with a tough contested jumper at the shot-clock horn, and the Falcons had a 20-11 lead. UC, though, scored the next five points to cut the lead to four.

Freshman Jane Uecker took a Lambert pass and scored inside, however, and after an Angel Rizor putback, Myers canned a jumper to begin a 7-0 BG run. Owens, believe it or not, picked up three fouls in a 13-second stretch during that span. Owens and Santoro went to the floor for a loose ball near midcourt, and Owens was called for a foul. She was quickly whistled for a technical foul as well, and after Santoro split a pair of charity tosses, Owens was called for a foul as Cole rebounded a teammate's missed shot.

Cole got her hand on a Quisenberry pass near the center stripe, and the Falcons headed the other way. Puk rebounded a missed shot and quickly put the ball back up and in, and the Falcons had a nine-point lead. Cole was called for her third foul of the game moments later, but Warren picked up her third as she fouled Puk on a drive down the lane, and the BG junior connected on a pair of shots from the stripe, giving the hosts a 29-18 lead. UC got buckets from Johnson and Quisenberry to get within seven points at the intermission.

Both teams hit 10 first-half field goals, but it took BG 10 fewer attempts to get there. The Falcons were 10-of-22 from the floor in the first half, while UC made 10 buckets in 32 attempts. BG also held a 22-14 first-half rebounding advantage.

Seven players had at least two fouls in the first half, including four -- BG's Cole and Glowniak and UC's Owens and Warren -- with three apiece.

Quisenberry and the Bearcats got off to a quick start in the third quarter. After a Johnson layup, Quisenberry hit a transition three-pointer, then knocked down a right-side jumper, and suddenly, the game was tied. Glowniak countered with a layup, but another Quisenberry hoop made it a 31-31 game.

The 'Cats took the lead on a free throw at the 6:53 mark, but Myers answered with a three-pointer off of a Siefker pass. Johnson hit a jumper, but Lambert raced downcourt and drained a jumper of her own. Then, Siefker found Santoro for a layup and a 38-34 lead.

Just over a minute later, Siefker again kicked the ball out to Santoro, this time for a three-pointer, and the Falcons' lead was seven. Siefker had four assists in the third quarter, including three in a span of four BG buckets.

Senior Rachel Konieczki found Thompson, who drilled a three-ball from the left corner for an eight-point lead, but Johnson answered with a trey of her own, then scored inside with just over a minute left in the period. She was fouled on the latter play, and hit the ensuing free throw to cut UC's deficit to 44-42. But, Puk lobbed the ball inside to Siefker for a layup, and after Johnson scored inside once again, Siefker found Thompson for her second triple of the quarter. That shot gave the Brown and Orange a 49-44 lead after 30 minutes of play.

The fourth quarter saw the teams combine for just four points over the first four-plus minutes, and all four points belonged to the Bearcats. Siefker stopped BG's scoring drought with 5:29 to go, scoring off of Lambert's inbounds pass, but Santoro was called for her fourth foul, then Glowniak was whistled for her fifth. With 4:58 left, Miller connected on a pair of free throws to get the 'Cats within a point.

Myers split a pair of shots from the stripe, but after a Siefker block and defensive rebound, the Falcons turned the ball over, and Owens hit a fast-break layup to tie the game at 52-all with 3:53 left. A Siefker offensive board, however, led to Santoro's second-chance three-pointer, giving BG the lead once again, but Johnson answered with a long-range make of her own at the 2:53 mark.

Santoro drove the right baseline and got a layup try to go as the whistle blew, but the call went against the Falcon sophomore, for her fifth foul of the day. The basket did not count, the game remained tied and the ball went back to the Bearcats with 2:31 remaining.

On the next possession, Siefker blocked a Johnson shot, but the UC junior grabbed the rebound and put the ball back up and in. The visitors had the lead with 2:06 to go.

After an offensive foul on the Falcons, Owens knocked down a three-pointer, and the visitors had a five-point advantage. Quisenberry's free throws made it a 62-55 game with 43.8 seconds on the clock, and the home team could draw no closer than six points thereafter. Owens made the final six of her team's free-throw attempts, all in the final 34.7 seconds.

Quisenberry had 13 points to join Johnson and Owens in double figures for the Bearcats, and Quisenberry also had four assists and five steals to lead her team in both categories. For the Falcons, Lambert tied Siefker for game honors with five assists.

The Falcons now head to Louisville, Ky., for three games in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Challenge, beginning with a Saturday contest against the nationally-ranked University of Louisville. BG also faces Chattanooga and Lafayette on the trip, while concluding play in the tourney with a matchup vs. Saint Peter's on Nov. 27 in Springfield, Mass. The Falcons' next home game is on Wednesday, Nov. 30, vs. Davis & Elkins.