Vikings Rally for 64-56 Win at the Stroh

Wednesday, December 21

Bowling Green, OH

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

4-7

Cleveland State

5-6

Cleveland State

Bowling Green

Photo by: Larry Clapper

December 21, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Santoro posts third double-double of the season in Wednesday's setback

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Cleveland State University scored the first 14 points of the second half, taking the lead for good en route to a 64-56 win over the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team Wednesday night (Dec. 21). The non-conference contest was held at the Stroh Center.

For the Falcons, sophomore Carly Santoro had a double-double, with 15 points and a game- and career-high 15 rebounds. Senior Abby Siefker had 10 boards -- her fifth double-digit rebounding effort of the season -- to go along with seven points, as the Falcons held a 46-40 rebounding edge in the game.

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Khayla Livingston paced four CSU double-digit scorers with 18 points off the bench, while Jade Ely had 17 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds.

The Falcons led for most of the first half, taking a six-point lead on a pair of occasions. Siefker lobbed the ball inside to sophomore Maddie Cole for a layup in the final minute of the second period, giving the Brown and Orange a 29-23 lead at the intermission.

But, the Vikings opened the third period on a 14-0 run, with Livingston's free throw giving the visitors a 37-29 lead with 6:06 left in the period. Cole snapped that run with a free throw of her own 20 seconds later, but CSU scored the next five points, including back-to-back layups by Ashanti Abshaw, to take a 42-30 lead.

Sophomore Sydney Lambert hit a three-point field goal as the third-quarter horn sounded, getting the Falcons within eight points, 49-41, after 30 minutes. The Vikings opened the fourth period by scoring seven of the first nine points, capped by Nicolete Newman's long three-pointer that gave the visitors a 13-point lead, the largest of the game, with 6:59 to go.

Trailing by a 56-43 score, the Falcons proceeded to go on a 10-0 run. Santoro was involved in the scoring of the first eight points during that run. She fed freshman Andrea Cecil for a three-pointer from the left corner, and the sophomore then spotted Lambert for a triple from the right wing. Santoro then scored herself, hitting a layup after a nifty 360-degree spin move in the paint.

Neither team scored for over two minutes, but when junior Rachel Myers was fouled on a drive and hit both charity tosses, the Falcons were within three points, at 56-53, with 2:37 remaining.

On the next possession, however, CSU used most of the 30-second shot clock before Livingston hit a long three-pointer to double the Vikings' lead. BG turned the ball over, but the Falcons forced a miss at the defensive end, and a Myers floater cut the BG deficit to 59-55 with 1:04 remaining.

But, Livingston hit a pair of shots from the stripe with 51.8 seconds remaining, and after a BG layup attempt did not drop, Livingston grabbed the rebound and was fouled again. She split two tosses with 38 seconds remaining, putting the Vikings up by seven, and BG could draw no closer than six points the rest of the way.

Lambert and Myers scored nine points apiece vs. the Vikings. Newman had 14 points for the visitors, while Abshaw had 10 points and six rebounds. Livingston also had six boards on the night.

CSU shot 36.4 percent from the field to BGSU's 30%. The Falcons hit seven three-pointers on the night, while the Vikings went 5-for-13 from long range.

The lead changed hands several times in the game's first few minutes, but junior Haley Puk's jumper was followed by Santoro's transition three-pointer, giving the Falcons a 7-3 lead. Ely, making her first start of the season, scored the game's next five points, but senior Ashley Tunstall hit a nifty driving layup after faking a pass to the wing, and Santoro knocked down a pair of shots from the line for an 11-8 BG lead.

The teams traded buckets during the final minute of the period, with freshman Clare Glowniak scoring inside, and Santoro hitting a layup with nine seconds to go. Santoro had seven first-quarter points as BG took a 15-12 lead after 10 minutes.

That lead increased to five points as Cole opened the second quarter with a pair of free throws, and after a Newman layup, Myers hit a corner three from Lambert's long pass, and the Falcons led by a 20-14 score.

The Vikes closed to within two points after Newman's three-point try rattled home, but Myers hit a floater and Santoro split a pair of free throws. Newman converted a three-point play, but Santoro went 2-for-2 from the line with 2:07 left in the half. A pair of Ely shots from the stripe cut BG's lead to 25-23, but Siefker scored inside, then found Cole for a layup and that six-point lead at the break.

The Falcons will continue a season-long four-game homestand next Wednesday (Dec. 28), hosting Malone in the final non-conference game of the season. That game will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh. Then, the Brown and Orange will begin Mid-American Conference play on New Year's Eve (Dec. 31), hosting Ohio in a 12:00 p.m. start.