Senior Day a Success at the Stroh

Saturday, February 27

Bowling Green, Ohio

2:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

10-15, 6-10MAC

Miami

9-18, 3-13MAC

Miami

Bowling Green

Miriam Justinger smiles to the crowd as her 1,000-point accomplishment is announced during a timeout.

Photo by: Larry Clapper

February 27, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Justinger reaches a milestone as the Falcons enjoy a 76-56 team win over Miami

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Bowling Green State University women's basketball senior Miriam Justinger reached the 1,000-point mark for her career, hitting a three-point field goal from the top of the arc with just over a minute remaining to put an exclamation point on the Falcons' 76-56 win over Miami University on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 27). The Mid-American Conference game was held at the Stroh Center.

On Senior Day, five Falcons -- including both of the team's seniors -- scored in double digits. Justinger had 12 points, and now has exactly 1,000 points in her collegiate career. Fellow Falcon senior Lauren Tibbs and freshman Sydney Lambert each had 13 points and seven rebounds to tie for game honors in both categories.

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POSTGAME AUDIO: Justinger | Coach Roos
VIDEO: Justinger | Roos | BGSU-MU Highlights
PHOTO GALLERY: Photos by Larry Clapper

Sophomore Haley Puk (11) and freshman Carly Santoro (10) also hit double figures in the scoring column for the Falcons (10-15, 6-10 MAC), who shot over 64 percent in the first quarter to build an early lead.

The Brown and Orange led by a 21-7 score after 10 minutes, and BGSU shot 56.7% from the floor in the first half to take a 41-21 lead into the intermission. The Falcons ended the opening quarter on an 11-0 run, holding MU without a point over the final 4:59. The hosts ended the second quarter by holding MU without a field goal for the last 4:43 and without a point over the final 3:26.

Morgan Horvath had 13 points to pace three double-figure scorers for Miami (9-18, 3-13 MAC). Leah Purvis added 12 and Kendall McCoy 10 for the visitors.

The Falcons never trailed, and the game was tied only once. Puk opened the scoring, and after Purvis responded with a layup, sophomore Rachel Myers converted a driving layup with 7:31 left in the opening quarter to give the Falcons the lead for good.

That Myers bucket began a 6-0 BG run that included a transition layup by Justinger after Lambert had poked the ball away from Purvis, and a Tibbs layup when Puk lobbed a pass inside.

The RedHawks scored five of the game's next seven points, with Kayla Brown answering a Myers pull-up jumper with a layup that got the visitors within three points, at 10-7. But, the Falcons then held the 'Hawks scoreless until the second quarter.

BG's 11-0 run began with a Tibbs jumper after Justinger drove toward the baseline and split two defenders with a nifty bounce pass. Justinger then set up Lambert for a corner three and a 15-7 lead. Then, redshirt sophomore Kennedy Kirkpatrick spotted Santoro on the left wing, and Santoro's triple try found nothing but net with 48 seconds left in the quarter. The Falcons got a defensive stop, and Lambert fed Puk for a trey in the final seconds of the quarter.

The Falcons went 9-of-14 from the field in that opening quarter, including 3-for-5 from long distance. BG held Miami to just 3-of-9 shooting, and the Falcons had an 11-0 advantage in points off turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the game, as MU committed seven first-quarter turnovers.

The teams traded hoops at the start of the second quarter. Lambert hit a three-pointer from Puk's kickout, and the freshman point guard then dribbled around the arc, pulled up and hit another long-distance shot. But, MU scored seven points during that time, and it was a 27-14 game with two minutes gone in the period.

But, Lambert curled around a screen, took a Myers pass and knocked down a jumper, and Tibbs tipped in a teammate's miss for a 17-point BG lead. Kristen Levering scored five-straight Miami points, cutting BG's lead to 33-19, and the RedHawks were within 13 points just over a minute later after two Horvath free throws. But, a Tibbs offensive rebound and layup began a 7-0 run to end the half. Kirkpatrick scored the final five of those points, slicing through traffic for a layup, then drilling a three-pointer after junior Abby Siefker's long pass in the final minute of the period.

The Falcons outrebounded Miami, 17-9, in the first half, on the way to a 34-22 advantage for the game.

Miami got as close as 16 points early in the third quarter, but a Puk three-ball began a 9-0 run that also included four-straight points by Justinger. Late in the quarter, Santoro scored five-straight points to extend the Falcons' lead to a game-high 28 points, at 59-31.

In the fourth quarter, the lead stayed between 18 and 24 points, and the only real drama was if Justinger would reach the 1,000-point plateau in what was quite possibly the final home game of her stellar BGSU career. She made a pair of free throws with 3:24 remaining to put her within three points of the milestone. Then, with 1:24 to go, she fired a three-point try from the top of the arc, after Puk and sophomore Sarah Baer each had set screens to give her an opening. The high, arcing shot found nothing but net, and the Stroh Center crowd exploded.

Moments later, after a BG foul with 1:10 to go, head coach Jennifer Roos called a timeout, and she and Justinger briefly stood at midcourt as the public-address announcer congratulated the Falcon senior on her achievement. Seconds later, Roos subbed Justinger out of the game, and the crowd gave the Sylvania native yet another ovation.

Tibbs, the other senior, had been removed from the contest to a similar response from the Falcon faithful with 2:35 remaining.

The RedHawks shot just 37.5% (12-of-32) over the first three quarters before making 7-of-10 shots in the fourth. MU shot 45.2% for the game, to the Falcons' 47.5%.

BGSU went 11-of-28 from three-point range, with Lambert and Puk hitting three long-range shots apiece and Santoro two.

Kirkpatrick and Myers each scored seven points, with Kirkpatrick a perfect 3-for-3 from the field. Levering had eight points off the bench for the visitors.

The Falcons now hit the road for the final two regular-season games, beginning with a Wednesday (March 2) contest at league-leading Ohio University. Then, the Brown and Orange will head to the University of Akron next Saturday afternoon (March 5). The MAC Tournament begins two days later (March 7) with first-round games at campus sites.