Ohio Pulls Away Late for 75-58 Win

Wednesday, March 2

Athens, Ohio

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

10-16, 6-11

Ohio

23-5, 15-2

BGSU

OHIO

Kennedy Kirkpatrick v Toledo - Feb 17 2016 - Scott Grau photo

Kennedy Kirkpatrick scored 10 points on perfect 4-of-4 shooting at Ohio

March 02, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Falcons give MAC champions all they wanted and more

By: ATHENS, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team gave the conference champions all they wanted and more on Wednesday night (March 2), but host Ohio University was able to pull away late. The Bobcats downed the Falcons by the very misleading score of 75-58 in Mid-American Conference action at the Convocation Center.

The 'Cats, who clinched the MAC regular-season title with the win, led by just six points with under five minutes to play before pulling away late.

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With the loss, the Falcons are locked into the number-nine seed for the upcoming MAC Tournament. BGSU will play a road game against a team to be determined in first-round action on Monday night (March 7).

Kiyanna Black led the Bobcats (23-5, 15-2 MAC) with 29 points, including 22 in the second half. She was 10-of-21 from the field, including 7-of-14 from three-point range. Quiera Lampkins and Jasmine Weatherspoon joined Black in double digits with 16 and 14 points, respectively.

For the Falcons (10-16, 6-11 MAC), sophomore Haley Puk had 12 points to lead the way, while redshirt sophomore Kennedy Kirkpatrick had 10 points off of the bench on perfect 4-for-4 shooting.

Three Falcons scored eight points, including seniors Miriam Justinger and Lauren Tibbs and sophomore Rachel Myers. Puk, Tibbs and freshman Sydney Lambert all pulled down seven rebounds as BGSU had a 42-33 advantage on the boards.

All nine BGSU players who saw action scored at least two points on the night. Led by Kirkpatrick, BG had a 17-4 advantage in bench scoring.

The game featured nine ties and 13 lead changes. A nice look by Puk found Tibbs inside for the game's first points. The Bobcats scored the next four points, with a nifty spin move on a baseline drive by Lampkins giving the hosts a 4-2 advantage, but Justinger came right back with a three-pointer.

Yamonie Jenkins hit a pair of free throws, but Puk was fouled on a drive, and -- after a brief break to rinse and replace a contact lens she lost on the play -- hit both of her charity tosses for a 7-6 BG lead. A steal and bucket gave the hosts the lead again, but Justinger got a defensive rebound, drove coast to coast and kicked the ball to Lambert in the far corner for a three-pointer and a 10-8 advantage. Then, a Tibbs bucket made it a four-point game.

After a Jenkins bucket, freshman Carly Santoro knocked down a three-point try, and Kirkpatrick's driving layup gave the Brown and Orange a 17-10 lead. But, Lampkins converted a three-point play, Black got a layup to drop, and Black then hit a three-pointer to give the home team the lead.

Myers faked a three-point try, took a dribble and knocked down a shot from the right side, but Black's layup gave Ohio a 20-19 lead after 10 minutes of play.

The Falcons were 7-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-5 from long distance, during that first quarter, while Ohio was 8-of-18 overall and just 1-for-9 from long range. And, BGSU had a 10-5 rebounding advantage in the opening period. But, the Falcons committed seven first-quarter turnovers, to just two by the Bobcats. Ohio had a 9-0 advantage on points off turnovers in the first quarter and a 21-3 lead in that category on the night.

Weatherspoon's three-pointer opened the second-quarter scoring and gave the hosts a four-point lead, but Myers scored six-straight BG points. She was fouled as her shot from the left side bounced in, and hit the ensuing free throw. After a Bobcat bucket, Tibbs found herself double-teamed in the paint, but kicked the ball out to Myers for a long-range make that tied the game at 25-all.

Weatherspoon scored, and after BGSU missed three shots on the next possession, Baldwin's putback gave the 'Cats a 29-25 lead. That Baldwin basket, however, would be Ohio's last successful field goal of the half.

The hosts missed nine-straight shots over the last six-plus minutes of the period. Meanwhile, Tibbs made a pair of foul shots, and junior Rachel Konieczki converted a nifty driving layup to tie the score. Puk was fouled while corralling an offensive rebound, and hit each of the ensuing charity tosses. When Tibbs fed Justinger for a layup, the Falcons had a 33-29 lead.

Justinger was fouled with just under a minute left in the period, splitting her free throws to make it a 9-0 run and a 34-29 advantage. The 'Cats got a pair of free throws to close the first-half scoring.

The hosts were just 2-of-17 from three-point land in the opening half. Meanwhile, the Falcons went 4-for-7 from long distance. BGSU had 26 first-half rebounds to Ohio's 15.

Black took over as the third quarter began, scoring the first 12 points. After BG missed a layup on the opening possession, Black quickly hit a three-pointer. She converted an old-fashioned three-point play, then drilled another long-range shot, prompting a Falcon timeout. But, after another BG miss, Black took a Jenkins pass and hit yet another trey, for a 43-34 lead.

Puk stopped the run, taking a Myers pass and shooting a three-pointer in her would-be defender's eye. Lambert's pull-up jumper cut the Ohio lead to four points, and after a pair of Bobcat free throws, Kirkpatrick flipped the ball to Lambert, received a return pass and knocked down a three-ball from the left side.

Then, Lambert's 'extra' pass resulted in a wide-open Puk taking -- and making -- a three-pointer from the right wing. The game was tied, 45-45, with 3:25 left in the third period.

Jenkins made a driving layup, but Kirkpatrick pulled up and knocked down a jumper from just outside the foul line. Black split a pair of free throws with just under a minute left in the period, but Puk was fouled as she attempted a shot, and the sophomore's tosses gave BG a one-point lead. But, Black hit a three-pointer from the corner as the buzzer sounded, giving the home team a 51-49 lead after three periods.

The 'Cats scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, with Weatherspoon's three-ball salvaging an Ohio possession that was seemingly going nowhere. Suddenly, the hosts had a 56-49 lead.

The Falcons battled back. Tibbs canned a jumper, then kicked a pass out to Kirkpatrick for a trey, and Ohio's lead was 58-54. Black, though, hit a second-chance three-pointer. Kirkpatrick found junior Abby Siefker cutting through the lane for a layup, but a putback restored the 'Cats' seven-point advantage.

A few minutes later, Tibbs set a screen that freed Justinger for a right-side layup, and Ohio's lead was six, 64-58, with 4:48 on the clock. But, those would prove to be BG's final points of the night. Hannah Boesinger's free throws with 3:23 remaining began a game-ending 11-0 run for the Bobcats.

The Falcons shot 36.4 percent from the field for the game, and BGSU went 8-of-18 (44.4%) from three-point land, with six different players hitting at least one long-distance try. BG was also 10-of-11 at the charity stripe.

Ohio shot 38.7% from the floor, and the 'Cats went 10-of-32 (31.3%) from beyond the arc. Black, as mentioned, hit seven triples, while Weatherspoon was 3-for-4 from long range.

The Falcons end the regular season with a Saturday afternoon (March 5) game at Akron, with tipoff set for 2:00 p.m. at James A. Rhodes Arena. Then, the Brown and Orange will face an opponent to determined (either Western Michigan or Buffalo) Monday (March 7) on the road in the first round of the MAC Tournament.