Flashes Foil Falcons' Comeback; Late Jumper Gives KSU 80-78 Win

Saturday, January 28

Kent, OH

3:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

5-16, 1-8MAC

Kent State

11-10, 5-4MAC

Bowling Green

Kent State

Jan 252 2017 at EMU - Larry Clapper photo

Carly Santoro had a career-high 32 points at KSU (file photo by Larry Clapper)

Photo by: Larry Clapper

January 28, 2017 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Santoro explodes for 32 points as BG battles back from 14 points down

By: KENT, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Megan Carter's jumper with just 2.2 seconds left gave host Kent State University an 80-78 win over the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team Saturday afternoon (Jan. 28). The Mid-American Conference thriller was held at the M.A.C. Center.

Sophomore Carly Santoro exploded for a career-high 32 points in the loss, including 22 in the second half. In addition to scoring, Santoro also led all players in rebounding, with 11.

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Sophomore Sydney Lambert had 16 points for the Falcons, hitting four of BGSU's nine three-point field goals on the day. BG shot 50 percent from beyond the arc. Freshman Andrea Cecil rounded out the Falcons' double-digit scorers with 10 points.

But, KSU had four players in double figures, led by Larissa Lurken with 31. Lurken scored all but 12 of her points at the free-throw line, going 19-of-20 from the stripe. As a team, the Golden Flashes went 31-of-36 at the line as BGSU was whistled for 32 fouls in the contest.

Jordan Korinek had 18 points, McKenna Stephens 14 and Carter 13 for the Flashes.

For the game, the Falcons shot a season-high 48.2% from the field, and BG's 50% three-point conversion rate (9-of-18) also was a season best.

The Brown and Orange trailed by 12 points at the half after KSU made a late second-quarter run. And, when Korinek opened the third period with a layup, the Flashes' lead was a game-high 14 points. But, BGSU shot an eye-popping 73.3% from the floor in that third quarter, with BG's 11-for-15 effort including a 5-for-6 performance from beyond the arc.

The Falcons scored 30 points in the third period, and trailed by just two points after 30 minutes. KSU maintained the lead until a 7-0 run midway through the fourth quarter gave the Falcons a 64-62 lead. Santoro capped that seven-point run with a pair of free throws, marking the first of six lead changes in the fourth quarter alone.

Santoro scored 14 points in the fourth quarter, including an and-one layup with 2:33 to go that cut the KSU lead to 74-73. The Falcons got a stop, and Santoro drove and was fouled again. She split her two free throws, but rebounded the miss while falling to the ground, flipping a pass to Lambert. Santoro got the ball back, was fouled again and hit both shots for a 76-74 lead with 1:40 to go.

Korinek scored on a short banker, but Santoro hit a pull-up floater with just over a minute left, giving BG a two-point advantage once again. Lurken tied the game with a pair of free throws with 36.4 seconds to go, and on the next possession, the Falcons were called for an offensive foul with 28.0 seconds remaining.

The Flashes used nearly all of the remaining time, before Carter dribbled toward the foul line, pulled up and hit a jumper with 2.2 seconds left. The Falcons called timeout to move the ball over midcourt and draw up one final play. But, Santoro, with a defender in her face, was unable to get a shot off until just after the buzzer sounded.

"We talked at halftime about keeping Kent State from doing some of the things that they like to do," said head coach Jennifer Roos. "And, we did a better job of controlling the things we can control in the second half. But, at the end of the day, it comes down to making shots and we did a great job of that in the second half, and the third quarter especially.

"Credit Carly Santoro for a great game and a tremendous effort. We ran a lot of plays for her, and she was tremendous for us today. Sydney Lambert hit some big three-pointers for us as well, as those two combined for 48 points.

"But, Kent State does a great job of getting to the foul line and making shots when they get there, and the foul line was a big difference today."

KSU got off to a quick start on Saturday, taking a 9-2 lead less than three minutes in. BGSU weathered that storm, however, and after scoring just two points in nearly four minutes, the Falcons scored five points in 16 seconds. Junior Haley Puk came up with a steal and found Lambert for a left-side three-pointer, and Puk then stole the ball deep in KSU territory and found Santoro for an easy layup that cut the Flashes' lead to 9-7. Moments later, Lambert came downcourt and hit a step-back three, prompting a KSU timeout.

The Flashes, however, were able to hold on to a narrow lead, and the hosts extended the advantage to five points, 17-12, after the opening quarter. Lurken had 10 points in that opening period, including a 5-of-6 performance from the free-throw line.

Santoro hit a left-wing three only six seconds into the second quarter, but the Falcons started to get into some foul trouble. After being whistled for nine fouls in the first quarter, BG was called for three more in the first 1:48 of the second quarter.

But, after Korinek scored four-straight points, BG went on a 7-0 run. Senior Ashley Tunstall hit a driving layup, and Cecil scored on a sweet baseline drive. When Lambert found Santoro for a rainbow three, the Falcons had a 22-21 lead. That lead, however, was short-lived.

Stephens answered with a floater in the paint, beginning a 13-0 run for the home team. Carter hit a triple during that stretch, while Stephens hit a foul-line J and Korinek got a layup to go. When Lurken stole a BG pass and scored, the Flashes' lead was 34-22. Santoro's hoop snapped that KSU run, but Stephens closed the first-half scoring with a jumper, and the hosts had a 36-24 lead at the intermission.

Korinek opened the third-quarter scoring, but Lambert found senior Abby Siefker for a catch-and-shoot jumper. Korinek scored again, but Siefker kicked the ball to Puk for a left-wing trey, and Santoro then corralled a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for a layup.

Stephens sandwiched a pair of buckets around a Puk layup, but Puk then found Cecil for a left-side trey, and Lambert's floater cut the KSU lead to six points. Paige Salisbury scored for the Flashes, but Santoro drove down the lane, executed a spin move that left her would-be defender lunging at thin air, and hit a layup. Then, on BG's next possession, Santoro drove and hit another layup, cutting the KSU lead to 46-42.

Lurken got to the line and scored twice, but Lambert hit a straightaway three-pointer. Lurken, though, sank two more foul shots, then made a layup, but a Puk long-distance shot was followed by a Lambert long-range connection just under a minute later. Tunstall was fouled as Lambert lobbed the ball inside, and the BG senior made her first shot from the line, but missed the second. But, Santoro grabbed the rebound and was fouled in the process. She hit a pair of shots with 18.7 seconds to go, and the BG defense got a stop to end the third period with BG trailing by a 56-54 score.

BG, as mentioned, shot nearly 74% from the floor in that third quarter. The Flashes shot 50% in the period, going 7-og-14, but still were outscored by 10 points in that 10-minute span.

Cecil hit a nifty floater while being fouled just over two minutes into the fourth, and she hit the ensuing free throw to cut KSU's lead to a single point. But, the freshman was called for her fifth foul on the next possession, becoming the first of three Falcons to foul out of Saturday's game.

Lurken hit a pair of free throws, then Carter knocked down two shots from the stripe after Tunstall was assessed her fifth foul with 7:07 to go. Siefker scored inside, beginning a 7-0 run for the visitors. Santoro went coast-to-coast for a layup, and after pulling down a defensive board for the second-straight possession, the sophomore went coast-to-coast again. This time, she was fouled and hit both shots for a 64-62 lead with 5:11 to go.

Carter's three-point play bridged the media timeout and gave the Flashes the lead once again, but another nifty Santoro spin move led to another Santoro layup. Four-straight free throws put KSU up by three, but sophomore Maddie Cole was fouled away from the ball and knocked down both of her shots with 3:32 to go.

But, on the next possession, Lurken got open on the left wing and made no mistake on a three-point try. Her shot gave the Flashes a 72-68 lead.

Lambert responded with a layup, but two more Lurken foul shots gave the hosts a four-point lead once again. Santoro, however, hit a hesitation layup while drawing a foul, and the three-point play made it a 74-73 game with 2:33 left.

BG got a defensive stop, and Santoro was fouled and split two tosses with exactly two minutes to go. After missing the second, she got the rebound despite being knocked down, rolling the ball to Lambert outside the arc. The possession resulted in two more Santoro charity tosses and a 76-74 lead with 1:40 left.

Korinek's banker was answered by Santoro's floater, setting the stage for the final frantic minute of play.

BG shot 48.2% from the field, as mentioned, while holding the Flashes to a 39.7% success rate for the game. The Falcons were 9-of-18 from long distance, with Lambert hitting four triple tries and Puk and Santoro two apiece. KSU went just 3-of-11 from three-point range.

But, led by Lurken, the Flashes were 31-of-36 (86.1%) from the free-throw line, while the Falcons were 15-of-20. BG was called for at least five fouls in every quarter, with seven of more fouls whistled on the Brown and Orange in three of the four periods.

Puk had eight points, four assists and two steals on Saturday, while Siefker had seven points in the contest.

"This loss hurts, but it was a great effort by our kids, especially considering the foul trouble we were in," said Roos. "When you have a late lead and you aren't able to finish out the game, it's definitely going to sting. But, this is a Kent State team that went on the road and beat Ohio and Western Michigan, and led for the entire game against Toledo here (at the M.A.C. Center). We got great performances from a number of kids today.

"Now, we need to use this bye week to get some kids healthy, and we need to come back and continue to give the type of effort that we gave today."

The Falcons are idle from competition for seven days, as BG's bye comes during the upcoming week. BGSU's next action is a home game vs. the University of Akron on Saturday, Feb. 4. Tipoff is set for 12:30 p.m. at the Stroh Center.