Thompson, Lambert Hit Key 3's as BG Rallies Past Kent State, 60-50

Wednesday, January 17

Bowling Green, OH

7:00 PM ET

Bowling Green State University

10-7, 2-4MAC

Kent State

9-9, 2-4MAC

Kent State

Bowling Green

Photo by: Larry Clapper

Thompson, Lambert Hit Key 3's as BG Rallies Past Kent State, 60-50

January 17, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Falcons close the game on a 14-4 run to pick up win number 10

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Caterrion Thompson and Sydney Lambert hit key three-pointers in the fourth quarter, propelling the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team to a 60-50 win over Kent State University Wednesday night (Jan. 17). The Mid-American Conference matchup was held inside the Stroh Center.

Thompson's triple with 5:14 left in the game broke a 46-46 tie and gave the Falcons (10-7, 2-4 MAC) the lead for good, while Lambert's triple with just 3:06 to go capped an 8-1 run that began with the Thompson trey. Lambert's long-range shot came after a dizzying display of dribbling by the junior point guard near the top of the arc, and she then beat the shot-clock buzzer to give the Brown and Orange a 54-47 lead, BG's largest of the game to that point.

LINKS
BGSU-KSU STATISTICS: PDF
POSTGAME AUDIO: Lambert | Coach Roos
POSTGAME VIDEO: Lambert | Coach Roos | Highlights
PHOTO GALLERY: Isaiah Vazquez, BGSU Mkt & Comm

The Golden Flashes (9-9, 2-4 MAC) scored the next three points to get back within four, but BG went a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the game's final minute.

Lambert led the Falcons with 13 points in the victory, while Thompson added 12. Both players hit three long-range shots in the win, as the hosts went 9-for-23 from beyond the arc.

Ali Poole scored 17 points and Megan Carter 12 for the Flashes. BGSU held Jordan Korinek, the MAC's leading scorer, to just seven points. Korinek entered the game averaging 20.4 points per contest.

QUOTING COACH ROOS
"It's such a thin line between winning and losing this year in the conference. It's a battle each night. Our kids really executed well, but unfortunately we didn't always execute to a finish. To their credit, though, they stayed really focused and continued to work to get the shots that we wanted. Then, in the second half, we executed to a finish. That, along with getting to the foul line and taking care of the ball, really was a big key for us."

Check out the moves of @BGathletics @BGSUwbb Sydney Lambert. #Nasty #CincyKid @McAuleyMohawks @McABBall pic.twitter.com/JlvkAXp5G5
— Justin Feldkamp (@JustinFeldkamp) January 18, 2018

FIRST-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

The Falcons struggled to score – to say the very least – in the game's early going. BGSU missed eight-straight shots to begin the game, and the hosts went 1-for-14 from the field in the first eight minutes.
Meanwhile, Kent State's Ali Poole scored the game's first six points. BG's first bucket of the night finally came when senior Haley Puk's steal near midcourt led to a layup in transition by sophomore Andrea Cecil. That 'and-one' hoop came with just 4:45 left in the quarter, but despite going 1-for-9 from the floor to that point, BG was down just 6-3 after Cecil's free throw.
The Falcons proceeded to miss the next five shots from the field, and Poole's corner three gave the Golden Flashes an eight-point lead, KSU's largest of the game, with 3:03 left in the quarter.
After that 1-for-14 shooting start, however, the Falcons proceeded to go 5-for-5, with four of those five buckets coming from long distance. Puk hit a shot from the top of the arc, and after another Poole three-pointer (Poole had 12 of her team's 14 first-quarter points), freshman Kennedy Williams knocked down a long-range shot. Junior Carly Santoro's layup in the final seconds of the period cut the Flashes' lead to just three points, 14-11, after 10 minutes.

SECOND-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

Williams opened the second quarter with another triple, tying the score, and the freshman then fed sophomore Caterrion Thompson for a straightaway trey and a 17-14 BG lead.
Megan Carter's jumper snapped an 11-0 BG run and began a 7-0 run for the visitors. Jordan Korinek's three-point play was followed by another Carter bucket, and the Flashes had a 21-17 lead with 6:32 left in the half.
The lead was still four points before junior Sydney Lambert took a Puk pass and knocked down a right-win triple at the 1:42 mark. The teams traded free throws before KSU took a 26-25 lead into the locker room.
BGSU shot just 22.6 percent from the floor in the first half, and the Falcons were outrebounded by 15 (28-13). BG's first-half field goals consisted of two layups and five three-pointers. But, the hosts trailed by just one point.

THIRD-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

Lambert opened the third-period scoring, as redshirt freshman Clare Glowniak kicked the ball out to the junior for a three-pointer and a 28-26 lead. KSU answered with hoops by Korinek and Poole, but freshman Angela Perry's quick layup off of Cecil's lob tied the score, and moments later, Santoro found Caterrion Thompson for a right-wing triple in front of the BG bench, giving the Falcons a 33-31 lead.
Poole answered with a three-pointer, but sophomore Jane Uecker's turnaround layup in traffic restored BG's lead, and Santoro hit a pair of free throws to put the Falcons up by four, 38-34, with 1:39 on the clock.
The visitors responded by hitting four free throws over a 25-second span to tie the score, but Lambert spotted Uecker for another layup, and BG took a 40-38 lead into the fourth period.

FOURTH-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

The Flashes scored on the first two possessions of the quarter, with McKenna Stephens hitting a layup, then a jumper. Carter's bucket at the 7:47 mark gave KSU a 44-40 lead.
But, BG then proceeded to go on a 20-6 run to end the game. Caterrion Thompson, Santoro and Cecil all hit layups, and the Falcons had a 46-44 lead.
With BG looking to increase that advantage, a Stephens blocked shot led to a run-out layup by Naddiyah Cross that tied the score, but Cecil then laid the ball off for Caterrion Thompson, who knocked down a three-point try from in front of the BG bench. That shot, with 5:14 to go, gave the Falcons the lead for good.
Carter hit a free throw, but Cecil's handoff resulted in a driving layup by Lambert. Then, with the shot clock winding down, Lambert had the ball at the top of the arc. She displayed a dizzying array of dribbling expertise, created some space with a spin move and fired a rainbow three that dropped through the net just as the shot clock reached zero. Neither team had led by more than four points since the final moments of the first quarter, but with 3:06 to go, Lambert's shot put the Falcons up by seven.
Korinek's free throw at the 2:45 mark was the last scoring until under a minute remained. The teams traded turnovers before Cecil blocked a Poole jumper with 1:22 to go. The Falcons missed a shot, but Cecil grabbed the rebound with 1:03 remaining.
Kent State had not been whistled for a foul in the first nine minutes of the quarter, but the Flashes began fouling. After two quick KSU fouls, Korinek got a held-ball call following a BG inbounds pass near midcourt, and the possession arrow favored the Flashes. Carter's layup with 52.2 seconds to go cut the Falcons' lead to 54-50, and the visitors quickly fouled after BG successfully inbounded the ball on three-straight occasions.
The Flashes' fifth foul of the fourth quarter came with 49.4 seconds left, sending Uecker to the line. The sophomore calmly swished both of her free-throw tries to give the hosts a six-point edge.
After a KSU miss, Poole fouled Lambert, who hit two tosses with 36 seconds to go. Cecil then ripped the ball away from Stephens as she went up for a shot, and BG played keep-away for 10 seconds before Santoro was fouled with exactly 20.0 seconds left. She hit both of her charity tosses to complete the scoring.

FINAL STATS, ETC.

BGSU shot 31.6 percent from the field for the game, but the Falcons were 11-for-26 (42.3%) in the second half. KSU shot 34% on the night.
The Falcons went 9-for-23 from three-point range, for a 39.1% success rate. The Flashes were just 3-for-19 (15.8%) from the arc.
BG was 15-of-17 (88.2%) at the free-throw line, while the visitors went 13-for-19 (68.4%).
Kent State held a 45-30 rebounding advantage, although each team had 17 boards in the second half.
The Flashes turned the ball over 20 times, compared to just 11 for the Falcons. BGSU had a 23-13 lead in points off turnovers.
Lambert and Caterrion Thompson, as mentioned, scored in double digits for the Falcons. Santoro scored eight points, while Cecil had seven points, along with three assists, three steals and three blocked shots.
Williams, Puk and Uecker all had six points in the win. Williams was a perfect 2-for-2 from three-point range, while Puk had two assists and tied Cecil for game honors with three steals.
Poole and Carter combined for 29 of KSU's 50 points. They also combined to go 12-for-24 from the floor, while their teammates went just 5-for-26.

A WIN IN THE PRESENCE OF GREATNESS

Wednesday night was Liz Honegger Bobblehead Night, as the first 500 fans received a bobblehead of the former Falcon great. Honegger, who starred for the Falcons from 2003-07, was in attendance on Wednesday, and addressed the Stroh Center crowd between the first and second quarters.

UP NEXT

The Falcons remain at home this weekend, hosting Ohio on Saturday (Jan. 20) in a 1:00 p.m. start. That game is the first half of a Falcon hoops doubleheader at the Stroh, and will feature a T-shirt giveaway for the first 500 lucky fans.
The KSU game kicked off a stretch which sees BGSU play three of four games inside the friendly confines of the Stroh. After a midweek trip to Muncie for a matchup with Ball State (Jan. 24), the Falcons return home to face arch-rival Toledo on Saturday, Jan. 27.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS

For more information on all things BGSU women's basketball, follow the Falcons on Twitter (@BGAthletics and @BGSUwbb), Instagram (@bgsuwbasketball) and Snapchat (BGSU Falcons) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.