Ohio Escapes the Stroh with 70-63 Win

Saturday, January 20

Bowling Green, OH

1:00 PM ET

Bowling Green State University

10-8, 2-5MAC

Ohio

10-8, 4-3MAC

Ohio

Bowling Green

January 20, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Puk has 14 to lead balanced BG effort

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Visiting Ohio University used a fourth-quarter run to forge ahead in a close game at the Stroh Center, and the Bobcats went on to post a 70-63 win over the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team Saturday afternoon (Jan. 20).

Cierra Hooks scored a game-high 20 points for the Bobcats, with 13 of those points coming in the fourth period. Senior Haley Puk led a balanced BG scoring effort with 14 points, while juniors Sydney Lambert and Carly Santoro had 13 points apiece.

LINKS
FINAL STATISTICS: Ohio 70, BGSU 63
POSTGAME AUDIO: Puk | Coach Roos
POSTGAME VIDEO: Puk | Coach Roos
PHOTO GALLERY: Isaiah Vazquez, BGSU Mkt & Comm
PHOTO GALLERY: Larry Clapper

Santoro fell just one rebound shy of a double-double, with a game-high nine boards as BG held a 39-37 advantage on the glass.

The game was tied, 35-35, at halftime, and both teams struggled to score in the third period, with Ohio taking a 44-43 lead after 30 minutes. After the teams traded points to begin the final quarter, Katie Barker's three-pointer gave the visitors the lead with 7:18 to go, and that triple was followed by a Gabby Burris transition layup that put Ohio on top, 51-47, with 6:45 remaining. Ohio's run would reach 9-0 before a Santoro free throw broke a six-minute scoreless streak for the Orange and Brown.

QUOTING COACH ROOS
"The big momentum swing happened when (Katie) Barker got lost in our transition D. We missed a shot, she hit a 3, we missed another shot, they came down and hit a layup to put us down by four. Then, as a result of those two buckets, their defensive intensity seemingly tripled. Things we were able to get in the first half, we weren't able to get in the fourth quarter."

FIRST-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

The Falcons, after starting Wednesday night's Kent State game by going 1-for-14 from the field, hit five-straight shots to begin Saturday's contest.
BGSU took an 11-0 lead with less than three minutes gone. Senior Haley Puk hit a corner three on the game's first possession, and sophomore Andrea Cecil knocked down a transition triple try from the right wing after a BG defensive rebound.
Junior Carly Santoro corralled a board, went downcourt and pulled up for a foul-line jumper, and Santoro then took a Lambert pass and buried a long-distance attempt from the right wing with 7:26 on the clock.
Gabby Burris got Ohio on the board with a long-range shot, but Puk pulled up for a jumper and a 10-point BG lead.
The Bobcats battled back, however, scoring the game's next five points. Taylor Agler's three-ball made it a 13-8 game. Sophomore Jane Uecker took a Cecil pass and converted a quick layup, and moments later, junior Sydney Lambert knocked down the Falcons' fourth three-pointer of the quarter. But, the 'Cats then scored the final 10 points of the period, with Katie Barker's three-pointer in the final minute giving the visitors a 20-18 lead.

SECOND-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

Sophomore Caterrion Thompson found Uecker for a layup on the first possession of the period, but Ohio then scored five of the next six points, with Agler's three giving the 'Cats a 25-21 lead.
After a Uecker steal, Puk muscled up a nifty and-one jumper with the shot clock nearing zero, and her free throw cut Ohio's lead to 27-25 with 7:05 left before the half.
The teams traded points before Cecil scored four in a row. First, the sophomore rebounded an Ohio miss, went down and hit a quick layup. Then, she grabbed a teammate's missed shot, quickly laying the ball off glass and in to give the Falcons a 31-30 lead.
After Olivia Bower countered with a quick bucket, Caterrion Thompson knocked down a right-wing three, off of Cecil's assist. BG led, 34-32, with 1:34 on the clock.
Alexis Stover scored from beyond the arc for the visitors, but Santoro was fouled with 6.9 seconds left in the half, and hit one free throw to tie the game at 35-all.

THIRD-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

Neither team scored for the first two-plus minutes, before Cecil spotted redshirt freshman Clare Glowniak for a layup. That was quickly followed by a Dominique Doseck hoop at the other end, but 90 seconds later, Cecil's rebound and long diagonal pass found Puk in front of the BG bench, and the senior pulled up for a transition three and a 40-37 BG lead.
After a Burris layup and a Santoro charity toss, the Falcons were up two, 41-39, with 3:46 left in the period. Then, however, neither team scored for the next 2:39. BGSU had no fewer than three three-point shots rattle in and out during that time, but when Amani Burk hit a layup with 1:07 left in the quarter, the game was tied.
Caterrion Thompson pounded the ball inside to Uecker for a layup, but Barker hit a three-pointer to give Ohio a 44-43 lead after 30 minutes.

FOURTH-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

Uecker opened the final period with a putback, and after Burris knocked down two charity tosses, Puk's pull-up jumper gave BG a 47-46 lead with 8:12 to go. But, after an Ohio steal, Barker found herself wide open for a three-pointer that gave the 'Cats the lead for good. Barker's trey made it a 49-47 game, and after a BG miss, a Burris run-out gave Ohio a four-point advantage with 6:44 to go.
Moments later, Burris made it a 7-0 run with another layup, and the visitors extended that run to 9-0 before a Santoro free throw. That Santoro toss snapped a BG scoreless streak of 6:01.
The visitors answered, however, with a Cierra Hooks steal and layup giving the visitors a double-digit lead for the first time. Lambert knocked down a three-point try, drawing the Falcons within seven, but that was as close as the Falcons could get.
Lambert and Caterrion Thompson each hit long-distance shots in the final minute of play, but Ohio went a perfect 10-for-10 from the stripe in the final 1:28.

FINAL STATS, ETC.

BGSU had a slightly better shooting percentage than Ohio, shooting 36.8 percent from the floor to the Bobcats' 36.7%. But, the Falcons were just 3-for-16 (18.8%) in the third period and 9-of-30 (27%) for the second half.
Ohio shot only 25% in the third quarter, going 4-for-16, and the 'Cats went 5-for-11 from the floor (45.5%) in the fourth.
Fifteen of Ohio's 25 fourth-quarter points came at the foul line, as the visitors were 15-for-18 from the stripe over the final 10 minute.
For the game, Ohio went 19-of-24 (79.2%) at the line, while BG was 12-for-18 (66.7%).
Hooks, as mentioned, led all scorers with 20 points, while Burris joined her in double digits with 12. Ohio got 39 of the game's 70 points from players off the bench.
Puk had 14 points and Lambert and Santoro 13 apiece for the Brown and Orange. Santoro fell just one rebound shy of a double-double, with a game-high nine boards.
Uecker had eight points, eight caroms and two blocked shots for the Falcons, while Cecil had seven points, six rebounds and a team-leading four assists.
The Falcons went 9-for-25 from three-point range (36%), while Ohio was 7-of-21 from downtown.

UP NEXT

The Falcons hit the road for a midweek matchup in Muncie. BGSU will face Ball State on Wednesday (Jan. 24), with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Worthen Arena.
Then, the Orange and Brown will return home to face arch-rival Toledo next Saturday (Jan. 27). That game will begin at 2:00 p.m. at the Stroh.

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.