Falcons Make Plays Down the Stretch in 79-72 Win at Valparaiso

Friday, December 21

Valparaiso, IN

5:00 PM CT (6:00 PM ET)

Bowling Green State University

6-4

Valparaiso

4-8

Bowling Green

Valparaiso

Morgan McMillen v Detroit Mercy - Dec 17 2018

Photo by: Bianca Garza, BGSU Marketing and Communications

December 21, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Box Score BGSU-Valpo Box Score

Cecil, McMillen each score 20 as BG wins third-straight game

By: VALPARAISO, Ind. (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team closed out the pre-holiday schedule with a 79-72 win at Valparaiso University on Friday evening (Dec. 21). The non-conference game was held at the Athletics-Recreation Center.

Junior Andrea Cecil and freshman Morgan McMillen each scored 20 points for the Falcons (6-4). McMillen's point total included a key three-pointer in the final minute of play, and senior Sydney Lambert added 14 points in the win.

The Falcons withstood a Valpo three-point barrage, and BG made big plays down the stretch to seal the road victory. BGSU gave up 17 three-pointers, but the Falcons went 14-of-30 from the arc, and BG had a 44-18 rebounding advantage on the night.

BGSU ended the game on an 8-0 run, with McMillen scoring all eight points.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• BG scored the first seven points of the night, and the Falcons led by 10 points on two occasions in the first quarter. But, the Crusaders would come roaring back. The hosts hit a three-pointer to cap the first-period scoring, and that shot also began a 12-0 run for the hosts that made it a 19-17 Valpo lead early in the second quarter.

• BGSU trailed by as many as nine points late in that second quarter, and the Falcons were down by eight early in the third. But, McMillen hit back-to-back three-pointers to cap an 8-0 run and tie the score at 40-40. Moments later, with the game deadlocked at 45-all, freshman Kadie Hempfling scored five-straight points. Cecil's corner three capped the third-period scoring and gave the Brown and Orange a 55-47 lead.

• The fourth quarter saw BG go ahead by nine points in the early going, and BG still led by seven after Lambert's nifty pull-up jumper with under five minutes left. But, the home team rallied, taking advantage of several BGSU turnovers. Hannah Schaub hit a corner three, and after Lambert's driving banker, Ilysse Pitts' and-one layup cut the BG lead to two points, 71-69, with 2:59 to go.

• Pitts missed the ensuing free throw, but another BG turnover resulted in an and-one layup by Shay Frederick. Frederick's charity toss was good, giving the Crusaders a 72-71 lead with 2:30 to go.

• McMillen faked a three-pointer, drove toward the hoop and was fouled. The freshman knocked down both shots from the stripe with 2:13 on the clock.

• The Falcons forced a miss, with senior Maddie Cole grabbing the rebound, but BG turned the ball back over, and a foul sent the hosts to the line with 1:36 remaining. Valpo missed both free throws, though, and after a BG three-point try was off the mark, Hempfling grabbed the rebound, and Lambert's 'extra' pass resulted in a McMillen three-pointer with 59.0 seconds left. BG led by four, at 76-72.

• The Crusaders missed a shot at the other end, and the Falcons got the ball back. On the next possession, McMillen saw her shot blocked, but sophomore Madisen Parker went to the floor to tie up a VU player on the rebound, and the possession arrow favored the Falcons.

• Another BG shot was off the mark, but Hempfling came up with the rebound and was fouled with 17.9 seconds to go. She missed both of her free-throw tries, but Lambert corralled the rebound and quickly passed the ball to McMillen out top. The freshman guard was fouled with just 14.1 seconds to go, and knocked down both of her charity tosses to give BG a six-point lead.

• The Crusaders (4-8), as mentioned, made 17 three-pointers in the game, including nine in the second quarter alone. BGSU was outscored, 27-13, in that second quarter, but the Brown and Orange reversed that trend in the third period, putting up 25 points to the Crusaders' 10.

QUOTING COACH FRALICK
"It was definitely a game of runs for both teams. I loved our response in the second half. I thought we had a great third quarter, and at the end of the game, when we had a small lead, we made winning plays. We got extra possessions, we got rebounds, we got loose balls, and that's been a big growth area for us.

"We talked about it after the Coastal (Carolina) game when we didn't make enough plays to win. We did it in the Detroit Mercy game, and again tonight, we were able to put together consecutive winning plays and find a way."

STATISTICS
• Junior Andrea Cecil and freshman Morgan McMillen scored 20 points each, going a combined 9-for-18 from three-point range. McMillen was 5-of-10 from the arc, while Cecil went 4-for-8 from downtown.
• McMillen pulled down seven rebounds and Cecil six.
• Senior Sydney Lambert had 14 points, and also had six rebounds and a game-high six assists. She played all 40 minutes of the win.
• Freshman Kadie Hempfling had nine points, a game-high 10 rebounds and five assists. Sophomore Madisen Parker also had nine points on perfect 3-of-3 shooting, all from beyond the arc.
• Valparaiso got 15 points from both Shay Frederick and Grace Hales. Hales was 5-for-9 from three-point range, while Hales went 4-for-8. Hannah Schaub had 13 points and five assists for the Crusaders.
• BGSU had a whopping 44-18 rebounding advantage. The Falcons had 12 offensive rebounds and a 15-2 advantage in second-chance points.
• The Falcons committed 17 turnovers to Valpo's nine, but BG had only five turnovers in the second half.

A FRIDAY NIGHT THREE-FOR-ALL
• Valparaiso made 17 three-pointers on the night, making 44.7 percent of the shots from beyond the arc.
• All seven players to see action for the Crusaders made at least one three-pointer.
• BGSU hit 14 long-distance tries, and the Falcons' three-point percentage was actually higher than Valpo's. BG went 14-of-30 (46.7%) from the arc, while the Crusaders went 17-of-38 (44.7%) from downtown.
• Five players hit at least four long-distance shots. BG's Morgan McMillen and Valpo's Grace Hales each knocked down five, while three players – the Falcons' Andrea Cecil and the Crusaders' Shay Frederick and Hannah Schaub – each connected on four long-range tries.
• Sophomore Madisen Parker was a perfect 3-for-3 from the arc en route to nine points, while senior Sydney Lambert made a pair of three-point shots in the win.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons are now idle from competition until Sunday, Dec. 30, when BGSU will host Davis & Elkins on Sunday, Dec. 30. That game, the second half of a Falcon hoops doubleheader, is scheduled to start at 5:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.
• Then, the Mid-American Conference portion of the schedule gets underway on Saturday, Jan. 5, when the Falcons face Western Michigan at the Stroh. Tipoff for that contest is slated for 2:00 p.m.

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.