East-Leading Buffalo Stops Falcons, 88-67

Wednesday, February 21

Bowling Green, OH

7:00 PM ET

Bowling Green State University

10-16, 2-13MAC

Buffalo

22-4, 13-2MAC

Buffalo

Bowling Green

February 21, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Cassie Oursler scored 12 of her game-high 20 points in the first quarter Wednesday night (Feb. 21), staking the University at Buffalo to an early lead as the Bulls went on to an 88-67 win over the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team. The Mid-American Conference game was held at the Stroh Center.

LINKS
BGSU-BUFFALO STATISTICS: PDF
POSTGAME AUDIO: Cecil | Coach Roos
POSTGAME VIDEO: Cecil | Coach Roos
PHOTO GALLERY: Isaiah Vazquez, BGSU Mkt. & Comm.

UB -- ranked 14th in the country in the latest RPI rankings and receiving votes in one of the national polls -- shot 56.3 percent from the floor in the first quarter to open up a nine-point lead, and the Bulls outscored the Falcons by nine in the second quarter as well. The Falcons fell behind by 21 points in the third period, then made a run to get within 13, only to see the visitors respond with a quick 7-0 run.

Sophomore Andrea Cecil had 10 points for the Falcons, while junior Carly Santoro scored nine. A total of seven BG players had at least six points vs. the Bulls.

Oursler had a game-high total of 12 rebounds as the Bulls held a 49-32 advantage on the boards. Summer Hemphill scored 12 points, including eight in the first quarter, while Katherine Ups added 11 points and Cierra Dillard 10.

QUOTING COACH ROOS
"Credit Buffalo. That is a very veteran group, and they have a lot of experience. Everything they shot went in (in the first quarter), and that's what good teams do; they make shots."

"It's a broken record, but again (tonight), I thought we had a lot of layups and good shots that didn't go in. We did rush some shots, and we couldn't get any second-chance points. They did a good job of corralling a lot of rebounds; they outrebounded us by 17, and that's a big margin."

"I can't talk enough about the importance of the Play4Kay game. We honored a number of cancer survivors before the game, and we watched a Kay Yow video (with the team). We talked a lot about not only what this day has meant to so many, but what Kay Yow accomplished as a coach and how much money she raised for cancer research. It's fantastic, and I'm proud that we got to honor those cancer survivors."

FIRST-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

The Falcons pulled down a pair of offensive rebounds on the game's opening possession, and freshman Angela Perry's turnaround banker gave the Brown and Orange a 2-0 lead.
Junior Sydney Lambert hit a pull-up jumper on BG's next trip down the floor. But, UB's Cassie Oursler answered each BG basket with one of her own, tying the game at 4-4.
Summer Hemphill snapped a scoreless streak of several minutes, hitting two free throws at the 6:30 mark, then scoring off of an inbounds pass, but redshirt freshman Clare Glowniak knocked down a jumper to cut the BG deficit to 8-6.
Glowniak threw in another banker, but a quick three-pointer by Cierra Dillard gave the Bulls a 13-8 lead and began a 7-0 run for the visitors. Senior Haley Puk snapped that run, driving and drawing a foul, then knocking down both shots from the stripe at the 3:02 mark.
Glowniak scored her third basket of the period on a smooth one-hander, but Oursler answered for the Bulls. Sophomore Andrea Cecil drilled a three-point try from the right wing, but Dillard countered with a triple of her own, beginning another 7-0 Bull run.
Lambert's jumper in the final seconds of the quarter cut BG's deficit to nine points, 26-17, after 10 minutes.

SECOND-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

The Falcons were held scoreless for over five minutes of the second period, as the visitor scored the first 11 points. A UB block led to an Autumn Jones pull-up three-pointer and a 31-17 lead during that run.
Sophomore Caterrion Thompson hit a nifty driving banker for BG's first points of the period, and junior Carly Santoro knocked down a corner three from a Cecil drive and dish moments later.
But, the Bulls scored the next four points, including a driving layup by Dillard with under two minutes left in the period, and the visitors took a 45-27 lead into the locker room.

CECIL POSTGAME INTERVIEW

THIRD-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

With BG running after a steal, Santoro took a pass from Lambert and hit a corner three, cutting the Bulls' lead to 15 points, but the visitors responded with a quick layup.
Moments later, Santoro went to the floor for an offensive rebound, and the ensuing possession saw Caterrion Thompson find Puk at the top of the arc for a three-pointer as the shot-clock horn sounded.
The Bulls, however, went on a 6-0 run, culminating when Oursler grabbed the rebound after a teammate's airball, putting the ball back up and in for a 55-34 UB lead.
After Oursler was called for her third foul, though, Puk drove and scored. The next possession saw Lambert drive and pull up for a jumper in the paint. Then, Perry hit her first career three-pointer, before the Bulls snapped BG's 7-0 run with a layup.
But, Cecil knocked down a triple try, cutting UB's lead to 13 points. Another Oursler putback, however, began a quick 7-0 run for the Bulls, and after a Stephanie Reid three-point play, UB's lead was 64-44 late in the period. UB led by a 69-47 score after 30 minutes.

FOURTH-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

BGSU outscored the Bulls, 20-19, in the fourth quarter, as both head coaches substituted liberally.
Perry hit a layup early in the period, and senior Rachel Myers fed junior Maddie Cole for a three-pointer. Then, Cole hit a drop-step spinning layup against her would-be defender.
Freshman Kennedy Williams scored five-straight points, grabbing a defensive rebound, heading across midcourt and knocking down a three-point try, then stealing a UB pass and sailing in ahead of the pack for a 'pick-six' layup.
Sophomore Jane Uecker knifed between two Bulls for an and-one layup, hitting the free throw, and Madison Parker was fouled as she rebounded a UB miss, with the freshman splitting the ensuing charity tosses. Williams hit two shots from the stripe with 1:43 to go, and Myers knocked down a right-side jumper in the final minute of play.

ROOS POSTGAME INTERVIEW

NOTES / STATS

For the fifth consecutive game, BGSU's starting lineup consisted of Puk, Lambert, Santoro, Caterrion Thompson and Perry. Lambert, Puk and Santoro each have started all 25 games this year.
UB shot 51.6% from the floor, going 32-of-62 from the field. The Bulls were 6-of-14 (42.9%) from three-point range.
BGSU made eight three-pointers, shooting 32% (8-of-25) from long range, but the Falcons shot just 33.3% overall on the night. BG was 22-of-66 from the floor.
Perry scored eight points, while Puk and Williams had seven apiece. Glowniak scored six points on the night, as did Lambert, while Cole had five points. A total of 12 different Falcons scored at least one point in the game.
BGSU had 11 turnovers on the night, compared to 14 for the Bulls. Each team had six fourth-quarter turnovers, after combining for 13 turnovers over the game's first 30 minutes.
Dillard had seven assists and Reid six for the visitors. Cecil had three helpers for BG, while Lambert, Santoro and Caterrion Thompson all had two.

UP NEXT

The Falcons return to the road this weekend, taking on Miami University on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 24) in Oxford. That contest will begin at 2:00 p.m. at Millett Hall.
Then, the Brown and Orange will return home to face the University of Akron next Wednesday evening (Feb. 28). That game will mark Senior Night for the Falcons, with Haley Puk, Rachel Myers and senior managers Connor Eli and Jason Hosinski recognized prior to tipoff.

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.