Falcons Down Zips, 84-63, on a Senior Night to Remember

Wednesday, February 28

Bowling Green, OH

7:00 PM ET

Bowling Green State University

11-17, 3-14MAC

Akron

8-20, 2-15MAC

Akron

Bowling Green

Senior Night - Puk Myers Hosinski Eli - Feb 28 2018

Photo by: Larry Clapper

February 28, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Puk, Myers close out their home careers in style

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Seniors Haley Puk and Rachel Myers combined for 30 points and 12 rebounds as the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team ran past the University of Akron, 84-63, Wednesday night (Feb. 28). The Mid-American Conference matchup was held inside the Stroh Center.

On Senior Night, Puk led all players with 17 points and tied for team honors with seven rebounds. Myers had season-high totals of 13 points and five rebounds in her final home game.

BGSU had five players in double digits on the night. Sophomore Caterrion Thompson scored 16 points off the bench, while juniors Sydney Lambert and Carly Santoro had 11 and 10 points, respectively. Santoro tied Puk with seven rebounds on the night, as BGSU held a commanding 56-39 advantage on the glass.

The Falcons led from wire to wire, scoring the game's first 12 points and shooting nearly 53 percent from the field in the first quarter to seize control early.

Haliegh Reinoehl was the lone Akron player in double digits, scoring 10 points on the night.

QUOTING COACH ROOS
"Senior Night's very emotional. I've seen seniors that get so emotional that it's hard to catch the ball, and I've seen seniors rise to the occasion and play extremely well. And those two (Puk and Myers) did the latter. They did exactly what I hoped they would do, and it just says a lot. For Haley Puk and Rachel Myers to rise to the occasion and do what they did tonight, it says a lot about their heart."

BGSU-AKRON HIGHLIGHTS & COACH ROOS' PREGAME TALK

FIRST-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

BGSU built that early 12-0 lead largely by turning defense into offense. The Falcons held the Zips off of the scoreboard for over six minutes, forcing Akron to miss nine shots to begin the game.
The Falcons had three scoreless possessions to start the night, but junior Sydney Lambert knocked down a shot from the top of the arc at the 8:17 mark, then scored on a transition layup after a steal by classmate Carly Santoro.
Senior Haley Puk deflected a UA pass into the hands of Lambert, who found Puk for a left-wing three-pointer and an 8-0 lead, prompting the Zips to take a timeout.
But, a blocked shot by Puk led to a defensive rebound by sophomore Andrea Cecil, who drove and floor and hit a layup. When soph Caterrion Thompson knocked down a pull-up jumper, BG's lead was 12 points.
Finally, the Zips got on the board, as Haliegh Reinoehl knocked down a three-point try with 3:47 left in the period. And, 30 seconds later, Alyssa Clay's triple cut BG's lead to 12-6. But, BG answered UA's 6-0 run with a six-point run. Caterrion Thompson stole a pass deep in the Akron end and quickly found Lambert for a three-pointer, and Thompson then knocked down a sweet left-side jumper for an 18-6 BG lead.
Reinoehl's and-one layup, after a nifty bounce pass from Fredniqua Walker, cut BG's lead to 19-11, but Thompson knocked down a three-pointer, and Santoro's driving coast-to-coast layup in the final seconds gave BG a 25-14 lead after 10 minutes.
The Falcons were 9-of-17 from the field, including 4-for-9 from the arc, in that first quarter.

COACH ROOS POSTGAME INTERVIEW

SECOND-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

Akron scored the first four points of the second period, but Puk pulled up and hit a long two-pointer, and the senior then converted a jump-stop, and-one layup, hitting the free throw for a 30-18 lead. Santoro's jumper capped a 7-0 run and gave the Falcons a 14-point lead.
Midway through the quarter, Puk kicked the ball out to Puk for a right-wing triple and a 35-20 advantage.
As the teams reached the second-period media timeout, Akron had seven turnovers to the Falcons' six, but BG had a 14-2 advantage in points off turnovers.
Destiny Perkins hit a three for the visitors, but freshman Angela Perry put back a teammate's miss. Then, after a Kynnedy Azubike basket with under a minute to go, Caterrion Thompson hit an acrobatic, jump-stop, off-balance, bad-angle driving jumper with 28 seconds to go, giving the Falcons a 39-25 lead at the half.

THANKS, SENIORS

THIRD-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

Cecil found Puk for a three-pointer on the Falcons' first possession of the second half, kick-starting a 9-0 run to begin the quarter.
The Falcons went inside to Perry for a bucket off glass, and after a Santoro free throw, Perry hit Lambert for a right-wing trey and a 48-25 lead.
The Zips snapped an 0-for-7 spell to begin the quarter, as Caitlin Vari scored at the 6:50 mark, and four-straight points from Sarah Leyendecker were part of an 8-0 run that got the Zips back within 15 points.
But, Caterrion Thompson stopped that run when her corner three bounced around the rim and dropped through, and Santoro split a pair of charity tosses, then split a pair of Akron defenders for a driving layup and a 54-33 BG lead, forcing UA into a timeout with 2:30 on the clock.
Thompson took a Cecil pass and drilled a three-point try from in front of the BG bench, and another Santoro free throw gave BGSU a 58-35 lead after 30 minutes.

PUK POSTGAME INTERVIEW

FOURTH-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

On Senior Night, fourth-year Falcon Rachel Myers scored all 13 of her points in the fourth quarter alone. Myers and Puk teamed up for three of the Falcons' four three-pointers in that final period.
Puk fed Myers for a left-wing triple just seven seconds into the quarter, and after a 5-0 run by the Zips, Cecil spotted Perry for a short shot off glass and a 63-40 lead.
Myers drove the baseline and, from under the basket, kicked the ball out to Puk for a corner three at the 7:30 mark, and less than a minute later, Puk found Myers for a shot from the top of the arc and a 69-45 lead.
Redshirt freshman Clare Glowniak threw the ball inside to junior Maddie Cole for a layup midway through the quarter, and after the Zips scored the next three points, the Falcons proceeded to score five points in just eight seconds.
Freshman Kennedy Williams keyed that 5-0 run. With the Falcons on a 2-on-1, Williams got the ball to Myers for a transition layup. Then, the freshman immediately stole the ensuing inbounds pass and hit an and-one layup. Out of the game's final media timeout, she completed the three-point play to give the Brown and Orange a 78-52 lead with 4:41 to go.
That lead reached a game-high 27 points before a late 9-0 run by the Zips made the final score look slightly more respectable.
Puk was subbed out of the game with 1:24 remaining and the Falcons up by an 82-61 score. Then, not long after BG broke Akron's press and Myers hit an easy layup, head coach Jennifer Roos took her out of the game for the final time with 28.9 on the clock. Both seniors left the floor to a nice ovation from the Stroh Center crowd.

MYERS POSTGAME INTERVIEW

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

BGSU's starting lineup included Puk, Lambert, Santoro, Cecil and Perry. Lambert, Puk and Santoro each have started all 28 games this year, while Perry has started each of the last seven contests. Cecil now has started 22 games this season to date.
Wednesday, as mentioned, was Senior Night at the Stroh Center, with the four seniors in the BGSU women's basketball program – Rachel Myers, Haley Puk and student managers Connor Eli and Jason Hosinski – recognized before the game.
BGSU's total of 56 rebounds was a season high. No Falcon had more than seven boards, but six players had at least five each.
The Falcons shot 44.1% from the floor, making 30 field goals to Akron's 19. BG held the Zips to just a 29.7% success rate, and UA was just 12-of-45 (26.7%) from the field over the first three quarters.
BG had 22 turnovers to Akron's 14, but 10 of the Falcons' turnovers came in the fourth quarter, after the game was decided. When the home team avoided turning it over in that final period, the Falcons generally converted. BGSU shot 9-of-13 (69.2%), including 6-for-7 from inside the arc, in the fourth quarter.
Puk's well-rounded stat line included 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot. In her final game at the Stroh Center, she led all players in scoring and tied for team honors in both rebounds and assists.
Puk also led all players in three-pointers made, going 4-for-7 from downtown in the win.
Caterrion Thompson's 16 points game in just 20 minutes off the bench. She was 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, as BG had a total of four players hit at least two three-pointers apiece.
Lambert hit three three-pointers in the win, while Myers was 2-of-4 from long range in the win.

UP NEXT

The Brown and Orange will hit the road to face MAC East Division-leading Buffalo on Saturday (March 3), with tipoff scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at UB's Alumni Arena. The UB game is the final regular-season contest for both the Falcons and the Bulls.
Then, BGSU will begin MAC Tournament play on Monday evening (March 5). BGSU will be on the road for Monday's first round, facing an opponent to be determined.

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.