Furious Falcon Comeback Falls Just Short at Akron

Saturday, January 12

Akron, OH

2:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

7-7 (0-3MAC)

Akron

11-3 (2-1MAC)

Bowling Green

Akron

Angela Perry v Davis & Elkins - Dec 30 2018

January 12, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Box Score BGSU-Akron Box Score

Zips hang on for 74-71 win

By: AKRON, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team mounted a furious comeback, but ultimately fell just short on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 12). The host University of Akron held on for a 74-71 win in Mid-American Conference action at Rhodes Arena.

Sophomore Angela Perry scored a game-high 24 points, including 20 in the second half as the Falcons rallied from an 18-point deficit. BGSU got as close as one point late in the third quarter, saw the Zips restore a double-digit lead, then surged back to within a single point in the latter stages of the fourth quarter.

The game was not decided until BG's last-second three-point attempt hit the rim and bounced away as the final horn sounded.

Senior Sydney Lambert scored 13 points in Saturday's setback, and fellow fourth-year Falcon Maddie Cole also had 13 points – a new career high – and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field.

The Falcons had a 43-30 rebounding advantage, and BG scored 46 points in the paint in the game.

Akron's balanced scoring attack was led by Megan Sefcik, who had 15 points on the day. Three Zips – Alyssa Clay, Gabrielle Brown-Mitchell and Shaunay Edmonds – scored 13 points apiece, with Clay going a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range.

NOTE OF THE DAY: CLOSE CALLS
• The Falcons have lost three MAC games by a total of 12 points. All three games have seen BGSU within three points or fewer in the final minute of the fourth quarter.

QUOTING COACH FRALICK
"It was another tough one today. I loved the way we battled back. I thought the kids off the bench came in and did some great things. That group really helped us get back into the game.

"We showed some real fight today; we just needed to make one or two more plays. But, we will build from this, and we'll get better moving forward."

FIRST-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
• Freshman Kadie Hempfling scored inside on the first possession of the game, but the Zips then proceeded to score the game's next 14 points. The hosts scored on the first six possessions, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the field in that time.
• Freshman Molly Dever's 'pick six' steal and easy layup snapped that run, and Lambert fed Perry for a one-handed banker moments later. When Lambert hit a pull-up shot off glass, BG had cut the deficit to seven, at 15-8.
• Dever drove around her defender and hit a layup, but Haliegh Reinoehl's three-point play gave the Zips a 20-10 lead after one quarter.

SECOND-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
• The Zips scored the first five points of the quarter, as Shayna Harmon hit a driving layup, and Edmonds knocked down a corner three. Cole scored inside, and Lambert answered a Clay three-pointer with a triple of her own, but another Clay trey gave the hosts a 31-15 advantage as the Falcons used a timeout.
• Edmonds converted a back-door layup, before Lambert put a shot off glass and in. Then, junior Jane Uecker spotted a wide-open Cole for a layup, cutting the UA lead to 33-19.
• But, the Falcons were starting to accumulate fouls. Junior Andrea Cecil was called for her third foul at the 6:45 mark, and Hempfling was whistled for her third foul as she went for a rebound just under two minutes later.
• Uecker was fouled inside and split her free-throw tries, and freshman Morgan McMillen scored to make it a 35-22 game, but Brown-Mitchell hit a shot from the top of the arc.
• Perry lobbed the ball inside to Cole for a jump-stop layup, and Perry then scored off of McMillen's long inbounds pass in the final minute of the half, cutting the UA lead to 12, 38-26, at the intermission.

THIRD-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
• Perry scored inside to open the third quarter, but the Zips scored the next five points to go ahead by 15 points. Cecil was fouled on a drive and knocked down both shots from the stripe, however, and Cole found a cutting Perry for a layup.
• But, after an Akron airball, the Zips corralled the rebound, and the possession ended with a Sefcik three-pointer and a 46-32 UA lead.
• Perry scored inside, then hit her second-straight turnaround banker to cut the Zips' advantage to 10 points. Then, Perry grabbed an offensive rebound and flipped the ball to Hempfling, who made the 'extra pass' that led to a Cole layup.
• Cole then took a Hempfling pass and hit a three-pointer from in front of the BG bench, narrowing the Akron lead to five, 46-41.
• Hempfling's cross-court pass resulted in a three-ball from sophomore Madisen Parker, and suddenly, the Zips led by just two points.
• Sefcik stopped a BG 12-0 run with a three-pointer of her own, but Hempfling drove and hit a hesitation layup, and Perry found Cole for a left-side layup, bringing BG within a single point, at 49-49.
• The Zips, however, hit a pair of free throws, and Sefcik threw in a banker with the shot clock winding down. A BG runner at the horn did not drop, and the hosts led by five points after 30 minutes.

FOURTH-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
• The Zips scored the first six points of the final period, on a three-pointer and a three-point play, and the hosts led by double digits once again, with 8:37 to go. Hempfling grabbed an offensive rebound, was fouled and hit two charity tosses, and Perry scored on one of her patented turnaround banker, but Brown-Mitchell's left-wing triple gave UA a 62-52 advantage.
• Perry kicked the ball to Parker for a trey, and Perry then split a pair of free throws, but the Zips used a four-point play to go back up by 10.
• Lambert hit a jumper from the foul-line extended, and the senior then grabbed a defensive rebound, came downcourt and threw it inside to Perry for a layup. When UA missed again, BG got the ball to Perry, and this time she was fouled and split a pair of shots at the stripe, bringing the Falcons within five, 66-61, at the 4:24 mark.
• Moments later, after several scoreless possessions, BG forced an Akron miss, but as Cole battled for the rebound, she was called for her fifth foul, and Reinoehl's free throws gave UA a seven-point lead.
• However, Perry was fouled by Caitlin Vari – her fifth – and the sophomore made two shots at the line. Then, Parker fed Perry for a bucket to bring BG within 68-65 with 2:16 left.
• The Zips threw the ball away, Lambert was fouled near midcourt and the senior made both shots to cut the Akron lead to one with 1:46 to go.
• Akron very nearly threw the ball away, as Perry went to the ground in an attempt to steal the ball. But, the Zips were granted a timeout.
• After the break, Akron indeed did throw the inbounds pass away, but the Falcons could not score on the next possession. The Zips used most of the shot clock, and Reinoehl's layup try hung on the rim, then dropped into the hoop as the whistle blew for a BG foul. The foul was Hempfling's fifth, but Reinoehl's free-throw try was unsuccessful.
• Lambert quickly hit a driving layup with 27.6 remaining, then fouled Brown-Mitchell, who split two shots to give UA a 71-69 lead.
• An entry pass by the Falcons went out of bounds as Perry got tangled up with an Akron defender, giving the ball back to the Zips. BG again fouled after the inbounds pass, and this time, Brown-Mitchell hit two tosses for a 73-69 lead.
• The Falcons got a Perry bucket with 5.3 seconds on the clock, and after Akron inbounded the ball, BG again fouled Brown-Mitchell, who hit her first free-throw attempt with 3.8 seconds left. But, she missed the second.
• BG quickly raced downcourt, and Lambert fired a three-point shot from the left wing, but the ball bounced off the rim as the final horn sounded.

STATISTICS
• The Falcons shot 45.9 percent from the field to the Zips' 41.4%. After going just 5-for-16 (31.3%) in the first quarter, BGSU shot over 53% in both the second (7-for-13; 53.8%) and third (9-of-16; 56.3%) periods.
• For the game, BGSU made 28 shots in 61 attempts. Akron was 24-for-58 from the floor.
• The Zips, after going 6-for-6 on the first six possessions of the day, shot just 34.6% (18-of-52) from the field over the final 36-plus minutes.
• BGSU had season-low totals/averages in three-point field goals made (four) and three-point FG percentage (.25.0%). Akron went 12-of-28 from long distance.
• But, the Falcons had success down low, as BGSU's total of 46 points in the paint was the team's second-highest total of the year, trailing only a 48-point performance vs. Loyola Chicago.
• BG was assessed a season-high 27 fouls in the game. The Zips were 14-of-22 (63.6%) at the free-throw line, while BG was 11-for-14 (78.6%) from the stripe.
• The Falcons had 19 assists on 28 baskets. Lambert and Perry led the way with four helpers apiece, and nine of the 10 BG players to see action on Saturday had at least one assist.

LAMBERT WATCH
• Senior Sydney Lambert now has made 216 three-point field goals in her BGSU career. She has tied Falcon Hall-of-Famer Liz Honegger (216 triples from 2003-07) for third place on that career list.
• Lambert now has a career total of 1,050 points, and ranks 25th on the BG career scoring list. Her next target on that chart is another Hall-of-Famer, Megan McGuire, who scored 1,062 points for the Falcons from 1985-89.

PERRY'S PRODUCTIVE IN THE PAINT
• Angela Perry scored a game-high 24 points on Saturday, as the Falcons pounded the ball inside to the sophomore post. Perry also led all players with nine rebounds, and tied for team honors with four assists. Her well-rounded game also included a steal and a blocked shot in 33 minutes off the bench.

COLE CONNECTS
• Senior Maddie Cole had arguably the best game of her BGSU career. Cole came off the bench to score a career-high 13 points. She was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, hitting her first three-point field goal – in her first long-range attempt – of the season. Cole also had a pair of rebounds and an assist in 26 minutes of action.

PARKER STUFFS THE STAT SHEET
• Sophomore Madisen Parker scored six points on perfect 2-for-2 shooting from beyond the arc vs. the Zips. She also had seven rebounds – tying her career high – and two assists. Parker led the Falcons with a +11 plus/minus on Saturday.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons will return home for a Wednesday (Jan. 16) matchup with Northern Illinois. Tipoff is scheduled tor 7:00 p.m. on Fan Appreciation Night at the Stroh Center.
• The NIU game begins a five-game stretch in which the Falcons will play four times at the Stroh. That includes contest vs. Toledo next Saturday, Jan. 19, at 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.