Falcons Can't Quite Get Over Hump vs. Phoenix

Thursday, November 28

Victoria, BC, Canada

11 AM PT (2 PM ET)

Bowling Green State University

3-2

Green Bay

4-2

Bowling Green

Green Bay

Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications

November 28, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats Final Stats

Green Bay answers BG's fourth-quarter run en route to 73-54 win

By: VICTORIA, B.C., Canada (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team made a fourth-quarter run to get within two points, but Green Bay answered that run to extend the lead, and the Phoenix went on to a 73-54 win on Thursday (Nov. 28). The game, the opening contest in the Greater Victoria Invitational, was held at the CARSA Performance Gym on the University of Victoria campus.

Fourth-year Falcon Caterrion Thompson had 14 points to lead the Falcons, while junior Madisen Parker had 12. Both players hit four three-point field goals as BG (3-2) made 12 long-range shots on the day.

For the Phoenix (4-2), Frankie Wurtz had a game-high 24 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Wurtz, the Horizon League's Preseason Player of the Year, also had a game-high 12 rebounds. Caitlyn Hibner scored 10 points for the Phoenix.

The Falcons spotted Green Bay the first point of the fourth quarter, before Parker hit triples on back-to-back possessions to cut the lead to four. Thompson promptly came up with a steal and fired the ball ahead to junior Mari Hill, who was fouled as she went in for a layup. Hill made both of the resulting free throws, and Green Bay's lead was 53-51 with 7:43 to go.

But, Hibner knocked down a corner three to begin a double-digit run for the Phoenix.

The Falcons will now prepare for a Friday (Nov. 29) matchup with San Francisco, on day two of the three-day, eight-team tournament.

QUOTING COACH FRALICK
"It was a tough battle. We cut it to two in the fourth quarter; we were right there, and they made some plays. I thought we got some great looks. We have good shooters, so those are shots that we want. We cut it to two, and our next step is being able to get that stop and putting together consecutive possessions."

"But, I loved our fight. I thought that we showed that fight throughout the game. We took much better care of the ball in the second half. Now, we've got a quick turnaround, and we need to get read for the next one."

FIRST QUARTER
• Both teams went scoreless on three possessions to begin the game, but the Phoenix opened the scoring on a putback, followed by a layup.
• Kadie Hempfling's nice look inside resulted in an Angela Perry layup, and after Meghan Pingel knocked down a three-point try, Hempfling found Caterrion Thompson for a corner three. BG got a defensive stop to head into the game's first media timeout trailing by a 9-5 score.
• Thompson was heating up, as back-to-back triples gave her nine points and tied the game at 11. But, the Phoenix countered with three layups, the first two leading to three-point plays, to take a 19-11 lead after 10 minutes.

SECOND QUARTER
• Another 'and-one' layup gave Green Bay an 11-point run and an 11-point lead, as Caitlyn Hibner converted the three-point play.
• Mari Hill's turnaround jumper snapped that run, and after the Phoenix answered with a bucket, Hill fed Morgan McMillen for a triple.
• Perry scored inside off of a pass from Elissa Brett, but Frankie Wurtz scored five-straight points to give Green Bay a 31-18 lead.
• With the Falcons out and running after a stop, McMillen found Jane Uecker underneath the hoop for a nifty layup, and McMillen then drilled a straightaway trey to put BG back within eight. The Phoenix got back-to-back layups, before Thompson converted a layup in the final second of the period to get BG within 10, 35-25, at the intermission.

THIRD QUARTER
• BG hit back-to-back three-pointers to begin the half, as Hempfling spottedThompson for a trey from the left side, and Thompson then found Madisen Parker for a right-wing triple. BG was within six, but as was the case all day, the Phoenix responded.
• Wurtz hit a layup, and two free throws made it an eight-point game. But, Perry scored in the paint after a lob from Hempfling, and Perry then returned the favor, passing the ball out to Hempfling for a three-point try. The shot barely moved the net as it went through, and the Falcons were within three points.
• Quickly, though, Wurtz hit a three-pointer of her own to double the Green Bay lead. Then, both teams went scoreless for several minutes. before Uecker answered a Wurtz bucket with a left-side jumper. Hill drove and found Hempfling for another short jumper, and it was a 46-40 game.
• Parker hit a right-side triple in the final minute of the period, before Lyndsey Robson scored inside to give the Phoenix a 52-43 lead.

FOURTH QUARTER
• The Falcons began the fourth quarter just like the third – with back-to-back three-pointers. This time, it was Parker hitting both. The junior took a Hempfling cross-court pass and knocked down a left-side trey, and then, after a near-turnover, Uecker grabbed the ball and fired it out top to an open Parker, who drained her second-straight triple try.
• Then, Thompson stole the ball and fired it ahead to Hill, who was fouled as she headed in for a layup. The junior made both free-throw tries to cut the Green Bay lead to 53-51.
• But, the Phoenix had an answer for the BG run. Hibner hit a three, and Wurtz knocked down a tough turnaround jumper in the paint. When Wurtz connected from the arc again, Green Bay had a 10-point lead, at 61-51.
• Hibner and Wurtz keyed that run, which reached 17-0 as Wurtz drilled a three-pointer late in the shot clock. Finally, BG stopped the run as Hempfling took a Hill pass and drained a long-range shot. But, the Falcons could draw no closer.

FINAL STATISTICS
• Green Bay shot 49.2 percent from the floor for the game, going 30-of-61. The Falcons hit 20-of-55 shots on the day, for a 36.4% success rate.
• BGSU went 12-of-37 from three-point range, with Caterrion Thompson and Madisen Parker hitting four long-distance shots each. The Phoenix went 7-for-20 from beyond the arc.
• Green Bay was 6-of-7 from the free-throw line, while BG was 2-of-2. The Phoenix outrebounded the Falcons, 37-28.
• Green Bay had a 42-14 advantage in points in the paint, a 21-10 lead in bench scoring and a 7-0 margin in second-chance points.
• The Falcons had 17 assists on 20 baskets in Thursday's game.

UP NEXT
• BGSU will take on San Francisco in Friday's opening game. The Dons fell by a 73-38 final to nationally-ranked Mississippi State on Thursday. The Falcons and Dons will meet in an 11:00 a.m. start (2:00 p.m. ET) at CARSA Performance Gym.
• The Falcons will close out tournament play by facing an opponent to be determined on Saturday (Nov. 30).
• The Falcons' next home game is on Monday, Dec. 30, against Davis & Elkins.

GREATER VICTORIA INVITATIONAL
Thursday, Nov. 28
Green Bay 73, Bowling Green 54
Mississippi State 73, San Francisco 38
Syracuse 86, Houston 63
Stanford 83, California Baptist 78

Friday, Nov. 29
Bowling Green vs. San Francisco, 11:00 a.m. (2:00 p.m. ET)
Houston vs. California Baptist, 1:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. ET)
Green Bay vs. Mississippi State, 5:00 p.m. (8:00 p.m. ET)
Syracuse vs. Stanford, 7:30 p.m. (10:30 p.m. ET)

Saturday, Nov. 30
Four games – matchups TBA

Gallery: (11/27/2019) W.Basketball - Victoria B.C. trip

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