Second-Half Scoring Surge Leads Zips to 83-73 Win

Wednesday, February 27

Bowling Green, OH

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

8-18

Akron

16-10

Akron

Bowling Green

Andrea Cecil v Ferris State - Dec 18 2017 - Brad Phalin photo

Photo by: Brad Phalin, BGSU Marketing and Communications

February 27, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Box Score BGSU-Akron Box Score BGSU-Akron Photo Gallery (Larry Clapper)

Cecil, Hempfling combine for 41 points to pace four double-digit scorers

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The visiting University of Akron scored 61 second-half points on Wednesday night (Feb. 27), pulling away late to post an 83-73 win over the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team at the Stroh Center.

Shaunay Edmonds scored a game-high 33 points to pace four players in double digits for the Zips, now 16-10 overall and 7-8 in the Mid-American Conference.

Junior Andrea Cecil had a double-double for the Falcons, with 24 points and a game- and career-high 14 rebounds. Freshman Kadie Hempfling posted a career-high scoring total for the second-straight game, with 19 points along with seven boards. Freshman Morgan McMillen and senior Sydney Lambert chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

NEXT HOME GAME
• The Falcons wrap up the home portion of the 2018-19 schedule on Saturday (March 2), when BGSU hosts Kent State in a 1:00 p.m. start.
• Saturday is Senior Day for the women's basketball team, and the program's two seniors, Maddie Cole and Sydney Lambert, will be recognized in ceremonies approximately 15 minutes prior to tipoff. Make plans now to be at the Stroh!

Shayna Harmon had 19 points and Megan Sefcik 18 for the Zips, while Caitlin Vari rounded out the game's double-figure scorers with 12 points for the visitors.

BGSU had higher field-goal, three-point and free-throw percentages than the Zips, and the Falcons were +14 on the boards. But, the Zips used a large turnover disparity for an 18-point advantage in points off turnovers.

Both Hempfling for the Falcons and Sefcik for the Zips were held scoreless in the first half, before erupting for a combined 37 second-half points.

The Falcons led for over 25 minutes, but UA took the lead when Edmonds hit back-to-back three-pointers in the final minute of the third quarter. The second of those shots gave the Zips a 46-44 lead after 30 minutes.

BGSU fell behind by nine points on a Sefcik trey with just over six minutes left in the game, but Cecil and the Falcons came back. The junior scored nine-straight BG points, while the Falcons held UA to just a single free throw in that span. When Cecil hit a layup with 3:26 remaining, the hosts were within a single point at 61-60.

But, Harmon knocked down three-pointers on back-to-back possessions, and Sefcik threw in a one-hander to give UA a 69-62 lead with just over two minutes to go.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES
• The teams combined for 46 points in the first half, and 110 in the second.
• BGSU (10) and Akron (8) made a combined total of 18 field goals in the first half. But, each team made 18 shots from the floor in the second half.

HEMPFLING HEATS UP...
• Freshman Kadie Hempfling scored 14 points, the highest total of her young BG career to that point, on Saturday (Feb. 23) at Miami.
• On Wednesday night, Hempfling was held scoreless in the first half.
• But, the Ottawa, Ohio, native erupted for 19 second-half points to set a new career-high scoring total.
• Hempfling scored 14 points in the third quarter alone vs. Akron, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor in that 10-minute stretch.
• She scored 10 points in the first 3:23 of that period, and would score BGSU's first 12 third-quarter points.
• Over the last two games, Hempfling is averaging 16.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.

...AND CECIL STAYS HOT
• Junior Andrea Cecil had her fifth double-double of the year, with 24 points and a career-high 14 rebounds vs. the Zips on Wednesday. She also tied her career high with five assists.
• Cecil has scored 20 or more points on 10 occasions this season.
• The Oak Harbor, Ohio, native is averaging 21.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists over the last six games. During that time, she has shot 59.3% (48-of-81) from the floor, 53.3% (8-of-15) from the arc and 88.9% (24-of-27) from the free-throw line.

FIRST QUARTER
• The Falcons took an early 2-0 lead when Hempfling found a cutting Lambert for a layup on BG's opening possession. Thirty seconds later, Hempfling picked up another assist, finding Cecil for a smooth jumper and a 4-2 advantage.
• Vari evened the score with a jumper, but McMillen proceeded to knock down back-to-back three-pointers, and when Cecil faked a three-point try and drove past her defender for a layup, the Falcons had a 12-4 lead.
• BG's lead was eight points once again after Hempfling's offensive rebound led to a Lambert baseline jumper, giving the Brown and Orange a 14-6 advantage with just over a minute left in the quarter.
• But, Edmonds hit a jumper, and after a BG turnover, Harmon was fouled on a long three-point try with just 2.7 seconds on the clock. She hit all three of her ensuing free throws, cutting BG's lead to 14-11 after 10 minutes.
• The Falcons shot 37.5 percent in the opening quarter, going 6-of-16 from the floor. BG held Akron to just three made field goals and a 20% (3-for-15) success rate.

SECOND QUARTER
• The Zips opened the second-period scoring, but sophomore Angela Perry lobbed the ball inside to Cecil for a layup that stopped a 7-0 run for the visitors.
• UA would score the next four points, with a Vari layup putting BG behind by a point. But, the Falcons then went on an extended 8-0 run.
• The run began when sophomore Madisen Parker hit an 'and-1' driving layup and knocked down the ensuing free throw. BG forced an Akron miss, and Cecil knocked down a corner three for a 22-17 lead.
• Following that Cecil triple, neither team scored for over four minutes. Finally, Cecil got another defensive rebound, went coast to coast and hit a layup at the 2:42 mark. The Falcons led, 24-17.
• But, for the second-straight period, UA went on a mini-run to end the period. Edmonds hit from the top of the arc, then knocked down a left-side jumper to narrow the BG lead to two, 24-22, at the intermission.
• The Falcons shot just 33.3% in the second period, going 4-for-12, but BG held the Zips to only 25% shooting in the quarter, with five Akron makes in 20 attempts.

AT THE HALF
• Akron shot just 22.9% overall in the first 20 minutes, including a 1-of-11 (9.1%) performance from the arc.
• BG shot 35.7% in the first half, going 3-for-8 (37.5%) from long distance.
• Cecil was 5-for-6 from the field in the first half, but the rest of the Falcons were a combined 5-for-22.
• Similarly, Edmonds and Vari were a combined 8-for-16 from the floor for UA, but the rest of the Zips went 0-of-19.
• BG had a 27-18 rebounding lead in the opening half, but turned the ball over 11 times to UA's three.

THIRD QUARTER
• Hempfling hit a driving layup on BG's first possession of the quarter for her first points of the night. Then, the freshman took a Lambert pass and hit a left-wing triple try, giving the Falcons a 29-22 lead.
• Edmonds hit a jumper, but Hempfling got a baseline layup to go. Sefcik, scoreless to that point, scored five points on the same possession, hitting an 'and-1' layup, missing the free throw, but getting the rebound and knocking down a three-pointer.
• Then, Sefcik hit a pair of free throws to tie the game. But, Cecil found Hempfling for her second three-pointer of the period. With 6:37 to go in the third quarter, Hempfling had all 10 of her team's points in the period.
• UA scored the next four points, but Hempfling hit a floater, then took an Akron charge heading into the media timeout. Harmon scored for the visitors, but Lambert's pull-up jumper was followed by a Cecil bucket in the paint, giving the hosts a 40-37 lead.
• Moments later, Hempfling's driving reverse layup made it a 42-38 game, and junior Jane Uecker saved a BG near-turnover, then received a lob pass from Hempfling and scored inside for a 44-40 lead.
• In a recurring theme, however, Edmonds scored the last six points of the period, with a step-back three with 36 seconds to go, then another triple with five seconds left in the period. Akron led, 46-44, after 30 minutes.
• Hempfling, as mentioned, had 14 points in the third period alone. She was 6-for-6 from the field, including 2-for-2 from the arc, during that time.
• Akron shot 47.1% from the floor in the quarter, going 8-of-17 overall, and the Zips were 3-of-6 from the arc and 5-for-8 from the free-throw line.
• BG, however, shot 56.3% from the floor, making nine field goals in 16 attempts. The Falcons were 2-for-3 from three-point range in the period.

FOURTH QUARTER
• The fourth quarter saw the teams combine to score 66 points.
• The Zips got two stops and two scores, with an Edmonds layup giving the visitors a 50-44 lead.
• Cecil kicked the ball out to Hempfling for the freshman's third three of the night, cutting the UA lead in half. It was Hempfling's seventh-straight successful field goal.
• Sefcik hit a layup, and after Cecil drained a pair of free-throw tries, Edmonds converted a three-point play, then stole the ball and went in for a layup and a 57-49 Zip lead, prompting a BG timeout with 6:32 to go.
• Hempfling was fouled and hit a pair of charity tosses, but Sefcik answered with a long three-pointer, giving UA a 60-51 lead.
• But, BG then went on a 9-1 run, with Cecil scoring all nine Falcon points. With the shot clock winding down, she blew right past a hapless would-be defender for a layup. Then, after Kendall Miller split a pair of free throws, the BG junior threw in an 'and-1' jumper with 5:13 remaining, sinking the shot from the stripe.
• The Zips missed a shot and Cecil hit a quick layup at the other end. Then, another Cecil layup made it a 61-60 game with 3:26 to go.
• Harmon, however, answered with a three-pointer from the top of the arc. After senior Maddie Cole drew a foul and hit both shots, another Harmon three-ball made it a 67-62 game. Then, Sefcik threw in a one-hander, and the Falcons trailed by seven with just over two minutes on the clock.
• BG could not score on the next three possessions, and the lead reached double digits for the first time after Sefcik made two free throws and Vari hit a layup with under a minute remaining.
• The Falcons did score on five of the final six possessions of the night, with Parker hitting two free throws and McMillen and Lambert draining two field-goal tries apiece. But, Akron went a perfect 10-for-10 at the line in the final final 41 seconds to maintain the lead.
• UA shot 66.7% in the fourth quarter, making 10-of-15 shots from the floor including 3-of-6 from the arc. And, the Zips went 14-for-17 (82.4%) from the line in the final period.
• For their part, the Falcons shot 60% (9-of-15) in the fourth period, and BG was 2-for-5 from the arc and 9-of-11 (81.8%) from the stripe.
• Cecil had 11 fourth-quarter points, but both Edmonds and Sefcik scored 11 points in the period for the visitors, with Harmon adding 10.

FINAL STATISTICS
• For the game, BG shot 47.5% to Akron's 38.8% from the field. The Falcons made two more field goals in eight fewer tries.
• Both teams made seven three-pointers, with BG doing so in 16 attempts (43.8%) while UA needed 23 (30.4%).
• Akron went 24-of-30 (80%) from the free-throw line, however. The Falcons had a slightly better success rate (83.3%) from the stripe, but shot 18 fewer free throws and made 14 fewer charity tosses than the Zips. BG was 10-of-12 from the line on the night.
• The Falcons enjoyed a 45-31 rebounding advantage in the game.
• But, BG committed 21 turnovers, while Akron had just four turnovers in the entire game. The Zips had a 20-2 advantage in points off turnovers.
• The Falcons had a 36-26 lead in points in the paint.
• Akron, as mentioned, had four double-figure scorers. Only five players got in the scoring column for the Zips, and the fifth, Kendall Miller, had just one point.
• BG had seven different players find the scoresheet, as Parker had five points and Cole and Uecker two apiece.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons will wrap up the home portion of the schedule, facing Kent State University on Saturday (March 2) afternoon. That game will begin shortly after 1:00 p.m..
• Saturday is Senior Day for the women's basketball team, and the program's two seniors, Maddie Cole and Sydney Lambert, will be recognized in ceremonies beginning approximately 15 minutes prior to tipoff.
• Following the KSU kerfuffle, the Falcons will hit the road for the remainder of the regular season, taking on Buffalo next Wednesday (March 6) and Ohio three days later (Saturday, March 9).
• The first round of the MAC Tournament is scheduled for Monday, March 11, with the opponent and site of BGSU's game still 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.