Bulls Hold Off Spirited Falcon Effort, 65-59

Wednesday, January 15

Buffalo, NY

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

7-9,0-4MAC

Buffalo

11-4,2-2MAC

Bowling Green

Buffalo

Photo by: Paul Hokanson, Buffalo Athletics

January 15, 2020 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats

By: by Mike Cihon, Assistant Director for Athletic Communications

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo used a late rally to survive a spirited effort by the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team on Wednesday night (Jan. 15). The host Bulls topped the Falcons, 65-59, in Mid-American Conference action at Alumni Arena.

Dyaisha Fair, the lone player to score in double digits for UB (11-4, 2-2 MAC), had 11 of her game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter.

For the Falcons (7-9, 0-4), junior Angela Perry scored 20 points, reaching that plateau for the sixth time this season. Classmate Madisen Parker had 14 points, while fourth-year Falcon Caterrion Thompson had 13.

Thompson reached double digits for the 16th consecutive game to start the season, only the third Falcon to do so in the last quarter century.

Sophomore Kadie Hempfling paced BGSU with 10 rebounds and eight assists, while Thompson had nine boards to fall just one shy of a double-double.

Freshman Elissa Brett scored eight points, including five in the fourth quarter, and added seven rebounds.

QUOTING COACH FRALICK
"We challenged our team this week, in terms of defending at a higher level and rebounding at a higher level, and I thought we did that tonight. We're gonna keep battling, and we're gonna keep getting better. I saw some things tonight that I think we've improved upon. Moving forward, we will stick with it and keep working."

FIRST QUARTER
• The Falcons took a quick 5-0 lead, holding Buffalo scoreless on four-straight possessions to begin the game. Junior Mari Hill found classmate Angela Perry for a turnaround hook and fellow junior Madisen Parker for a three-pointer.
• But, Hanna Hall's layup got the hosts on the board, and ignited a 14-point run for UB. Dyaisha Fair's three-pointer made it an 11-5 game, and Jessika Schiffer pulled up on the break and capped the run with another triple.
• With UB threatening to run away and hide, senior Clare Glowniak blocked a Buffalo shot in the paint, and Hill saved a long pass at the far end of the court, laying the ball off to freshman Elissa Brett for a layup that stopped the run.
• Fair was fouled on a triple try, hitting all three resulting shots from the stripe, before Hill found Parker for another trey to cut the UB lead to 17-10 after 10 minutes. Hill had assists on each of the Falcons' first four buckets of the night.

SECOND QUARTER
• Keowa Walters hit back-to-back buckets to begin the second quarter, giving the Bulls an 11-point lead, the largest of the night, but Perry answered with a pair of baskets in the paint, and Caterrion Thompson's floater made it a 6-0 BG run. Schiffer, though, came back with a long three-ball for a 24-16 UB advantage, which the hosts then increased to 10 points.
• Perry scored late in the shot clock, and sophomore Kadie Hempfling hit a shot just out of the media timeout. When Parker knocked down a nifty pull-up baseline jumper, the Bulls' lead was four points, and Thompson's transition layup put the Falcons within two, at 26-24.
• But, the Bulls scored six points in the final minute of the half, with Theresa Onwuka's free throws giving UB a 32-24 lead at the break.

THIRD QUARTER
• Hempfling found Perry for a layup to begin the second half, but back-to-back Buffalo baskets made it a 10-point game once again. Thompson found Parker for another trey, and after a putback by the hosts, Thompson connected on a long-distance shot of her own.
• Glowniak spotted a cutting Hill, and the junior was fouled and hit a pair of shots. When Thompson knocked down another shot from the arc, UB's lead was down to a single point.
• Perry answered a UB hoop with one of her own, and yet another Thompson triple gave the Orange and Brown a 42-40 lead. UB threw the ball away, and Perry hit a pair of free throws to make it a four-point game.
• The Bulls scored four-straight points to snap BG's 18-4 run, with Fair's three-pointer tying the game. Brett split a pair of free throws, and the Falcons got a stop at the defensive end to take a 45-44 lead into the final quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER
• For the second-straight quarter, Hempfling found Perry for a quick hoop, and Hempfling then spotted Brett for a shot off glass and a 49-46 lead. Fair's trey tied the game, and Fair answered a Perry layup with a pull-up J that bounced around and in.
• Brett's nifty and-one putback and ensuing free throw gave BG the lead once again, and Perry was fouled on a drive and converted both shots at the stripe, for a 56-51 BGSU lead.
• But, UB's Hall scored off of a BG miss, and Fair's steal and layup cut the lead to one point. With 3:30 to go, Onwuka's driving layup gave UB a 57-56 lead.
• Onwuka split a pair of free throws with 2:51 to go, and a BG layup try would not drop. The Falcons got a stop, but could not tie the score. The teams traded scoreless possessions before Fair gave UB a four-point lead with 1:07 to go.
• On BG's next possession, a corner three by Parker was halfway down before rattling out. At the other end, Loren Christie hit a three-point try as the shot-clock horn sounded. After a review, it was ruled that Christie got her shot off in time, and the Bulls had a seven-point lead with 20.5 seconds to go.
• Parker knocked down a three-pointer with 13.5 seconds on the clock, but BG could draw no closer. A pair of free throws iced the contest with 7.7 ticks remaining.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• BGSU shot 35.5 percent from the field on the evening, making 22-of-62 shots. But, the Falcons held UB to just a 34.3% success rate.
• The Falcons went 7-for-21 from three-point land, with Parker (four) and Thompson (three) combining for all seven makes. UB went 6-for-29 (20.7%) from long distance.
• At the line, the Falcons went 8-for-9 (88.9%), while Buffalo was 11-of-15 (73.3%).
• The Bulls had a 49-40 rebounding advantage, and UB pulled down 18 offensive boards to the Falcons' 10. But, the hosts had just a slim 10-6 advantage in second-chance points.
• UB did have sizable advantages in both fast-break points (18-4) and bench scoring (35-8). Fair led the way in the latter category, with nearly 75% of Buffalo's points off the bench.
• The Falcons had 18 assists on 22 baskets.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons hit the road again this weekend, making a short trip north for the latest edition of the "Battle of I-75". BG takes on Toledo in the Glass City on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 18), with tipoff set for 2:00 p.m. at Savage Arena.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• For more information on all things BGSU women's basketball, follow the Falcons on Facebook (@BGWBB), Twitter (@BGAthletics and @BGSUwbb), Instagram (@bgsuwbasketball) and Snapchat (BGSU Falcons) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.