Falcons Heat Up in Fourth Quarter for MAC-Opening Win

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team shot over 58 percent from the field in the fourth quarter en route to a 71-64 win over Eastern Michigan University Friday night (Dec. 11). The Mid-American Conference game was held at the Stroh Center.

With the victory, the Falcons improve to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in MAC play. The Eagles drop to 3-2 and 1-1, respectively.

Freshman Lexi Fleming and senior Angela Perry combined to score 40 points in the win. Fleming surpassed the 20-point plateau for the third time in as many home games in her young career, with a game-high 21 on the night.

Perry, after missing BGSU's last game due to injury, had 19 points in 23 minutes for the Falcons.

NOTE OF THE NIGHT: FOUR-AND-OH FALCONS
• Bowling Green, as mentioned, improved to 4-0 on the season with Friday's win. This marks just the seventh time in school history, and the first time since 2013-14, that the Falcons have begun the season with four-straight wins.

• Additionally, the Falcons have won the MAC opener for the first time in five seasons, since the 2015-16 club picked up a 64-58 win at Miami in the league lidlifter.

Senior Madisen Parker rounded out BGSU's double-figure scorers with 12 points in Friday's win. Parker (eight) and Fleming (seven) combined for 15 points in the fourth quarter alone.

BGSU shot just 34 percent (16 of 47) from the field, including a 4-for-23 effort (17.4%) from three-point range, in the first three quarters. But, the Falcons were 7-of-12 from the floor (58.3%) in the fourth period, going 4-for-5 from the arc in those final 10 minutes.

The Falcons started the quarter by hitting one of their first three shot attempts, but BG then hit the next four shots to begin a 6-for-8 stretch. During that time, the hosts expanded the lead from one point to nine. The Eagles crept within four points in the final minute, but never made it a one-possession game.

Areanna Combs had 17 points to pace three double-digit scorers for the visitors.

QUOTING COACH FRALICK
"This was another gutsy win. It was an interesting basketball game -- I was really proud of the way our team responded. We battled some foul trouble and had some different lineups, different people in different positions, and we gutted it out. And, I thought we gutted it out primarily with our defense. I felt like we were able to sustain our ability to guard over the course of the game. I'm really proud of the team for getting the first MAC win."

"It's a great start, and we know that it's just a start, but it's where everyone wants to be after their first MAC game. Finding ways to win has really infused confidence into our team. Eastern Michigan's a very good team. Those kids have played a lot of minutes in the MAC and had a lot of success, and again, I'm really proud of our kids for finding a way."

HIGHLIGHTS / INTERVIEWS

FIRST QUARTER
• The Eagles opened the scoring with a pair of Ce'Nara Skanes free throws with just under two minutes gone, and the visitors took an early 7-2 lead on an Areanna Combs three-point field goal.
• The Falcons answered with a pair of Lexi Fleming buckets, as the freshman drove to the hoop for a layup, then scored in transition after a steal and pass by junior Kadie Hempfling.
• Eastern, however, scored the game's next seven points, including a Kylee O'Hara layup after a BG turnover, and another Combs three-ball. The latter shot made it a 14-6 lead for the Eagles with just under six minutes gone.
• With her team's deficit still at eight points, Hempfling spun her way into the lane and banked home a short jumper, and sophomore Elissa Brett knocked down a pair of free-throw tries. When freshman Kenzie Lewis came up with a defensive rebound, then fed Fleming for a fast-break three-ball, the Falcons had a 7-0 run of their own and the Eagles used a timeout.
• But, following that timeout, BGSU came up with steals on back-to-back EMU possessions. The second steal, by Hempfling, led to a three-pointer by senior Madisen Parker with exactly one minute to go in the quarter.
• After another EMU turnover, senior Angela Perry split a pair of free throws, and after a scoreless possession in which EMU missed three field-goal attempts and two free-throw tries, Fleming banked home a runner as the horn sounded, giving the Falcons a 21-16 lead after 10 minutes.
• BGSU ended the quarter on a 13-0 run, holding the Eagles scoreless for the final 3:42.

SECOND QUARTER
• The Eagles snapped that scoring drought on the first possession of the second quarter, but Brett's layup gave BG a five-point lead once again.
• Fleming, who averaged a team-high 35.4 minutes played over BGSU's first three games, was whistled for her second foul of the night with just over a minute gone in the second quarter. At that point, Fleming had played 117:26 of the season's first 131:08, but she would go to the bench for the final 8:52 of the first half.
• During that time, however, EMU only cut BG's lead by a single point, from five to four.
• The Falcons, however, missed an opportunity to extend the lead at the 7:57 mark. Lewis was fouled as she went up for a shot, and after that foul was called, the EMU bench was assessed a technical. But, BGSU made just one of the ensuing four free-throw attempts, and a three-point try was also off the mark. Instead of a six- or seven-point possession, BG wound up with just a single point.
• But, after a Skanes free throw, senior Mari Hill's driving layup gave the hosts a seven-point lead, 26-19. Moments later, Perry hit back-to-back buckets, taking a Parker pass and hitting a short one-hander, then making like a whirling dervish and spinning her would-be defender into the ground with an array of offensive moves that led to a layup and a 30-21 lead.
• The latter bucket in that sequence capped a 22-5 run for the Brown and Orange.
• The Eagles, however, would score six of the next seven points. Autumn Hudson gave the visitors a spark off the bench with a pair of buckets, and Jenna Annecchiarico's transition layup was followed by an O'Hara bucket that cut BG's lead to just two points. But, Perry scored again, with a short jumper in the final seconds of the half that gave the Brown and Orange a 33-29 lead at the break.

THIRD QUARTER
• Skanes led the Eagles with 11 points and seven rebounds in the first half, but with just over a minute gone, the redshirt sophomore was called for her third foul of the game. Perry hit a pair of free throws, but Juanita Agosto answered with a layup.
• But, Lewis fed Hempfling for a three-pointer, and Skanes was called for a foul as she and Hempfling battled for a rebound at the other end of the floor. Skanes, with four fouls, came out of the game with 7:26 to go in the period.
• But, over the next two-plus minutes, Lewis and Fleming each picked up foul number three for the Falcons. Buckets by Hudson and Agosto cut into the BG lead, and a driving baseline layup by Combs tied the contest with 3:35 left in the period.
• Fleming's eye-popping ball fake left a defender in her dust as the first-year Falcon sailed in for an open layup, and moments later, Fleming took a Lewis pass and hit a corner three. But, the Eagles answered each Fleming bucket, with a Combs layup and an O'Hara three-pointer.
• Perry scored BG's final four points of the period, on a pair of charity tosses and a foul-line jumper, but again, the visitors had a response on both occasions, as RayJon Harris hit one shot from the field and two from the stripe. After 30 minutes, the teams were tied at 47-all.

FOURTH QUARTER
• Hudson put back a teammate's miss with just under 90 seconds gone, giving the visitors a two-point lead, but BG worked the inside-out game to perfection, with Hempfling finding Parker for a three-pointer and a 50-49 lead at the 8:20 mark. The Falcons never trailed again.
• Perry scored after a nifty move in the paint, and the senior then took a pass from Brett and hit a long two-pointer from the left side, giving the Falcons a 7-0 run and a five-point lead.
• Annecchiarico made a three-pointer with just over five minutes left, but Hempfling came right back and shot a three-pointer in the Eagles' collective eye, with the straightaway trey making it a 57-52 game.
• Combs scored in the paint, but the Eagles left Parker open and Hempfling found her for a three-ball and a six-point lead. A Combs triple cut that lead in half with 2:39 to go, but Hempfling kicked the ball out to Fleming for a trey and a 63-57 BG advantage.
• The Falcons forced a miss, and Fleming split two defenders for an 'and-one' layup at the 1:46 mark. The freshman's free throw gave the Falcons a 66-57 lead.
• Annecchiarico was fouled on a three-point try with exactly a minute remaining, knocking down two of her three free throws, and a steal and layup by Combs made it a 66-61 game with 48.9 seconds on the clock.
• Then, as BG prepared to inbound the ball, Annecchiarico drew an offensive foul on the Falcons, giving the ball back to the visitors. The Eagles missed a pair of shots, with the ball going out of bounds off of a BG player. Another miss was rebounded by Eastern, but after Skanes corralled that board, she lost the ball out of bounds with 31.3 seconds left.
• Hempfling inbounded the ball to Brett, who was quickly fouled and made her resulting free throws for a 68-61 lead. But, Annecchiarico made a layup, was fouled and converted the charity toss to get the Eagles within four, with 24.7 seconds remaining.
• And, the Eagles forced a turnover, but Annecchiarico misfired on a three-point try, with Fleming grabbing the rebound. She was immediately fouled and split her shots at the stripe. Combs missed a long-distance attempt, and Parker came up with the ball and wound up hitting two charity tosses to close the scoring with seven seconds to go.

STATS
• The Falcons shot 39.0% from the field on the night, to EMU's 33.3%. Both teams made 23 field goals, but Eastern took 10 more shots (60 to BG's 59).
• BGSU went 8-for-28 (28.6%) from three-point land, but hit 4-of-5 shots from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter. EMU was 5-for-23 (21.7%) from long range.
• The Falcons went 17-of-23 from the free-throw line, for a 73.9% success rate. EMU made foul shots at roughly the same percentage, going 13-for-18 (72.2%).
• The visitors had a 47-37 rebounding advantage, including 18 offensive rebounds compared with seven for BG. But, EMU had just a slim 7-5 lead in second-chance points.
• The Falcons had a 14-11 lead in points off turnovers, while EMU had small margins in fast-break points (10-7) and bench scoring (19-16).
• Fleming had 21 points, marking the third time in as many home games that she led all scorers in a BG win. Perry had 19 points in just over 23 minutes.
• Parker was also in double figures, with 12 points. Fleming and Parker each had three three-pointers on the night.
• Both Hempfling and Brett flirted with a double-double, as Hempfling had eight points and 10 rebounds, while Brett had seven points and a game-high 11 boards. Lewis had a game-high four assists, and Brett and Hempfling had three each.
• Hempfling had three of BG's six steals in the win.
• Combs had 17 points and seven boards for the Eagles, while Skanes did have a double-double, with 11 points and 10 rebounds. She had all 11 of her points in the first half.
• Annecchiarico rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points, while three other Eagles had at least seven points.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons hit the road for the next two games, beginning with a Sunday (Dec. 13) afternoon matchup with Purdue. That game is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. at Mackey Arena, and will be streamed on Big Ten Network Plus (BTN+).
• Keep it locked right here at BGSUFalcons.com for all of the latest news and updates re: the 2020-21 Falcons, and click here for the latest and most up-to-date schedule.

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Lexi Fleming

Angela Perry

Madisen Parker

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Elissa Brett

Lexi Fleming

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Madisen Parker

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Mari Hill

Kenzie Lewis

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