Liberty's Late Run Leads Lady Flames Past Falcons, 76-72

Sunday, November 28

Annapolis, MD.

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

1-4,0-0MAC

Liberty

5-1,0-0ASUN

Liberty

Bowling Green

Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics

November 28, 2021 | Women's Basketball

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Brett ties for game honors with 17 points in her first start of the season

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team gave Liberty University a 40-minute battle on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 28), but the Lady Flames pulled out a 76-72 win. The non-conference matchup was part of day-two action in the Navy Classic at Alumni Hall.

Elissa Brett, making her first start of the season, led the Falcons (1-4) and tied for game honors with 17 points on the day. Jocelyn Tate added 15 points, the highest total of her young career, while Morgan Sharps added 12 points off the bench for the Orange and Brown.

Sharps, who had 15 points in Saturday's game vs. George Mason, was named to the Navy Classic All-Tournament Team.

For the Lady Flames (5-1), Mya Berkman had 17 points, with Dee Brown and Kennedi Williams adding 11 apiece.

Liberty took a 13-point lead, the largest of the game for either team, midway through the third period, but the Falcons then scored 11-straight points as part of a larger 20-3 run. Brett's free throws gave BG a 62-58 lead with 5:33 left in the contest. But, the Lady Flames responded with an 11-point run of their own to regain control.

The Falcons forced 19 LU turnovers, including 14 in the second half, and BG had a 16-9 lead in points off turnovers on the afternoon. The Brown and Orange hit eight three-point field goals, compared to just two for Liberty, but the Lady Flames had a commanding 44-20 rebounding advantage on the day.

LU had an 18-4 lead in second-chance points against the Falcons.

Nyla Hampton had eight points and a game-high five steals, while Kenzie Lewis scored seven points and added a game-best six assists and three steals.

NOTE OF THE DAY
• Nyla Hampton had 56 steals in 24 games last season, finishing third on the team in overall steals and second on the Falcons in steals per game (2.3).
• Through five games this season, Hampton has 22 steals, an average of 4.4 per game. The sophomore has had three games with five steals or more, and had 11 (5.5 per game) in this weekend's two contest in Annapolis.

QUOTING COACH FRALICK
"This tournament taught us a lot about ourselves. It was a great experience to travel and see a new part of the country. Our George Mason game was disappointing from an effort and toughness perspective, but I really liked our fight against Liberty today. We are learning a lot about our team and I'm excited to see this group grow."

FIRST QUARTER
• The teams traded points in the early going, with Zoe Miller hitting a pair of free throws, Elissa Brett converting a driving layup and Kadie Hempfling hitting a three-point field goal for a 7-4 BG lead.
• Mya Berkman's three-point play tied the game at 7-7, and the game was tied at both 9-9 and 11-11 after a both Jocelyn Tate and Kenzie Lewis went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. Lewis fed Madisen Parker for a three-pointer and a 14-11 lead at the 4:11 mark, but a Bella Smuda layup was followed by a Dee Brown triple, and moments later, a Nenna Lindstrom trey capped a 10-0 LU run.
• Brett made a nifty move and hit a jumper, and the junior converted a driving layup in the final seconds, cutting BG's deficit to 23-18 after 10 minutes.
• The Falcons shot 50 percent (5-for-10) in the opening quarter, but Liberty had nine more total shot attempts due to a 10-5 rebounding advantage, including six offensive boards in the first quarter.

SECOND QUARTER
• Back-to-back buckets by Jordan Bailey gave the Lady Flames a 27-18 lead in the early going, before Morgan Sharps knocked down a long-range try. Another Sharps triple cut BG's deficit to four, at 29-25, and moments later, Tate took an Amy Velasco pass and hit a layup.
• A Hampton pull-up jumper was followed by an Olivia Hill layup, getting the Falcons within two points, but a quick 6-0 run saw LU take a 39-31 lead with two minutes left in the half.
• Brett hit a layup, and Hampton got a driving reverse layup to go, but Brown came back with a layup, and Priscilla Smeenge made a pair of free throws with three seconds to go in the period. Then, after a steal on the inbounds pass, Bridgette Rettstatt made a layup at the buzzer for a 45-35 Liberty lead at halftime.
• The Lady Flames went 10-for-17 in the quarter, while BG was 7-of-13 from the floor in the second period.
• Both teams shot roughly 52% in the opening half, but Liberty had advantages of 20-9 in rebounds, 11-2 in second-chance points and 32-12 in points in the paint.

THIRD QUARTER
• Brett fouled Miller for an and-one layup to begin the quarter, with the free throw making it a nine-point game, but a Brown layup was followed by a Berkman putback. The Lady Flames led by 13 points as the Falcons used a timeout.
• Morgan Sharps hit a three-pointer off of a Tate feed, and Lewis split a pair of shots at the stripe and found a wide-open Tate for a layup midway through the period. The latter play came after BGSU had fallen behind by a 55-42 score, and began an 11-point surge for the Orange and Brown.
• Tate got to the line and hit a pair, and Lewis found Tate for an and-one layup at the 2:14 mark. Then, a Nyla Hampton steal gave the ball back to BG, and Madisen Parker spotted Brett for a three-pointer with just under a minute to go in the quarter, bringing the Falcons within two points.
• Kennedi WIlliams snapped the 11-0 BG run with a layup, but Tate was fouled and hit a free throw in the final seconds to cut the LU advantage to 57-54 after three periods.
• The Falcons forced the Lady Flames into nine turnovers in that third quarter, and Tate scored eight points in the period as BG had a 19-12 advantage on the scoreboard during that time.

FOURTH QUARTER
• Tate continued her run of success with a layup on the opening possession of the period, and Lewis put back her own miss, giving BG a 58-57 lead with 8:38 to go. After a Liberty free throw, Brett hit Lewis for a jumper, then made a pair of shots at the line for a 62-58 lead with 5:33 on the clock.
• The Falcons had gone on a 20-3 run over a span of roughly 10 minutes, but a Williams layup was followed by a Berkman three-point play, giving the lead back to the Lady Flames. Williams hit two more buckets, and a Smeenge layup gave LU a 69-62 lead with just over three minutes to go.
• Hampton responded with a layup, and the BGSU defense forced a shot-clock violation, but BG could not cut into the lead any further at that point, and another Berkman layup restored the seven-point Liberty lead.
• Sharps hit a three-pointer, and Brett knocked down a late half-court shot, but the Lady Flames hung on for the victory.

STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• Liberty shot 51% to BGSU's 45% on the afternoon. BGSU was 8-of-22 (36%) for LU's 2-for-15 (13%) from three-point range, and the Falcons had a 16-12 advantage in free throws made on the day.
• But, Liberty's commanding rebounding lead resulted in an 18-4 advantage in second-chance points.
• The Falcons forced Liberty into 19 turnovers, and BG had 11 steals. The Falcons turned the ball over 10 times and had a 16-9 lead in points off turnovers.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons will return home to begin the month of December with a pair of games on back-to-back Sunday afternoons, meeting Valparaiso next Sunday (Dec. 5) and Notre Dame College a week later (Dec. 12). Both games are scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.
• Log on to BGSUFalcons.com for all of the latest news and updates re: the 2021-22 Falcons.

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