Falcons Fend Off NKU, 76-68

Wednesday, November 23

Bowling Green, Ohio

2:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

4-1,0-0MAC

Northern Kentucky

3-2,0-0Horizon

Northern Ky.

Bowling Green

Sophomore Jocelyn Tate had her first collegiate double-double in Wednesday's win

Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics

November 23, 2022 | Women's Basketball

Box Score BGSU-NKU Stats Photo Gallery

BGSU uses balanced attack and timely defense to improve to 4-1

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team got balanced scoring and timely defense on Wednesday afternoon (Nov. 23), as the Falcons picked up a 76-68 win over Northern Kentucky University at the Stroh Center.

Elissa Brett had 16 points to pace four double-digit scorers for the Falcons (4-1), who led for nearly the entire game. Allison Day and Amy Velasco scored 15 points each, while Jocelyn Tate had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Lindsey Duvall scored 16 points for the Norse (3-2), while Ivy Turner had 15 and Khamari Mitchell-Steen 12.

BGSU led by 10 points after the opening quarter, but could not extend the lead any further. It was a single-digit game for nearly all of the final 29-plus minutes, and the visitors crept as close as one point in the second quarter before the Falcons took a two-point lead into the half.

A 7-0 run early in the third quarter gave the visitors the lead, but back-to-back three-pointers by Velasco and Brett gave the Falcons a 48-45 advantage. A Mitchell-Steen trey cut BG's lead to 55-54 with three minutes remaining in the third, but Velasco answered with a driving layup on the next possession.

Kailee Davis scored four-straight points to get the Norse within four points, 64-60, with six minutes to go, but Brett's and-one layup was followed by a Tate bucket after an NKU turnover, extending the lead to 69-60 with 4:34 on the clock.

BGSU held NKU to just a 4-for-19 effort (21.1%) from the field in the fourth quarter.

QUOTING COACH ROBYN FRALICK
"This was a great challenge. I think Northern Kentucky is a really good team; they've been a very dynamic offensive team so far this season. And, it was our first close game of the season so far. This was the first time it has come down to the last few possessions like that. I think we learned a lot. There are parts of the game that I think we can really improve upon and develop, but we got some critical stops and we had some kids make some critical baskets. That's going to be good for us as we continue to look to get better."

FIRST QUARTER
• Allison Day scored the game's first four points, on a layup and a hook shot, but the Norse countered with a 6-0 run, with Lindsey Duvall's layup putting the visitors on top.
• BGSU responded by scoring the next five points, including layups by Jocelyn Tate and Sophie Dziekan, before an Ivy Turner three-pointer tied the score, 9-9. Trinity Thompson answered two Elissa Brett free throws with a layup, before Amy Velasco fed Brett for a layup.
• Brett's bucket began an 8-0 run for the hosts, as Nyla Hampton picked Turner's pocket and scored soon after. Then, Dziekan got a deflection, and Lexi Fleming got the ball back to Dziekan for a transition layup and a 17-11 lead as the visitors used a timeout.
• The run continued as Brett found Day for another layup, before the teams traded points over the next several minutes. Day scored not only the first four points, but the last four points of the quarter, scoring inside with 51 seconds to go before drawing a foul and hitting both shots with 5.5 seconds remaining. Day finished the first period with 10 points as the Falcons had a 10-point lead.

SECOND QUARTER
• The Norse battled back, however, holding the Falcons without a field goal for nearly four minutes to begin the second period. Turner scored the visitors' first four points of the period, and Ellie Taylor's layup made it a 28-23 game. Four free throws got NKU within a single point.
• Day, however, put back a teammate's missed shot, and Brett drove and hit a floater for a 32-27 BGSU lead. Moments later, Brett's nifty pass found a cutting Velasco for a layup, and Velasco again got inside and scored at the 2:30 mark. But, a layup by Kailee Davis got NKU within four points, and Duvall drove and found an open Tayah Irvin for a last-second layup, whittling BG's lead to just 38-36 at the half.

Gallery: (11-22-2022) WBK v NKU - Nov. 23, 2022 - Hiser

THIRD QUARTER
• Tate scored BGSU's first four points of the second half, but hoops by Irvin and Davis tied the game, 42-42, with just over two minutes gone. Duvall's three-pointer gave the visitors a 7-0 run and a three-point lead.
• On the next possession, however, Velasco's three-point try bounced high off the rim and through the hoop, and a Day steal resulted in Hampton finding a trailing Brett for another triple and a 48-45 Falcon lead.
• Hampton stole the ball and found Day ahead of the pack for a layup and a five-point advantage, and the lead reached six points when Day kicked the ball out to Sharps for a three-pointer just over midway through the quarter.
• But, the visitors responded once again, as a Duvall driving layup was followed by Khamari Mitchell-Steen's long-range shot, cutting BG's lead to 55-54. Velasco answered with a layup, and after two-plus minutes of scoreless play, Tate's free throws in the final minute of the period gave the Falcons a 59-54 lead.

FOURTH QUARTER
• After Emmy Souder's layup opened the fourth-quarter scoring, Fleming hit a long three-pointer, and Hampton's nifty driving layup gave the Orange and Brown a 64-56 lead.
• Davis scored four-straight points, including a reverse layup that cut the BG lead to four, 64-60, with 6:11 to go. But, Brett drove and hit an 'and-one' layup, knocking down the resulting free-throw try at the 5:08 mark. Thirty seconds later, with the Norse inbounding the ball near the BGSU bench, a miscommunication resulted in an errant throw. Tate picked up the loose ball under the hoop and laid it up and in for a 69-70 lead.
• After a defensive rebound by Velasco, BG ran the floor and Hampton's pass found Sharps for a layup and a 71-61 advantage with 2:11 to go. Duvall scored the game's next five points to cut that Falcon lead in half, but Velasco's driving layup with just under a minute to go gave the home team a little more breathing room.

STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• The Falcons shot 44.4 percent from the field for the game, while holding the Norse to a 37.3% success rate. BG allowed NKU to shoot just 4-for-19 (21.1%) from the field in the fourth quarter.
• Both teams struggled from the arc, with BGSU going 4-for-17 and NKU 3-of-15. The Falcons had a 48-36 lead in points in the paint.
• BGSU also had advantages in points off turnovers (24-14), fast-break points (22-11) and bench scoring (23-10). The Falcons had a narrow 39-38 lead in rebounding.
• For the fifth time in as many games this season, BG had fewer turnovers than the opponent. The Falcons turned the ball over a season-high 17 times, but the hosts forced 21 NKU turnovers.
• Brett led the Falcons in scoring, with 16 points to go along with eight rebounds and three assists. Both Day and Velasco had 15 points.
• Day was 6-of-10 from the field and added three rebounds in the win.
• Velasco went 6-of-9 from the floor, adding five boards.
• Tate had her first career double-double, with 12 points and a team-leading 11 rebounds. She tied her career high in the latter category.
• Hampton had five points in the win, and she led the Falcons in both assists (five) and steals (four).
• Duvall, who entered the game averaging 23.5 points and 10.3 rebounds, had 16 points and five boards on the day. Fourteen of those 16 points came in the second half.
• Turner had 15 points and Mitchell-Steen 12 for the visitors. Davis added nine points and tied for game honors with five assists, while Souder scored six points and led all players with 13 rebounds.
• After posting an overall record of 19-42 in head coach Robyn Fralick's first two seasons at the helm, BGSU has gone 42-25 over the last two-plus seasons.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons are back at the Stroh Center on Monday (Nov. 28), hosting Detroit Mercy in a 7:00 p.m. start. The Titans are coached by BGSU Hall-of-Famer Kate Achter.
• Then, the Orange and Brown will hit the road for the next five contests, beginning with a matchup at Valparaiso on Friday, Dec. 2.

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