Falcons Fly Past Findlay Friday

Friday, December 30

Bowling Green, Ohio

2:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

11-1,0-0MAC

Findlay

-49,14 GMAC

Findlay

Bowling Green

Amy Velasco had 7 points and a career-high 8 assists in the win over Findlay

Photo by: Lauren Laudato, BGSU Athletics

December 30, 2022 | Women's Basketball

Box Score BGSU-UF Stats Photo Gallery

BGSU downs Oilers, 92-51, to end non-league play at 11-1

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team wrapped up the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 92-51 win over the University of Findlay on Friday afternoon (Dec. 30) at the Stroh Center.

The Falcons (11-1) shot 70 percent or better from the field in both the first and third quarters, and used a pair of double-digit runs to pull away.

Nyla Hampton led a balanced scoring attack for BGSU, with 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Elissa Brett and Morgan Sharps had 14 points apiece, while Allison Day was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field en route to 10 points.

Sophie Dziekan and Kadie Hempfling scored eight points apiece, while Amy Velasco had seven points and a career-high eight assists.

Kate Ellis led the Oilers (4-9) with 17 points.

BGSU has won nine consecutive games since a loss at then #9/12 Indiana in mid-November.

With the Falcons ahead by a single point midway through the opening quarter, a Brett three-pointer began a 13-0 run that gave the hosts a 24-10 lead late in the period.

Then, in the third quarter, Velasco assisted on back-to-back buckets by Dziekan to start a 15-0 run. Velasco's three-point play capped that run and gave the Orange and Brown a 72-33 lead.

BGSU went 12-for-16 (75%) from the field in the first quarter and 14-of-20 (70%) in the third, and the Falcons scored 64 points in the paint in the win.

For the game, the hosts shot 58% from the floor while holding the Oilers to a 32.7% success rate.

NOTE OF THE DAY: SCHOOL RECORD-TYING START
• BGSU's 11-1 start to the season is tied for the best in school history. Prior to this season, only the 2010-11 team had won 11 of 12 games to begin the year.
• That '10-11 club lost the season opener by one point, then reeled off 15-straight wins before losing again.

BONUS NOTE OF THE DAY: TAKE THE LEAD. KEEP THE LEAD.
• If you never trail in a game, odds are good that you will win.
• BGSU went 6-0 in the month of December, and the Falcons were behind for a total of 88 seconds during those six games.
• During the Falcons' nine-game winning streak – a total of 360 minutes of action – BGSU has trailed for a grand total of 3:33.

FIRST QUARTER
• It was a back-and-forth game in the first few minutes. BGSU never trailed, but the Falcons' lead was just a single point after a Valerie Muhlenkamp three-pointer midway through the opening quarter. But, Elissa Brett immediately responded with a triple of her own to give the hosts a 14-10 lead.
• That trey began an 13-0 run for the Orange and Brown. Sophie Dziekan, Nyla Hampton and Kadie Hempfling all hit layups, and back-to-back buckets by Allison Day gave the hosts a 14-point advantage, at 24-10.
• Kate Ellis knocked down a pair of free throws to stop that run, but Jocelyn Tate's three-point play with just 3.2 seconds left in the period gave the Falcons a 27-12 lead.
• BGSU went 12-for-16 from the field, including 11-of-12 from inside the arc, in that opening quarter.

SECOND QUARTER
• The teams traded points in the opening minutes of the period, with Lauren Hapgood knocking down a pair of long-range tries for the Oilers. The latter trey cut BG's lead to 31-18. Neither team scored for roughly 100 seconds, before Amy Velasco fed Brett for a transition three.
• Moments later, Day scored on back-to-back possessions to put BGSU ahead by 19, and a Morgan Sharps three-pointer with just under two minutes left in the period gave the Falcons a 42-22 lead. Tate's last-minute layup put the home team up, 46-27, at the half.

THIRD QUARTER
• The Falcons exploded for 30 points in the third quarter, shooting 70 percent from the floor. BGSU scored nine of the first 11 points of the quarter, including the first five points of the period. After a Sharps three, Tate immediately stole the ball, and Sharps found Brett for a layup and a 51-27 lead.
• Ellis, who went 8-for-8 at the free-throw line on the day, hit a pair of shots at the stripe to cut the Falcon lead to 57-33, but BG then went on a 15-0 run.
• Velasco drove the baseline and found Dziekan for a layup, and that duo teamed up again on the next possession as well. Hampton's driving layup prompted a Findlay timeout, but layups by Hampton and Dziekan – both assisted by Velasco – put BG up by a 67-33 score.
• A steal and layup by Hampton continued the run, and when Velasco went coast to coast for a layup and a three-point play, the Falcons' lead was 72-33. BG led, 76-39, after 30 minutes.
• Hampton scored 10 points in the quarter, while Dziekan scored six and Velasco had five points and five assists.

FOURTH QUARTER
• Velasco's seventh and eighth assists of the game both came on Hempfling three-pointers, with the latter hoop giving the Falcons an 85-46 lead with exactly six minutes to go.
• The Oilers scored the next six points, but Payton Moore's short-corner jumper was followed by a Jasmine Fearne three-pointer. Jaci Tubergen assisted on both hoops, and the Falcons had a 90-51 lead. Tubergen closed the game's scoring with a layup off of an Emily Seisel pass.

STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• BGSU shot 58.0 percent from the floor, making 40 field goals in the win. The Oilers went 18-of-55 (32.7%) on the afternoon.
• Each team attempted 20 three pointers, with the Falcons making seven and Findlay six. The visitors were a perfect 9-for-9 at the free-throw line, while BG was 5-of-8.
• The Falcons had a 40-28 rebounding lead, with Brett grabbing a game-high seven boards. Ellis led the visitors with six rebounds.
• BGSU turned the ball over just eight times, while UF had 17 turnovers.
• The Falcons had a total of 11 steals, with nine different players coming up with at least one.
• Friday marked the 12th time in as many games this season that BG had fewer turnovers than the opponent.
• The Falcons have forced the opponents into a total of 264 turnovers this season, an average of 22.0 per game, while committing just 139 (11.6 per game) themselves.
• Siesel made her collegiate debut, seeing five-plus minutes of action after missing BGSU's first 11 games due to injury. She had a rebound, and assist and a steal against the Oilers.
• BGSU has won nine consecutive games, the program's longest winning streak since the Falcons won 13-straight contests during the 2013-14 season.
• After posting an overall record of 19-42 in head coach Robyn Fralick's first two seasons at the helm, BGSU has gone 49-25 over the last two-plus seasons.
• Fralick now has a record of 68-67 since coming to BG. Overall, she is 172-70 in her eighth season as a collegiate head coach.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons begin Mid-American Conference play on Wednesday (Jan. 4), taking on Ball State in Muncie. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Worthen Arena.
• Then, BGSU returns home for the following two games, beginning with a contest vs. Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 7. That game is set for a 1:00 p.m. start at the Stroh Center.

Gallery: (12-30-2022) 123022 WBK v Findlay - Lauren Laudato

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