Falcons Pick Up 81-76 Road Win over Miami

Saturday, February 26

Oxford, Ohio

2:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

14-13,9-9MAC

Miami (OH)

8-19,4-14MAC

Bowling Green

Miami (OH)

Sophie Dziekan nearly had a double-double in just 10 minutes of action (photo courtesy Miami Athletics)

February 26, 2022 | Women's Basketball

Box Score BGSU-Miami Stats

BG ends third quarter on 7-0 run to take the lead for good

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

OXFORD, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team used a late third-quarter run to take the lead for good on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 26), then held off every Miami University comeback bid in the fourth period. The Falcons downed the RedHawks, 81-76, in Mid-American Conference action at Millett Hall.

With the win, the Falcons (14-13, 9-9 MAC) move into a tie for sixth place in the MAC standings entering the final week of the regular season.

Freshman Amy Velasco had 19 points and five assists to lead the Orange and Brown in both categories. Velasco went 10-of-12 at the free-throw line, including 7-for-8 over the game's final three minutes.

Senior Kadie Hempfling had 18 points, with junior Elissa Brett adding 12 and senior Madisen Parker 10.

BGSU's relatively balanced scoring effort offset a career day by MU's Ivy Wolf. Wolf paced the RedHawks (8-19, 4-14 MAC) with 32 points, while Peyton Scott scored 19, including 11 in the final quarter.

Miami led by three points at the half, and the RedHawks had a two-point advantage after Wolf's layup with 1:37 left in the third quarter. But, a Hempfling jumper began a 7-0 run to end the period. That run included four points in the final 5.5 seconds, as after Nyla Hampton hit a pair of free throws, Jocelyn Tate stole the ensuing inbounds pass and hit a driving layup as the buzzer sounded.

Tate's bucket gave the Falcons a 60-55 lead, and she scored the first points of the fourth quarter for a seven-point advantage. In all, BGSU put together a 15-4 run to end the third period and begin the fourth. The lead grew to as many as 11 points, and although Miami cut it to three in the final minute, Velasco and the Falcons made enough free throws down the stretch to salt away the road win.

Tate had nine points in 12 minutes of action, while sophomore Sophie Dziekan posted career-high totals of seven points and eight rebounds in just 10 minutes.

NOTE OF THE DAY
• With two games left in the regular season, the Falcons have moved into a three-way tie for sixth place in the MAC standings. The top-eight teams in the final standings will qualify for the conference tournament.
• The fourth- through ninth-place teams are separated by just a game and a half. Fourth-place Northern Illinois is 10-8 in conference play, while Ball State is 9-8, three teams – BGSU, Kent State and Western Michigan – are 9-9 and Ohio is 8-9.
• All 12 conference teams have two games remaining in the regular season.

QUOTING COACH FRALICK
"This was a big road win. We made enough free throws and got enough stops down the stretch today. I thought we were just trading baskets for a while there, but we got enough stops and enough rebounds, and we did a good job closing out the game at the free-throw line."

"At this time of the year, everything is elevated. Every game, every possession is elevated. We've got to put all of our energy into every possession. I didn't think we did that in the first half, but I thought we were a lot better in the second half."

FIRST QUARTER
• Elissa Brett, back in the starting lineup after missing three games due to injury, opened the scoring with a corner three in the opening minute, and layups by Kadie Hempfling and Nyla Hampton gave the Falcons a 7-0 lead with under three minutes gone.
• Miami responded with five-straight points, but Amy Velasco found Madisen Parker for a three-pointer and a 10-5 lead. Another 5-0 run by the RedHawks made it a one-point game, but Brett put back her own miss, and after Peyton Scott hit a left-side jumper, Brett countered with a pull-up jumper for a 15-12 BG lead.
• A steal and layup by Hempfling gave the Falcons a five-point advantage, but Miami scored the last four points of the period, with Ivy Wolf's free throws with 7.0 seconds to go getting the hosts within one point.

SECOND QUARTER
• Parker took a Morgan Sharps pass and made a three-pointer to open the scoring, and Sophie Dziekan's free throw was followed by a Velasco floater that gave the Falcons a 23-18 lead with 6:18 to go in the half.
• But, the RedHawks then proceeded to score the next nine points. Wolf hit back-to-back pull-up jumpers, and a Katey Richason putback was followed by Wolf's three-point play at the 4:19 mark, giving MU a 27-23 lead.
• Hempfling's layup snapped the RedHawk run, and the senior's layup on BG's next possession tied the score. Velasco assisted on both buckets.
• But, a Katie Davidson triple began a 7-0 run for the hosts, as Scott made a layup and Wolf hit another pull-up jumper. Velasco answered with a driving layup at the 1:15 mark, then a pair of charity tosses in the final minute, cutting MU's lead to 34-31 at the break.

THIRD QUARTER
• A Velasco three-ball opened the second-half scoring and tied the game, but Scott answered with a layup. Hempfling knotted the score again with a layup of her own, and moments later, the senior's three-pointer gave the Falcons a 39-38 lead.
• The 'Hawks scored the game's next three points, but Kenzie Lewis found Brett for a three-pointer from the left wing, and after Velasco split a pair of free throws, some quick Dziekan-to-Hampton-to-Parker passing resulted in Parker's third triple of the game, giving the Falcons a 7-0 run and a 46-41 lead.
• Dziekan hit a turnaround jumper, then was fouled on a defensive rebound and made a pair of free throws at the 3:47 mark, putting BG up by five. But, Wolf hit a step-back three-pointer from the top of the arc, and just under a minute later, a Maddi Cluse triple tied the score, 53-53.
• Wolf drove past her defender and hit a layup, but BG responded with the aforementioned 7-0 run to end the quarter, as Hempfling hit a jumper, Parker knocked down a free-throw try, and Hampton and Tate combined for four points in the final 5.5 seconds of the period. Tate's layup gave BG a 60-55 lead.

FOURTH QUARTER
• Tate opened the fourth-quarter scoring, and BGSU's lead was seven points, tying the largest margin of the game to that point. MU scored on each of the next two possessions, but BG answered with a Hampton scoop-and-score layup and a tough turnaround shot by Tate, and the Falcons had a 66-59 lead.
• When the seas parted for Velasco, the freshman drove and hit an uncontested layup at the 6:17 mark. BGSU's lead was a game-high nine points as the RedHawks used a timeout.
• Wolf hit a pair of shots at the stripe, but Hempfling was fouled after grabbing an offensive board, and the senior went 2-for-2 at the line. Then, Tate knifed her way inside for an offensive rebound and a nifty putback, and with 4:52 to go, BGSU had a double-digit lead for the first time in the game.
• MU scored four-straight points at the line, and after Brett split a pair of tosses, Scott was fouled and made her fifth and sixth free throws in an 87-second span. BG's lead was down to six, but Velasco hit a pair of shots at the line for a 75-67 lead with 2:48 left.
• Scott hit a pull-up jumper with just over two minutes to go, and the RedHawks forced a turnover near midcourt with 1:40 to go. But, as Edyn Battle headed in for what appeared to be an uncontested layup, she bobbled the ball and Hempfling knocked it away with a headlong dive. The ball went out of bounds off of Battle, giving possession back to BG with 1:37 to go.
• Velasco was fouled with 1:22 to go, hitting both shots for a 77-69 lead. Scott split two tries at the line, but after BG missed a pair of free throws, Wolf hit a three-pointer with 55 seconds left, cutting BG's lead to four.
• Velasco was fouled and made both shots with 47.7 seconds on the clock, but after a Miami timeout, Cluse took Scott's inbounds pass and drained a three-point try. BG's lead was down to three points, 79-76, with 42.4 seconds to go.
• The RedHawks chose not to foul immediately, playing out the possession, but Hempfling was fouled on a drive with exactly 18 seconds left. She missed her first free-throw attempt, but made the second, making it a two-possession game.
• Scott missesd a driving layup, and Tate rebounded the miss and flipped the ball to Velasco. She was fouled and hit one of two free-throw attempts with 6.7 seconds left, to provide the final margin.

STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• BGSU shot 42.4 percent for the game, while MU shot exactly 40% from the field. Both teams made seven three-pointers, with BG attempting 21 triples and Miami 24.
• The Falcons went 24-of-35 at the free-throw line. Both totals were the Falcons' second-highest of the season. Miami was 17-of-21 at the stripe.
• The Falcons had a 43-36 advantage on the boards, including 14 offensive boards. BG also led in points in the paint (34-22), second-chance points (18-8) and bench scoring (26-22).
• BGSU was +10 in second-chance points for the first time in MAC play and only the second time overall this season (17-0 vs. Valparaiso back on Dec. 5).
• In addition to BGSU's four double-digit scorers, the Falcons got nine points in just under 12 minutes from Tate, while Dziekan had seven points and a game-high eight rebounds in just over 10 minutes of work. Hampton had six points, three assists and two steals.
• Hempfling had seven rebounds and a game-high four steals to go along with her 18 points, while Kenzie Lewis also had seven boards and Brett six.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons will conclude the home portion of the schedule on Wednesday evening (March 2), facing Kent State in a 7:00 p.m. tipoff at the Stroh Center.
• Then, BGSU ends the regular season next Saturday (March 5), taking on Buffalo in Western New York. That game will begin at 2:00 p.m. at Alumni Arena.
• Log on to BGSUFalcons.com for all of the latest news and updates re: the 2021-22 Falcons.

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