Bobcats Beat BGSU, 74-48, in MAC-Sun Belt Challenge

Saturday, November 11

San Marcos, Texas

3 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

1-1,0-0MAC

Texas State

2-0,0-0Sun Belt

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Bowling Green	17	9	12	10	48
Texas St.	21	14	19	20	74

Amy Velasco, Taya Ellis at Texas State - Nov. 11, 2023

Photo by: Jill Williams, Texas State Athletics

November 11, 2023 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team ran into some early foul trouble on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 11), and host Texas State University took full advantage. The Bobcats posted a 74-48 win over the Falcons in the game, part of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, at Strahan Arena.

Amy Velasco led the Falcons with 14 points on the day. With many of her fellow starters plagued with foul trouble from the game's opening minutes, Velasco played over 36 minutes in the contest.

The Falcons trailed by just four points after the first quarter, but four BG players were whistled for at least two foul in the opening 10 minutes. That first quarter saw the teams combine for just 27 field-goal attempts, but 26 free-throw tries.

The Bobcats went 10-of-15 from the line in the first quarter alone.

In the second period, the Falcons kept the deficit within single digits until the hosts went up by 11 late in the period. Jaci Tubergen's jumper just before the horn cut the TXST lead to nine, 35-26, at the break.

But, BGSU's foul woes continued in the third quarter. Within the first four minutes of the period, three Falcons each received their third foul of the game while another was assessed her fourth.

The Bobcats' lead extended into double digits, and after Taya Ellis hit a floater in the waning seconds of the period, Ja'Niah Henson beat the buzzer with a shot from half-court to increase her team's lead to 54-38 after 30 minutes.

Ellis, in just the second game of her BGSU career, led all players with 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.

NOTEWORTHY
• With 17 fouls called on BGSU in the first half alone, many of the Falcons' starters saw their minutes limited. Amy Velasco played all 20 minutes of the opening half, nearly matching the combined total of the other four BG starters (22:11).

• Several Falcons, including freshmen Taya Ellis and Keiryn McGuff, sophomore Emily Siesel and fourth-year Falcon Jasmine Clerkley, all recorded career-high totals in minutes played. All four also set new career standards in both points and rebounds, with Clerkley and McGuff setting career bests in assists and Siesel tying her career high in that category.

• Ellis, who had one blocked shot in her BGSU debut on Tuesday, blocked four shots on Saturday, the highest total by a Falcon in nearly four years (since Angela Perry had five blocks on Feb. 29, 2020).

FIRST QUARTER
• Amy Velasco opened the scoring with a pair of free throws, but the hosts would score the next five points, including a corner three from Gara Beth Self. A Paige Kohler steal and layup cut the BG deficit to one, and when Kohler found Lexi Fleming for a three-pointer, the game was tied at 7-7 after less than three minutes had elapsed.
• A nifty pass from Kohler led to Velasco's baseline floater, and several minutes later a Velasco three-point play knotted the score at 12.
• But, two BG starters were already on the bench with two fouls, and a third would soon join them.
• The hosts forged ahead by five, but Velasco's pass found Emily Siesel for a pull-up jumper, and free throws by Keiryn McGuff and Jasmine Clerkley late in the period had the Falcons within four, 21-17, after 10 minutes.
• That first quarter, as mentioned, features 19 fouls, 26 free-throw attempts and only 27 field-goal attempts by the two teams.

SECOND QUARTER
• Siesel lobbed a pass inside to Olivia Hill for a layup in the opening minute of the second period, but moments later, a Self three-pointer gave the hosts a 26-19 lead.
• Sophie Dziekan hit a layup, and Clerkley took a Velasco inbounds pass and flipped the ball back to Velasco for a layup.
• But, back-to-back layups by the hosts put the lead into double figures, before Jaci Tubergen hit a jumper at the first-half buzzer to make it a nine-point game.

THIRD QUARTER
• The hosts scored on the first three possessions of the second half, with a Timia Jefferson layup giving TXST a 41-26 lead. Clerkley hit a long two-point jumper, but several BG starters picked up an additional foul apiece and were forced to head to the bench.
• The lead reached 17 on another Jefferson layup, before Clerkley put back a teammate's missed shot. Velasco's layup cut the deficit to 13, and it was still a 13-point game late in the period after Ellis hit a floater with mere seconds to go. But, Ja'Niah Henson connected from midcourt at the buzzer, giving the hosts a 54-38 lead after three periods.

FOURTH QUARTER
• The Bobcats' lead reached 27 points after an 11-0 run was capped by a Henson triple with 5:43 to go.
• Both Kohler and Fleming knocked down three-point tries, but the Falcons then went over three minutes without scoring.
• Siesel took a Clerkley pass and hit a layup to cap the game's scoring.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons return to the road next weekend, facing Xavier in the Queen City on Saturday (Nov. 18). That game will begin at 2:00 p.m. at the Cintas Center.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will head to Savannah, Ga., for a pair of games in the Savannah Hoops Invitational over the Thanksgiving holiday. BG will take on Mercer (Wed., Nov. 22) and Lehigh (Thu., Nov. 23) in that tourney.

FOR MORE INFORMATION...
• For more information on all things BGSU women's basketball, follow the Falcons on Facebook (@BGWBB), Twitter/X (@BGSU_Athletics and @BGSUWBB) and Instagram (@bgsuwbb), as well as right here at BGSUFalcons.com.