Velasco's Buzzer-Beating Bucket Lifts Falcons Past Duquesne, 68-66

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Amy Velasco hit a runner at the buzzer, lifting the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team to a 68-66 victory over Duquesne University Monday night (Nov. 27). The non-conference thriller took place inside the Stroh Center.

(Attendance: 1,717 // Ziggyville Population: 166)

Velasco's heroics gave the Falcons (5-1) a second nail-biting win in as many home games this season, and capped a frantic final few minutes.

Velasco, who scored 15 points in the win, made a pair of free throws with 1:45 to go, giving the Falcons a 63-62 lead. But, Amaya Hamilton, who had a career-high 28 points for the Dukes (3-2), hit a baby hook to give her team the lead once again.

The Falcons missed a shot, but BG forced a miss at the other end, and Lexi Fleming hit a three-pointer with 20.1 seconds to go. Fleming led the home team with 19 points.

After a DU timeout, Hamilton hit a layup to tie the score with 8.6 seconds remaining, and Fleming was called for an offensive foul with 3.8 seconds left. Duquesne called another timeout, but the Dukes were whistled for a five-second violation as they attempted to inbound the ball, giving possession to the Falcons.

Paige Kohler inbounded the ball to Velasco in the backcourt, and the junior took the ball over midcourt as the final seconds ticked away. She reached the foul line and tossed up a right-handed shot that found nothing but net as the final buzzer sounded.

In her first home game since January, Morgan Sharps had 11 points for the Falcons, with Kohler scoring 10.

Jasmine Clerkley had nine points, a team-high 10 rebounds and a game-best plus/minus rating of +16 in the win.

Naelle Bernard and Megan McConnell had 14 and 13 points, respectively, for the Dukes, with McConnell adding a game-high 13 rebounds.

📹 BUZZER-BEATER!📹

Amy Velasco For. The. Win! 🧡💪🤩#AyZiggy x #onemore pic.twitter.com/jaPErYx3rz
— BGSU Women's Basketball (@BGSUWBB) November 28, 2023

Gallery: (11-27-2023) 112723 wbk v Duquesne - Lauren Laudato

NOTEWORTHY
• BGSU is now 2-0 at home this season, and the Falcons have won both games after trailing in the final minute. BG downed Cleveland State, 89-86, in the home opener (Nov. 7) after trailing with as few as 1.9 seconds to go.

• On Monday, BG trailed with just over 20 seconds remaining, before Fleming's three-pointer.

• Both games were tied with 1.0 or fewer seconds left. Against CSU, Fleming hit a pair of free throws with exactly one second to go. And, Velasco's heroics on Monday evening came as the final buzzer sounded.

FIRST QUARTER
• The Falcons jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, as Paige Kohler hit a driving layup and then threw a home-run ball to Lexi Fleming for a layup.
• But, the Dukes responded with the game's next seven points, beginning with Naelle Bernard's three-pointer. A putback by Ayanna Townsend gave the visitors a 7-4 advantage, but a steal by Morgan Sharps led to an Olivia Hill layup.
• Then, Sharps would score nine of BG's last 11 points of the period. She took an Amy Velasco pass and knocked down a three-point try to tie the game at 9-9. The Dukes responded with five-straight points, but Sharps hit another long-range attempt, and a Jasmine Clerkley hook shot tied the score once again. Then, with the shot clock winding down, Sharps drained her third triple of the quarter to give BG a 17-14 lead after 10 minutes.

SECOND QUARTER
• Clerkley put back a missed shot to open the second-period scoring, giving BGSU a 10-0 run and a 19-14 lead. After a quick jumper by Townsend, Clerkley grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked the ball out to Velasco for a three-pointer and a 22-16 advantage.
• Velasco's shot off glass put BG up, 24-18, but the Dukes came right back, with Bernard and Amaya Hamilton each scoring in the paint before a Bernard triple gave the visitors a 25-24 lead.
• Kohler took a Sophie Dziekan pass and hit from the arc, and after Bernard tied the score with a driving layup, Fleming untied it with a triple of her own. Kohler drove and dished the ball to Clerkley for a layup, and a Kohler charity toss giving the Falcons a 35-30 lead.
• Then, Fleming took a Clerkley pass and hit a long three-point try, and after Bernard split a pair of free throws, Sharps knocked down a pull-up jumper. The Falcons ended the half on a 9-1 run to take a 40-31 lead into the intermission.

THIRD QUARTER
• After DU's Megan McConnell opened the second-half scoring with a three-point play, Velasco hit a driving layup for a 42-34 BG advantage. But, A Hamilton layup was followed by Bernard's corner three. And, when Townsend made a pair of shots at the stripe, the Dukes were within a single point, at 42-41.
• Kohler found Fleming for another 'touchdown pass,' as Fleming broke downcourt and took a long inbounds pass for a layup ahead of the pack
• Clerkley ran the floor, took a long pass from Fleming, was fouled and made a free throw for a 45-43 lead. Then, Clerkley blocked a shot and grabbed the rebound, with th ensuing possession ending with two Hill free throws.
• Back came the Dukes, however, with Hamilton hitting a pair of shots, then making two free throws to give her team a 49-47 lead with 2:10 to go in the quarter.
• Kohler drove and scored, but McConnell returned the favor, and Hamilton followed with a three-point play. Another Hamilton hoop gave the visitors a 56-49 advantage after 30 minutes.
• Duquesne outscored BGSU, 25-9, in that third quarter, with Hamilton scoring 15 of those 25 points on 6-of-6 shooting in the period.

FOURTH QUARTER
• Kohler hit a pair of free throws just nine seconds into the final quarter, and two tosses from Velasco cut the DU lead to 57-53 with 8:01 to go. Neither team made a field goal in the period until Fleming's steal and 'and-one' layup with 5:45 left in the contest. Fleming's free throw got the Falcons within two points, at 58-56.
• Townsend hit an open layup with 4:26 left – Duquesne's first hoop of the quarter – but Velasco found Fleming for a corner three in front of the BG bench, and the Falcons' deficit was a single point. And, when Clerkley came up with an acrobatic offensive rebound and put the ball back up and in, the Falcons led, 61-60, with 2:25 to go.
• Hamilton made a pair of charity tosses with 2:13 left, but Velasco answered with two shots from the stripe with 1:45 remaining, setting the stage for the final frenzied minutes.
• Fleming had nine points in the final period, while Hamilton scored seven of her team's 10 fourth-quarter points.

Gallery: (11-27-2023) 112723 wbk v Duquesne - Nathan Kubala

STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• BGSU shot 36.5 percent from the field on the night, while DU shot 39.3% from the floor. The Falcons, however, went 9-for-25 from three-point range (36%), while holding the Dukes to just a 4-for-24 (16.7%) long-distance effort.
• In addition to her team-leading 19 points, Lexi Fleming pulled down seven rebounds for the third time this season.
• Jasmine Clerkley had a career night for the Falcons. Her nine points nearly doubled her previous career-best total (five at Texas State on Nov. 11), while her total of 10 rebounds more than tripled her previous best in that category (three in that same TXST game).
• Clerkley led all players with a +16 plus/minus rating on Monday night.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons will play four games in the month of December, including three against nationally-ranked teams. The arduous slate begins on Saturday (Dec. 2), as BGSU takes on #4 Iowa at 1:30 p.m. ET. That game will be televised nationally on FS1.

• BG then plays at Wright State on Tuesday, Dec. 12, before returning home to face South Carolina the following Tuesday (Dec. 19). The Gamecocks are currently the number-one team in the nation.

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.

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