Sharps Ties a School Record, but Falcons Fall, 88-78, in MAC/Sun Belt Challenge

Saturday, February 10

Bowling Green, Ohio

12 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

12-10,6-5MAC

Troy

13-10,9-3Sun Belt

Troy

Bowling Green

Troy struggled to keep up with Morgan Sharps all afternoon long, as the Falcon phenom hit 8 3-pointers

Photo by: Daniel Carlson, BGSU Athletics

Sharps Ties a School Record, but Falcons Fall, 88-78, in MAC/Sun Belt Challenge

February 10, 2024 | Women's Basketball

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Morgan makes 8 3-point field goals vs. Women of Troy

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Morgan Sharps tied a school record on Saturday (Feb. 10), but the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team fell, 88-78, to Troy University. The non-conference game, part of the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge, was held at the Stroh Center.

Attendance: 1,916 // Ziggyville: 155

Sharps made eight three-point field goals, tying the school single-game record, en route to 28 points for the Falcons (12-10 [6-5 MAC]).

Erika Porter had 20 points, going 8-of-9 from the field, while Amy Velasco added 18 points and seven assists for the hosts.

The Trojans (13-10 [9-3 Sun Belt]) got 28 points from Ja'Mia Hollings, with Tai'Sheka Porchia and Nia Daniel adding 17 and 15, respectively.

Troy had a decisive 51-29 rebounding advantage on Saturday afternoon.

The game featured no fewer than 12 ties and 14 lead changes, and it was a 60-60 contest after three quarters. An Olivia Hill free throw gave the Falcons the lead early in the fourth period, but the Trojans went on a 6-0 run, beginning with back-to-back buckets by Shaulana Wagner, and the visitors never trailed again.

A three-pointer by Sharps – her eighth of the game – cut the BG deficit to three points midway through the quarter, but Daniel answered with a triple at the other end, and a pair of Hollings hoops enabled the Trojans to extend the lead to double digits for the first time in the game.

In addition to the Falcons' three double-digit scorers, Paige Kohler had seven points along with seven assists, with Hill scoring five. Taya Ellis, one of BGSU's three available players off the bench, led the Falcons with nine rebounds.

FIRST QUARTER
• Both the Falcons and the Trojans got off to hot-shooting starts as the teams traded baskets for much of the first quarter. Troy scored on three-straight possessions to start the game, but BG answered on each of the first two possessions, with Paige Kohler finding Erika Porter for a layup both times. After the Falcons got a stop, Porter made her third bucket in the game's first three minutes to tie the contest at 6-6.
• Morgan Sharps, who had found Porter for that third hoop, then stepped outside the arc and hit a corner three to give the Falcons a 9-8 lead. Amy Velasco lobbed the ball inside to Porter for yet another layup, and after Ja'Mia Hollings responded with a pair of hoops, Kohler took a Sharps pass and hit a long three-point try to tie the score at 14-14.
• Olivia Hill converted a layup, and Velasco hit a pair of free-throw tries, and after Leilani Guion knocked down a three-point shot, Porter's fifth field goal gave the hosts a 20-19 lead. Another Velasco charity toss made it a two-point game after 10 minutes.

SECOND QUARTER
• Sharps opened the second-quarter scoring by taking a Kohler pass and drilling a long-range try, giving the Falcons a 24-19. That five-point advantage would be BG's largest of the day. The visitors got a pair of Hollings buckets to make it a one-point game, before Kohler hit a driving layup for a 26-23 lead.
• Velasco's three-ball put the Falcons up by four, and after a Tai'Sheka Porchia putback cut the lead to one again, Velasco found Sharps for a lightning-quick catch-and-shoot three and a 32-28 lead.
• The visitors answered again, with a Gabbi Cartagena triple giving Troy a 33-32 lead with just under two minutes left in the half. Porter, however, took a Velasco inbounds pass under the hoop, finished through contact and sank the ensuing free throw for a three-point play and a two-point lead. A Sharps trey followed, and Sharps would hit a pair of free throws in the final minute of the half. A pair of Troy tosses at the other end of the court cut the BG lead to three, 40-37, at the break.

THIRD QUARTER
• The Women of Troy got off to a good start in the second half. After a Makayia Hallmon bucket, a steal led to a Shaulana Wagner layup that gave the visitors the lead. Then, Wagner's putback made it a 43-40 lead as the Falcons used an early timeout.
• Out of that timeout, Porter found Velasco for a game-tying three, but the Trojans answered at the other end. Once again, however, the Falcons had a response, as Velasco ripped the ball away from Hollings and fired a pass to Sharps for a transition triple that knotted the score at 46-all.
• Velasco's driving layup gave the Falcons the lead, and Kohler converted a driving layup of her own. The Trojans scored after each of those BG buckets, but Sharps drained three-point tries on back-to-back BG possessions, with the second shot giving the Falcons a 56-52 advantage.
• Two Hollings layups tied the score once again, however, and a pair of free throws by Nia Daniel made it a 6-0 run. Velasco took a Hill handoff and made a layup, however, and after a Zay Dyer bucket, BGSU broke the Troy press in the final seconds of the quarter, with Taya Ellis finding Hill for a buzzer-beating layup that made it a 60-60 contest.

FOURTH QUARTER
• A Hill free throw opened the scoring in the final period, but Wagner scored for the Trojans, then came up with a steal and another hoop. Porchia's layup gave the visitors a 66-61 lead with 7:46 to go.
• Porter scored off of a Velasco inbounds pass, and Porter's nifty bounce pass found a cutting Sharps for a layup, but BG could not draw closer than three points. Porchia made a pair of shots at the stripe, and a Daniel trey gave the visitors a 73-65 lead with 6:08 to play.
• Two Velasco free throws and a Sharps trey – her eighth of the game – cut the Trojans' lead to 73-70 with just over five minutes to go, but Daniel quickly answered with a three-pointer, and moments later, Hollings scored inside on back-to-back trips to give the visitors an 80-70 lead. BG battled to the very end, with Porter scoring five more points and Velasco hitting a transition triple in the final minute, but the visitors were able to match BG's scoring to come away with the victory.

Gallery: (2-10-2024) 021024 wbk v Troy - Scott Grau

NOTES AND NUMBERS
• Troy had a slightly higher field-goal percentage than the Falcons, as the visitors made 44.7 percent of their attempts, with the hosts shooting 43.5% from the floor.
• Led by Sharps, the Falcons made a dozen three-pointers, going 12-of-31 (38.7%) from the arc to Troy's 5-of-19 day (26.3%).
• The big difference in the game was Troy's 51-29 rebounding advantage. The Trojans had 21 offensive boards in the win.
• Both teams had 16 turnovers, with Velasco posting a game-high three steals. Sophie Dziekan, one-third of BGSU's bench in the game, had two blocked shots in just over 10 minutes of action, while Ellis, as mentioned, had a team-leading nine rebounds in under 16 minutes.

UP NEXT
• BGSU is back at the Stroh Center next weekend, wrapping up a season-long three-game homestand with a game against arch-rival Toledo on Saturday (Feb. 17). That contest will begin at 6:00 p.m.

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.