Toledo Tops Falcons, 88-68, Saturday Evening

Saturday, February 17

Bowling Green, Ohio

6 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

12-11,6-6MAC

Toledo

19-4,11-1MAC

Toledo

Bowling Green

Morgan Sharps had 19 of her team-high 22 points in the second half on Saturday

Photo by: Daniel Carlson

February 17, 2024 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

Sharps hits 6 triples en route to 22 points.

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The University of Toledo built an early lead on Saturday evening (Feb. 17), and the Rockets held off every challenge by the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team en route to an 88-68 win over the Falcons. The Mid-American Conference 'Battle of I-75' took place inside the Stroh Center.

Attendance: 3,998 // Ziggyville: 1,068

Morgan Sharps had 22 points, including 19 in the second half alone, for the Falcons (12-11, 6-6 MAC), while Amy Velasco added 20. Paige Kohler rounded out BGSU's double-digit scorers with 14 points.

Quinesha Lockett had 26 points to pace the Rockets (19-4, 11-1 MAC).

Sharps, after tying the school record with eight three-point field goals in BGSU's last game, made six more triples on Saturday vs. the Midnight Blue and Gold.

Toledo took an early lead, and had a five-point advantage after the first quarter. The visitors extended the margin to as many as 16 points in the second period, with a 39-26 lead at the half.

BGSU cut the deficit to 10 points on several occasions on the third quarter, but the Rockets turned defense into offense, using a 9-0 run take a 54-35 lead midway through that period. The margin reached 22 points, the largest of the game, late in the quarter.

Sharps hit a three-pointer in the final minute of the third period, however, after a Velasco jumper opened the fourth quarter, another triple by Sharps made it an 8-0 BG run and a 12-point game. But, Lockett converted a three-point play, and after a turnover, Emmi Rinat knocked down a three-point try to give the visitors a 72-54 lead with just over eight minutes to go.

Olivia Hill had six points and a team-leading nine rebounds for the Falcons.

NOTE OF THE NIGHT
• Morgan Sharps, as mentioned, scored a team-high 22 points against the Rockets on Saturday evening. Sharps is just five points away from reaching the 1,000-point mark for her collegiate career.
• Sharps, a transfer from Xavier, scored 222 points with the Musketeers before coming to BGSU, and she now has 773 points as a Falcon.

ALSO WORTH NOTING
• With 20 points on Saturday night, Amy Velasco surpassed the 900-point mark for her career. She now has 910 points as a Falcon, tops among all current team members.
• Olivia Hill, as mentioned, had nine rebounds on Saturday. That total tied her career high. Her other nine-rebound game came two weeks ago, in the Falcons' first matchup with Toledo this season (Feb. 3, 2024).

FIRST QUARTER
• Toledo got out to an early 8-2 lead. Amy Velasco hit a floater after Sophia Wiard had opened the game's scoring with a three-pointer, but a Hannah Noveroske layup and another Wiard trey put the Rockets up by six.
• Olivia Hill came up with an acrobatic offensive rebound and laid the ball back up and in, cutting the deficit to three points, but a Khera Goss triple and another Noveroske hoop made it a 13-5 game.
• Hill scored at the shot-clock horn, and Sophie Dziekan kicked the ball out to Morgan Sharps for a three-pointer. But, the Rockets were scoring at the other end, and a Wiard jumper gave UT a seven-point advantage. Velasco, however, beat the buzzer with a highlight-reel worthy turnaround one-hander to cut the visitors' lead to 17-12.

SECOND QUARTER
• Three of the Falcons' four first-quarter fouls were offensive fouls, and BGSU was quickly whistled for two more fouls at the offensive end in quarter number two. BG was assessed three fouls in the first 63 seconds of the quarter, including the team's fourth and fifth offensive fouls of game's first 11:03. The Gold and Midnight Blue took advantage, with reigning MAC Player of the Year Quinesha Lockett sandwiching a pair of buckets around a teammate's two charity tosses. Locket's second hoop in that time was a triple that gave the visitors a 24-12 lead.
• Paige Kohler made a baseline drive and hit a reverse layup, and Hill came up with her second putback of the game. Taya Ellis drove, spun and scored to make it a 27-18 contest exactly midway through the quarter. But, after another driving layup by Kohler, a Soleil Barnes layup gave UT a 33-20 lead.
• Kohler would score six-straight BG points during that stretch of the period, and a Velasco jumper cut the margin to 12 before Noveroske had four chances to increase the lead at the stripe. She missed her first three shots, but was the beneficiary of not one, but two lane violations called against the home team. She hit her fourth toss during that lengthy trip to the line, to make it a 39-26 UT lead at the break.

Gallery: (2-17-2024) 021724 wbb v Toledo - Daniel Carlson

THIRD QUARTER
• Sharps opened the second-half scoring with a pull-up jumper, and moments later, a layup by Kohler was followed by a Velasco free throw that pulled the Falcons within 10 points. Moments later, Sharps threw the ball inside to Erika Porter for a layup, and a rare offensive foul call on the visiting team gave the ball back to BG.
• The Falcons could not take advantage, but moments later, a Sharps jumper made it a 45-35 game. But, after a UT free throw, back-to-back BG turnovers would lead to two UT buckets. Then, after another turnover, Lockett's layup made it a 9-0 run and a 54-35 game.
• Sharps hit a three-point try, and BGSU got three free throws in a 20-second stretch. But, the visitors had an answer each time, and a Sammi Mikonowicz trey gave the Rockets a 21-point lead.
• Velasco and Sharps each hit long-distance shots in the final 1:17, with the latter shot cutting the UT lead to 66-49 after 30 minutes.

FOURTH QUARTER
• Velasco made a layup, then found Sharps for another triple, and BGSU was within 12 pints, at 66-54. But, Lockett responded with a three-point play, and Emmi Rinat's three-point shot gave the visitors an 18-point lead with 8:07 to go.
• Sharps would knock down two more triple tries before the night was done, and Velasco had six more fourth-quarter points, but the Rockets were able to keep the margin in double digits for the remainder of the contest.

UP NEXT
• BGSU hits the road for the next two games, beginning with a Wednesday night (Feb. 21) contest at Akron. That game will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Rhodes Arena.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will head to DeKalb to face Northern Illinois next Saturday (Feb. 24). The Falcons and Huskies will meet in a 2:00 p.m. tip at the Convocation Center.

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.