Velasco, Falcons Tame Huskies, 82-73, for Second-Straight Road Win

Saturday, February 24

DeKalb, Ill.

2 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

14-11,8-6MAC

Northern Illinois

13-13,6-8MAC

Bowling Green

NIU

Photo by: Scott W. Grau

Velasco, Falcons Tame Huskies, 82-73, for Second-Straight Road Win

February 24, 2024 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Junior guard explodes for career-high 32 points in DeKalb

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

DeKALB, Ill. – Junior Amy Velasco scored 15 of her career-high 32 points in the fourth quarter alone on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 24), as the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team picked up a second-straight road win. The Falcons downed Northern Illinois University, 82-73, in Mid-American Conference action at the Convocation Center.

Velasco paced four double-digit scorers for the Falcons (14-11, 8-6 MAC), as Paige Kohler had 17 points, Morgan Sharps 15 and Erika Porter 11.

In addition to points, Velasco also had a career-high steals total, with six. Kohler had a game-high seven assists to tie her career best.

For the Huskies (13-13, 6-8 MAC), Jayden Marable had 15 points, while Brooke Stonebraker and Sidney McCrea scored 13 apiece.

With the win, BGSU remains tied for fourth place in the 12-team MAC. Buffalo, the Falcons' next opponent, also is 8-6 in the conference.

The Falcons shot an even 50 percent from the field for the second consecutive game, and BGSU had advantages of 19-8 in point off turnovers and 30-24 in points in the paint.

The Huskies went 5-for-7 from three-point range in the first quarter, taking a 20-19 lead after 10 minutes of action. But, the Falcons limited NIU to just a 2-of-11 effort from the arc over the final three quarters.

BGSU led by as many as seven points on two occasions in the first quarter, but the Huskies ended the period on a 10-2 run to take the lead. That NIU advantage grew to five points several times in the second quarter, but a Velasco layup was followed by back-to-back three-pointers from Sharps as the 8-0 run gave the Falcons the lead.

NIU battled back, and a Marable layup gave the hosts a 38-37 lead with 2:12 left in the half, but Velasco knocked down a long-distance shot to give BG the lead, and the Falcons never trailed again.

Stonebraker's jumper tied the contest midway through the third quarter, but Sharps answered with a triple, and Kohler had a personal 6-0 run that gave BG a 52-45 lead. Northern crept as close as four points, but could not make it a one-possession game over the last 15 minutes of the contest.

NOTE OF THE DAY
• Amy Velasco, as mentioned, scored 15 of her career-high 32 points in the fourth quarter alone. In that final period, Velasco was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field while going 6-of-6 at the free-throw line.

ALSO WORTH NOTING
• With those 32 points, Velasco now has a career total of 960 points at BGSU, tops among players on the current roster.

A game- and career-high 3⃣2⃣ points for the legendary @amyvelasco3 today!#AyZiggy x #onemore pic.twitter.com/Ia1wCOxona
— BGSU Women's Basketball (@BGSUWBB) February 24, 2024

FIRST QUARTER
• The Falcons got off to a successful start on Saturday, taking a 4-0 lead on a pair of Erika Porter layups in the opening minute of the game. Paige Kohler took an Amy Velasco pass and knocked down a three-point try for a 7-3 advantage, and Velasco hit a floater, then a three-pointer of her own that gave the Falcons a 12-5 lead with under three minutes gone.
• But, Kortney Drake hit her second long-range attempt of the game to begin a quick 5-0 run for the hosts. BG answered with a five-point run on a Porter layup and a Morgan Sharps trey to take a 17-10 lead, before Tara Stauffacher scored from the arc.
• Kohler pulled up and hit a shot in the paint for a 19-14 advantage, but Sidney McCrea hit a three-pointer after the ball was nearly stolen by the Falcons, and Grace Hunter banked home a three-point try to give NIU a 20-19 lead after 10 minutes.

SECOND QUARTER
• The hosts scored the first four points of the quarter, before Kohler kicked the ball out to Emily Siesel for a three-pointer. But, Brooke Blumenfeld answered with a turnaround jumper for a 26-22 NIU lead.
• Velasco converted a contested runner, then hit a pair of free throws, but the Huskies answered each time, with Jayden Marable making three charity tosses, then hitting a layup for a 31-26 Huskie advantage.
• Velasco scored again, driving through, around and under roughly four-fifths of NIU's lineup for a layup, and Sharps poked the ball away from NIU before hitting a game-tying three-pointer at the other end. Another Sharps triple gave BGSU a 34-31 lead, and moments later, Siesel found Sharps for a pull-up jumper and a 36-33 advantage midway through the period.
• Marable went coast to coast, though, for a layup that gave NIU a 37-36 lead, but Olivia Hill found Velasco for a three-ball that put BG back on top. Then, after Porter hustled around an NIU player to grab an offensive rebound, keeping a possession alive before Siesel found a wide-open Hill for a layup and a 41-37 halftime advantage.

THIRD QUARTER
• Porter's free throws just 12 seconds into the period put BGSU up by six, but Brooke Stonebraker scored six-straight points over the next three-plus minutes, with her foul-line jumper knotting the score, 43-43. Sharps answered with a three-pointer, but Marable got inside and scored to make it a one-point game.
• Kohler, however, then put together her own personal 6-0 run. She split a pair of free throws, then converted an and-one layup and made the charity toss. When the freshman corralled a defensive rebound and wound up hitting a floater, the Falcons had a 52-45 lead.
• After some scattered free throws, a pass by Kohler hit the leg of an NIU player and bounced out to Velasco at the arc. Velasco grabbed the ball and proceeded to hit a three-pointer for a 56-49 Falcon lead. NIU's Laura Nickel scored the last three points of the quarter to cut BG's advantage to four.

FOURTH QUARTER
• Velasco opened the quarter with a pull-up jumper, and after Stauffacher answered at the other end, Velasco found Kohler for a three-pointer and a 61-54 lead. BGSU missed a shot, but Hill ripped the rebound away from Stonebraker and promptly was fouled – Stonebraker's fourth foul of the game. The ensuing possession saw Porter score inside, and Kohler then went coast to coast for an off-balance layup and a 65-56 lead, BG's largest of the game to that point.
• After a Huskie timeout, McCrea's three cut the BG lead to six, but Velasco was fouled and hit both shots, then knocked down a long-distance try as the shot clock was about to expire, for the first double-digit lead of the game, 70-59.
• Moments later, Porter's pass led to a wide-open layup from Hill, and when Velasco drove and scored, the Falcons had a 74-61 lead. Velasco hit a smooth foul-line jumper at the 2:38 mark, making it a 76-63 game, and while the Huskies hit some shots down the stretch, NIU could not get any closer than nine points.
• BGSU went 5-of-6 at the stripe over the last 1:26, with Velasco a perfect 4-for-4 during that time, to keep the lead at a comfortable margin.

UP NEXT
• BGSU returns to Northwest Ohio to prepare for the final two home games of the 2023-24 season. The Falcons will host Buffalo on Wednesday night (Feb. 28), with tipoff set for 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.

• Then, the Brown and Orange will close out the home schedule against Miami next Saturday (March 2). That game will begin at 2:00 p.m., and it will be Senior Day at the Stroh.

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.