Falcons Suffer 59-54 Setback at EMU

Saturday, March 9

Ypsilanti, Mich.

1 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

16-13,10-8MAC

Eastern Michigan

7-22,3-15MAC

Bowling Green

Eastern Mich.

Erika Porter had a double-double, with 21 points & 11 rebounds

Photo by: Drake Harlett, Falcon Media Sports Network

March 09, 2024 | Women's Basketball

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Porter has another double-double, Velasco surpasses 1,000-point mark

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

YPSILANTI, Mich. – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team nearly battled all the way back from a double-digit deficit, but a potential game-tying three-point try was off the mark in the final seconds, as the Falcons fell, 59-54, at Eastern Michigan University on Saturday afternoon (March 9). The Mid-American Conference game, the final regular-season contest for both teams, was held at the George Gervin GameAbove Center.

Erika Porter had a double-double for the Falcons (16-13, 10-8 MAC), scoring a game-high 21 points and tying for game honors with 11 rebounds. Morgan Sharps joined Porter in double digits in the scoring column, with 10 points.

Amy Velasco had eight points, and reached the 1,000-point mark for her career with a first-quarter layup.

The Eagles (7-22, 3-15 MAC) had three double-figure scorers, led by Olivia Westphal with 16 points.

BGSU was picked to finish fourth in the MAC in the preseason coaches poll. Despite losing an estimated 114 player-games due to injury in 2023-24, the Falcons finished the regular season in a tie for fourth in the conference.

BG will be the fifth seed for the MAC Tournament, and the Falcons will face fourth-seeded Buffalo on Wednesday afternoon (March 13) in Cleveland.

The Eagles were on fire early, going 10-of-18 from the floor in the first period, including 4-for-5 from three-point range. Eastern took a 19-point lead in the final minute of the quarter before a Sophie Dzieklan hoop made it a 26-9 game after 10 minutes.

The Falcons whittled the lead down to 11 points by halftime, and cut the margin as low as five points on two occasions in the third period. Both times, however, the hosts quickly responded with layups, and an EMU run extended the lead back out to 12.

BG ended the third quarter on a 5-0 run to get within seven, and cut the lead to six on a Velasco layup midway through the fourth. The Eagles answered with a bucket, but a Paige Kohler layup was followed by Porter's three-point play that made it a 52-49 game with 2:05 to go.

A series of mostly unfortunate events (at least from a Falcon fan's perspective) allowed Eastern to take a 55-49 lead with just under a minute left, but Sharps cut that margin in half with a three-pointer. BG fouled and the Eagles split two free throws, and a Porter putback cut EMU's lead to 56-54 with 16.4 seconds left. Eastern again split a pair of charity tosses with 11.0 seconds remaining, and Velasco's three-point try was off the mark in the final seconds.

NOTE OF THE DAY
• Junior Amy Velasco reached the 1,000-point mark for her career with a layup late in the first quarter. Velasco now has 1,006 points in 99 games as a Falcon, an average of 10.2 points per game.
• Velasco became the 31st Falcon to reach the 1,000-point mark, and she now ranks 30th in scoring in program history.

ALSO WORTH NOTING
• EMU shot 39.3 percent from the field to the Falcons' 37.3% on Saturday. Both teams made 22 field goals, with Eastern taking 56 shots and BG 59.
• After allowing EMU to make 10 field goals in the first quarter, the BG defense held the Eagles to a 12-for-38 (31.5%) effort the rest of the way.
• EMU went 4-for-5 from three-point land in the opening quarter, but just 1-of-8 from the arc over the game's final 30 minutes.
• But, BGSU was just 4-for-19 from long range on the day.
• The Eagles had a slim 40-37 rebounding lead, with both Kennedi Myles and Tayra Eke pulling down 11 boards. Erika Porter, as mentioned, had 11 rebounds as well.

Gallery: (3-9-2024) 030924 wbk at EMU - Scott Grau

FIRST QUARTER
• As one might expect from a game that finished with scores in the fifties, there were numerous scoring lulls from both teams. After Lachelle Austin drove and scored on the game's first possession, neither team scored for over two minutes, before Olivia Westphal hit a three-pointer to give the hosts a 5-0 lead. BGSU used an early timeout after a turnover on the next possession.
• The Falcons' first point of the game came three minutes in, as Paige Kohler came up with a steal and was fouled in the act of shooting. But, Tayra Eke scored inside, and after Amy Velasco fed Erika Porter for a layup (BG's first field goal, which came nearly five minutes into the game), Austin knocked down a three-point try.
• Porter put back a missed shot, but Westphal hit a three-pointer, and Nia Boston knocked down a corner three to give the hosts a 17-5 lead.
• Velasco drove and scored with 2:57 on the clock, reaching the 1,000-point mark for her career in the process. But, Eke's three-point play was followed by buckets from Kennedi Myles and Austin. When Myles put back a miss, the Eagles had a 9-0 run and a 36-7 lead as the Falcons used a second timeout. Morgan Sharps found Sophie Dziekan for a layup that capped the first-period scoring.
• BGSU went just 4-for-16 from the field, including 0-for-5 from the arc, in that first quarter. Meanwhile, Eastern was 10-for-18 and 4-of-5, respectively, in those categories.

SECOND QUARTER
• Neither team scored for over two minutes to begin the period, before an Eke layup gave the Eagles a 28-9 lead. Dziekan was fouled and hit two shots from the stripe, and Velasco found Sharps for a triple at the 5:55 mark, but Austin's driving, spinning layup gave Eastern a 30-14 advantage.
• Velasco drove and kicked the ball to Kohler for a triple, and the Eagles used a timeout. Out of that break, however, an offensive foul gave the ball back to the Falcons, and Porter's layup got BGSU within 11. Westphal hit a jumper after an offensive-foul call in the visitors, but Porter scored again to make it a 32-21 game. The teams then finished the half with 2:27 of scoreless action.
• BG shot only 4-for-12 in the period, but the Falcons did go 2-of-3 from the arc. Meanwhile, the Eagles went 3-of-13 overall in the quarter, missing all five of their three-point attempts.

THIRD QUARTER
• Myles opened the second-half scoring with a turnaround jumper, but Porter scored inside and the Eagles then threw the ball away. Sharps made a driving layup to cut Eastern's lead to nine.
• Westphal responded with a smooth pull-up jumper, but Velasco found Porter for a nifty reverse layup, and Porter than took a pass from Sharps and made a baby hook. The hosts used a timeout, but BG got a stop, and Olivia Hill hit a foul-line jumper to cut the EMU lead to five, at 36-31.
• Moments later, Hill fed Porter for a layup, but a Dara Capaldi layup gave the Eagles a 40-33 advantage, and Austin's three-point play broke a scoreless drought of more than three minutes. Her free throw gave the hosts a 10-point lead, and another Capaldi layup capped a 7-0 run and made it a 45-33 game.
• Velasco made a nifty move to free herself for a layup in traffic, and the junior then kicked the ball out to the top of the arc for a Hill three-pointer that cut BG's deficit to seven after three quarters.
• BGSU went 8-for-12 from the field in the third quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER
• Austin hit a floater with the shot clock winding down, and after two Velasco free throws, Westphal's triple gave EMU a 50-40 lead with 7:38 left. Sharps went coast to coast for a layup, and Velasco's layup cut the deficit to six. Eke threw in a one-hander, but Kohler drove, spun and scored, and BGSU forced a shot-clock violation on the Eagles with 3:07 on the clock.
• BGSU missed three shots on the following possession, but the Eagles went scoreless on the next possession. With 2:05 to go, Porter finished through contact, completing the three-point play to cut the EMU lead to 52-49 with 2:05 remaining.
• Kohler stripped the ball from Austin, but BG turned it right back over. Austin was fouled with 1:25 to go, and was injured on the play. Sophie Canen entered the game for the first time, and missed her first free throw before making the second.
• BG nearly turned the ball over on a bad pass, but Kohler dove to the floor and appeared to have won the ball back. A jump ball was called, however, with possession going back to the Eagles, over the Falcons' protests that the EMU player had not tied Kohler up on the play.
• The Falcons fouled, and Myles made two free throws with 52.9 to go, giving Eastern a 55-49 lead. Sharps fired a three-point try that went off glass and through the hoop, cutting the EMU lead in half with 49.8 seconds left.
• Myles split a pair of free throws with 22.6 seconds on the clock, and a Porter putback made it a 56-54 lead with 16.4 seconds left. BG quickly fouled ZaNiya Nelson, who missed both of her free-throw tries. But, Myles rebounded the second miss, and the hosts were able to run a few more seconds off the clock before BG could foul Westphal. She hit her first free throw with 11.0 seconds left, but missed the second.
• EMU nearly got the rebound again, but Hill and Porter converged on Nelson, a jump ball was called and the possession arrow was pointing BGSU's way. The Falcons quickly headed downcourt, and Velasco pulled up for a three-point try that was off the mark. Westphal grabbed the rebound and was fouled, sinking a pair of game-clinching shots at the line in the final seconds.

UP NEXT
• BGSU will head to Cleveland for the MAC Tournament, which begins with quarterfinal-round matches on Wednesday (March 13). The Falcons will be the fifth seed for the tournament, and will face fourth-seeded Buffalo. That game, the second contest of the day, will begin at approximately 1:30 p.m. at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

MAC STANDINGS
(as of Saturday evening, March 9 – through end of regular season)
School (Overall) MAC
Toledo (25-4) 17-1
Ball State (27-4) 16-2
Kent State (18-10) 13-5
Buffalo (17-12) 10-8
Bowling Green (16-13) 10-8
Northern Illinois (15-15) 8-10
Ohio (11-18) 8-10
Western Michigan (12-17) 7-11
Miami (9-20) 6-12
Akron (11-18) 6-12
Central Michigan (6-22) 4-14
Eastern Michigan (7-22) 3-15

Saturday, March 9
at Eastern Michigan 59, Bowling Green 54
Akron 65, at Central Michigan 57
Northern Illinois 66, at Western Michigan 64
at Miami 68, Ohio 64
Ball State 71, at Buffalo 50
at Toledo 83, Kent State 61
END OF REGULAR SEASON

MAC TOURNAMENT
March 13, 15-16 | Cleveland, Ohio | Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse
Wednesday, March 13 – Quarterfinals (ESPN+)
Game 1 – #1 Toledo vs. #8 Western Michigan, 11:00 a.m.
Game 2 – #4 Buffalo vs. #5 Bowling Green *
Game 3 – #2 Ball State vs. #7 Ohio *
Game 4 – #3 Kent State vs. #6 Northern Illinois *

Friday, March 15 – Semifinals (ESPN+)
Game 5 – UT/WMU winner vs. UB/BGSU winner, 10:00 a.m.
Game 6 – BSU/Ohio winner vs. KSU/NIU winner *

Saturday, March 16 – Championship Game (CBS Sports Network)
Game 7 – Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 11:00 a.m.
* game begins approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the previous game

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.