Thursday, December 9
Bowling Green, Ky.
7:00 PM CT
Bowling Green State University
72
at
68
Western Kentucky
Senior Jen Uhl made 2 big plays in the final few minutes of Thursday's win at WKU
Falcons Pull Out a Win at WKU, 72-68
Thu, Dec, 09 | Women's Basketball
Prochaska, BGSU perfect at the line; Uhl makes several big plays late
Bowling Green State University got big plays from multiple players down the stretch, holding off host Western Kentucky University, 72-68, Thursday night (Dec. 9). The non-conference game was held at WKU's E.A. Diddle Arena.
FINAL STATS - HTML | BOXSCORE - PDF
CURT MILLER POSTGAME AUDIO
With the victory, the Falcons improve to 9-1 on the season, and BGSU has won nine consecutive games after a season-opening loss. The 9-1 mark ties BG's best 10-game start in program history.
The Lady Toppers drop to 2-6 on the season.
Seniors Tracy Pontius and Lauren Prochaska combined for 42 points in the win, and senior Jen Uhl joined that duo in making key plays in the final moments of Thursday's win. Uhl hit a key three-point field goal with under three minutes remaining, fed Prochaska for a layup to tie the score with just under a minute left, and took a charge on WKU's next possession to give BGSU the ball back.
Pontius had a game-high 24 points, while Prochaska scored 18. That duo was a combined 14-of-14 from the free-throw line, as BGSU made all 15 shots from the line as a team on Thursday.
Prochaska went 6-for-6 from the stripe, and her final toss of the night -- coming with only 13.1 seconds left -- gave her a new NCAA record. Prochaska has made 67 consecutive free throws, breaking the NCAA Division-I mark set nearly two decades ago.
In addition to her 18 points, Prochaska had a game-high nine rebounds.
LaTeira Owens had 18 points to lead three Lady Toppers in double figures. Arnika Brown scored 14 points, while Amy McNear added 11. Each of the three players had seven rebounds, as the home team held a 43-35 advantage on the boards.
The Falcons did not trail during the game's first 29-plus minutes, but the Lady Toppers took the lead when Keisha Mosley made a driving reverse layup with 10:37 left in the game. Mosley had eight points and -- yes, you guessed it -- seven rebounds in the game.
After Mosley's shot, Pontius came right back with a three-pointer, giving BGSU the lead just 11 seconds later. That triple began an 8-0 run for the Falcons, which included an offensive rebound and putback by senior Maggie Hennegan. After Hennegan's shot, Uhl fed Prochaska for a right-elbow triple and a 54-48 BG lead.
McNear, however, converted a three-point play to cut the lead in half with 8:47 left. Senior Chelsea Albert slipped inside for a layup several moments later, giving the Falcons a 56-52 advantage, but Arnika Brown scored back-to-back baskets in the paint to tie the score.
Then, Owens scored off glass with 6:42 remaining, giving the hosts a 58-56 lead. Back came Pontius once again, however, knocking down a straightaway three-pointer just 17 seconds after the Owens basket.
Owens scored again in the lane, giving the Lady Toppers the lead with 5:55 on the clock, and two free throws by Arnika Brown put the hosts up by a 62-59 score.
As the clock ticked under five minutes, Hennegan hit a layup late in the shot clock, cutting the lead to one. Mosley missed two free-throw tries, but the Toppers forced the Falcons into a shot-clock violation as the teams headed into the final media timeout of the night.
The Falcons got a stop on the ensuing possession, however, and sophomore Allison Papenfuss grabbed an offensive rebound after a BG miss. Then, Prochaska spotted Uhl in the left corner and fired a pass her way. Uhl's shot was right on target, giving the Brown and Orange a 64-62 advantage with 2:42 remaining.
Mosley responded with a turnaround jumper to tie the score, 64-64, with 2:20 left. The Falcons missed a shot at the other end, but BG forced a turnover to get the ball back.
With roughly one minute left, Uhl found Prochaska inside with a pass, and Prochaska's layup gave the Falcons the lead for good with 58.3 seconds on the clock.
On the next possession, Uhl took a charge as Mosley was called for an offensive foul with 38.0 seconds left. The Lady Toppers committed several more fouls to get to seven fouls for the half, and Pontius headed to the line with 27.1 seconds left. She hit both ends of the one-and-one opportunity, giving the Brown and Orange a four-point lead, 68-64.
Arnika Brown scored on a putback with 14.0 seconds left, cutting the lead in half, and WKU called a timeout. Out of the break, however, BGSU successfully inbounded the ball to Prochaska, who was fouled with 13.1 seconds remaining. She stepped to the line and made consecutive free throws 66 and 67. More importantly, the shots restored the Falcons' four-point advantage.
Arnika Brown drew a foul in the final seconds and hit two tosses, but Pontius was fouled once again and made a pair of shots with just 0.7 seconds left to close the scoring.
Hennegan and Uhl had nine points apiece for BGSU, with Uhl grabbing seven rebounds and Hennegan five.
BGSU, as mentioned, never trailed in the first half. After the teams traded layups to start the game, the Falcons scored seven-straight points, on a layup by sophomore Chrissy Steffen, a triple by Pontius, and a Prochaska offensive rebound and layup. The visitors led by a 9-2 score, and the home team burned a timeout.
The Lady Toppers scored six of the next eight points, getting back within two points at 11-8. Meanwhile, Prochaska was whistled for a pair of fouls, and came out of the game.
Junior Jessica Slagle hit a pull-up jumper, and after a McNear layup, redshirt sophomore Danielle Havel hit a layup for a 15-10 advantage. After a Pontius runner, the Falcons led by seven points once again.
The lead remained seven points several minutes later, before Janae Howard scored five-straight points for the hosts. When Owens knocked down a jumper, the Toppers had tied the score at 21-21 with 6:53 remaining.
As she would do several times in the second half, Pontius answered quickly with a shot to give the Falcons the lead once again. Hope Brown made a pair of free throws, but Pontius answered with two charity tosses of her own.
Several minutes later, Hennegan snared an offensive rebound, laid the ball up and in and was fouled. Her free throw gave the Falcons a 28-24 lead.
Hennegan's three-point play sparked a 10-0 run for the Falcons. After a steal by Uhl, Pontius hit Prochaska for a three-pointer in transition. Then, Prochaska pulled off a nifty shot-fake, drove the left baseline and knocked down a jumper, giving the Falcons a 33-24 lead with just under four minutes left.
Out of the final media timeout of the half, Prochaska went to the line and gave the Brown and Orange an 11-point advantage.
WKU scored the final four points of the half to trail by seven, 35-28, at the break. Then, the Lady Toppers scored four quick points to begin the second period, cutting the lead down to three points. The teams traded shots before Hennegan's putback began a 5-0 run. After Pontius dribbled around the arc and hit one of her patented three-pointers, the Falcons had a 44-36 lead. Pontius made a game-high four triples on the night.
The margin was still eight points after Hennegan faked a shot and dished the ball to Uhl for a layup and a 46-38 lead. But, the hosts proceeded to go on a 10-0 run, capped by Mosley's reverse layup that gave the Toppers the lead and set the stage for the final 10:37.
The Falcons' road trip continues, as the team heads to Clarksville, Tenn., for a Saturday (Dec. 11) game vs. Austin Peay. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. locally (6:15 p.m. Eastern).
FINAL STATS - HTML | BOXSCORE - PDF
CURT MILLER POSTGAME AUDIO
With the victory, the Falcons improve to 9-1 on the season, and BGSU has won nine consecutive games after a season-opening loss. The 9-1 mark ties BG's best 10-game start in program history.
The Lady Toppers drop to 2-6 on the season.
Seniors Tracy Pontius and Lauren Prochaska combined for 42 points in the win, and senior Jen Uhl joined that duo in making key plays in the final moments of Thursday's win. Uhl hit a key three-point field goal with under three minutes remaining, fed Prochaska for a layup to tie the score with just under a minute left, and took a charge on WKU's next possession to give BGSU the ball back.
Prochaska went 6-for-6 from the stripe, and her final toss of the night -- coming with only 13.1 seconds left -- gave her a new NCAA record. Prochaska has made 67 consecutive free throws, breaking the NCAA Division-I mark set nearly two decades ago.
In addition to her 18 points, Prochaska had a game-high nine rebounds.
LaTeira Owens had 18 points to lead three Lady Toppers in double figures. Arnika Brown scored 14 points, while Amy McNear added 11. Each of the three players had seven rebounds, as the home team held a 43-35 advantage on the boards.
The Falcons did not trail during the game's first 29-plus minutes, but the Lady Toppers took the lead when Keisha Mosley made a driving reverse layup with 10:37 left in the game. Mosley had eight points and -- yes, you guessed it -- seven rebounds in the game.
After Mosley's shot, Pontius came right back with a three-pointer, giving BGSU the lead just 11 seconds later. That triple began an 8-0 run for the Falcons, which included an offensive rebound and putback by senior Maggie Hennegan. After Hennegan's shot, Uhl fed Prochaska for a right-elbow triple and a 54-48 BG lead.
McNear, however, converted a three-point play to cut the lead in half with 8:47 left. Senior Chelsea Albert slipped inside for a layup several moments later, giving the Falcons a 56-52 advantage, but Arnika Brown scored back-to-back baskets in the paint to tie the score.
Then, Owens scored off glass with 6:42 remaining, giving the hosts a 58-56 lead. Back came Pontius once again, however, knocking down a straightaway three-pointer just 17 seconds after the Owens basket.
Owens scored again in the lane, giving the Lady Toppers the lead with 5:55 on the clock, and two free throws by Arnika Brown put the hosts up by a 62-59 score.
As the clock ticked under five minutes, Hennegan hit a layup late in the shot clock, cutting the lead to one. Mosley missed two free-throw tries, but the Toppers forced the Falcons into a shot-clock violation as the teams headed into the final media timeout of the night.
The Falcons got a stop on the ensuing possession, however, and sophomore Allison Papenfuss grabbed an offensive rebound after a BG miss. Then, Prochaska spotted Uhl in the left corner and fired a pass her way. Uhl's shot was right on target, giving the Brown and Orange a 64-62 advantage with 2:42 remaining.
Mosley responded with a turnaround jumper to tie the score, 64-64, with 2:20 left. The Falcons missed a shot at the other end, but BG forced a turnover to get the ball back.
With roughly one minute left, Uhl found Prochaska inside with a pass, and Prochaska's layup gave the Falcons the lead for good with 58.3 seconds on the clock.
On the next possession, Uhl took a charge as Mosley was called for an offensive foul with 38.0 seconds left. The Lady Toppers committed several more fouls to get to seven fouls for the half, and Pontius headed to the line with 27.1 seconds left. She hit both ends of the one-and-one opportunity, giving the Brown and Orange a four-point lead, 68-64.
Arnika Brown scored on a putback with 14.0 seconds left, cutting the lead in half, and WKU called a timeout. Out of the break, however, BGSU successfully inbounded the ball to Prochaska, who was fouled with 13.1 seconds remaining. She stepped to the line and made consecutive free throws 66 and 67. More importantly, the shots restored the Falcons' four-point advantage.
Arnika Brown drew a foul in the final seconds and hit two tosses, but Pontius was fouled once again and made a pair of shots with just 0.7 seconds left to close the scoring.
Hennegan and Uhl had nine points apiece for BGSU, with Uhl grabbing seven rebounds and Hennegan five.
BGSU, as mentioned, never trailed in the first half. After the teams traded layups to start the game, the Falcons scored seven-straight points, on a layup by sophomore Chrissy Steffen, a triple by Pontius, and a Prochaska offensive rebound and layup. The visitors led by a 9-2 score, and the home team burned a timeout.
The Lady Toppers scored six of the next eight points, getting back within two points at 11-8. Meanwhile, Prochaska was whistled for a pair of fouls, and came out of the game.
Junior Jessica Slagle hit a pull-up jumper, and after a McNear layup, redshirt sophomore Danielle Havel hit a layup for a 15-10 advantage. After a Pontius runner, the Falcons led by seven points once again.
The lead remained seven points several minutes later, before Janae Howard scored five-straight points for the hosts. When Owens knocked down a jumper, the Toppers had tied the score at 21-21 with 6:53 remaining.
As she would do several times in the second half, Pontius answered quickly with a shot to give the Falcons the lead once again. Hope Brown made a pair of free throws, but Pontius answered with two charity tosses of her own.
Several minutes later, Hennegan snared an offensive rebound, laid the ball up and in and was fouled. Her free throw gave the Falcons a 28-24 lead.
Hennegan's three-point play sparked a 10-0 run for the Falcons. After a steal by Uhl, Pontius hit Prochaska for a three-pointer in transition. Then, Prochaska pulled off a nifty shot-fake, drove the left baseline and knocked down a jumper, giving the Falcons a 33-24 lead with just under four minutes left.
Out of the final media timeout of the half, Prochaska went to the line and gave the Brown and Orange an 11-point advantage.
WKU scored the final four points of the half to trail by seven, 35-28, at the break. Then, the Lady Toppers scored four quick points to begin the second period, cutting the lead down to three points. The teams traded shots before Hennegan's putback began a 5-0 run. After Pontius dribbled around the arc and hit one of her patented three-pointers, the Falcons had a 44-36 lead. Pontius made a game-high four triples on the night.
The margin was still eight points after Hennegan faked a shot and dished the ball to Uhl for a layup and a 46-38 lead. But, the hosts proceeded to go on a 10-0 run, capped by Mosley's reverse layup that gave the Toppers the lead and set the stage for the final 10:37.
The Falcons' road trip continues, as the team heads to Clarksville, Tenn., for a Saturday (Dec. 11) game vs. Austin Peay. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. locally (6:15 p.m. Eastern).