Visiting Ohio, leading by three points at halftime, took control in the third quarter and went on to an 82-69 win over the Bowling Green State University women’s basketball team Saturday at the Stroh Center.
Gabby Burris scored a game-high 26 points for the Bobcats (13-10, 7-7 MAC), while Erica Johnson and Cece Hooks added 17 and 16, respectively.
For the Falcons (12-12, 7-8 MAC), Morgan Sharps scored 19 points and Madisen Parker had 15. Kadie Hempfling and Amy Velasco rounded out BGSU’s double-digit scorers with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
The Bobcats held a 43-40 lead at the intermission, and it was still a three-point game after Hempfling drained one of the Falcons’ 13 three-point field goals early in the third quarter.
BGSU coach Robyn Fralick liked the way her offense was getting the job done.
“We scored at will. I liked the way the offense was finding our shooters. Both teams kept on scoring,” Fralick said.
Ohio went on an 8-0 run in the third, with Yaya Felder’s layup making it an 11-point game, and the lead never fell below nine points thereafter. Ohio outscored BGSU 23-11 in the third stanza.
“We just did not have a good third quarter and that was the difference in the game,” Fralick said.
The Bobcats shot 56.9% from the field for the game and went 11-for-22 from three-point range. Meanwhile Ohio’s defense stiffened as the Falcons scored just 29 second half points.
The Falcons hit those 13 triples in 31 tries, and BGSU shot 43.6% on the afternoon. Sharps hit on five treys and Parker four. Both Hempfling and Velasco connected twice from the arc.
The Bobcats had a narrow 29-27 rebounding advantage on the day. BGSU had 19 assists on 24 baskets.
Kenzie Lewis led the Falcons with six helpers, while Hempfling and Sharps had four apiece, Velasco three and Hampton two. Nyla Hampton had a game-high three steals.
Saturday was Senior Day at the Stroh Center, with the three seniors in the program recognized in ceremonies prior to tipoff.
“Those are kids that we love, adore and we were hoping that we could have a great night for them,” Fralick said.
That trio included Molly Dever, Hempfling and Parker.
“Senior Night is really cool because you’ve put in a lot of work to be a college athlete and to make it four years, five years for me, is awesome,” Parker, a fifth-year senior, said. “Just to be able to see everybody happy for us and supportive, I’ll never forget the feeling.”
Parker says she is a better person today, thanks to the basketball program.
“I’ve grown a ton, I think,” Parker said. “My freshman year, I didn’t play 10 minutes I don’t think, I think I only made five or six threes my freshman year.”
“It was just buying into the role and getting a sense of what college basketball is all about. With coach Fralick and the new staff coming in, I’ve just learned a ton, not only about the game, but I am a better person.
“It’s cool because I was in school and talking to some other person the other day and I said, ‘I feel like I’ve benefitted so much from playing college basketball.
“It’s much more than the experience — it is awesome, and it is lessons learned to take with me in the future,” Parker added.
The Falcons are currently in the middle of a stretch that includes seven games in 15 days. They hit the road for a Monday matchup at Kent State, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. at the M.A.C. Center.
Then, BGSU will return home to meet Akron on Wednesday at the Stroh. That contest is also set for a 7 p.m. tip.
“Once again we have a very fast turnaround, so we have to learn quick and get ready for the next one,” Fralick said.
“I think it is what it is. In some ways it is good because you have to get back on quick. In some ways it is challenging because it’s hard to work on everything, but it’s just the way it’s worked out.
“We’ll have to learn quick and get ready quick,” Fralick added.
