Falcons Fly Past Findlay, 80-50, in Exhibition Play

Wednesday, November 4

Bowling Green, OH

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Findlay

BGSU women's basketball Costa Rica practices Aug 3, 2009

November 04, 2009 | Women's Basketball

Hennegan has double-double in her BGSU debut on U.S. soil

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

In her first U.S. appearance as a member of the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, redshirt junior Maggie Hennegan had a double-double to help the Falcons to an 80-50 exhibition win over Findlay University Wednesday night (Nov. 4) at venerable Anderson Arena.

STUFF TO CLICK
BGSU 80, Findlay 50 - HTML | BGSU 80, Findlay 50 - PDF
Postgame Audio: Head Coach Curt Miller | Maggie Hennegan & Jessica Slagle

Hennegan tied for game honors with 14 points, and led all players with 12 rebounds, in the Falcons' win. Tamika Nurse, like Hennegan a Division-I transfer in her first game in the Orange and Brown in this nation, had 14 points on the night as well. Hennegan and Nurse each played four games for the Falcons during the team's Foreign Tour to Costa Rica in August.

Senior Tara Breske rounded out BGSU's double-figure scorers with 10 points vs. the Oilers. Ashley Andrews paced the visitors with 11 points off the bench.

The Falcons held UF to just a 7-for-37 (18.7%) field-goal rate in the second half, while making 57.7% of their own shots after halftime.

All 16 players on head coach Curt Miller's roster saw action, with no fewer than 14 finding the scoresheet. Juniors Lauren Prochaska and Tracy Pontius scored nine and seven points, respectively, while four of their teammates scored four points apiece. That group included junior Chelsea Albert, sophomore Jessica Slagle and freshmen Allison Papenfuss and Chrissy Steffen.

Pontius led the Falcons with five assists, without committing a turnover. Breske had three blocked shots while Hennegan added two.

The Falcons threatened to run away and hide early. After the Oilers' Laura Bardall split a pair of free throws to open the scoring, BGSU scored nine consecutive points. Pontius began that run with a three-point field goal, then hit Hennegan with a nifty touch pass after a long outlet from a teammate. Hennegan hit two free throws at the 17:08 mark, and Nurse laid the ball in in transition.

The lead was 12-4 after a pair of Slagle free throws when UF began to battle back. A Tai Dotson layup was followed by an Andrews three-pointer. Slagle made another free throw, but a Candace Black 'and-one' jumper began a 7-0 run for the visitors.

Black's charity toss brought the visitors to within a point with 11:11 left in the half, and an Andrews driving layup gave the Oilers the lead. The Falcons turned the ball over via offensive fouls on three consecutive possessions during that stretch, prompting Miller to take a timeout. But, Dotson scored again at the 9:44 mark to give the visitors a 16-13 advantage.

BG still trailed by three points, 20-17, several minutes later, but Pontius knocked down a pair of free throws out of the eight-minute media timeout. When Breske took a Prochaska pass and buried a three-pointer, the Falcons had the lead for good, 22-20, with 6:48 left.

After an Andrews free throw, the Brown and Orange would score eight-straight points, with six coming at the line. Breske's jumper was followed by four Nurse free throws in a 28-second span, and Pontius added two charity tosses with 4:28 on the first-half clock.

A layup by junior Kelly Zuercher would put the lead into double figures for the first time, at 34-24, and the Falcons took a 38-27 advantage into halftime.

In the second half, the Oilers got within seven points, 40-33, after Laura Bardall's three-point play, but a Nurse jumper began a 14-0 run for the home team. BGSU held UF scoreless for a 5:25 stretch, and Findlay would go nearly seven-and-a-half minutes without hitting another field goal. By that time, BGSU had increased the lead to more than 20 points.

Prochaska scored five points during that 14-0 run, while Breske added four, including the final layup of that run. That shot gave the Brown and Orange a 54-33 lead with 12:20 remaining.

Findlay was also suffering from some foul trouble, as no fewer than three players each picked up their fourth foul of the game in a 32-second span with over 16 minutes remaining.

The 14-point run was part of a 10-minute stretch in which the Falcons outscored the visitors, 26-4. A layup by freshman Jessie Tamerlano with 6:25 remaining put the lead over 30 points for the first time, at 70-39.

All four Falcon freshmen scored in the game, as Simone Eli closed the scoring by hitting a three-pointer with 1:20 left.

For the game, BG shot 47.9% from the field, while holding UF to a 24.6% field-goal rate. The Falcons went 30-of-39 at the free-throw line, compared to Findlay's 13-of-18 effort at the stripe.

BGSU had a 43-39 advantage in total rebounds, although UF had 17 offensive boards to the Falcons' nine.

The Falcons now have a week and a half to prepare for the regular-season opener, vs. Chicago State. That match, a first-round contest in the Preseason WNIT, will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Anderson Arena.

FALCON NOTES
* BGSU's next game in front of an audience will be the Nov. 13 contest against Chicago State, but the Falcons will have one more contest against an unfamiliar foe prior to that time ... BG will travel to Ann Arbor for a closed scrimmage against the University of Michigan next week.

* Findlay returns all five starters from last year's 14-13 team ... the Oilers were picked to finish third in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) South Division this year ... senior Audra Mihalic and sophomore Laura Bardall each were picked as preseason all-conference selections.

* The Falcons held Mihalic and Bardall to a combined 2-of-23 shooting night from the field ... Mihalic was unsuccessful on all nine of her field-goal tries, while Bardall was 2-of-14.

* Findlay senior Maggie Gompers is the younger sister of former Falcon Julie Gompers ... Julie Gompers was part of BGSU teams that reached the championship game of the Mid-American Conference Tournament in all four of her seasons (2004-07), winning the league regular-season and tourney titles in each of the last three.

* As mentioned, BGSU will open the 2009-10 season against Chicago State on Nov. 13, in the first round of the Preseason WNIT ... the Falcons are guaranteed a total of at least three games in the Preseason WNIT, with subsequent games, dates and sites contingent upon first-round outcomes in the 16-team tourney.

* STUDENT TICKET INFORMATION FOR CSU GAME -- Since the Chicago State game is part of the Preseason WNIT, BGSU is required to charge a student admission of $4 ... however, free tickets will be distributed to the first 125 students to pick them up at the information desk in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Thursday (Nov. 5) ... the free student tickets are courtesy of the Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs ... one ticket per BGSU student, and students will be required to show a valid ID.

* The USA Today ESPN Division I Top 25 Coaches Preseason Poll was released Wednesday morning, and the Falcons received seven votes ... several BGSU opponents were listed as well, as Vanderbilt was ranked 20th in the poll, while Ball State (two) and Hartford (one) each received votes ... Ohio State, a possible BGSU opponent in the Preseason WNIT, was listed third in the nation in Wednesday's poll.