Three-Point Barrage Lifts BGSU Past Kent State, 71-49

Saturday, January 23

Bowling Green, Ohio

2:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

7-9, 3-4MAC

Kent State

3-14, 0-7MAC

Kent State

Bowling Green

Rachel Myers made her first 5 3-point attempts in Saturday's win

Photo by: Craig Bell, BGSU Marketing and Communications

January 23, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Falcons hit 15 long-distance shots to post second-straight win

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team buried a bevy of three-pointers on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 23), rolling to a 71-49 win over Kent State University. The Mid-American Conference contest was held at the Stroh Center.

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The Falcons (7-9, 3-4 MAC) made 15 three-pointers – just one shy of the school record – en route to the 22-point win. Freshman Sydney Lambert and sophomore Rachel Myers combined to make 11 of those triples and score 35 points.

Lambert went 6-of-9 from long distance, scoring a game- and career-high 20 points for the Brown and Orange. Myers hit her first five three-point attempts on the day, winding up 5-for-6 from beyond the arc and scoring 15 points. BG was 15-for-29 (51.7%) from three-point range in the win.

Both Lambert and Myers set career marks in three-pointers made in Saturday's victory. Lambert tied the Stroh Center record for successful treys in a game, while the Falcons matched the mark for three-pointers made by a team inside the Stroh.

The Golden Flashes (3-14, 0-7 MAC) got 14 points from Jordan Korinek.

The Falcons had 20 assists on 24 field goals in the win, including helpers on all 11 buckets in the first half.

BGSU trailed after the first quarter, and the Falcons were down, 22-19, late in the second period. But, the Brown and Orange outscored the Flashes by a 52-27 count the rest of the way.

The teams battled through a relatively even first quarter which saw the Flashes take a 13-11 lead after 10 minutes of play. Larissa Lurken opened the game's scoring with a long-range shot, one of six three-pointers for the visitors on the day, but senior Lauren Tibbs kicked the ball out to Myers on the left wing for a triple. After KSU hit three free throws over the next few minutes, Tibbs converted a layup, and the center fed Lambert for a trey that tied the game at 8-8 midway through the period.

The Flashes, however, scored the next five points, with a McKenna Stephens three-ball giving the visitors a 13-8 advantage with 3:03 left in the quarter. After Lambert knocked down her second long-range shot of the day 18 seconds later, neither team scored over the final 2:45 of the period.

And, neither team scored for nearly two minutes in the second quarter, before senior Miriam Justinger's pass led to a Myers three. Lurken quickly countered with a layup, giving KSU the lead once again. That Lurken bucket began a 6-2 run for the Flashes over the next few minutes, but redshirt sophomore Kennedy Kirkpatrick's pass found Lambert, who knocked down a three-point try from the left side. The game was tied, 19-19, with 5:18 left in the half.

Paige Salisbury's three gave KSU the lead once again, but it would be the last time. Freshman Carly Santoro's triple try from the left corner found nothing but net. Justinger, who assisted Santoro for that tying trey, then lobbed the ball inside to junior Abby Siefker, who stepped around her would-be defender and laid the ball off glass and in.

Korinek answered with a jumper, but Lambert fed Justinger for a three-pointer with 1:08 left in the half, and Lambert then spotted Myers in the left corner with the first-half clock winding down. Myers, from in front of the KSU bench, hit a triple with only three seconds remaining, and the Falcons took a 30-24 lead into the intermission.

The six-point lead was the largest by either team in the opening 20 minutes of play. BG ended the half on an 11-2 run.

The run, and the lead, increased in the early moments of the third quarter. After several possessions of frenetic back-and-forth play did not produce any points, Lambert took a Myers pass and knocked down a triple in the opening minute of the period. Alexa Golden answered with a long-range shot, but Lambert returned the favor, feeding Myers for a straightaway trey and a 36-27 BG lead.

Then, after a near turnover by the Falcons several minutes later, sophomore Haley Puk did a nifty job of keeping possession, then fired a cross-court pass to Lambert, who hit yet another long-distance shot. BG's lead reached double digits for the first time on the day, and the Flashes used a timeout.

Twice, KSU got to the line and hit a pair of free throws, only to see the Falcons respond with three-point makes. Myers hit a triple at the 6:07 mark -- making her 5-for-5 from beyond the arc -- and Lambert's long-distance connection after a nifty shot fake just over a minute later made it a 14-point game.

Lambert hit a pull-up jumper, Santoro split a pair of charity tosses, Tibbs got a layup to go, and Lambert fed Santoro for a three-ball in front of the BG bench. The Falcons' run was 11-0, and BG's lead was 22 points, at 53-31.

KSU responded with the next four points, but Tibbs grabbed an offensive rebound and banked home a shot at the third-quarter buzzer, putting the Falcons ahead by 20 after 30 minutes of play.

BGSU's total of 25 points in the third quarter was a season high, and therefore, a school record. The Falcons went 6-for-9 from three-point range in the third quarter alone.

The Falcons' lead reached 23 points when junior Ashley Tunstall kicked the ball to Justinger for a three-pointer from the left wing, and Tunstall knocked down a pair of charity tosses moments later for a 64-39 BG advantage. KSU answered with a trey, but Kirkpatrick split two free throws, and sophomore Sarah Baer drove the lane, faked a shot and flipped a pass to Santoro for a layup with 3:47 to go.

BG's lead reached a game-high 26 points when freshman Maddie Cole's long two-point jumper from the left side went down with 2:12 remaining. The Flashes scored six-straight points to make a small dent in the lead, before another Cole jumper closed the scoring.

Santoro scored nine points off the bench for the Falcons, while Justinger and Tibbs scored eight apiece. Tibbs led the team with seven rebounds as BG had a 38-34 advantage on the glass, while Justinger tied Lambert for game honors with four assists apiece.

No fewer than 11 different Falcons had at least one assist in the win.

BGSU shot 44.4% from the field, while holding KSU to just a 26.5% success rate, including a 5-for-24 effort (20.8%) in the second half.

Saturday's game was Alumnae Day for the BGSU women's basketball program, with approximately 15 former players, coaches and team managers in attendance. The alums were recognized on the court in a halftime ceremony. Additionally, former Falcon coach and administrator Fran Voll was honored on the court between the first and second quarters. The first 500 fans through the gates received a Fran Voll bobblehead.

BG remains at home to face Eastern Michigan on Wednesday night (Jan. 27). Tipoff for that game will be 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh, and it will be Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night.