Falcons Answer NSU's Third-Quarter Run to Move to 4-1

Friday, November 24

Boca Raton, FL

2:30 PM ET

Bowling Green State University

4-1

Norfolk State

1-3

Norfolk State

Bowling Green

Kennedy Williams - Nov 10 2017 v EKU - Bianca Garza photo

Photo by: Bianca Garza, BGSU Marketing and Communications

November 24, 2017 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BGSU downs the Spartans, 59-50, to advance to FAU tourney's championship game

By: BOCA RATON, Fla. (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team answered a Norfolk State University third-quarter run, erasing a brief deficit en route to a 59-50 win Friday afternoon (Nov. 24). The game, a first-round contest in the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament, took place at FAU Arena.

With the win, the Falcons improve to 4-1 on the season, and BGSU will face the host school, FAU, in Saturday's (Nov. 25) championship game. That contest will begin at 2:30 p.m.

Junior Carly Santoro paced three double-digit scorers for the Orange and Brown with 16 points, and also had 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double in five games this season. Sophomore Andrea Cecil had 12 points on perfect 5-for-5 shooting, while senior Haley Puk scored 11 points in the win.

The Spartans were led by Kayla Roberts, who had 20 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Raven Russell had 13 points, and Alexys Long scored nine points and had a team-leading 10 boards.

LINKS
BGSU-NSU STATISTICS: PDF
POSTGAME AUDIO: Coach Roos
BGSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...: Schedule | Giveaways / Promotions | Spark Page
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TURNING POINT

The Falcons took a seven-point lead early in the third quarter, but the Spartans erased that lead in under three minutes. A Kayla Roberts layup was followed by a Raven Russell three-point play to cut the BG lead to two points. The Falcons got a Sydney Lambert free throw and a three-point play by Andrea Cecil, but Russell's corner three gave NSU a 39-38 lead with 4:06 left in the period.
But, Carly Santoro erased that brief BG deficit with a driving layup on the next possession, starting a 10-2 run for the Falcons in a span of just over two minutes. Senior Haley Puk knocked down a three-point try from the top of the arc, and after a Roberts layup, Puk hit a layup to restore BG's four-point advantage. And, moments later, the senior knocked down another triple try for a 48-41 lead with 1:40 left in the period.
Puk scored the final eight points of that 10-2 run, and the Spartans never drew closer than five points the rest of the way.

There were many contributors to today's win. Here are a few...
??Santoro - 16 pts, 10 reb's
??Cecil - 12 pts, 5-5 FGs
??Puk - 11 pts, 3 3's
??Lambert - 5 pts, 6 reb's, 4 steals
??Uecker - 4 pts, 4 assists
??Williams - 4 pts (all in 4th quarter), 3 reb's
??Falcons - Now 4-1
— BGSU WBB (@BGSUwbb) November 25, 2017

FIRST-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

The Spartans scored almost immediately after the opening tip, as Kayla Roberts hit a layup just five seconds in. Junior Carly Santoro answered with a left-side three-pointer, but Roberts knocked down a jumper for a 4-3 NSU lead just over a minute in.
Sophomore Andrea Cecil took a pass from classmate Jane Uecker, drove the lane and hit a shot off glass, but Roberts' third bucket in the first three minutes gave the Spartans a 6-5 lead. That, however, would be NSU's final lead until the third quarter.
Uecker knocked down a long two-point try as the shot clock ticked toward zero, and senior Haley Puk took a charge, then fed Cecil for a corner three and a 10-6 lead on the next possession.
Cecil was whistled for her second foul midway through the quarter and headed to the bench. Another Roberts layup made the score BG 10, Roberts 8, but redshirt freshman Clare Glowniak grabbed a teammate's miss and laid the ball back up and in.
With just over a minute left in the quarter, freshman Sierra Thompson also pulled down an offensive rebound in traffic, and put the ball off glass and through the hoop as she was fouled. Thompson's free throw gave the Falcons a 15-10 lead before Alexys Long hit two free throws in the final seconds of the period.

SECOND-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

Junior Sydney Lambert opened the second-quarter scoring, salvaging a BG possession by hitting a nifty driving banker. But, seconds later, Cecil was whistled for her third foul of the day.
Santoro took a Uecker pass and hit a rainmaking three-pointer for a 20-15 lead, and moments later, Uecker scored on a turnaround hook shot. Freshman Terri Battle's layup made it a 24-18 BG lead with 4:17 left in the half.
Raven Russell answered for the Spartans, but Santoro split a pair of shots from the stripe, and after another Russell bucket, the Falcons scored the final five points of the period.
Uecker fed Puk for a long three-pointer from the left wing with 1:12 left in the quarter. Then, Battle stole the ball from Roberts and fired a pass ahead to Santoro. Santoro, out ahead of the pack, laid the ball up and in for a 30-22 BG lead at the intermission.

THIRD-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

NSU started the second half with a quick bucket, as Russell knocked down a triple try, and Khadedra Croker's layup less than a minute later cut BG's lead to 30-27.
Neither team scored for almost two minutes, but Uecker lobbed the ball inside to Cecil for a quick layup, and Lambert immediately stole the inbounds pass and was fouled. The junior's free throws gave BG four points in five seconds, and extended the Falcons' lead to 34-27.
Then, however, the Spartans began the aforementioned run, taking a 39-38 lead on Russell's corner three at the 4:06 mark.
Santoro's layup gave BG the lead for good, and Puk scored the next eight BG points in a 90-second span. The last three points came after a baseline drive by Santoro, who drew a crowd of NSU defenders, then whipped the ball to Puk in the left corner for the three-ball that made it a 48-41 game. A late Roberts layup cut BG's lead to five points after 30 minutes.

FOURTH-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

Cecil hit a nice driving layup off of an inbounds pass just over a minute into the quarter, and after Armani Franklin's layup cut BG's lead to five points, Santoro split a pair of free throws.
Moments later, freshman Kennedy Williams stole the ball from Russell and hit a nifty finger-roll layup for a 53-45 lead. Less than a minute after that, Williams grabbed a defensive rebound, was fouled and split a pair of shots from the line.
Neither team scored for almost two minutes, with both teams missing jumpers and Puk drawing her second charge of the day in that time. Finally, Long converted a driving layup and the Spartans took a timeout with 1:50 to go, trailing by a 54-47 score.
BG misfired on a three-point try, but Russell threw the ball away, giving it back to the Falcons with 1:16 to go.
On the next possession, Santoro hit a nifty driving reverse layup with 48.1 seconds remaining. Long knocked down a three-point try with 38.2 seconds left, but the Spartans would draw no closer.
After a timeout, Cecil's baseball pass found Santoro ahead of the pack, and the junior laid the ball up and in. NSU missed a shot, and Williams was fouled and converted another free throw in the final seconds to cap the scoring.

BLOCK PARTY (BUT JUST A SMALL ONE)

Norfolk State entered the game leading the nation in blocked shots, with 36 through three games. The Spartans were third in the country with 12.0 blocks per game, and NSU had blocked at least 11 shots in each of the first three games of the season.
To put that previous bullet point in perspective, BGSU's school record for blocked shots in a game is 11. Norfolk State had blocked at least 11 shots in EVERY GAME THIS SEASON.
But, on Friday, NSU blocked just four BG shots. And, after two of those rejections, the rebound went to BG and the Falcons wound up scoring on the possession.

NOTES

Freshman Kennedy Williams had four points and three rebounds, the highest totals of her young career, in Friday's win. All four of her points and two of her three boards came in the fourth quarter as the Falcons maintained their single-digit lead.
In addition to points and rebounds, Williams also set career bests in free throws made (two), steals (one) and minutes played (10).
Another freshman, Terri Battle, scored the first points of her BGSU career, with a nifty layup with 4:17 left in the second quarter. Battle also had a rebound, a steal and the first assist of her collegiate career in Friday's win.
Junior Carly Santoro had her fourth double-double in five games this season. She now has nine career double-doubles as a Falcon.
BG turned the ball over 11 times vs. NSU, but forced the Spartans into 24 turnovers. The Falcons had a 24-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Falcons had a 14-8 lead in second-chance points, and BG has led the opponent in that category in all five games this season to date.
Friday's first game saw host FAU down St. Francis Brooklyn, 80-60.

FAU THANKSGIVING TOURNAMENT RESULTS & SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 24

FAU 80, St. Francis Brooklyn 60
BGSU 59, Norfolk State 50

Saturday, Nov. 25

Consolation – St. Francis Brooklyn vs. Norfolk State, 12:00 p.m.
Championship – BGSU at FAU, 2:30 p.m.

UP NEXT

As mentioned, the Falcons conclude action in the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 25). BGSU will face FAU in the championship game, with tipoff scheduled 2:30 p.m.
Then, the Orange and Brown will return home for the next two games, beginning with Tuesday night's (Nov. 28) Valparaiso game. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center, and it will be Fan Appreciation Night. Tickets purchased prior to 5:00 p.m. on game day will be just $1, and hot dogs, popcorn and soda will be available for just $1 from 6-8 p.m.
$1 tickets for Tuesday's game can be purchased BY CLICKING HERE.

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