Cecil, Falcons Down Ferris State, 82-73

Monday, December 18

Bowling Green, OH

7:00 PM ET

Bowling Green State University

8-2

Ferris State

7-5

Ferris State

Bowling Green

Andrea Cecil scores 2 of her game-high 26 points (photo by Brad Phalin)

Photo by: Brad Phalin, BGSU Marketing and Communications

December 18, 2017 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Sophomore has career night as BGSU improves to 8-2

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Sophomore Andrea Cecil had a career night, leading the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team to an 82-73 win over Ferris State University at the Stroh Center on Monday evening (Dec. 18). With the win, the Falcons improve to 8-2 on the season.

BGSU has matched the team's win total for all of last season.

Cecil put up career-high numbers in both scoring and rebounding, with her first collegiate double-double on Monday night. The Oak Harbor native had 26 points and 10 rebounds in the win.

Cecil paced four Falcons in double figures in the victory. Junior Sydney Lambert had 20 points and eight rebounds, going 4-for-6 from three-point range, while senior Haley Puk added 16 points and junior Carly Santoro 11.

Lambert set season bests and tied her career standards in both scoring and rebounding in Monday night's win.

Rachel McInerney led the Bulldogs (7-5) with a double-double of her own. She had 20 points and game-high totals of 18 rebounds and four blocked shots. Three of her teammates hit double digits in scoring, as Riley Blair had 17 points, Alexis Bush 12 and Leah Humes 11.

BGSU trailed for only 12 seconds in the entire game, but the Falcons could not shake the scrappy Bulldogs. FSU was within four points midway through the fourth quarter before the home team went 9-of-10 from the foul line over the final two-plus minutes.

LINKS
BGSU-FSU STATISTICS: PDF
POSTGAME AUDIO: Cecil | Coach Roos
POSTGAME VIDEO: Cecil | Coach Roos | Highlights
PHOTO GALLERY: Photos by Brad Phalin, BGSU Mkt. & Comm.
BGSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...: Schedule | Giveaways / Promotions | Spark Page
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TURNING POINT

The Falcons, as mentioned, could not shake the pesky Bulldogs all night. BG's advantage was just four points after a Ferris State three-pointer with 4:27 remaining, but the Falcons then held the visitors scoreless for six-straight possessions.
Meanwhile, the home team extended the lead to nine points with five free throws before FSU finally scored again.
The Falcons went 9-for-10 at the foul line over the game's final 2:24. BG ended the game by making eight-straight shots from the stripe, with junior Sydney Lambert hitting four and senior Haley Puk and sophomore Andrea Cecil two each.

QUOTING COACH ROOS
"We knew exactly what we were going to get out of Ferris State tonight. They have extremely talented post play, they play a style we had not yet seen this season, they are a fantastic offensive-rebounding team, and they're a very good screening team. We have been talking a lot about their strengths, and they produced all of those strengths tonight."

"But, kudos to our kids. We got to the foul line well, with 33 attempts, and we were able to keep our turnover total low against their run-and-jump pressure. We really only ran a handful of plays tonight, because we wanted to push the tempo."

"Andrea does a great job of finishing over defenders, no matter if they're taller or smaller than she is. She was able to score in a variety of ways tonight, and you could tell early that she was on tonight."

FIRST-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

Lilly George scored on the game's opening possession, but sophomore Andrea Cecil answered just 12 seconds later, and the Falcons never trailed again. Junior Sydney Lambert hit a three-pointer from the top of the key, and after a Leah Humes bucket, sophomore Jane Uecker kicked the ball out to senior Haley Puk for a triple from the left side. The Falcons were 3-for-3 from the floor and had an 8-4 lead just over two minutes in.
Moments later, Lambert grabbed a defensive rebound, quickly headed downcourt and drilled another long-distance try for an 11-6 advantage. Uecker's short-corner jumper came off of an assist from junior Carly Santoro moments later, and when Lambert dribbled around the top of the arc and hit yet another long-range shot, BG's lead was 17-11 with six minutes gone.
Cecil scored five-straight BG points, including a three-point play at the 2:49 mark that gave the Falcons a 22-15 lead. But, the Bulldogs battled back, with an Alexis Bush three-pointer tying the score in the final minute of the period.
Cecil, however, grabbed a teammate's missed shot and was fouled with just 0.1 seconds on the clock. She split a pair of free-throw tries to give BG a 25-24 lead after 10 minutes.

SECOND-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

Neither team scored for the first two-plus minutes of the quarter, before Cecil spotted Santoro cutting along the baseline and whipped a pass from midcourt that led to an easy layup.
The Bulldogs scored the next three points, all at the free-throw line, before the Falcons responded with a 10-0 run. Puk got to the foul line on back-to-back possessions, going 4-for-4, and Santoro's long two-point try gave the Falcons a 33-27 advantage just under halfway through the period.
Ferris used a timeout, but could not stop the Falcons' run. Freshman Sierra Thompson hit a layup in traffic, and after the Bulldogs' second offensive foul in as many possessions, Cecil's putback made it a 37-27 game with 3:35 left in the period.
Santoro knocked down two shots from the stripe, but Rachel McInerney scored the final three points of the half to cut BG's lead to 39-32 at the intermission.

THIRD-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

The visitors slowly chipped away at the Falcons' lead in the third period, as the margin got as close as two points on no fewer than four occasions.
BG led by seven points twice in the early stages of the quarter, including at the 7:35 mark, when junior Maddie Cole kicked the ball out to Puk for a left-wing triple and a 46-39 lead. But, Riley Blair scored the game's next five points, and the Bulldogs forced the Falcons into a 10-second violation. McInerney's shot on the next possession was off the mark, and Cole rebounded. Lambert hit a pair of free throws for a four-point lead.
McInerney's layup cut the lead in half, but Cecil split a pair of shots from the stripe, then found Santoro for a corner three with the Falcons on the run.
BG's lead was 52-46, but FSU would score the next four points. Lambert, however, grabbed a defensive rebound, went coast to coast and knocked down a three-pointer for a 55-50 lead.
The lead again reached six points, but again fell to two when Humes hit back-to-back layups. But, BG ended the third quarter on a 7-0 run.
That run began with a Puk free throw, and the senior hit a three-pointer from the right win with 1:16 left in the period. Cecil stole the ball from McInerney and hit an and-one transition layup with 40.9 seconds left in the period. Her free throw gave the Brown and Orange a 63-54 lead.
BG scored 16 fast-break points in the game, with 10 of those 16 coming in the third period.

FOURTH-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

Early in the quarter, Cecil answered a McInerney bucket with a nifty left-side layup, and Santoro's layup gave the Falcons a double-digit lead for the only time all night. BG led, 67-56, with 8:36 to go.
The Bulldogs answered with a 5-0 run, including an Emilee Kott three-pointer, but Cecil hit a layup, then got another shot to go with just over six minutes to go. Lambert threw in a tough banker with 5:23 to go, and BG's lead was 73-66.
Bush connected from long range with 4:27 remaining, cutting the Falcons' lead to four points, but the hosts then held FSU scoreless for the next six possessions. BG's extended the lead at the free-throw line, and the Orange and Brown held a nine-point advantage before McInerney finally scored with just 1:31 on the clock. FSU would get no closer than seven points thereafter.

FINAL STATISTICS

The Falcons shot 40.3 percent from the field to the Bulldogs' 39.2% success rate. Both teams attempted 22 three-pointers, with BG hitting eight and FSU six.
The Bulldogs held a 48-43 rebounding advantage, but the Falcons got to the free-throw line nearly twice as often as the visitors.
BG went 24-for-33 from the stripe (72.7%), while Ferris was 9-for-18 (50%) at the line.
BG turned the ball over 12 times to FSU's 13, and the Falcons had a 17-13 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Falcons had advantages in second-chance points (11-10) and fast-break points (16-9), while FSU had a slim 30-28 margin in points in the paint.

UP NEXT

The Falcons now prepare for one final game before taking a break for the holidays. BGSU will travel to the Queen City to face the University of Cincinnati on Thursday (Dec. 21). Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at St. Ursula Academy Gymnasium & Convocation Center. UC is playing most of the 2017-18 home schedule at that venue due to a renovation of the team's on-campus home, Fifth Third Arena.
Following the UC contest, BGSU will be idle until the Mid-American Conference opener on Saturday, Dec. 30, at Western Michigan. The Falcons' next home game is on Wednesday, Jan. 3, vs. Eastern Michigan.

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