Bowling Green State University
Savannah State
BG Wins Big, 89-39, Over Savannah State
December 22, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2002
CINCINNATI, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team scored the game's first 28 points en route to a dismantling of Savannah State University, 89-39, Sunday afternoon (Dec. 22). The contest was the consolation game of the Bearcat Invitational, hosted by Cincinnati.
With the win, the Falcons move to 5-4 on the season, while dropping the Lady Tigers to 1-13.
Freshman Marisa Smith led the Falcons with 22 points, the most of her brief career. Smith made six three-point field goals in 10 attempts. Her six treys fell just one shy of the school record.
Senior Francine Miller and junior Stefanie Wenzel each had 13 points. Miller made all four of her field-goal attempts in just 13 minutes of action, while Wenzel was 5-of-7, including 3-of-5 from long range, in only 14 minutes.
The Brown and Orange forced SSU into an 0-for-23 start from the field, while the BG offense made 12 of its first 16 shots, including an 8-of-11 start from three-point land.
Senior Kim Griech started the scoring with a basket just 13 seconds into the contest, and the Falcons were on their way. Wenzel and Miller scored seven points apiece during the game-opening 28-0 run, while junior Lindsay Austin contributed five points and four assists during that stretch.
Freshman Molly Martin fed senior Megan Jerome for a three-pointer to cap the 28-point run, before SSU finally got on the board with a pair of Tiffany Stephens free throws at the 10:17 mark. Still, the Falcons held the Lady Tigers without a basket, while scoring 12 more points.
Freshman Jill Lause hit two free throws, and, after SSU got a single charity toss, Jerome was fouled on a shot from behind the arc, and made all three free throws. Then, Marisa Smith hit the first two of her long-range shots on the day. After Tene Lewis split a pair of free throws, the scoreboard displayed a surreal 40-3 Falcon lead.
Finally, with 6:07 left before the break, Renee' Williams hit a triple for the Lady Tigers' first basket of the afternoon.
BGSU led by a 49-11 count at the half, holding the Lady Tigers to a field-goal percentage of .094 (3-of-32). SSU shot just .208 for the game.
BG, meanwhile, shot at a 60.0 percent clip in the first half and had a FG pct. of .571 for the game.
In the second half, the Falcons scored the first six points, taking a 55-11 lead, before Stephens hit a jumper at the 17:37 juncture, for the first basket allowed by the BG starters in the game.
While SSU made 12 field goals in the second half, the Lady Tigers never cut the Falcon lead to less than 39 points. BGSU outscored Savannah State by a 40-28 margin in the second stanza, led by Marisa Smith's 14 points in the half.
Both Jerome and Lause had eight points off the bench, as the Falcons held a whopping 50-12 advantage in points off the bench.
Griech and Lewis each had six points in the win. Austin had five points and a game-high seven assists in only 14 minutes. None of the BGSU starters played more than 14 minutes in the game, and only one Falcon -- Marisa Smith (24) -- played over 21 minutes.
BGSU outrebounded the Lady Tigers, 51-34, with sophomore Sakima Smith leading BG with a career high-tying eight boards.
The 50-point margin of victory ties for the fourth-biggest win in BGSU history. The school record is 58 points, set vs. Taylor on Dec. 5, 1981.
Host Cincinnati downed Louisiana-Lafayette, 68-55, in the Bearcat Invitational's championship game. Austin, playing her first two collegiate games in her hometown, was BGSU's lone representative to the all-tournament team. UC's Carolyn Alexander was the tournament MVP, while teammates K.B. Sharp and Debbie Merrill joined her on the all-tourney team. UL Lafayette's Charlotte Green and Anna Petrakova rounded out the squad.
BGSU now breaks for the holidays, before returning home for a Dec. 30 game vs. IUPUI. That contest begins at 7:00 p.m. at Anderson Arena.
