BGSU Shuts Down Kent State, 58-39

Thursday, January 9

Kent, OH

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Kent State

January 09, 2014 | Women's Basketball

Halfhill scores 15, Stein records a double-double as BG moves to 2-0 in the MAC

By: KENT, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Jill Stein at Kent State - Larry Clapper photo

Senior Jillian Halfhill scored 15 points and classmate Jill Stein had a double-double as the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team recorded a 58-39 win at Kent State University Thursday night (Jan. 9). The Mid-American Conference game was held at the M.A.C. Center.

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With the win, the Falcons improve to 12-2 overall and 2-0 in the MAC. KSU drops to 3-10 and 0-2, respectively.

On a night when most players on both teams struggled to make shots, Halfhill went 5-of-9 from the field and hit a pair of three-point field goals to help the Falcons to the victory. She scored 10 of her 15 points in the second half as BG pulled away after leading by seven points at the intermission.

Stein had 12 points and game-high totals of 11 rebounds and four steals. The Falcons had a 39-30 advantage on the glass, and BG had 12 steals on the night. Stein made 6-of-11 shots from the floor.

Redshirt sophomore Erica Donovan hit four of her seven field-goal attempts en route to nine points.

No Kent State player hit double figures in the scoring column. Larissa Lurken and Amber Dunlap tied for team honors with nine points. Ashley Evans had seven points and dished out a game-high six assists for the hosts.

BGSU held the KSU offense to fewer than 40 points for the third time in the teams' four meetings during the Jennifer Roos Head-Coaching Era. In those four meetings, the Golden Flashes have averaged 37.5 points per game, and have not scored more than 43 points in any of those contests.

Halfhill scored on the game's opening possession. Both teams got off to a slow start offensively, but a free throw by senior Alexis Rogers and a transition bucket from Donovan gave the Falcons a 5-0 lead and prompted the Flashes to take a timeout at the 17:15 mark.

KSU did not get on the scoreboard until 14:25 remained in the half, but that bucket, by Cheylene Harper, began a 7-2 run. Stein's short right-side jumper accounted for the only BGSU points in that stretch, and when Lurken knocked down a three-pointer, the game was tied at 7-7.

Two free throws by junior Deborah Hoekstra were followed by a Stein one-hander in the lane, giving the Falcons the lead for good. Moments later, Rogers picked Krista White's pocket, and the fifth-year Falcon hit a long two-pointer on the next possession for a 16-11 lead.

Then, a steal by sophomore Miriam Justinger led to a transition layup from Halfhill, giving the Brown and Orange an 18-11 lead as KSU used a timeout. Harper came back with a jumper, but two Rogers charity tosses in the final seconds of the half gave the Falcons a 20-13 lead at the break.

Stein twice answered KSU hoops with buckets of her own early in the second half, scoring on a layup in the center of the paint as well as off of a baseline drive. BG led by a 24-17 count.

The latter bucket, which came with 17:47 to go, began a 15-0 BGSU run that put the game away. The Golden Flashes did not score for four and a half minutes, and BG built a 20-point lead.

After that Stein bucket, Donovan grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a putback, and Halfhill knocked down a corner three, giving the Falcons a double-digit lead for the first time, 29-17.

Another Halfhill trey, this time after spotting up in transition, gave BG a 15-point advantage. Stein scored off of a drive, and on the ensuing possession, the Falcon defense forced the Flashes into a pair of shots that failed to draw iron. When Hoekstra knocked down a triple try, the Falcons led by a 37-17 count.

KSU hung around, largely on the strength of three-point shooting, but the Flashes could draw no closer than 14 points the rest of the way.

The Falcons shot 36.0 percent from the field for the game, including an 11-of-24 effort (45.8%) in the second half. BG made just four three-point shots in 20 attempts, but the Brown and Orange shot 90.0% from the free-throw line, going 18-of-20.

Justinger was a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe to lead the way, while Rogers was 5-of-6 and Halfhill 3-for-4 from the line. Both Hoekstra and junior Jasmine Matthews went 2-of-2 from the stripe.

BG was a perfect 12-for-12 from the line in the second half. By contrast, Kent State did not get to the free-throw line until just 2:29 remained in the game, and the Flashes were 1-for-4 on the night.

KSU did go 6-of-11 from three-point range, with Dunlap making 3-of-4 triple tries to lead the way.

Stein's double-double was BGSU's ninth of the year, matching the Falcons' total for all of last season.

BGSU returns home this weekend, facing the University of Akron on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 12). That game, the first half of a Falcon hoops doubleheader, begins at 2:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.