Falcons Put on a Second-Quarter Clinic in 72-54 Win Over NIU

Wednesday, January 31

Bowling Green, Ohio

7 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

11-8,5-4MAC

Northern Illinois

9-11,3-6MAC

NIU

Bowling Green

Jaci Tubergen set career highs in minutes & points on Wednesday night vs. NIU

Photo by: Daniel Carlson

January 31, 2024 | Women's Basketball

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BGSU outscores Huskies, 22-2, in Wednesday’s second stanza

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team put on a second-quarter clinic at the Stroh Center on Wednesday night (Jan. 31), and the Falcons went on to a 72-54 win over Northern Illinois University.

Attendance: 2,420 // Ziggyville: 279

Morgan Sharps had 22 points for the Falcons (11-8, 5-4 Mid-American Conference), with Erika Porter and Paige Kohler scoring 14 and 10, respectively. Amy Velasco had eight points and nine assists, and Sophie Dziekan and Jaci Tubergen came off the bench to score seven points apiece. Tubergen's total set a new career best.

Brooke Stonebraker led the visitors with 15 points, while Jayden Marable added 11.

Trailing, 24-18, after the opening quarter, the Falcons proceeded to outscore the Huskies (9-11, 3-6 MAC) by a 22-2 count in the second period. BGSU shot 76.9 percent from the field in the quarter, going 10-for-13, and the Falcon defense held the Huskies to just 1-for-13 (7.7%) shooting and forced eight NIU turnovers in that period alone.

The Falcons began the quarter on an 18-0 run, holding the Huskies scoreless for over eight minutes before Stonebraker scored on a putback. But, Tubergen immediately responded with a driving layup, and a Sharps floater gave the hosts a 40-26 halftime lead.

That lead never fell below 10 points in the second half, and it grew as high as 22 points midway through the fourth quarter.

For the game, BGSU shot a season-high 58.8% (30-of-51), including nearly a 70% success rate inside the three-point line. The Huskies shot 37.9%, but went just 12-for-41 (29.3%) over the final three quarters.

The Falcons had a 33-30 rebounding lead, including a 20-9 advantage in the second half.

NOTE OF THE NIGHT: BE READY WHEN YOUR NAME IS CALLED
• Sophomore Jaci Tubergen entered Wednesday night's game with totals of 24 minutes played and four points scored this season. She checked into the contest with five seconds remaining in the first quarter.
• Tubergen had not played more than 7:11 in a game this season, but after playing those last few seconds of the first quarter, she played all 10 minutes in the second period as BGSU enjoyed that 22-2 scoring advantage. She was one of four Falcons to singlehandedly outscore the Huskies in the quarter, with four points.
• For the game, Tubergen had seven points in 15:10 – setting career bests in both minutes played and points scored – and she had a plus/minus rating of +18.

ALSO WORTH NOTING
• BGSU held NIU scoreless for a span of 8:51 in the first half. After a Jayden Marable bucket with 42 seconds remaining in the opening quarter, the Huskies did not score again until a Brooke Stonebraker putback with 1:51 to go until halftime.
• Morgan Sharps had a game-high 22 points vs. the Huskies. Sharps now has 52 points over the last two contests after scoring a career-high 30 vs. Kent State on Saturday.
• The Falcons, as mentioned, shot a season-high 58.8 percent from the floor. BGSU has now shot better than 50% from the field on seven occasions this season, including in each of the last two games.
• Erika Porter scored 14 points and went 6-for-9 from the field. Porter, who leads the MAC in field-goal percentage in conference games, has made 33-of-46 shots from the field (71.7%) over the last six games.
• Amy Velasco had yet another well-rounded stat line. The junior guard had eight points, nine assists, four rebounds and four steals against the Huskies.
• Freshman Paige Kohler had 10 points, six boards and five assists in the win.
• NIU had just one more turnover than BGSU (15 to 14), but the Falcons had a 17-6 advantage in points off turnovers. BG also had a 48-32 lead in points in the paint.
• And, the shortened Falcon bench outscored the Huskie bench, 15-14. Sophie Dziekan was a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor and had seven points, while Jaci Tubergen also had seven points on 3-for-5 shooting.

FIRST QUARTER
• The Huskies shot 58.8% from the field in the opening quarter, building a six-point lead after 10 minutes. BGSU had an early 5-0 run after an Erika Porter layup and a Morgan Sharps three-pointer, but the Huskies got a pair of Laura Nickel buckets to take a 6-5 lead. Sharps knocked down another triple try, then hit two free throws moments later – giving BGSU a 10-8 lead and giving Sharps eight of those 10 Falcon points – but the visitors battled back.
• Back-to-back Brooke Blumenfeld buckets gave the Huskies a 12-10 lead, and after Sophie Dziekan's nifty pass led to a Sharps layup, Jayden Marable responded with a jumper, and two Brooke Stonebraker charity tosses preceded a Marable layup that gave the visitors a 19-14 lead.
• Dziekan banked home a shot after an Amy Velasco feed, and Paige Kohler corralled a defensive rebound and went the length of the court for a layup. But, the Huskies answered BG's 4-0 run with a 5-0 surge, as Tara Stauffacher knocked down a three-point try, and a Marable hook shot dropped through the hoop. Northern had a 24-18 lead after 10 minutes.

SECOND QUARTER
• The Falcons proceeded to go on an 18-0 run to begin the second period. Kohler drove and scored on the opening possession, then found Sharps for a jumper. Velasco's pass led to Jaci Tubergen's layup that tied the score, and after Velasco took a charge at the defensive end of the floor, the junior guard got the ball to Porter for a layup and a 26-24 lead with exactly eight minutes left in the half. BGSU never trailed again.
• Sharps hit a jumper, and Porter made two free throws, then a layup. Velasco poked the ball away from a Huskie at one end of the floor and scored at the other, and a Sharps steal led to a Kohler layup and a 36-24 lead.
• Finally, NIU snapped BGSU's 18-0 run as Stonebraker got an offensive rebound and laid the ball back up and in. But, Tubergen quickly responded with a driving layup, and after the Falcons got a stop, Velasco found Sharps for a floater that gave the hosts a 40-26 halftime lead.
• Tubergen, who had not played more than 7:11 in a game this season (Texas State on Nov. 11), played all 10 minutes of that second period, and had a plus/minus rating of +20 for the quarter. Kohler also played all 10 minutes, with Porter and Sharps each playing 9:50 and Velasco 9:19.

THIRD QUARTER
• A Porter layup on the opening possession opened up a 16-point lead, but four NIU quick points followed, including Stonebraker's turnaround jumper that prompted a BGSU timeout.
• Porter put back a missed shot, and after another Stonebraker hoop, an Olivia Hill steal led to a Kohler run-out. Four-straight NIU points cut the BG lead to 10 before Hill's acrobatic offensive rebound and layup put the Falcons up, 48-36, at the media timeout.
• Dziekan and Velasco hit layups, and when Dziekan found a cutting Sharps for a bucket in the final minute of the period, the lead was back to 16, at 55-39.

FOURTH QUARTER
• Velasco and Porter each made layups in the first minute of the quarter, and the Falcons' lead reached 20 points for the first time on a Kohler transition layup with 8:34 to go.
• BGSU got a pair of jumpers from Sharps to make it a 22-point game with 5:54 to go, but a Huskie 6-0 run was capped by a Sidney McCrea trey. Tubergen, however, took a Velasco pass and knocked down a corner three to give the Orange and Brown a 68-49 lead with 3:32 on the clock.
• Dziekan scored three points, including a nifty reverse layup, in the late going, and Emily Siesel's free throw with a minute to go gave the Falcons a 21-point lead before a Stauffacher triple closed the game's scoring.

UP NEXT
• BGSU hits the road this weekend, making the short trip to the Glass City to face Toledo on Saturday (Feb. 3). Tipoff for the next edition of the 'Battle of I-75' is set for 2:00 p.m. at Savage Arena.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will return to the Stroh Center for a season-long three-game homestand, beginning with next Wednesday's (Feb. 7) game vs. Ohio. That stretch will also see the Falcons face Troy (Feb. 10) as well as UT (Feb. 17).

FOR MORE INFORMATION...
• For more information on all things BGSU women's basketball, follow the Falcons on Facebook (@BGWBB), Twitter/X (@BGSU_Athletics and @BGSUWBB) and Instagram (@bgsuwbb), as well as right here at BGSUFalcons.com.