CLEVELAND – It’s no secret Tracy Pontius can score. If her 27-point outburst, including five straight three-pointers in overtime, against Buffalo wasn’t enough proof, her shooting effort against Toledo Saturday was. In that semifinal game of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena, Pontius’ shooting stroke hit another high. With eight made three-pointers in the game, Pontius set a MAC Tournament record for three-pointers made in a game. The previous record was held by former Falcon Casey McDowell (2005), Western Michigan’s Sarah Hurrle (2001) and Toledo’s Jessica Williams who matched the old record the day before. Ironically, Hurrle’s performance came against BG. With two makes in the quarterfinal game against Central Michigan on Friday, Pontius sat two three-pointers away from setting the overall tournament record for made threes after that game. In the championship game on Sunday, she made those two three-pointers. All in all, not bad for a player who lots of people thought had too many problems to be a Div. I player while she was in high school. ‘She was a fantastic high school player,’ BG coach Curt Miller said. ‘[But according to the experts] Tracy was a little bit too slow and a little bit too short. ‘But we thought she could really, really score the basketball.’ Turns out they were right. Toledo coach Tricia Cullop was also well aware Pontius could get it done, but after watching Pontius throw up so many three-pointers, Cullop said she had a more enjoyable time on Friday. ‘It was a lot more fun when I was watching [Jessica Williams] hit three-pointers yesterday,’ Cullop said. However, she did understand how Pontius was able to shoot so well on her team. ‘We lost sight of some players, in particular Tracy Pontius,’ Cullop said. With just three points in the first half, Pontius looked to be in a similar boat as Lauren Prochaska who was in a shooting slump making just 4-of-19 shots in the MAC Tournament through Saturday. Miller said the fact Prochaska was struggling allowed Pontius to get more looks, but he also said he needed to get the ball in Prochaska’s hands. ‘We’re concerned to get Lauren going,’ Miller said. ‘She’ll never force and she’ll never go out of the system to get her points.’ But while Prochaska was still drawing attention from many defenses, Pontius made it a priority to step up big when the team needed it most. While she didn’t say anything of substance about her individual performance in the post-game press conference, her play on the court spoke volumes. Teammate Tara Breske said her stepping up was key to the semifinal win. ‘She came up big for us when we needed her today,’ Breske said. Trailing at halftime, the time BG needed Pontius most was the second half. And Pontius delivered, scoring 29 points. Miller said that even though Pontius didn’t have much to say about herself after the game, he knows when the lights are shining in the game, she won’t fail him. ‘Tracy doesn’t like to talk in here,’ Miller said. ‘[But] he never shies from the moment. She likes when the bright lights and big stage are on.’
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Pontius’ outburst came at good time for BG
March 17, 2009
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