Niki McCoy, a starting forward for the women’s basketball team, was cited with two counts of operating a vehicle under the influence and having an open container of liquor in her vehicle yesterday morning.

At 2:40 a.m. Wednesday McCoy, 22, of Slyvania, was stopped driving southbound onto North Summit from eastbound Pike.

Two passengers, Elizabeth Sowers, 22, of Goshen, Ind., and Melissa Jeltema, 20, of Grand Rapids, Ind., were also in the car with her. Jeltema was later cited with open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle and underage possession of alcohol.

Upon asking McCoy, Sowers and Jeltema for identification, police observed a plastic cup labeled Budweiser and a 750 mL bottle of Captain Morgan’s Parrot Bay Passion Fruit Rum on the rear passanger floorboard of the vehicle.

All three girls were transported to the Bowling Green Police Department, where McCoy was given a breath test resulting in a .178 BAC level.

Women’s basketball coach Curt Miller said in a written statement: ‘Our team is a special and close-knit family, and Niki is a part of that family. We will be supportive of Niki. However, our student-athletes are held to a high standard. Niki has made a poor decision and now must take responsibility for her actions. Putting on a BGSU women’s basketball uniform is a privilege, not a right, and we will make further decisions regarding Niki’s future once we have gathered more information.’

McCoy has started each of the team’s first 21 games this season, and is averaging 13.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.

Jen Uhl, Sarah Clapper, Maribeth Giese and Jessica Slagle will likely share McCoy’s minutes during the suspension.