A pair of late baskets in the fourth quarter helped seal the 62-58 victory for the BGSU womens basketball team on the road against the Akron Zips on Saturday night. This victory snapped a five-game losing streak for the Falcons.
Leading the way for the Falcons was senior forward Ashley Tunstall with 12 points, six rebounds and a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range. Sophomore guard Carly Santoro also contributed with 12 points, eight rebounds and two assists.
“Our kids did a great job from start to finish,” said Falcon head coach Jennifer Roos. “We wanted to play smart, with confidence and we wanted to play together. If we could do those things, you could get the results you wanted. They prevailed today that just can out execute with their vast playbook.”
In the first quarter, the Falcons frontcourt of Ashley Tunstall and senior center Abby Siefker scored the team’s first 12 points with Siefker scoring in the paint and Tunstall spreading the floor hitting a pair of threes. However, Akron would match BG with points in the paint and three point shooting of their own as they evened the score at 12 apiece with three minutes left in the first. BG would score the final five points in the first following a three by junior guard Haley Puk and a pair of free throws by Carly Santoro.
It was a back and forth sequence early in the second quarter as both teams traded baskets by each possession, but BG was able to hold a narrow 21-17 lead with five minutes left in the half. The Falcons would go on a 13-7 run the rest of the way including a long distance three-pointer by Santoro with 32 seconds left in the half. BG would lead 34-24 going into the half.
In the start of the third, the Zips were able to get two quick baskets to cut the deficit to six. However, BG would not give up the lead as they got great contribution of the backcourt play of junior Rachel Myers and sophomore Sydney Lambert with huge baskets down the stretch. The Falcons would lead 48-38 going into the final quarter.
In the final quarter, Akron’s offense got rolling in the first three minutes of play as the Falcons had no answer for the Zips dominant post play. They went on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to three points. The Falcons responded with a huge three pointer by Haley Puk to keep the pressure off the team.
Akron kept making shots and cut the deficit to just three points as BG held a narrow 58-55 lead with a minute left. With the game on the line, freshman forward Andrea Cecil hit a clutch jump shot with 33 seconds left in the game. Cecil also came up big defensively with two blocks that made it difficult for Akron to get a quick shot up. Cecil and Tunstall iced the game, with both knocking down big free throws to give the Falcons a 62-56 lead. Akron was able to get a layup as time expired, but it didn’t matter as BG got the win on the road.
“We got contributions from everybody today,” said Roos. “I thought our players really stepped up. It was just a fantastic effort by this group, and things really came together at both ends of the floor.”
The Falcons look to get another win on the road as they take on the Western Michigan Broncos on Wednesday beginning at 7 p.m.
