Falcon coach Curt Miller has a very deep basketball team.
He used that depth last night to help lift his team to a 78-60 win against Buffalo, as 15 players saw at least two minutes of action and 12 players scored at least two points.
Freshman Allison Papenfuss was the top bench performer, scoring six points and pulling down eight rebounds in the win. And she did that while helping defend two of the best post players in the Mid-American Conference – Kourtney Brown and Jessica Fortman, who combined for 33 points and 19 rebounds.
“Maggie [Hennegan], the first post off the bench, got two quick fouls in one minute so now you go to Allison Papenfuss, which is a scary matchup for her guarding the Kourtney Browns, guarding the Fortmans – experienced productive post players in our league,” said coach Curt Miller.
But it was more than just Papenfuss’ effort as the Falcon bench scored 23 points and grabbed 22 rebounds, while committing just five of the team’s 13 turnovers.
Another freshman – Jessie Tamerlano – also impressed, netting 3-of-4 shots and grabbing four rebounds in nine minutes of action.
Senior center Tara Breske said having a steady bench allows the starters to focus on making aggressive plays because they know they can take a foul from time to time.
“It gives us more confidence out on the court knowing that if we mess up, someone can go in,” Breske said.
Doubling up
Miller aspires for four of his players to score in double figures each game, and while that had only happened in three of the first 16 games, it did happen last night.
Tracy Pontius led the way with 16 points, but Jen Uhl (13), Lauren Prochaska (12) and Breske (12) made for a balanced score sheet at the end of the night.
“We talk about trying to get four people in double figures each game. Tonight we did that,” Miller said. “We can ride Lauren’s coattails when times get tough, and Lauren didn’t have a great game tonight.
“It’s double-edge. I want Lauren to play well every night, but it’s nice to see that we can step up and put multiple people in double figures.”
Climbing the ladder
Pontius moved to ninth place on the University’s all-time list for 3-pointers made in a career, as she moved her total to 124 with two made 3-balls last night.
She moved past the recently graduated Lindsey Goldsberry (2005-09) and needs 21 more to move to eighth place, which is currently held by Stefanie Wenzel (2000-04) with 143.
Inching closer
Prochaska is closer to moving up the University’s all-time list for points scored in a career.
With her 12 points last night, Prochaska now has 1,392 points and trails 11th place Angie Bonner (1987-90) by 20 points.
Averaging 17.7 points per game, Prochaska could move past Bonner Saturday at Kent State.
Connection
BG assistant coach Kevin Eckert was an assistant at Buffalo for four seasons before joining the Falcons eight seasons ago.
