Senior Lauren Tibbs scored a season-high 24 points this past Saturday as the Bowling Green State University womens basketball team picked up a 65-55 win over Kent State. The win snapped a five-game conference losing streak for the Falcons, who improved to 9-13 on the season and 5-9 in conference.
“We knew that this would be a tough place to play. Kent has been much better than their record,” head coach Jennifer Roos said. “At the end of the day, we shot 50% from the field on the road and outrebounded them. We made some big shots late at key times, got on the ground and won a lot of loose balls. It was a good team win for us.”
The Falcons connected on three straight three-pointers to start the game with Tibbs, Miriam Justinger and Rachel Myers all connecting from behind the arc. Kent State held on, though, and the two teams went back and forth to finish the first quarter tied 15-15. BG led by seven with 1:10 left in the first half, but two jump shots by Kent State cut the Falcons’ lead to 31-28 as the halftime buzzer sounded.
BG pulled away during the third quarter on the back of a 17-5 run, capped by a three-pointer by freshman Maddie Cole with 2:29 left in the period to put the Falcons ahead 48-33 for their largest lead of the day. Kent State closed out the third on their own run, going 8-0 down the stretch to pull within 48-41 entering the fourth quarter.
The Golden Flashes continued to battle back, closing the gap to just 56-53 on a layup by Tyra James in the paint with 2:29 remaining in the game. Justinger proceeded to knock down a clutch three-pointer on the next BG possession, and the Falcons went 6-8 from the free throw line down the stretch to close out the game.
Tibbs had eight rebounds and four blocks to go along with her scoring barrage. She shot 11-15 from the floor and connected on both of her three-point attempts. Her play over the last two games has been stellar, averaging 23 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks while shooting 20-30 from the field and 5-5 from behind the arc.
“Her contribution has been fantastic, and for a fifth year senior who has an extra year of eligibility, she’s living everyday like you would want someone to, and playing well and having fun.”
Justinger, a senior, added 12 points and 6 rebounds while shooting 3-3 from behind the arc. She also hit a clutch three-pointer to put the Falcons up 59-53 with less than two minutes to play. Cole had a career-high seven points in six minutes of play, shooting 3-3 from the field.
BG will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 24 when they travel to New York for a matchup with the University of Buffalo. The Falcons will then return to the Stroh Center on Feb. 27 for a home game against Miami.
