Last night, the Bowling Green Women’s basketball team traveled to the home of the Valparaiso Beacons, winning 92-61, making this their sixth win of the season. Now with a four-game win streak under their belt, the Brown and Orange have given their season a successful foundation.
By the first media break of the contest, the Falcons already held a commanding lead, 21-9. While building onto their lead, Bowling Green put together a great team effort, both offensively and defensively, holding the Beacons at only nine points. The Gold and Brown broke this first-quarter curse, with a shot by Beacon Olivia Brown within the last 30 seconds, the score 30-11 going into the second quarter.
Bowling Green, taking advantage of this lead, did not stop here. The Falcons continued this trend of expanding upon their lead, shutting out the Beacons from approaching a tie. The second quarter showcased increased resilience from Valpo, beginning to chip away at the Falcon defense. While the Brown and Orange would keep the Beacons at arm’s length, the gap between the two began to shorten.
With five minutes to go in the half, the Falcons held a 20 point lead, 38-18. The charge led by Jocelyn Tate, Nyla Hampton, and Lexi Fleming, left the Brown and Orange 11 points richer than before. Bowling Green would end the half on top of the Beacons, the score 50-24.
The second half began with back and forth scoring between BGSU and Valpo, each scoring six points in the first few minutes. From here, the Falcons broke even with the Beacons, each scoring twelve points leading up to the last few minutes of the quarter. With two minutes to go, Bowling Green held the Beacons at 42 points and scored seven more.
Starting the final quarter, the Beacons booked two three-point shots, the score now 76-48. With eight minutes left in the game, the Falcons would still command the lead, 78-50. With five minutes remaining, the score would reach 83-53, with both teams taking turns scoring. Now with only two minutes left and the score still a 30 point gap, Bowling Green’s Jasmine Fearne and Valparaiso’s Jayda Johnston contributed with three-point shots. With these last efforts, the clock ran out with the Falcons hanging onto their substantial lead, 92-61.
The Falcons, showcasing their overwhelming offense, were led by Hampton and Elissa Brett with 16 and 13 points respectively. In addition, Bowling Green was able to put together a great team effort with a 55.4% shot percentage and an impressive 58.3% 3-point shot percentage.
“This was a great team win tonight,” Head Coach Robyn Fralick said. “I thought we set the tone in the first quarter. We really moved well together, both defensively and offensively, and we just need to continue building on that ‘team-ness’ moving forward.”
Looking ahead, the Falcons remain on the road, heading to East Tennessee State following a short break for finals week. The Orange and Brown will return to action on Sunday, Dec. 11 starting at 2 p.m.
For more information about the game, visit bgsufalcons.com.
