It was not the prettiest, but at the end of the day, the Falcons ended Saturday in first place in the Mid-American Conference. 

BGSU women’s basketball defeated the Akron Zips at James A. Rhodes Arena yesterday afternoon, 71-66, to jump into a tie for first place in the MAC with the Toledo Rockets.  

The first half was an uncharacteristically sloppy performance from the red-hot Falcons, as they only shot 25 percent from the field, and trailed by nine points going into halftime.  

But the second half? A much different story; in particular, the fourth quarter.  

After trailing by as many as 14 points at one point in the late third quarter, BG’s high-octane offense finally came alive.  

The Falcons outscored the Zips in the fourth quarter 31-13, including starting off the quarter on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to four points early on.   

After being held scoreless through three quarters, senior sharpshooter Morgan Sharps went on an unreal heat check, knocking down three shots from beyond the arc, and ending the game with 13 points.  

Allison Day also turned in a strong performance, adding 14 points and seven rebounds, with the majority of her stats coming in the critical stretches of the second half.  

But the highlight of the day belonged to Elissa Brett, who joined teammates Day, Kadie Hempfling, and Payton Moore in the 1,000-point club. Brett, a senior from Adelaide, Australia, finished the afternoon with a team-high 16 points along with five rebounds.  

For the Zips, forward Molly Neitzel led the way with 20 points and six rebounds, while Dominique Camp added 14 points. Sophomore standout Reagan Bass had a strong second half, ending her day with 11 points and eight rebounds.  

Playing on the road is never easy, but being able to take down a first-place team in their house builds a sense of confidence that is hard to lose.  

“Today was a great example of playing through for the full 40 minutes,” head coach Robyn Fralick said. “A lot of credit to Akron; they are a very good team, and they are stingy defensively. But, we just kept battling. In the fourth quarter, I thought we played with great effort and toughness.” 

The Falcons (14-2 OVR, 3-1 MAC), are now tied for first place in the MAC with their rivals up I-75 in Toledo. Those two will duke it out for complete control of the top spot on Wednesday night, when the Rockets come to town on Jan. 18 for a midweek bout.  

For more information about the team, visit the athletics webpage.