It had been 20 days since BGSU women’s basketball had graced the floor of the Stroh Center for a home game.
The last time they did? The season-opener, where the Falcons earned a 89-86 thrilling win over Cleveland State in dramatic fashion.
Well there must be something in the air in Northwest Ohio that makes things go crazy, because the second home game?
Another night full of winning drama.
“This team absolutely finds a way to win,” said head coach Fred Chmiel. “We have huge heart, you can’t tell them that they can’t do something.”
Behind the return of Morgan Sharps to the Stroh Center for her first home game since tearing her ACL last January, as well as a career highlight for Amy Velasco, BGSU edged the Duquesne Dukes 68-66 earlier Monday night.
The game got off to a back and forth start, with both teams exchanging buckets left and right.
And then Sharps stepped onto the floor.
Three triples from the fifth-year senior helped energize a Falcon offense, pushing them ahead to a 40-31 halftime lead.
However in the third quarter, the Dukes responded strong, ending the quarter with a 25-9 advantage in the scoring department, as well as holding the Falcons to 3-18 shooting.
But in the fourth? A bounce back, as BGSU responded with a +9 advantage in the final period (19-10), giving themselves a chance to win it at the end.
Now last home game, we saw a Chris Webber, 1993 national title moment occur amongst the Vikings.
Tonight? We got to see some elite inbounds defense, as after Lexi Fleming committed an offensive foul with 3.8 seconds left in regulation, the Dukes failed to inbound the ball in time (five seconds), giving the Falcons one last crack to win.
Velasco, who received the inbounds pass from Paige Kohler, was able to race down the floor, avoid a couple of outstretched hands, and throw up a prayer, which was answered just as time expired to give BGSU the win.
“Honestly it was a cool experience, but we were in a stack, everyone went with Lex (Fleming); she’s a great player and everyone had their eye on her,” said Velasco. “So, that’s really what just happened.”
Speaking of Fleming, she led the way in scoring with 19 points, one of four players to reach double figures for the orange and brown. Velasco added 15, while Sharps had 11 and Kohler with 10.
BGSU now gets the opportunity to play #4 Iowa and Caitlin Clark on Saturday, Dec. 2, at 1:30. Catch all the action on 88.1 FM WBGU, as Brandon Loe has the call starting at 1:15.
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