With a 50-55 loss to Rutgers University on Monday night, the Falcons’ season came to an end.
The Falcons finished with an overall record of 30-5 and said goodbye to three seniors: Jillian Halfhill, Alexis Rogers and Jill Stein.
BG head coach Jennifer Roos said she was proud her team brought the game down to the wire. She said the crowd of 2,649 deserved a good game and they got one.
“We had our chances tonight. We really had our chances, and it’s funny, when you think back to how kids finish their careers … there’s always tears involved,” Roos said. “We’re not in tears tonight. We had a lot of mad kids because we had our chances to win, and that’s kind of a bittersweet pill to swallow.”
Roos said what brought her closest to tears was that the team could not get the victory for the fans that came out. She said she thought the Falcons could pull off the victory with after Halfhill’s one-handed shot from behind the arc as the shot clock expired that send the crowd into a frenzy, bringing the team within three points. However, the team was unable to finish on ensuing possessions.
“Our team really came together after being number 65,” Roos said. “This is the latest we’ve ever played in Bowling Green women’s basketball history. I’m proud of our 30 wins, but selfishly, I’ll tell you we wanted 31.”
Rogers, a redshirt senior, said it hasn’t quite hit her yet that her time in a BG uniform is over. She said she couldn’t have chosen a better school the second time around.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever played in front of a crowd like there was today,” Rogers said. “It fueled my energy and that was exciting. You know, you don’t know if you’re ever going to be able to play in a crowd like this and with people who genuinely love you and who care about you and want to help you.”
Rogers said she has enjoyed her time as Falcon, having a great run and being able to grow a lot and make connections with other people.
“We were really disappointed about not getting into the NCAA,” Rogers said. “I think that was a lot of people’s dreams, but how many people can say at BG … that they’ve won 30 games in a season. We’re still going to go down in the record books and that’s exciting.”
In the closing weeks of the season, Roos said she saw a sense of urgency and ownership in the team’s three seniors.
“Those three have been a mainstay for us. I had a different script written for the ending for those three seniors, and I think they had a different script written as well.”
Halfhill finished her career 68 points shy of 1,000 career points. Roos said she scored less than 30 her freshman year, so she nearly reached that accolade in just three years.
Rogers finished with over 1,250 career points. Roos said she commends Rogers as a student teacher who worked a full day and then came to practice every day.
Stein’s name became synonymous with March Madness for the team, Roos said. She said Stein carried the team through WNIT play last year and stepped up in BG’s last two games this season. Stein received little playing time her freshman year but has progressed each year to earn her spot in the starting lineup.
“This group right here, this 2013-2014 women’s basketball team with those three kids as seniors, Jillian Halfhill, Jill Stein and Alexis Rogers, they’re in the record book,” she said.
This class became the ninth in program history to earn 100 wins, all of the players have two Mid-American Conference Championship rings and all have been to postseason play, whether it is the NCAA or the WNIT.
“I’m not going to compare this class to others because this class is that special, this group is that special,” Roos said. “I’m very proud of this group for what they’ve done not only for the program, but for the University and for each other. They’ve left their mark.”
