Monday, March 6
Buffalo, NY
5:30 PM
Bowling Green State University
45
at
61
Buffalo (First Round)
Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications
Falcons Fall at Buffalo, 61-45, in MAC Tourney First-Round Action
Mon, Mar, 06 | Women's Basketball
Siefker, Tunstall & Konieczki conclude their BGSU playing careers
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team saw the 2016-17 season come to an end Monday evening (March 6), as the host University at Buffalo downed the Falcons, 61-45, at Alumni Arena. The game was a first-round contest in the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
With the win, the Bulls advance to the league tourney quarterfinal round. Buffalo will face second-seeded Ball State University at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland on Wednesday (March 8).
LINKS
FINAL STATISTICS: HTML | PDF
POSTGAME AUDIO: Coach Roos
Monday's game marked the final collegiate contest for BGSU seniors Abby Siefker, Ashley Tunstall and Rachel Konieczki. Siefker led the Falcons in scoring, with 13 points at UB, and she also paced the Brown and Orange with three assists and two blocked shots.
Sophomore Sydney Lambert had 10 points for the Falcons, while classmate Carly Santoro had seven points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Buffalo was led by JoAnna Smith's 24 points. Smith added eight rebounds and hit all four of UB's successful three-point field goals. Cassie Oursler added 16 points, while Stephanie Reid had 12 points and was credited with nine assists and four steals.
The Bulls jumped out to a 6-0 lead before the Falcons got on the scoreboard with a Santoro three-pointer. That triple came after a Siefker offensive rebound. UB responded with a bucket, but Siefker scored three-straight points after the first-quarter media timeout, and her turnaround banker over a defender cut the home team's lead to 8-6.
Reid answered with a three-point play, but Lambert hit a pull-up jumper, and moments later, the sophomore point guard took a Siefker pass and hit a corner three to cut UB's lead to a single point, 12-11, in the final minute of the quarter. The Falcons got a defensive stop, and Siefker pulled down a defensive board as the horn sounded.
The Bulls, after beginning the game by making 4-of-5 shots from the field, went just 1-of-11 to end the quarter.
Summer Hemphill opened the second-quarter scoring with a putback, but Siefker again worked against her would-be defender in the paint, turned and put a shot off glass and in. But, the Bulls then went on an 8-1 run over the next four-plus minutes, and Oursler's jumper gave the hosts a 22-14 lead.
Lambert hit another corner three, but Reid answered with a three-point play, then a long two-point jumper. The Bulls led, 27-17, before another Siefker layup cut the UB advantage to eight points at the intermission.
The Falcons held the Bulls to just four made field goals in the third period, as UB was 4-of-23 (17.4 percent) from the field, but the hosts had 11 offensive rebounds in the quarter, and three of the four successful shots came from beyond the arc.
BG battled back to within three points after scoring the first five points of the quarter. Lambert drove the right side of the lane, leapt in the air and whipped a pass to a wide-open Siefker for an easy layup. Then, freshman Andrea Cecil knocked down a driving layup at the 6:45 mark, and UB's lead was 27-24.
But, the Bulls got several offensive rebounds on the next possession, which resulted in a Smith layup, and the UB senior then hit a three-pointer in transition, for a 32-24 UB lead. Her free throws increased the margin to 10 points, and she hit two more three-pointers before the quarter was done, giving her team a 40-28 lead with just under a minute on the clock. After the teams traded free throws, the Bulls' lead remained 12, at 42-30, after 30 minutes.
A BG three-point try rimmed out on the first possession of the fourth quarter, and Oursler's catch-and-shoot layup gave her team a 14-point lead. Moments later, another three-point attempt was halfway down, but did not drop, and Smith got to the line and hit two charity tosses. Then, the senior's layup made it a 48-30 game. Tunstall hit an open layup off of Siefker's offensive rebound and nifty pass, but Smith answered with a three-ball that gave the Bulls a 19-point lead.
Siefker scored inside, and after Santoro split two free throws, a Siefker offensive board led to a pull-up jumper by Cecil that cut the UB lead to 53-37 with five-and-a-half minutes on the clock. And, Santoro hit a driving layup to make it a 14-point difference, but Oursler answered with a short jumper.
Tunstall scored off glass, but BG would draw no closer, as Smith's layup began a 6-0 run for the home team. Freshman Jane Uecker hit a layup, and Konieczki knocked down a long two-point jumper down the stretch, but the Bulls' lead was too much for BG to overcome.
"I thought we had our chances tonight," said BGSU head coach Jennifer Roos. "We had trouble scoring in the second quarter, and then their rebounding hurt us. When we came here and won just over a week ago, a big part of the reason was our rebounding, as we outrebounded them by double digits. Tonight, they outrebounded us by double digits.
"We had some really good looks, and I would take them again. Unfortunately, they didn't go in tonight. But, UB had 19 offensive rebounds, and when they missed, they would go get the rebound, work another 25 seconds off the clock, shoot and miss it, and go get it again. Their rebounding late in the third period and early in the fourth really kept us from being able to make a significant run, like we did last time we played here."
Tunstall had five points, six rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot in her final game as a Falcon, while Konieczki had two points in five minutes off the bench.
Three of Siefker's six rebounds came at the offensive end. She ended the season with 101 offensive rebounds, the highest total by a Falcon in three years (since Alexis Rogers had 102 offensive boards in 35 games in 2013-14).
"Our seniors have outstanding character, and they've been a huge part of this program," said BGSU head coach Jennifer Roos. "I respect their resolve and fortitude, and all of the countless hours they have put in, and I can't thank them enough for all of their contributions to this program."
The Falcons' 12-player active roster includes nine players with at least one season of eligibility remaining.
With the win, the Bulls advance to the league tourney quarterfinal round. Buffalo will face second-seeded Ball State University at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland on Wednesday (March 8).
LINKS
FINAL STATISTICS: HTML | PDF
POSTGAME AUDIO: Coach Roos
Monday's game marked the final collegiate contest for BGSU seniors Abby Siefker, Ashley Tunstall and Rachel Konieczki. Siefker led the Falcons in scoring, with 13 points at UB, and she also paced the Brown and Orange with three assists and two blocked shots.
Sophomore Sydney Lambert had 10 points for the Falcons, while classmate Carly Santoro had seven points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Buffalo was led by JoAnna Smith's 24 points. Smith added eight rebounds and hit all four of UB's successful three-point field goals. Cassie Oursler added 16 points, while Stephanie Reid had 12 points and was credited with nine assists and four steals.
The Bulls jumped out to a 6-0 lead before the Falcons got on the scoreboard with a Santoro three-pointer. That triple came after a Siefker offensive rebound. UB responded with a bucket, but Siefker scored three-straight points after the first-quarter media timeout, and her turnaround banker over a defender cut the home team's lead to 8-6.
Reid answered with a three-point play, but Lambert hit a pull-up jumper, and moments later, the sophomore point guard took a Siefker pass and hit a corner three to cut UB's lead to a single point, 12-11, in the final minute of the quarter. The Falcons got a defensive stop, and Siefker pulled down a defensive board as the horn sounded.
The Bulls, after beginning the game by making 4-of-5 shots from the field, went just 1-of-11 to end the quarter.
Summer Hemphill opened the second-quarter scoring with a putback, but Siefker again worked against her would-be defender in the paint, turned and put a shot off glass and in. But, the Bulls then went on an 8-1 run over the next four-plus minutes, and Oursler's jumper gave the hosts a 22-14 lead.
Lambert hit another corner three, but Reid answered with a three-point play, then a long two-point jumper. The Bulls led, 27-17, before another Siefker layup cut the UB advantage to eight points at the intermission.
The Falcons held the Bulls to just four made field goals in the third period, as UB was 4-of-23 (17.4 percent) from the field, but the hosts had 11 offensive rebounds in the quarter, and three of the four successful shots came from beyond the arc.
BG battled back to within three points after scoring the first five points of the quarter. Lambert drove the right side of the lane, leapt in the air and whipped a pass to a wide-open Siefker for an easy layup. Then, freshman Andrea Cecil knocked down a driving layup at the 6:45 mark, and UB's lead was 27-24.
But, the Bulls got several offensive rebounds on the next possession, which resulted in a Smith layup, and the UB senior then hit a three-pointer in transition, for a 32-24 UB lead. Her free throws increased the margin to 10 points, and she hit two more three-pointers before the quarter was done, giving her team a 40-28 lead with just under a minute on the clock. After the teams traded free throws, the Bulls' lead remained 12, at 42-30, after 30 minutes.
A BG three-point try rimmed out on the first possession of the fourth quarter, and Oursler's catch-and-shoot layup gave her team a 14-point lead. Moments later, another three-point attempt was halfway down, but did not drop, and Smith got to the line and hit two charity tosses. Then, the senior's layup made it a 48-30 game. Tunstall hit an open layup off of Siefker's offensive rebound and nifty pass, but Smith answered with a three-ball that gave the Bulls a 19-point lead.
Siefker scored inside, and after Santoro split two free throws, a Siefker offensive board led to a pull-up jumper by Cecil that cut the UB lead to 53-37 with five-and-a-half minutes on the clock. And, Santoro hit a driving layup to make it a 14-point difference, but Oursler answered with a short jumper.
Tunstall scored off glass, but BG would draw no closer, as Smith's layup began a 6-0 run for the home team. Freshman Jane Uecker hit a layup, and Konieczki knocked down a long two-point jumper down the stretch, but the Bulls' lead was too much for BG to overcome.
"I thought we had our chances tonight," said BGSU head coach Jennifer Roos. "We had trouble scoring in the second quarter, and then their rebounding hurt us. When we came here and won just over a week ago, a big part of the reason was our rebounding, as we outrebounded them by double digits. Tonight, they outrebounded us by double digits.
"We had some really good looks, and I would take them again. Unfortunately, they didn't go in tonight. But, UB had 19 offensive rebounds, and when they missed, they would go get the rebound, work another 25 seconds off the clock, shoot and miss it, and go get it again. Their rebounding late in the third period and early in the fourth really kept us from being able to make a significant run, like we did last time we played here."
Tunstall had five points, six rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot in her final game as a Falcon, while Konieczki had two points in five minutes off the bench.
Three of Siefker's six rebounds came at the offensive end. She ended the season with 101 offensive rebounds, the highest total by a Falcon in three years (since Alexis Rogers had 102 offensive boards in 35 games in 2013-14).
"Our seniors have outstanding character, and they've been a huge part of this program," said BGSU head coach Jennifer Roos. "I respect their resolve and fortitude, and all of the countless hours they have put in, and I can't thank them enough for all of their contributions to this program."
The Falcons' 12-player active roster includes nine players with at least one season of eligibility remaining.