Creighton University
Bowling Green State
Falcons Fly by Bluejays, 79-53, in Women's Basketball
11/15/2010 8:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Bowling Green State University out-scored the Creighton women's basketball team 49-23 in the second half after the teams played even in the opening half, for a 79-53 Falcon victory Monday night at Anderson Arena. Kelsey Woodard led the Bluejays with 14 points, which included her 200th career three-point field goal. Sarah Nelson added 10 points and led the team with seven rebounds off the bench for the Bluejays.
The Falcons, six-time reigning Mid-American Conference regular-season champions, improved to 1-1 with the win, their 31st straight regular-season home win. The loss dropped the Bluejays to 1-2 on their season-opening three-game road trip.
The Bluejays and Falcons were tied 30-30 at the half, with four lead changes and six ties in the opening 20 minutes. Creighton scored the first four points of the game before the Falcons answered with five. After the teams exchanged baskets, the Falcons would not surrender the lead again until late in the half.
Down 24-21 Woodard made her second three-pointer of the game to tie the score with 4:21 to play. The score was 26-26 when a Carli Tritz jumper with 2:58 gave the Bluejays a 28-26 lead. Creighton again led 30-28 after Sarah Nelson's bucket with 1:46 left. BGSU tied the game at 30 on a pair of free-throws with just over a minute to play and the score would remain even at half.
The Bluejays shot 54.5 percent (12-22) from the field in the opening half, including 4-of-10 (.400) from long range, but made only 2-of-8 free-throws (.250) in the first half. BGSU was out-rebounding the Jays at the half 17-13, shooting 40.7 percent (11-27) from the floor and only 2-of-7 (.286) from three-point range, but hit 6-of-7 free-throws in the first half.
The second-half started with BGSU scoring the first five points, but CU answered with the next four. With the score 40-38 in favor of the Falcons, BGSU ripped off the game's next 16 points to pull away. The 16 straight points were part of a 31-10 run during which the Bluejays experienced a scoring draught of better than nine minutes.
The first six fouls of the second half were whistled on Creighton and the Bluejays had 10 fouls before 10 minutes had been played in the second half, as senior Sam Schuett fouled out with 10:12 still left on the clock.
Bowling Green took advantage of the fouls, draining 20-of-22 free-throws in the second half to finish 26-of-29 (.897) at the line for the game. BGSU also out-rebounded the Bluejays 41-31 in its home opener.
The Falcons were led by preseason National Player of the Year candidate and two-time reigning MAC Player of the Year Lauren Prochaska's 21 points and seven rebounds. Tracy Pontius added 20 points for the Falcons, a team which won 27 games last year and played in the NCAA Tournament.
Woodard scored 12 of her team-leading 14 points in the first half, finishing 6-of-11 from the floor and 2-of-7 from beyond the arc. She chipped in four rebounds and three assists. Woodard's second three-pointer was the 200th of her career, becoming the fourth player in school history and the 22nd in league history to reach that number. She also moved past her older sister, Kristi, for 18th on the Creighton career scoring list as Kelsey now has 1,115 career points and Kristi totalled 1,110 in her injury-shortened career.
Sarah Nelson topped the Jays with seven rebounds and made all three of her field goal attempts, scoring 10 points off the bench. Fellow freshmen Carli Tritz and Alyssa Kamphaus each scored eight points off the bench, as Kamphaus also made each of her three shots before fouling out.
Creighton made just 7-of-20 (.350) free throws in the loss, and went 0-for-6 from three-point range in the second half to finish 4-for-16 (.250) from distance. CU's shooting cooled off in the second half to finish 41.2 percent from the floor.
The Bluejays return to Omaha to open their home season on Saturday when they play host to Wyoming. The Jays and Cowgirls will tip of at 2:05 pm at D.J. Sokol Arena.
