A strong defensive effort propelled Bowling Green past Chicago State, 76-41 in the opening round of the
Preseason WNIT in Anderson Arena Friday.
Next for the Falcons is third-ranked Ohio State Sunday at Value City Arena in Columbus. Tipoff is 2 p.m.
Ohio State advanced with a 91-68 win over Eastern Illinois.
“It was a big win for our program … We played well as a unit and it was exciting,” said BG senior
Tamika Nurse. [SEE
PHOTO GALLERY]
“Now we get to go play Ohio State … It’s a great challenge for us. We get to go in there as the
underdog. There’s not many times that we get to play without that bull’s-eye on our back and this might
be one of those opportunities and we can shock some people.”
Curt Miller, BG’s head coach, was happy to get the first win of the season and he’s now looking forward
to the challenge of playing the Buckeyes.
“You don’t have the opportunity to play Top 10 teams in the nation very often,” Miller said. “We have
nothing to lose … With the short turnaround it makes our job every tougher.
“We’ll go down there and have fun. We will give them everything we can and we’ll shake hands at the end
of the night and see if it was good enough.”
On Friday, Chicago State had 28 turnovers in the game as the Falcons made 16 steals. BG scored 34 points
off Chicago State’s turnovers.
“We understand that it’s on defense where you win games,” Nurse said. “Our defense can turn into offense
and that’s what is most important for us.”
Chicago State led 9-8 with 16:12 to play in the first half, but the Cougars scored only seven points in
the final 16 minutes as BG led 37-16 at the half.
A 13-0 run by the Falcons, featuring seven points from Nurse and four points from Tara Breske, put BG up
21-9 with 10:33 left in the first half. Chicago State managed to cut BG’s lead to 24-15 with 7:29 left,
but the Falcons closed the half on a 13-1 run, with Nurse scoring nine points.
The Falcons poured things on in the second half, shooting 56 percent from the field, including making
5-of-8 3-pointers, as the Cougars didn’t put up much of a fight. Jen Uhl scored all 11 of her points in
the second half for BG.
“Tonight’s story was the defense,” Miller said. “We kept a very talented offensive team off-balance. We
did a nice job of getting deflections and steals and they had a high turnover number.
“We did a fantastic job all night on trying to take away their strengths and make them play to their
weaknesses,” Miller added. “That was a key tonight.”
Nurse finished with a game-high 21 points as four Falcons finished in double figures. Nurse was 7-of-11
from the field, including 4-of-8 on 3-pointers.
“I want to stay a confident shooter,” Nurse said. “I haven’t always been considered a shooter or had the
freedom to take a shot that I can here. Just the fact that coach Miller has the confidence in me to be
able to take those shots and give me the freedom to do it, that is confidence in itself that you can get
any other way unless you have the support of your coach.”
BG’s Lauren Prochaska who has battled the flu and mononucleosis in the preseason, played 28 minutes and
finished with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists.
“It was a nice first win, but we still have a lot to work on and that’s what early non-conference games
are all about,” Miller said.
NOTES: Fourteen of the 16 Falcons dressed for the game saw playing time … Miller said a decision still
needs to be made on whether to redshirt freshman Jessie Tamerlano …The Falcons had assists on 19 of
their 26 baskets … BG was 13-of-14 from the free-throw line … Former Falcon Tangy Williams (1991-94)
has been the director of operations for the Ohio State women’s team since May 2008.