LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Laura Sweeney had a double-double to lead Villanova University to a
53-42 win over the Bowling Green State University women’s basketball team
Saturday afternoon. The game was a first-round contest at the Lady Rebel
Round-Up
The Falcons, now 2-2, will meet host UNLV in the consolation game starting at 4 p.m.
Sunday.
Jillian Halfhill led the Falcons with 15 points in the game, while senior Danielle
Havel added nine and sophomore Jasmine Matthews scored eight.
The Falcons outrebounded the Wildcats, 43-34.
But, BG just could not overcome a cold shooting performance.
“We had approximately 14 minutes where we didn’t even score, Anytime you have 14
(scoreless) minutes in a 40 minute game, you are not going to beat anybody let
alone a Big East team,’’ said BG head coach Jennifer Roos. ‘‘I’m pleased that we
had open shots, I’m not pleased we didn’t hit the open shots.’’
BG shot just 24.1 percent from the field in the loss, going an identical 7-for-29 in
each half. The Wildcats shot only 37.3 percent, but VU’s five extra field goals
made basically accounted for the difference in the game.
Sweeney had 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead all players in both categories. She
also had game-high totals of four steals and four blocked shots in just 28
minutes of action. Rachel Roberts also hit double figures for the Wildcats, with
11 points.
Sweeney scored six of the Wildcats’ first eight points of the game, as VU went 4-of-4
from the field to take an early 8-0 lead and prompt a BGSU timeout.
While ‘Nova made the first four shots of the afternoon, the Falcons missed seven
shots to begin the game, going scoreless for four-and-a-half minutes. BG got on
the board at the 15:29 mark, when freshman Bailey Cairnduff found Havel for a
layup.
Roberts countered with a 3-pointer for a nine-point VU lead, but Halfhill answered
with a triple of her own. The junior point guard scored eight consecutive BGSU
points during a two-minute stretch, knocking down a pull-up jumper in traffic,
then hitting another triple from the right wing to cut the deficit to three
points, at 13-10.
Pearson countered with a 3-pointer of her own, before Matthews banked a runner off
glass and in. Lauren Burford, though, hit a straightaway three to give her team
a 19-12 lead with 8:23 left before halftime.
Jill Stein, however, helped the Falcons make a 5-0 mini-run. The junior hit a layup,
then made a nice touch pass that led to a Matthews 3-pointer. Freshman Miriam
Justinger threw the ball inside to Stein, who quickly redirected it to Matthews
at the right elbow. The resulting shot cut Villanova’s lead to 19-17.
That Matthews triple, which came with 6:27 on the clock, would be BG’s last field
goal of the half.
Sweeney put back her own miss, then hit a reverse layup, and the Wildcats’ lead was
six points. After a Halfhill free throw, Sweeney canned a jumper in the paint
for a 25-18 advantage. Three charity tosses by senior Chrissy Steffen, along
with a Roberts jumper, made the score 27-21 at the half.
Sweeney had 12 of her 16 points in that opening half. She and Roberts combined for 21
of their team’s 27 points before the intermission.
In the first three-plus minutes of the second half, the Falcons allowed VU to make
just one field goal, and BG forced the Wildcats into four turnovers. But, BG
could not cash in at the offensive end, and the deficit increased to 10 points
as Taylor Holeman hit a layup and Jesse Carey made two shots from the stripe.

With 18:13 left in the half and Carey at the line, Matthews and fellow sophomore
Deborah Hoekstra entered the game for the Falcons, and the substitutions seemed
to give the Falcons a spark.
Roos was pleased with the play of Matthews and Hoekstra.
“She’s slowly working her way back; she’s not 100 percent healthy,’’ Roos said about
Matthews. “She had eight points in 22 minutes and I appreciate that.
‘‘Deb came in and made a bucket and got a couple of offensive rebounds and credited a
little bit of spark for us off the bench,” Roos continued about Hoekstra
Hoekstra, seeing her first playing time of the season, drove the baseline and kicked
the ball to Halfhill for a 3-pointer. Sweeney hit a layup, but Hoekstra drove
once again, this time banking the ball home in traffic.
Moments later, the Falcons got three offensive rebounds on the same possession,
including boards by Stein and Hoekstra, and the possession culminated with a
Havel fourth-chance jumper as the shot-clock buzzer sounded. The shot cut VU’s
lead to 35-29 with 13:26 left.
BG forced a miss and got the ball back, looking to reduce the deficit even further.
But, two shots, including a three-point try, were off the mark, and Kane knocked
down a long-range shot at the other end. Then, after a BG turnover, Pearson hit
a triple of her own, and Villanova’s lead was 41-29.
The Falcons kept battling. Allison Papenfuss and Hoekstra fought several VU players
for a rebound, and Papenfuss grabbed it. She flipped it to the charging
Hoekstra, who was fouled underneath the hoop. The sophomore split her two
free-throw tries with 11 minutes left.
After a Kane miss, Halfhill got the rebound and went coast-to-coast for a layup to
cut the deficit to single digits. Emily Leer made a free throw for the Wildcats,
but Halfhill fed Papenfuss for a right-side fadeaway bank shot, and VU’s lead
was just 42-34.
But, Leer drove and dished the ball to Pearson for a three-pointer, and a Sweeney
jumper restored Villanova’s lead to 13, at 47-34. The margin increased to 15 on
a Roberts bucket at the 6:37 mark.
After the aforementioned Papenfuss banker, the Falcons went 7:44 without another
field goal. But, that Roberts bucket with 6:47 remaining would be the Wildcats’
last of the game.
Two Havel free throws cut the Falcons’ deficit to 49-36 with 5:28 on the clock, and
the score remained the same for nearly three and a half minutes.
Finally, out of a timeout, Matthews hit a 3-pointer with 2:04 left. And, after Stein
came up with a steal, Matthews found Havel for another triple with 1:01 left. BG
was within seven points. But, the Falcons would get no closer.
BG fouled Kane on the ensuing possession, and she made both of the resulting free
throws. After a BG turnover and another foul, two more Kane tosses closed the
scoring.
The Falcons’ total of 43 rebounds included 16 offensive boards. Stein led BG with six
total rebounds, with all but one coming at the offensive end. Eight of her
teammates had between three and five rebounds apiece.
Halfhill, Havel and Matthews combined for 32 of their team’s 42 points in the game.
No other Falcon scored more than three points in the game.
‘‘Jillian was more aggressive to score. She actually got some kick-outs for three
(pointers) after we got offensive rebounds. She was a ready shooter at the
arc,’’ Roos said about Halfhill, who was 3-of-5 on 3-pointers.
Sunday’s meeting will be the first-ever women’s basketball matchup between BGSU and
UNLV.