ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The Bowling Green State University women’s basketball team opened the season by downing St. Bonaventure University, 77-61, on Monday at the Reilly Center.
Elissa Brett scored a career-high 26 points, while Allison Day had 19 points in her Falcon debut.
BGSU forced the Bonnies into 29 turnovers in the game, and the Falcons had a 25-5 lead in points off turnovers.
Brett scored 15 of her points in the first half, while Day had 15 second-half points. Day was nearly unstoppable in the fourth quarter, scoring BGSU’s first 12 points of the period. She was 6-of-8 from the floor in that quarter alone.
Morgan Sharps and Nyla Hampton each scored seven points, with Jocelyn Tate adding six. Hampton had a game-high six steals, tying her career high. BGSU had 16 steals as a team.
“This was a great opening-night team win,” BGSU coach Robyn Fralick said. “I loved our defensive tenacity and rebounding efforts.
“We have a lot of things to learn from and improve upon moving forward.”
The Bonnies had a slightly better field-goal percentage on the day, going 44.9% from the floor compared to an even 40% for the Falcons.
But, BGSU took 26 more shots than the hosts, with a 38-34 rebounding advantage that included 20 offensive boards for the Falcons.
BGSU forced SBU into 29 turnovers while turning the ball over just 12 times themselves. The Falcons had advantages of 25-5 in points off turnovers, 44-24 in points in the paint and 21-2 in fast-break points.
The Falcons had 16 steals in the win, with Hampton leading the way. Hampton had six steals, while Tate and Amy Velasco added three apiece.
At the other end of the floor, Brett and Allison Day each made nine shots from the floor. Brett was 9-of-17, hitting four three-pointers.
In her BGSU debut, Day was 9-for-16 from the field with a pair of blocked shots. Lexi Fleming came off the bench to play nearly 15 minutes, after missing all of last season due to injury.
The home opener is scheduled for next Monday, Nov. 14, when Wright State comes to the Stroh Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
