SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas – The Bowling Green State University women’s basketball team pulled away from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in the second half, posting a 71-47 victory on Tuesday evening.
The game, part of second-day action at the UTRGV South Padre Island Classic, took place at the South Padre Island Convention Centre.
The Falcons (10-1) won for the eighth consecutive game, and BGSU has tied the program record for best start to a season. The 2022-23 season marks only the second time in school history that BG has gone 10-1 to begin the year. Prior to this season, only the 2010-11 team had won 10 of 11 games to begin the year.
The Falcons have won eight consecutive games, the program’s longest winning streak since BGSU won 13-straight contests during the 2013-14 season.
No player scored more than 12 points for the Falcons, but six players had at least eight points in the win. Nyla Hampton and Jocelyn Tate each had 12 points, with Tate adding a game-high nine rebounds, while Elissa Brett had 11 points and eight boards on the night.
“We had to show a lot of maturity on the road against a good team tonight. We’ve played five-straight games away from home, and tonight we didn’t shoot the ball very well and had to find other ways to win,” BGSU coach Robyn Fralick said.
“I thought our toughness, our rebounding, and our defense was dialed in. When they made a run at us in the third quarter, we got tough, we locked in, and we found a way to beat a good team.”
For the Vaqueros (6-5), no player hit double digits in the scoring column. Both Halie Jones and Deborah Ogayemi had nine points to lead the team.
The Falcons shot 41% from the field, but held UTRGV to just a 36% success rate. The Falcons were 25-of-61 from the floor, while the Vaqueros went 18-for-50.And, BGSU forced 26 turnovers while committing just nine.
Both teams struggled from the arc, with BG going 3-for-17 and UTRGV 4-of-21. The Falcons made 18 free throws to tie a season high, and BGSU shot 75% rom the stripe.
UTRGV had a 41-35 rebounding advantage, but BGSU committed just nine turnovers while forcing the Vaqueros into 26.
The Falcons had 13 steals, and BGSU had advantages of 26-9 in points off turnovers, 38-20 in points in the paint and 16-2 in fast-break scoring.
Morgan Sharps and Sophie Dziekan each had nine points in the win. Sharps added three rebounds and two assists, while Dzieken went 2-for-2 from the floor and 5-of-7 at the stripe. Allison Day had eight points on 4-of-5 shooting.
Brett scored all 11 of her points in the second half, including nine in the fourth quarter. She went 5-of-6 at the line, all in the second half.
The Falcons now take a break for the holidays, before wrapping up the non-conference schedule vs. Findlay on Friday, Dec. 30. That contest is set for a 2 p.m. start at the Stroh Center.
Then, the Mid-American Conference schedule begins with a game at Ball State on Jan. 4, 2023.
