Morgan Sharps and Amy Velasco combined for 50 points on Saturday, but the Bowling Green State University women’s basketball team fell, 82-74, to Kent State University in a Mid-American Conference matchup in front of 2,296 fans at the Stroh Center.
Sharps scored a career-high 30 points for the Falcons (10-8, 4-4 MAC), making six three-point field goals. Velasco had 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists to lead BGSU in the latter two categories.
But, the Golden Flashes (13-5, 7-1 MAC) got 26 points from Katie Shumate, with Jenna Batch and Janae Tyler chipping in with 16 and 14, respectively.
The Flashes led for nearly the entire game, but the lead never reached double digits on Saturday. KSU used a 9-0 first-quarter run to take a four-point lead late in that period, and the visitors never trailed again.
The KSU lead reached nine points on several occasions in the second quarter, but BG cut the deficit to two points three times in the third period, and got to within a single point on a Paige Kohler three-pointer late in that quarter and again on an Erika Porter bucket early in the fourth. Both times, however, the Flashes quickly answered with a hoop at the other end.
Velasco’s three-point play with 3:44 left in the game made it a 67-65 contest, but the Flashes responded with the next five points. Then, after Sharps drained a three-pointer, back-to-back KSU hoops upped the margin to eight with under a minute to go.
It was a back-and-forth game early on, as the contest was tied at 2-2, 4-4, 6-6 and 8-8 in the first four minutes. BGSU got hoops from Erika Porter, Paige Kohler and Amy Velasco during that time, and Kohler’s second bucket of the game gave the Falcons the lead.
A Velasco three-pointer was followed by an Olivia Hill jumper to give BG a 13-8 lead, but a three-point try by KSU’s Katie Shumate bounced high off the rim before going through the hoop, and Dionna Gray’s jumper tied the game at 13-all.
A Janae Tyler putback and a Jenna Batsch layup gave the Flashes a four-point advantage. Morgan Sharps countered with a driving layup, and she would hit a jumper to cut KSU’s lead to 18-17 in the final two minutes of the quarter. The period ended with that same 18-17 score.
In the second quarter, Bridget Dunn hit a corner three, and after Sharps knocked down another jumper, Corynne Hauser’s triple was followed by a long-range make from Gray, and KSU had an early 27-19 lead.
The lead grew to nine before a nifty touch pass by Velasco led to a Sharps trey, and Velasco then converted a layup, but another Hauser three gave the visitors an eight-point lead, at 32-24.
Moments later, Batsch connected from the arc for a 35-26 KSU cushion, but Velasco made a driving layup with under two minutes to go, and the junior hit another layup as the half ended, cutting the BG deficit to five points.
Velasco had eight of BGSU’s 13 points in the second quarter, with Sharps scoring the other five.
High school teammates Sharps and Shumate were on fire for their respective teams to begin the third quarter. Sharps took a Porter pass and knocked down a triple to get the Falcons within two points, at 35-33.
Shumate answered with a trey of her own, then a layup, but Sharps hit a floater, then knocked down a long-range shot from the left corner.
Shumate hit a layup, but Sharps was fouled and made both shots to cut KSU’s lead to 42-40. But, a Dunn putback began a 6-0 run for the Flashes. BG battled back, as Velasco hit two free throws, then Sharps found Hill for a three-pointer. Gray scored at the line, but Velasco spotted Hill for a transition layup.
When Velasco’s handoff led to a Kohler three-ball, the Kent lead was just one point in the final minute of the third quarter. A Tatiana Thomas layup capped the scoring in the period.
In the fourth, Kohler threw the ball in to Porter for a layup that cut the KSU lead to a single point once again, but Shumate answered with a layup, then converted a three-point play. The lead reached eight points on a Batsch jumper at the 8:07 mark.
Velasco found Porter for a layup, and Sharps hit a pair of triples less than a minute apart. But, the Flashes were scoring at the other end of the court, and led by five – 65-60 – entering the final media timeout of the day.
A layup by Shumate gave the visitors a seven-point margin, but the Falcons answered with a five-point possession, as Kohler hit an ‘and-one’ layup. The free throw was off the mark, but Porter corralled the rebound and the possession ended with a Velasco layup, another KSU foul and a Velasco charity toss that made it a 67-65 game with 3:44 to go.
But, Tyler hit a layup, and after a BG miss, Batsch’s three-point play gave the visitors a 72-65 lead with 2:17 left. Velasco spotted Sharps for a three-pointer, but Tyler answered with back-to-back buckets that all but sealed the deal with 40.0 seconds remaining.
BGSU shot over 50 percent (50.9%, to be exact) on Saturday, going 28-of-55 from the field. KSU shot 45.5% from the floor, but the Flashes went 7-for-15 (46.7%) from three-point range. BG was 9-of-22 (40.9%) from the arc.
In addition to the combined 50 points from Sharps and Velasco, BGSU got nine points from Kohler, eight from Porter and seven from Hill.
BG shot 60% from the floor in the fourth quarter, but KSU shot nearly as well, going 10-of-17 (58.8%) in the final 10 minutes.
Saturday was Alumnae Day at the Stroh Center, with over 30 former Falcon greats back in town for a veritable plethora of events and festivities.
The Falcons’ 2022-23 WNIT banner was unveiled prior to the game, recognizing the successes of last year’s team that won four contests in the postseason tournament to advance to the semifinals.
BGSU now prepares to face Northern Illinois on Wednesday night. That game will begin at 7 p.m. at the Stroh.
