2008 Woodie Awards
Business as usual
Falcons keep tourney streak alive in rout
By: Chris Voloschuk
Issue date: 3/12/08 Section: Sports
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The statement was emphatic - starting early on and ballooning in the second half. BG ran away with an 85-57 win in front of 1,149 fans.
The game was won decisively on the strength of BG's play at both ends of the floor.
"We talk about this time of the year that defense and rebounding wins championships," said BG coach Curt Miller.
The Falcons out-rebounded Kent 45-33 and forced them into 21 turnovers.
And they weren't too bad on the offensive side either, knifing through Kent's zone time and time again. Four players finished in double figures.
Despite giving up a height advantage to the Flashes in the post, sophomore center Tara Breske and freshman forward Crystal Murdaugh played very tough.
Breske was especially effective. She had 14 points and eight rebounds by halftime, which led all scorers. By the time the final whistle blew in the second half, she finished with 16 and 11 to go along with three blocks and four steals. Murdaugh finished with seven points.
"Offensively, Tara got us off to a great start," Miller said.
For Breske, it was as simple as finding gaps in Kent's zone. Point guard Kate Achter also made life easy for Breske and the offense with her 11 assists.
"[It's just] cutting hard and Kate [Achter] found me in the open gap," Breske said. "She was great with that tonight. [We] just have to work hard and cut."
While the starting five did a pile of damage, it was BG's bench play that really put them over the top.
The bench combined for 34 points and 19 rebounds, as well as a number of highlights. Freshman forward Jen Uhl found the basket often in the second half, and finished with 15 points and six rebounds.
But it was fellow freshman forward Bianca Hooten that provided the most unexpected spark. Hooten entered the game mid-way through the second half and calmly connected on three straight three-pointers. After the third shot fell, everyone on the Falcons' bench, including Hooten running up the floor, had smiles on their faces.
Miller thought it was important to use his team's depth against a Kent team that was playing for the second straight day.
"[The bench] gave us contributions on both ends of the floor," Miller said. "We subbed in Bianca early in the second half to give us a lift in scoring from the wing position and she came through for us."
"That was a huge part of the game plan, to wear [Kent] down because they were playing on back-to-back nights," he added.
With last night's win, BG will move on to the tournament semifinals to face Ohio on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
"I'm very pleased that we survived and advanced," Miller said.
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