EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Morgan Sharps exploded for a career-high 26 points on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 19), as the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team downed the University of Southern Indiana, 100-74, at Screaming Eagles Arena.
Sharps went 7-for-10 from three-point land for the Falcons (3-1), pacing four double-digit scorers. Lexi Fleming scored 16 points in under 16 minutes, with Jocelyn Tate adding 15 and Elissa Brett 13.
BGSU reached the 100-point mark for the 27th time in school history, but the second time this week. The Falcons also hit the century mark in Monday's (Nov. 14) home win over Wright State.
The Falcons had a five-point lead on the Screaming Eagles (2-2) after a foul-filled first quarter, and the margin was just four points after USI's Vanessa Shafford hit a three-pointer almost exactly halfway through the second period. Shafford led the hosts with 21 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
But, after scoring 27 points in the game's first 15 minutes, the Falcons proceeded to score 24 points over the final five minutes of the opening half. A Sharps three-pointer answered Shafford's triple, and treys by Fleming and Sharps just 29 seconds apart gave BG a double-digit lead and prompted a USI timeout.
Fleming, who had 12 points in the second quarter alone, knocked down two more long-range shots in the final minutes of the period, and another Sharps three-pointer began an 8-0 run that ended the half.
BGSU led, 51-32, at the intermission. Sharps would score 12 points in the third quarter, as the lead reached 25 points, and that margin grew to as many as 30 points in the fourth period.
As a team, the Falcons went 14-for-29 from long distance on the day. BGSU forced the Screaming Eagles into 21 turnovers, while committing just 11 themselves. Tate had five steals as the Falcons had 14 as a team.
A total of 48 fouls were called in the game, including 28 in the first half.
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NOTE OF THE DAY: CENTURY MARK
• The Falcons, as mentioned, scored at least 100 points for the 27th time in school history, but the second time this week. BGSU downed Wright State, 102-72, in the home opener on Monday (Nov. 14).
• The 2022-23 team is the seventh in BGSU history, and the first since 1993-94, to reach the century mark at least twice in a season. The Falcons join the 1987-88, 1988-89, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93 and '93-94 teams on that list. The '91-92 club scored at least 100 points a school-record six times.
• On Saturday, BG scored at least 100 points in a road game for the first time in exactly 18 years, since a 115-84 win at IPFW (now Purdue Fort Wayne) on Nov. 19, 2004.
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QUOTING COACH FRALICK
"I'm proud of our team. We've been on a two-game road trip, and we've learned a lot from both games. I thought we responded well today. We had a lot of kids step up, and offensively, we shared the ball as well as we have this season. We'll come out of this game with things to learn and things to get better at, but you've got to be tough to win on the road, and I'm proud of our team effort today."
(On Morgan Sharps)
"Mo is a great shooter, and great shooters keep shooting. She got a lot of great looks today, and I thought her teammates did a good job of finding her when she was in good spots. She's an elite shooter, and it's a lot of fun to watch her when she's having a game like that."
FIRST QUARTER
• The Falcons took an early lead when Morgan Sharps fired a long pass to Elissa Brett for a layup, but after Vanessa Shafford answered with a three-pointer, the Falcons used an early timeout. Layups by Jocelyn Tate and Allison Day gave BGSU a 6-3 advantage.
• Nyla Hampton stole the ball and found Sharps for a layup, and the Falcons broke the press before Sharps fired a long pass to Brett for another layup and an 11-7 lead.
• A driving shot by Sharps dropped, and with the Falcons leading by two points, Tate scored the final three points of the quarter at the free-throw line, giving the visitors a 17-12 lead.
SECOND QUARTER
• Tate and her teammates spent more time at the line in the early portion of the second period. The Falcons were in the bonus with 7:40 still to go in the first half, and Tate, Brett and Day combined to score BG's first five points of the quarter at the stripe.
• After Sharps made the 'extra pass,' Day hit a three-pointer for BGSU's first field goal of the period at the 6:50 mark, giving the Falcons a 25-17 lead. Shafford answered with a three-pointer of her own, and after Brett hit a floater, Shafford connected from long distance once again.
• The Falcons had a 27-23 lead at that point, but would go on a 24-9 run over the final four-plus minutes of the half. Tate kicked to Sharps for a trailing three, and Lexi Fleming's long three-pointer gave the Falcons a 33-25 advantage. The next possession saw Brett drive and kick to Sharps for a left-wing triple that prompted a USI timeout.
• Lexie Green hit a layup for the hosts, but Amy Velasco found Fleming for a three-point try, and the net barely moved as the ball went through. Another Fleming triple gave the visitors a 43-30 lead at the 1:32 mark.
• Sharps hit another triple before Fleming converted an acrobatic and-one shot off glass, then sank the free throw. Sophie Dziekan was fouled with just 2.3 seconds to go, hitting both shots at the stripe for a 51-32 halftime advantage.
• Sharps had 14 points and Fleming 12 in the first half.
THIRD QUARTER
• The teams traded third-quarter points in the first few minutes. Brett drove and found Day under the hoop for a bucket, and Tate knocked down a pair of free throws. Then, Sharps took over.
• First, she took Hampton's inbounds pass and hit a shot from the left wing. Then, with the Falcons running, Hampton found Sharps on the right side of the court for another trey. On BG's next possession, Hampton again spotted Sharps, and Sharps drained yet another triple try. The Falcons led by 24, 64-40, with 6:40 on the clock.
• After a Fleming layup, a Dziekan putback and a Brett banker, Olivia Hill grabbed an offensive rebound to keep a BG possession alive. That possession ended with Brett finding Sharps for a straightaway triple and a 73-48 lead with just over two minutes left in the period. The hosts rallied to get within 20 points after three quarters.
FOURTH QUARTER
• Fleming opened the fourth quarter with a driving baseline layup, and Tate spun through the paint for a layup of her own. Fleming's bounce pass found a cutting Dziekan for a reverse layup.
• Hampton drove through a host of Screaming Eagles for a layup, and Tate took a Brett handoff and hit a pull-up jumper for an 85-63 lead. Tate then assisted on a pair of buckets, finding Dziekan for a layup and Brett for a corner three. When Brett whipped a pass to Kadie Hempfling for another corner three, BGSU had a 93-67 lead with just under five minutes to go.
• Just after checking into the game, Jaci Tubergen hit a long three-pointer from the right side, and after Payton Moore defensive rebound, Velasco went coast to coast for a layup. Tubergen then drove the baseline and bounced a pass to Jasmine Clerkley for a short jumper and a 100-70 lead with 80 seconds to go.
STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• BGSU shot 48.6 percent from the field for the game, and the Falcons were 14-of-29 (48.3%) from three-point range in the win. BG went 7-of-10 from the arc in the second quarter alone.
• The Screaming Eagles shot 45.2% from the floor and 33.3% (6-of-18) from the arc. USI did have a narrow 40-39 rebounding advantage.
• BG forced Southern Indiana into 21 turnovers while committing just 11 themselves, and the Falcons had a 14-5 lead in points of turnovers.
• Morgan Sharps led BG with a game- and career-high 26 points. She was 9-of-13 from the floor and 7-for-10 from the arc.
• Sharps was just one three-pointer away from tying the school single-game record. Four Falcons had made eight triples in a game.
• Sharps also had four rebounds, four assists and a game-best plus/minus rating of +27.
• Lexi Fleming came off the bench to score 16 points in under 16 minutes. She hit three triples and had four rebounds. Jocelyn Tate had 15 points, three assists and a game-high five steals.
• Elissa Brett had 13 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Allison Day had nine points and five rebounds.
• Sophie Dziekan had a career-high nine points, and has now broken or tied her career scoring mark in three consecutive games. Dziekan was a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor, and her well-rounded stat line also included five rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots.
• After posting an overall record of 19-42 in head coach Robyn Fralick's first two seasons at the helm, BGSU has gone 41-25 over the last two-plus seasons.
UP NEXT
• The Falcons return home for the next two games, beginning Wednesday (Nov. 23). BGSU will meet Northern Kentucky in a 2:00 p.m. start at the Stroh Center.
• Then, the Orange and Brown will face Detroit Mercy on Monday, Nov. 28. That contest is set for a 7:00 p.m. tip at the Stroh.
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