Women's Basketball Recap -- February 17

Note: Game stories are courtesy of home sports information departments

Kent State Clinches East Division With 95-67 Win Over Ohio; Golden Flashes Earn Bye To Cleveland

KENT, Ohio -- The Kent State seniors finished their careers at home with a 95-67 victory over Ohio at the M.A.C. Center. With the win the Golden Flashes clinched their fourth straight Mid-American Conference East Division title. They also ran their active home win streak to 43 games which is the best in the nation.

Ohio led 8-3 four minutes into the game before the Golden Flashes scored 13 straight points. During that stretch freshman Lori Krezeczowski (Niles, Ohio/McKinley) nailed two three-pointers and senior Carrie Nance (Goodrich, Mich./Goodrich) scored four points on back-to-back layups.

The Bobcats would cut the lead to 23-19 after a made three by Candace Bates but Kent State responded by scoring seven of the next eight points. The Golden Flashes took their biggest lead of the first half 35-23 with 4:46 left after a made free throw by senior Lisa Wube (Columbus, Ohio/Brookhaven). At the half Kent State was leading 41-33. Krezeczowski was the star in the opening half with 17 first half points and three assists.

Ohio would cut the lead to 43-38 with 18:05 left in the game after a made three by Bates. But Kent State would put the game out of question with a 20-1 run that was capped by a made three by Nance and made the score 63-39 with 12:06 left. The Kent State lead would stay above 20 points for the final 20 minutes of play.

Five Golden Flash players would score in double figures in the win. Krezeczowski led everyone with a career high 18 points and added five assists. She hit 5-of-9 shots from beyond the arc. Nance finished with 16 points and six assists while senior Julie Studer (Mansfield, Ohio/Lexington) hit double figures for the 28th straight time with 15 points and added 11 rebounds.

Freshman Andrea Csaszar (Szekszard, Hungary/Janos Garay) had her second double-double of her career with 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Freshman Christi Shibata (Harbor Springs, Mich./Harbor Springs) finished with 14 points.

Ohio was led by Cathy Szall who finished 17 points while Ronita Whitfield and Bates each added 11. Kent State outrebounded the Bobcats 43-34 and forced Ohio into 28 turnovers which turned into 40 Kent State points.

NOTES: Kent State has won 52 straight conference games at home ... The four Kent State seniors finished their careers 43-1 at home ... All 10 Golden Flash players found the scoring column for the first time this year ... Studer recorded her ninth double-double of the season ... Kent State made a season-high 11 three pointers and attempted a season high 34. The 34 attempted is the most since the Golden Flashes shot 38 Jan. 12, 1994 against Eastern Michigan ... Kent State has won 13 straight meetings with the Bobcats and lead the all-time series 31-16.

Miller's 35 Points Paces Bowling Green To 90-73 Victory Over Marshall

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Francine Miller put on a show at Anderson Arena Saturday afternoon (Feb. 17) as the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team defeated Marshall 90-73. The junior tied the BGSU single-game scoring record with 35 points as the Falcons improved to 10-14 overall and 6-7 in Mid-American Conference play.

Marshall drops to 9-15 on the season, with a 3-10 MAC record.

Miller's game scoring output gave her over 1,000 points for her career. She is just the 16th player in BGSU history, and only the fifth junior, to surpass the millennium mark. Miller now ranks 16th all-time with 1,008 points. Miller made 14 of her 23 shots from the field and was 5-of-7 from behind the three-point arc.

Miller, who had 18 points at the half, hit a three-pointer with 5:31 left to give her 29 points on the afternoon and 1,002 in her career. With just 47.8 seconds left, she scored on a driving layup to give her 35 points on the day, and drew a foul in the process. Miller missed the free-throw attempt, however, her lone miss in three charity tosses on the day.

"I knew (entering the game) that I needed 27 points for 1,000," said Miller. "Once I got that, I knew that I was getting close (to the single-game record). I missed that dang free throw at the end.

"But, the important thing was that we got the win. What we wanted was to break our losing streak, and get some wins and get to Cleveland."

All 13 MAC teams make the league tournament, with the first round at campus sites on March 3. The quarterfinals and subsequent rounds will be held at Cleveland's Gund Arena.

Miller was one of four double-digit Falcon scorers in the victory, as senior Angie Farmer finished with 20 points and a game-high five assists. True freshman Lindsay Austin added 15 points, while redshirt freshman Pam Brown pitched in 12.

Toni Patillo was the leading scorer for the Thundering Herd with 17 points, while Au'Yana Ferguson had 11.

"Franny was outstanding today," said BGSU coach Dee Knoblauch. "We're a very good team when Franny is on for us. "She stayed after practice yesterday and shot for probably 20 minutes. I rebounded for her, so I could tell she was ready and would have a good game."

Miller and Farmer combined to help the Falcons go 4-of-4 to start the game. Miller drained two three-pointers, and Farmer hit a triple, one of her four on the day.

Senior Afra Smith hit a layup to give BG an 11-6 lead with 16:49 left in the half. The Falcons built the lead to 10 points on two occasions in the half, the first coming after Marshall had taken a 27-26 lead with 5:57 left. An 11-0 run over the next three minutes erased the MU lead for good. The second instance came on a Miller layup with 18 seconds left before intermission.

The Falcons threatened to run away in the second half, scoring the first nine points to take a 50-31 lead with just 2:44 elapsed. That 19-point margin was BG's biggest of the day. But, Marshall hung around, and cut the lead to just five points on a Ferguson bucket at the 5:49 mark. Miller responded with a triple, and added a two-pointer on BG's next possession to build the lead back to 10, 72-62, with 4:46 left.

"We have not put together two good halves lately," said Knoblauch. "We were up at the half at Western Michigan (and lost), up at the half at Akron (and lost), and I think the players were just sick of it.

"We made a nice run at the beginning of the second half today, and I think those first four minutes set the tone. Plus, it seemed like, every time Marshall made a run at us, Franny had an answer."

The Falcons shot an even 50 percent in each half en route to a 31-for-62 performance on the day. BGSU was 9-of-20 from three-point land. Marshall went 27-of-74 (.365), and went 6-of-15 from beyond the arc.

Freshman Kelly Kapferer led the Falcons with eight rebounds. MU's Becky Richter also had eight boards as the Herd held a slim 41-40 advantage in that department.

The Falcons hit the road for a pair of games, beginning with a Wednesday (Feb. 21) contest at Eastern Michigan University. Start time is 7:00 p.m. at EMU's Convocation Center.

Maska's Six Treys Helps Eastern Michigan To 88-66 Win Over Ball State

MUNCIE, Ind. -- Less than a month ago, the Ball State women*s basketball team was in the midst of winning its 11th consecutive game with a 100-66 victory at Eastern Michigan. Saturday*s second meeting between the two schools in Muncie saw the Eagles return the favor.

Eastern Michigan's Kristy Maska and Dru Bishop combined for 10 three-pointers, including seven in the first half, as the Eagles rolled to an 88-66 win. As a team, Eastern Michigan shot 55 percent for the game, which included a 13-of-21 mark from long range. Ball State, the league*s top offensive team at 83.3 points per game, was limited to just a 66 points and a frigid 30 percent from the floor.

"That was on old-fashioned whooping," said BSU head coach Brenda Oldfield. "Eastern Michigan did not do anything different from when we played there except defensively than a ran a different look. We did not have a good practice Friday and that carried over into today's game. We are at a major point with our team and in our season. Do we take some ownership and turn it around or do we let what we have worked so hard for just slip away? We are going to find out in the next few games."

The three-point shooting barrage was fast and furious by the Eagles to open the contest. Back-to-back threes from Maska and Bishop gave EMU an 8-4 lead less than two minutes into the contest and the Eagles never looked back. Another three from Maska gave EMU a commanding 31-16 lead with six minutes left in the first half, while Maska's third long-range bomb gave EMU its biggest lead of the first half at 40-21. Eastern shot 67 percent from three-point range in the first half, while Ball State connected on just eight total field goals in the first 20 minutes and shot 23 percent from the floor.

Ball State could get no closer than 18 points in the second half and trailed by a game-high 35 points at 80-45 with 7:41 remaining. The Eagles continued their hot shooting in the second half, draining five three-pointers to shoot 55 percent overall from the floor. BSU's 66 point effort marked the third-lowest point production by the Cardinals this season, while Eastern's 88 points was its second-best offensive total of the year.

"I was proud of the way we played today,* said Eastern Michigan head coach Suzy Merchant. "We put together a solid 40 minutes against a very good Ball State team. We came in to play and win each four minute stretch. We accomplished that today."

Freshman Jessica Reiter paced Ball State with 15 points and nine rebounds to lead four Cardinals in double-figure scoring.

Amy Zercher recorded her second consecutive double-digit effort with 14 points and seven rebounds. Junior Shala Crook recorded 12 points and freshman Johna Goff finished with 11. The Cardinals recorded just nine assists in the contest for only the fourth time this season. Ball State has lost all four of those contests.

"They out-played us today,* Zercher said. "We took it to them at their place and it was their turn today. They wanted it more today than any of us did and that*s the bottom line."

Maska, who scored a season-high 24 points, set an EMU school-record with six three-point field goals in the contest.

Kris Kachaturoff added 20 points and Bishop finished with 14 points.

Ball State falls to 18-7 overall and to 10-4 in the Mid-American Conference with two regular-season games remaining.

Eastern Michigan improves to 15-9 overall and to 8-5 in the MAC.

Deurloo's 31 Points Paces Western Michigan To 80-74 Win Over Miami

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Despite a tough season, the Western Michigan University women's basketball team showed it still has plenty of fight left with an impressive 80-74 victory over Miami Saturday (Feb. 17) at University Arena.

WMU improved to 4-8 in Mid-American Conference play, 7-16 in all games. Miami fell to 7-6 in MAC games, 13-10 overall.

Junior Karen Deurloo helped the Broncos snap a three-game winless skid with 31 points and 14 boards, her sixth double-double of the season. Her point total is the second-best of her career at WMU, trailing only her 33-point effort against Kansas State Dec. 5. Deurloo has scored 10 points or more and shot .500 from the field in 13 consecutive games. She was 10-17 (.588) from the field in Saturday's win.

"Coach emphasized getting the ball inside in the first half," Deurloo said. "Hopefully we can keep the momentum from this win and carry it over this week. We just need to get out there and play together as a team."

Emily Samuelson added 14 points while Sarah Hurrle finished with 13. Rookie Lori Crisman scored 12 points, which matched her career best and marked her highest output since Jan. 13 at Marshall. Brooke Gallert handed out six assists in directing the WMU offensive attack. She also accounted for two steals. Brianne Gallert totaled eight points off the bench in her first game action since Feb. 7.

"They played extremely well," Bronco head coach Ron Stewart said of his team. "They all have good lines. Obviously we did what we had to do. Our 27 defensive rebounds were a key for us and getting to the free throw line was also key. A lot of basketball things happened."

Miami was led by Beth Roederer's 21 points. Hollie Nelsen added 18 off the bench. Heather Cusick managed just four points on a tough 0-for-11 day from the field. She played all 40 minutes and handed out four assists while making two steals.

WMU outboarded Miami 42-28 Saturday, its best rebound margin of the season. The Broncos' previous best was four in a 69-59 loss at Tulsa Nov. 29.

Western Michigan scored the game's first seven points and trailed only once on the afternoon, falling behind 35-33 with 4:03 to play in the first half. A Deurloo layup knotted the score a 35. After a RedHawk turnover, Hurrle canned a 3-pointer to increase the margin to 38-35. WMU finished the opening 20 minutes by outscoring Miami 11-2, giving it a 44-37 lead at the break.

The Bronco advantage grew to as many as 10 points on two occasions after halftime but the RedHawks battled back each time. MU tied the score at 67 with 5:05 remaining. Free throws by Hurrle, Deurloo, and Brianne Gallert sealed the decision. Brianne Gallert added a steal and layup with six seconds left for the final score.

WMU kept its hopes of hosting a first round MAC Tournament game alive with the win. The Broncos kick off a busy week Monday (Feb. 19) when they play at Northern Illinois. WMU visits rival Central Michigan on Wednesday (Feb. 21) before returning home to host NIU on Saturday (Feb. 24) at 7 p.m.

"This is a really big week for us," Stewart added. "This (win) was a bonus. We have to pick up two games. The win today means a lot for the tiebreaker.

"We took a step towards a home berth in the conference tournament. That was a big motivator in today's game."

Buffalo Runs By Akron 78-59 Behind Tiffany Bells' 22 Points

AKRON, Ohio- Buffalo was on the board nine seconds into the game and never looked back as they defeated Akron (5-19, 3-10 MAC) Saturday afternoon at JAR Arena, 78-59.

The Zips tied things up at 2-all with a layup from Jamie Scott with 18:20 remaining in the half, but Buffalo (17-7, 8-5 MAC) would go on a 17-0 run to take a 19-2 advantage with 14:01 to play. Mari McClure had seven of the 17 points for Buffalo and finished the game with 15.

Akron would manage to cut that lead to seven when a layup from Katie Hank brought the score to 22-15 at the 8:46 mark. That is as close as the Zips would get for the remainder of the half as a 12-2 run in the final 2:32 gave the Bulls a 45-28 halftime lead.

The Zips continued to pressure in the second half but the Bulls would pull away by as many as 31 points, 71-40, before UA began to scratch away their lead. An 16-3 Akron run, spurred by six of Scott's team-high 12 points, cut UB's lead to 74-56 with 2:14 to play. Buffalo outscored the Zips by just two points, 33-31, in the second half.

The Bulls were led by All-MAC candidate Tiffany Bell who finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds. For the Zips', Scott's 12 was followed by nine each from Hank and Julie McDivitt. Cheryl Bowles had just three points and three rebounds in nine minutes of play as she was bothered by an ankle injury suffered on Wednesday at Marshall.

Akron will continue its homestand this Wednesday as the MAC-West leading Toledo Rockets come to town. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at JAR Arena.

Toledo Wins 10th Straight With 74-53 Win Over Central Michigan; Rockets Clinch Share Of West Division Crown After Carter Scores Career-High 33

TOLEDO, OH - The Toledo women's basketball team (19-5, 12-1 MAC) clinched at least a share of the Mid-American Conference West Division title on Saturday with a 74-53 victory over Central Michigan (3-21, 0-13 MAC) before a season-high 3,241 fans in Savage Hall.

"We're three wins away from having the championship all to ourselves," Toledo Head Coach Mark Ehlen said. "We're close, but we don't talk about that with the team. We just want to play well right now. If you focus on the external that's when you normally get knocked off."

UT also ran its winning streak to 10 games, the longest since it won 12 in a row during the 1998-99 season. That season, the Rockets finished 25-6 and were No. 25 in the final regular season Associated Press Poll. This past Monday, Toledo received 12 votes in the poll and were ranked unofficially No. 35 in the nation.

With the combination of tonight's victory and a Ball State home loss to Eastern Michigan (88-66) earlier today, the Rockets secured their second West Division title in the last three years since the MAC went to separate divisions at the start of the 1997-98 season. UT was picked preseason No. 4 in the West Division by the league coaches to finish behind Western Michigan, Ball State and Eastern Michigan. With one game remaining against EMU on Feb. 24 in Ypsilanti, the Rockets are a perfect 5-0 against those schools who were picked ahead of them.

Kahli Carter, who is shooting 65 percent from the field during the winning streak, led the offensive onslaught against the Chippewas with a career-high 33 points on 11-of-17 shooting, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. The senior from Columbus, OH also ripped down a career-best 19 rebounds. The double-double is her eighth this season and 10th in her career.

"We needed every one of those points and every one of those rebounds tonight," Ehlen said. "We were struggling in running our offense. She stepped up and did something she's capable of doing. Thirty-three points and 19 boards is a pretty good day's work."

Sophomore Tia Davis and junior Courtney Risinger each added 11 points for the Rockets.

Junior Melantha Herron, who was averaging 14.1 points in the last 11 games, was held to three points, her second-lowest point total of the season. She scored two points at Miami in her MAC debut on Jan. 6.

Toledo finished the contest under 50 percent for just the third time in the last 10 games, as they shot 46.4 (26-of-56) from the field. The Rockets did continue their dominance on the boards, as they won the rebounding battle, 54-35. UT has outrebounded its opponent in 19 of 24 games.

"I don't think we were hitting on all cylinders tonight," Ehlen said. "We're just being little tenative with the basketball. We're in a little bit of a funk. I think we can play better."

Desiree Eidson, a graduate of Toledo Central Catholic, paced the Chippewas, who have lost their last 16 MAC games, with 16 points. Vershaun Jones chipped in with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Central Michigan was held to a season-low 29.9 percent (20-of-67) from the field, including 12.5 percent (2-of-16) from three-point range. They also dished out a season-low seven assists.

Toledo is now one win away from 20 for the season. The Rockets have reached the 20-win plateau in 10 of the last 12 years, falling short in 1992-93 (18-10) and 1999-2000 (14-15).

The Rockets will return to action on Wednesday, Feb 21 when they travel to Akron to battle the Zips. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the JAR Arena.