Bowling Green extends streak to 23

2/22/2009

AKRON - Sophomores Tracy Pontius and Lauren Prochaska combined for 51 points as the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team picked up an 81-70 road win over Akron at Rhodes Arena.

With the victory, the Falcons improved to 23-2, 12-0 in Mid-American Conference play and extended their school-record winning streak to 23 games. The Zips are 9-16, 4-8.

Pontius scored a game-high 26 points, while Prochaska had 25. The two players combined to go a perfect 19-for-19 (Pontius made 7, Prochaska 12) from the free-throw line, including eight in the final minute of the game.

Junior Tara Breske rounded out BGSU's double-digit scorers with 12 points in the win.

"Getting to the foul line 23 times in the second half certainly helped our cause, because we were struggling to make baskets, BG coach Curt Miller said. "Additionally, it helped that we did not give up any 3-pointers in the first half; we made them go two by two by two.

"Giving up 42 points in the first half was very disappointing to us, and we wanted to keep them from hitting the big 3-pointer in the second half. Keeping them from doing that, as well as keeping them off the free-throw line, was a big key in the second half."

Kyle Baumgartner had 21 points and 13 rebounds to pace the Zips. Kara Murphy added 15 points and Ayla Guzzardo 10.

"I am proud of this team because they find a way, and today was a perfect example of finding a way to win a game," Miller said. "Akron has been out-executing people over their last five or six games at home. We wanted to be the team that out-worked them, that out-efforted them, and we wanted to out-execute them.

"To Akron's credit, I thought they won all of those battles. They out-hustled us, I thought they out-coached us, and I thought they out-executed us. But, when all is said and done, this BG team has had a unique trait of finding ways to win games."

BG shot xx percent (24 of 51) from the field to Akron's xx percent (27 of 57). The Zips held a 31-26 rebounding edge.

At the foul line, the Falcons made 28 of 33, while the Zips hit 11 of 15.

BG tries to extend its winning streak with a 7 p.m. game Wednesday at Buffalo.