BGSU able to solve Toledo defense

Bowling Green point guard Tracy Pontius, who steals the ball from Toledo's Tanika Mays, was good for a lot of points Saturday, especially in the second half when she scored 25 of her game-leading total of 28. THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH Enlarge | Photo Reprints

CLEVELAND - At 10:30 Saturday morning, Bowling Green State University women's basketball coach Curt Miller sat alone in a large room one floor below street level at Quicken Loans Arena. He was poring over his notes and gathering his thoughts as his team prepared to face rival Toledo at noon.

Miller, a self-proclaimed worry freak who gets a little bit manic before games, and a whole lot manic once the clock starts, had plenty to be concerned about. He had called Toledo the best defensive team in the Mid-American Conference and therefore a very scary matchup for his five-time league champs.

The Rockets used that touted defense to frustrate the Falcons for a half, with Toledo building a lead that stretched to 12 points before Bowling Green gathered itself and went on to a 79-66 win that puts the Falcons in today's MAC tournament championship game.

Miller's team was able to reduce the Toledo lead to five by halftime, and that allowed BG to settle down and ride the momentum. The Falcons went from a dozen down with two minutes left in the first half, to a 15-point lead late in the second half.

"That late run in the first half was huge," Miller said. "We had a little bit of momentum, and we were able to go into halftime calm - including myself - which is a rarity."

After shooting just 33 percent in the first half, Bowling Green exploded for 51 second-half points and shot 56 percent over the final 20 minutes. Point guard Tracy Pontius, who had just three points in the first half against Toledo's extended zone, scored 28 in the second half. She hit 8-of-12 from the field and 8-of-9 from the foul line for her 32 points, going 7-of-8 from 3-point range in the second half.

"We just stayed composed, and we had that little run at the end of the first half that brought us back within five," Pontius said. "Then we came out strong in the second half, and just kept building from there."

Miller said Toledo, which has a reputation for playing tough man-to-man defense, used a lot of zone against the Falcons, with the long and active Tanika Mays near the top of the key shadowing Pontius.

"We talked about not letting a team bring their small gun to beat you, and we think their man-to-man defense is their big gun," Miller said. "We did not want to get beat by their second defense, which is their zone."

Some halftime adjustments helped BG find Pontius some room, and the sophomore first-team All-MAC performer went wild. After trailing 33-28 at the half, the Falcons got within 37-36 on a Pontius 3-pointer just three minutes into the second half, and when she nailed another one just a short span later, Bowling Green led 44-39 and started to pull away from the Rockets.

"She has such endless range that if you make a mistake and don't get out and guard her, she's going to make you pay," Miller said. "And she can get in one of those zones where you feel like every time she shoots it, it's ready to go in."

Two straight Pontius 3-pointers made it a 52-44 BG lead with

8:36 to play, and she later pushed the advantage to 13 with another triple.

"Tracy has very good range, and we know what she is capable of," Toledo coach Tricia Cullop said. "In the second half we just lost sight of some of their players and, unfortunately, Tracy was one of them."

"She never shies from the moment," Miller said about Pontius. "She likes when the bright lights are on and she's on the big stage. She was just fantastic when we needed her the most. And that's what is great about your big-time players - and we needed her at that moment."

Toledo (18-13) got back within five down the stretch, but the Falcons outscored the Rockets 10-2 over the final two minutes to put it away. Bowling Green (28-3) moves on to face Ball State in this afternoon's title game.

The Falcons got 15 points from Niki McCoy and 10 each from Tara Breske and Lauren Prochaska. Breske had 13 rebounds as BG outrebounded the Rockets 41-34.

"It just comes down to who wants it more," Breske said. "We wanted the ball, we wanted to beat them on the boards, and we wanted second-chance points. That extra energy came from us wanting to win that bad."

Contact Matt Markey at:

mmarkey@theblade.com

or 419-724-6510.