Recap courtesy of Bowling Green Sports Information
Bowling Green 69, Florida 52
Boxscore
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Amy Velasco went on her own personal third-quarter run to give the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team the lead for good, and the Falcons went on to a 69-52 win over the University of Florida on Monday night (March 27). The game, a WNIT fourth-round (Great 8) contest, took place before a raucous crowd at the Stroh Center.
With the win, the Falcons (31-6) have tied the school – and the Mid-American Conference – record for wins in a season. BGSU will host Columbia in the WNIT's Fab 4 Wednesday evening (March 29).
Velasco scored 14 of her team-leading 18 points in the third quarter, going 6-of-7 from the field in that 10-minute stretch. With the Falcons trailing by three points, the sophomore scored nine-straight points to give BGSU a 41-35 lead. Then, after the Gators (19-15) hit a pair of free throws, Velasco knocked down a corner three with 2:24 left in the quarter, putting the hosts up by seven.
Velasco then hit a floater in the final minute of the period, before Jocelyn Tate's last-second layup gave BG a 50-42 lead after 30 minutes.
An 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter gave BG a 15-point lead, and the Falcons were on their way to the Fab 4.
In addition to her 18 points, Velasco led the Falcons with five assists. Elissa Brett had 16 points and nine rebounds, while Allison Day scored 12 points in the win. Lexi Fleming had seven points, seven boards and a game-high five steals, while Jocelyn Tate had six points, a game-high 12 rebounds and four assists.
Kadie Hempfling also had six points, hitting two three-pointers in the final minute of the first half to cut BG's deficit to three points at the intermission. Sophie Dziekan had four points and led all players with a plus/minus rating of +21 in the win.
The Falcons meet Columbia in the Fab 4 on Wednesday (March 29), with tipoff set for 6:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center. The game will be streamed on ESPN3. The winner of Wednesday's game will meet either Kansas or Washington in Saturday's (April 1) WNIT Championship, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. ET and will be hosted by one of the participating schools.
