Youngstown -- Bowling Green outscored the Youngstown State women's basketball team 13-2 over the final five-and-a-half minutes to win 73-61 and overshadow an overall encouraging Penguins performance.
The Penguins, who lost by 46 to the MAC East favorite Falcons last year and had lost by an average of 35.6 in the past three seasons, battled through 12 lead changes and five ties before falling short late.
Youngstown State was outscored 24-11 off turnovers and 42-24 in the paint, and the Penguins committed a season-high 21 turnovers. YSU had outscored its previous seven opponents off turnovers and had won the battle in the paint in six straight contests.
Brandi Brown scored 13 of her 15 points with four fouls, and Kenya Middlebrooks added 15.
Sophomore Alexis Rogers, a Duke transfer, had 23 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 9-for-14 from the field. Chrissy Steffen added 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four of Bowling Green's 12 steals.
Bowling Green won its fifth straight contest to improve to 5-2 while Youngstown State dropped to 4-4.
Bowling Green went on an 11-3 run in the first half to take a 32-27 lead at the intermission, and the Falcons led for the first seven minutes of the second half. A 3-pointer by Devan Matkin capped a seven-point run that gave the Penguins a 45-43 lead.
The lead changed hands three times, and a Brown triple gave the Penguins their final lead at 55-54 with 9:17 remaining. YSU didn't score again until Brown's bucket with 6:52 left, but it still trailed by just one at that point. Two free throws by Brown cut the deficit 60-59 with 5:45 to play.
Bowling Green scored on five of its next six possessions, and Steffen had eight of the Falcons' next 10 points as they took a 70-61 lead with 3:05 left. A Brown bucket at the 3:46 mark accounted for YSU's final points of the contest. Bowling Green made three free throws in the final 1:18 for the final margin.
Brown, who was recognized for scoring her 1,000th point in a pre-game ceremony, scored the Penguins' final nine points and was YSU's only palyer to score in the final nine-and-a-half minutes.
Bowling Green slightly outshot the Penguins 40.3 percent to 40 percent, but the Falcons outscored YSU 20-5 at the free-throw line. YSU was just 5-for-12 from the stripe in the contest. The Guins were 8-for-28 from 3-point range while the Falcons were 3-for-18.
The first half featured four ties and six lead changes, but Bowling Green's 11-3 run over the last 3:19 of the first half gave the Falcons a 32-27 advantage at the intermission. YSU needed a step-back 3-pointer from Middlebrooks in the final 10 seconds to stop the 13-point run.
The Guins had built a five-point edge, 24-19, after a Tieara Jones layup, a jumper by Middlebrooks and a driving layup by Kelsea Fickiesen.
The Falcons scored the first seven points of the game before the Guins scored nine of the next 10 points to take a 9-8 lead with 12:31 left before the half. The Guins again overcame a three-point deficit, 12-9, using a a 7-2 run keyed by 3-pointers from Matkin and Middlebrooks to take a 16-14 lead at the 8:54 mark.
Youngstown State will head back on the road to play at Ohio on Friday at 7:05 p.m.
FINAL 1 2 T
Bowling Green (5-2) 32 41 73
Youngstown State (4-4) 27 34 61
Youngstown, Ohio - Beeghly Center
Bowling Green Youngstown State
Pts: ROGERS, Alexis - 23 Pts: 2 Players (#05, #42 - 15)
Reb: ROGERS, Alexis - 11 Reb: Brandi Brown - 9
Ast: STEFFEN, Chrissy - 5 Ast: Tieara Jones - 4
Team Statistics
Bowling Green Youngstown State
Field Goal % 40.3% (25-62 ) 40.0% (24-60 )
Rebounds 40 39
Assists 9 11
Turnovers 14 21
Pts off Turnovers 24 11
2nd Chance Pts 10 12
Pts in the Paint 42 24
Fastbreak Pts 9 0
Bench Pts 9 23
