Women's hoops team falls at home to BGSU
It seemed like the Chippewa women's basketball team was destined for victory Wednesday night.
Until Joni Daniels missed a turnaround skyhook.
Until Sally Sedlar missed a jump shot and a desperation three-point attempt as time expired.
Until time ran out and Bowling Green headed to the bus with an 84-81 victory at Rose Arena.
"It was a tough loss, because we played good," CMU Head Coach Fran Voll said.
When BGSU's Jacki Raterman, who finished with 22 points, stepped to the line with 32 seconds remaining, the 84 percent free throw shooter was the last person the Chippewas wanted shooting.
However, she missed twice giving the Chippewas hope for a victory.
CMU called timeout and called Daniels' number.
Daniels missed and after a scrap, Vershaun Jones came up with the loose ball for Central and tossed it to Sedlar for a right side jumper from behind the 3-point line, that rimmed in and then bounced out.
"She got way too good of a look. Unfortunately for them it didn't fall," BGSU Head Coach Deanne Knoblauch said.
Bowling Green's Jaymee Wappes came down with the rebound and picked up a foul from Shelly Woods.
Wappes missed the first, but hit the second with six seconds to go.
Sedlar put up an off-balance, desperation attempt, but it hit nothing and Central's hopes of gaining pivotal position in the Mid-American Conference were dashed.
"It didn't feel like I got off a good shot. I just didn't knock it down," Sedlar said.
Sedlar and Daniels both paced the Chippewas, scoring 19 points apiece, as each only took two minutes to rest, playing 38 minutes.
Sedlar added seven assists, while Daniels grabbed seven rebounds for the Chippewas.
The Falcons countered with the play of Raterman and a couple of perimeter threats in Sherry Kahle and Angie Farmer, who each scored over 20 points.
"Farmer had one of her career highs and Raterman led her team tonight. Throw in Sherry Kahle. She stepped up and performed," Voll said.
Farmer (21 points) and Kahle (24 points) combined for six 3-pointers as well, something that Voll recognized as a major factor in the game.
"Our kids played hard. We didn't defend the 3. Bowling Green has extremely good shooters," Voll said.
Farmer notes Raterman's play as a reason for her success.
"Jacki takes the pressure off the guards and sets us up for nice open shots," Farmer said.
Wednesday's game was a game of runs.
With the game tied at 14-14 at 11:15 in the first half, BGSU went on a 13-4 to build a 27-18 lead and held a 48-38 lead at the half.
In the second half, the Chippewas opened up with a 10-4 run to bring CMU within four points with just over 17 minutes to play.
Then Bowling Green and Central exchanged scores, until Rory Wendt hit a put-back that started a Chippewas run, in which Alicia Rozak would hit eight of the team's next 13 points, as Central made a 17-6 run to jump out to 74-66 lead.
At the 5:17 mark, though, Farmer hit a 3-pointer for the Falcons to finish with an 18-7 run of their own.
Despite the loss, Voll still saw some positives to carry over into the next game.
"Offensively, our kids stepped up today. Alicia did as much as anything to get us back. Our bench is becoming more consistent and people we can count on," Voll said.
Woods finished with 15 points, Wendt finished with 10 and Rozak finished with eight.
Voll said the team played well and that's what he wants to see as the team draws near to tournament time.
With the loss, CMU fell to 7-7, 11-13, while BGSU climbed to 8-6, 12-12 and gained a game on the Chippewas.
However, due to Ball State's loss to Miami, the Chippewas still clinched a MAC Tournament spot.
"This was a pivotal game, there's no question about it. But I know the MAC and I know Saturday's game will be pivotal and so will next Tuesday," Voll said.
The women's basketball team's next game is at 2 p.m. Saturday at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
BGSU 84
Kahle 10-21 2-3 24, DeFosse 2-9 2-4 6, Raterman 10-17 2-4 22, Gafford 1-2 0-0 2, Miller 0-4 0-0 0, Holt 1-2 1-2 4, Dalton 0-0 0-0 0, Farmer 7-11 3-3 21, Western 0-0 0-0 0, Wappes 1-3 1-2 3, Smith 0-0 1-2 1.
CMU 81
Woods 7-13 0-0 15, Jones 3-4 7, Daniels 8-18 3-6 19, Sedlar 7-16 5-6 19, Munz 1-3 0-0 3, Germany 0-1 0-0 0, Culbertson 0-0 0-0 0, Rozak 4-5 0-1 8, Wendt 4-8 2-3 10.
Halftime-BGSU 48, CMU 38. 3-point field goals-BGSU 8-16 (Farmer 4-5, Kahle 2-4, Holt 1-1, Wappes 1-2, Raterman 0-1, Miller 0-1, DeFosse 0-2). CMU 2-9 (Munz 1-2, Woods 1-2, Sedlar 0-5). Assists-BGSU 19 (Miller, Wappes 5), CMU 14 (Sedlar 7). Rebounds-BGSU 41 (Kahle 9), CMU 37 (Daniels, Wendt 7). Fouls-BGSU 19, CMU 13. Steals-BGSU 11 (Kahle, Wappes 3), CMU 10 (Jones 5).
