BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Western Michigan women's basketball team suffered a 73-62 conference setback on the road versus Bowling Green State University on Wednesday, January 22.
Despite battling back against the Falcons for the majority of the contest, the visitors closed out the game in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Broncos 11-1 in the final minutes to seal the victory. The contest saw ten lead changes and was tied seven times, but Bowling Green kept the advantage, leading the charge for 28 minutes of the game.
The Brown & Gold shot 23-of-62 (37.1 percent) from the field and 7-of-25 from three-point range. The WMU offense was led by double-digit scoring from four of five starters.
Breanna Mobley led the squad with 17 points and was two rebounds shy of a double-double.
Leighah-Amori Wool and
Jordan Walker each added 12 points, Wool with seven rebounds and Walker with four. Grad transfer
Chelayne Bailey added 11 points and eight rebounds with a team-high seven assists and four steals.
Bowling Green opened the quarter with a 7-0 run to make for a challenging advance for the Broncos.
Kamrin Reed nailed her first three of the game, followed by another shot from long range, this time from
Reilly Jacobson in off the bench. WMU took the lead by two thanks to a pair of layups from Wool until the Falcons responded, scoring five straight points to take a 19-14 advantage into the second quarter.
WMU came within two points of Bowling Green twice in the second quarter with a three from
Maddie Watters and two baskets from Mobley. Down 27-29 with three minutes to play in the half, the Falcons again ended the quarter with straight shooting to hold on to a 29-35 lead.
Western Michigan came alive in the third frame, outscoring their opponents 22-18. They began the quarter with an 11-5 scoring run off points from Mobley, Walker and Bailey to cut the home team's lead to 42-41. The Broncos took over the lead with a layup from Wool, and another basket from Mobley to force a BGSU timeout. However, the Falcons forced a tie with an and-one for three points, adding more foul shots late in the quarter to own a two-point lead heading into the final frame.
Despite a 5-0 jump from the Brown & Gold early in the fourth, the battle was won at the line as Bowling Green made seven of eight free throw shots in the quarter.
WMU moves to 10-7 overall and an even 3-3 in Mid-American Conference play. A rematch versus Akron will take place on Saturday, Jan. 26 inside University Arena.
