KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan women's basketball dominated at home this evening, muscling out Bowling Green (12-11, 7-7 MAC) by a final score of 72-64 for their second straight victory. The win moves WMU to 14-9 on the season, and 8-6 against Mid-American Conference opponents.
The Broncos got off to a solid start in a back-and-forth opening quarter that featured a pair of lead changes early on. Five different members of the Western Michigan team found ways to put the ball in the hoop in the initial 10 minutes, while sophomore guard
Megan Wagner dished out four assists in the first quarter alone as the Broncos found themselves clinging to a slim 17-14 lead going into quarter number two.
Western Michigan came out of the huddle for the second quarter on a mission, getting off on a 10-0 run to push its lead to 12 thanks to strong three-point shooting. The hot start forced a Bowling Green timeout with 5:26 remaining in the period. The Falcons refused to go away, however, and cut the WMU lead to six going into the locker room. Redshirt sophomore forward
Taylor Williams led the way for the Broncos in the opening half, tallying nine points and seven rebounds at the break. Senior guard
Maddie Watters added six points off a pair of triples in the first two quarters as well.
The third quarter resembled the second as the Broncos held the Falcons off for much of the period, keeping the advantage right around 10 despite Bowling Green scrapping to get back into the game. A couple of late buckets for the Falcons brought the WMU lead back to six going into the final quarter of play. Sophomore guard and reigning MAC Player of the Week
Lauren Ross tallied seven points and three boards in the third while Williams added five points of her own despite looming foul trouble.
The final 10 minutes of play began with the scoreboard glowing in favor of Western Michigan, 49-43. A pair of triples from
Maddie Watters caused a quick timeout for the Falcons as the Broncos opened the fourth on an 8-0 run, extending the advantage to 14 points with 7:16 remaining. BGSU made an attempt to claw its way back in, but was all for naught as the Broncos locked in on defense and at the free throw line, while also shooting 66.7 percent from the field in the fourth quarter to secure an eight-point victory.
Taylor Williams flexed her muscle tonight, recording her seventh double-double of her season with 21 points on 8-13 (61.5 percent) shooting, 11 rebounds, and two steals despite playing the entire fourth quarter with four personal fouls.
Lauren Ross added 17 points on 7-16 (43.8 percent) from the field, as well as four boards, three assists, and a pair of takeaways.
Maddie Watters cashed in for 14 points of her own, knocking down five of her ten shot attempts and cashing in on 4 of 7 (57.1 percent) looks from three-point range.
Megan Wagner contributed eight points, five dimes, four rebounds, and a steal during her night as well.
As a team, Western Michigan knocked down 26-50 shot attempts (52.0 percent), and lit the net up for 10-18 (55.6 percent) made threes, which is the highest team three-point percentage of the season. WMU also pulled down 30 rebounds, scored 24 off of Falcon miscues, set up shop in the paint for 32 points, and got out in transition for 12 points.
WMU received 17 points from the Bronco reserves thanks to another solid night for Watters, and offered a complete performance on both sides of the ball. The Bronco defense held Bowling Green to 39.3 percent shooting and 26.7 percent from beyond the arc, despite the Falcons ranking first conference-wide in each of the two categories entering tonight's ballgame.
Western Michigan now zeroes in on Northern Illinois for its next matchup in Dekalb, Ill. on Saturday. Tip-off in the matinee hoop session against the Huskies on Feb. 19 is set for 2 p.m. and will be available for streaming via ESPN3.
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