The Women's basketball team, which was still searching for it's first Mid-American Conference win, looked to land a big upset against the seven-time defending MAC champions.
The Bulls (5-13, 0-4 MAC) fought hard early, but could not keep up with the Bowling Green Falcons (14-3, 4-0 MAC) and fell 79-59 on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Arena.
It was a single digit game throughout the first half. The Falcons took a 19-11 lead early when the Bulls went on an 8-0 run, led by a pair of 3-pointers by junior guard Nicki Hopkins and sophomore guard Margeaux Gupilan. That would be the closest the Bulls would get, as the Falcons dominated the second half.
The bright spot on the team continues to be the play of senior guard Brittany Hedderson. She played every minute of the tilt, finishing with 28 points. She continues to bulldoze through the MAC portion of the schedule, scoring more than 20 points in each of the Bulls' four conference games. She was all over the stat sheet, adding six rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block.
While disappointed with the loss, head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald continues to be happy with Hedderson's play.
"She is definitely our go-to player," Hill-MacDonald said. "But we don't put the pressure on Brittney to have to do the scoring, she just happens to be a player that can create her own shot. When other people aren't hitting, she wants the ball in her hands, and knows how to get open. She can create off the dribble, she can hit from three. She's really a very complete offensive player."
Hedderson can't do it all herself though, and coach Hill-MacDonald stressed the importance of getting some players to step up and help out Hedderson.
"We need to have multiple scorers on offense." Hill-MacDonald said. "We can't put all our eggs in [her] basket. Part of the problem is that her teammates depend too much on Brittany to do all the scoring, and that's a lot of pressure. Other players on this team are very capable, they just have to go out there and perform."
That didn't happen Sunday, as Gupilan was the only other Bull to reach double-digits. She ended up with 10 points on the afternoon. Hopkins also added six points, and was perfect from the floor. She made both her attempts from three-point range.
The Bulls were within three points at the end of the half when Falcons' guard Jasmine Matthews hit a three with 40 seconds left to put the visitors up by six. The Falcons used that momentum to start the half with a 7-0 run, and later put the game away with a 14-0 run.
"We came out [after the half] and didn't perform the way we needed to and Bowling Green maintained their level of intensity and execution," Hill-MacDonald said. "They took full advantage of our tentativeness."
The Falcons shot 42 percent from the floor, and their eight baskets from behind the arc were the difference against the Bulls. There was balance in their scoring, led by Alexis Rogers' 19 points. Jessica Slagle had 18 points, and Matthews added 14. Chrissy Steffen rounded out the double-figure scorers with 12 points.
Going forward, Hill-MacDonald wants the team to focus on the fundamentals and consistency.
"We've played like a one-half team for most of the year." Hill-MacDonald said. "That consistency over the two halves is really important."
The Bulls look to put their first mark in the win column of 2012 when they hit the road to take on the Kent State Golden Flashes (2-12, 1-3 MAC) at the MAC Center. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m. Thursday.
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