The Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team lost Saturday afternoon 60-55 to Bowling Green State University at the Convocation Center.
The Eagles are 16-9 and 7-4 in the Mid-American Conference.
In the first five minutes of the second half, both teams combined for just four points.
A little later in the second, Lauren Prochaska single-handedly turned the momentum in favor of the Falcons, scoring eight of the their next 10 points, putting them ahead of the Eagles 38-37, with 10:11 left.
“They stepped it up offensively, we didn’t step it up defensively,” coach AnnMarie Gilbert said.
Prochaska led all scorers with her 37-point and 12-rebound performance for the Falcons.
The rest of the Falcons combined for a total of 23 points.
Jen Uhl, Chrissy Steffen and Allison Papenfuss pitched in defensively with four rebounds a piece.
The teams exchanged the lead another 10 times and found themselves tied four times and dead-locked at 52 a piece with 2:44 remaining.
After a missed free throw attempt by Cassie Schrock, the Eagles went up for four second-chance points but were unable to connect on any. Prochaska then responded with a three-pointer to put the Falcons up by three with 1:42 remaining.
“We were very ready for this game, we just have to be able to finish the game.” Gilbert said. “I was very proud of our efforts.”
The teams would then exchange buckets and free-throws until BGSU was able to pull away.
The Falcons remain the top seed in the MAC East Division as they hold a 8-3 conference record (20-4 overall).
EMU had three players post double-digit efforts, as Sydney Huntley-Rodgers led the way with 20 points and went 4-for-5 from the free-throw line.
Tavelyn James had 15 points, while Paige Redditt added 11; they each had six rebounds.
Schrock led on the defensive end, posting nine rebounds, while Kristin Thomas pitched in with eight.
It was a slow start for both teams as neither scored for the first two minutes. However, the Eagles were first to strike as Paige Redditt split a pair of free throws.
The teams would exchange baskets, and the lead, for the next three possessions until the Eagles got off to an 18-7 run, which gave them a nine-point lead with 8:12 left.
Over the course of that run, Redditt made her 75th career block, pushing her into second place on the EMU all-time list; she finished the game with two blocks.
The Falcons and Eagles would exchange baskets for the rest of the half and EMU took a 31-24 lead into the locker room.
In the first half, BGSU made 25 percent of its field goals and 2-of-12 three-point field goals. Meanwhile, James connected on three of her five attempted three-pointers for the Eagles.
The Eagles suited up a little different on Saturday as they sported red socks and shoe laces to work in conjunction with the American Heart Association in an effort to promote heart disease prevention.
Anyone who showed up in red was granted free admission and more than 100 healthy cookbooks were distributed before the game.
For Gilbert, these efforts hit home.
“It always has a significance to me because I’ve a had a few family members die of heart attacks and different heart conditions,” Gilbert said. “It was nice to see such great support from such a great crowd.”
The Eagles will hit the road this week, traveling to Munice, Ind., on Wednesday to take on the Ball State Cardinals at 7p.m.
