BOWLING GREEN — College basketball in March tends to bring forward unlikely heroes.
Such was the case on Wednesday inside a roaring Stroh Center.
When Bowling Green State University needed a lift, Jocelyn Tate was the one to give it.
Tate dominated on both sides of the ball, scored a career-high 19 points off the bench, and led Bowling Green to a 69-60 win over Kent State.
The victory lifts BGSU into the Mid-American Conference tournament, given the season sweep over the Golden Flashes (17-10, 9-10 MAC).
BGSU and Kent State were two of six teams vying for five seeds — four through nine — where the top eight make the MAC’s postseason tournament.
“It felt like March basketball,” Falcons coach Robyn Fralick said. “Felt like every possession was our most important possession of the year, and I thought we gutted out a win against a good team. Jocelyn Tate was spectacular. Obviously she was just a huge catalyst for us, and she gave us a lot of momentum, but our whole team played really tough and found a way to grind out a win.”
Tate scored 13 points in the first half and sparked a 14-0 run in the second quarter. Tate made 6 of 7 shots in the half and at one point scored nine of 11 Falcons points.
It didn’t just come from scoring. Tate was constantly causing disruption defensively with her length. She helped force nine first-half Golden Flashes turnovers, including three during a run that gave BGSU (15-13, 10-9 MAC) a 35-23 lead with 2:06 left in the half.
“We have a lot of different defensive plays, but knowing which one we were doing at the time was important,” Tate said. “Either way [my teammates] are always looking for me, and I just happened to be open a little more than usual.”
Kent State’s Casey Santoro made a layup and one to end the run with 1:39 to play in the half. That play sparked an 8-2 Golden Flashes run to close the first half and cut the BGSU lead to 37-31.
Amy Velasco scored BGSU’s first seven points in the third quarter, as the Falcons led 54-50 after 30 minutes.
Tate made 9 of 13 attempts from the field, had two steals, and was a game-high plus-20.
“She got some great steals early,” Fralick said. “I felt like she got in the passing lane, and that really got her going. She got some layups off that. She finished at the rim, she was really good in transition. They have some really tough matchups who can play inside-out basketball, and with her speed and with her length, I thought she did a really good job tonight on both ends of the court.”
Nyla Hampton scored 15 points, and she registered five assists and five steals. Velasco posted 13 points — 12 in the second half — and Elissa Brett had 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds for BGSU.
Bowling Green forced 19 Kent State turnovers and registered 13 steals as a team. They scored 14 fast-break points to Kent State’s one.
“We knew we had to come out and be the tougher team,” Hampton said. “We knew we were going to have to grind it out and play with a lot of grit, so it all came down to that. ... [These] are the games where your toughness really shows and it comes out.”
Lindsey Thall had a game-high 22 points for the Golden Flashes. Hannah Young posted 10 points.
The Falcons conclude their season at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Buffalo, in a game which will have seeding implications. BGSU has won three of its past four games.
“There’s an energy to them right now,” Fralick said. “There’s a belief in them. There’s a whatever-it-takes, and it’s fun. You can just feel the center of the huddle just being all about the team, and it’s fun.”
First Published March 3, 2022, 2:10 a.m.
