DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Bowling Green State University women’s basketball team used a second-quarter spurt to open up a 22-point halftime edge and rolled to a 79-43 victory over Stetson in both teams’ opener at the Daytona Beach Classic on Friday afternoon.

BGSU (3-4) had a pair of players, fifth-year Erika Porter and freshman Lauren Gerken (Liberty-Benton graduate), reach 20 points while senior Amy Velasco scored 16 and added nine assists and six rebounds. Also, Porter pulled down eight rebounds and Gerken seven for the Falcons. Sophomore Paige Kohler finished with nine points and seven rebounds.

Gerken hit a trio of 3-pointers — including one in the final seconds of the second quarter — and scored 11 of her 20 points in that quarter to help Bowling Green to a 47-25 lead at halftime. The Falcons outscored the Hatters 20-5 over the final six minutes of the first half.

BGSU increased its margin to 25 (62-37) after the third quarter and outpaced Stetson 17-6 over the final eight minutes for the 36-point rout of the Hatters.

The Falcons shot 44.3 percent (31 of 70) compared to just 27.7 percent (18 of 65) for Stetson. They also won the rebounding battle 50-37 with a 32-22 edge on the defensive side.

BGSU advances to face Arkansas (4-3) of the Southeastern Conference at 1:15 p.m. Saturday in the next round of the tournament.

First Published November 30, 2024, 12:14 a.m.