UB Women’s Basketball Defeats Bowling Green in MAC Quarterfinal

The Bulls womens basketball team started and finished strong in Cleveland on Wednesday, to win their quarterfinal match against #5 Bowling Green 70-64 in the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

UB were hot from the start, going 9-for-14 in the first quarter, while the BGSU Falcons made only four shots on 17 attempts. Bowling Green warmed up in the second, pulling within 5 points, but a Hattie Ogden three-pointer put the Bulls up 36-28 at halftime.

Senior guard Chellia Watson opened the second half with a three, but then the Falcons went on a 15-0 run, holding the Bulls to only a lone free throw in seven minutes of game time. Down 46-41, Watson sunk another three, starting a Bulls run that saw them regain the lead, 51-50, a minute into the fourth quarter, and quickly extend it to 59-50.

Bowling Green came back again, tying the game at 64-64 with 55 seconds left. But two foul shots by MAC Freshman of the Year Kirsten Lewis-Williams put UB back on top, BG missed a three-pointer, and the Bulls walked away with it.

Watson led all scoring with 24 points; fellow senior guard Rana Elhusseini scored 17pts while fasting for Ramadan. Elhusseini, who shot two free throws for the final points of the game, told Cleveland.com, “Coach just kept telling us the importance of putting in the work, especially when it comes to the free throws. That’s all I could think about. You shot your hundred, you shot your hundred, and this is the time where they come in.”

UB will face #1 seed Toledo on Friday in the semifinal round.