Youngstown -- A 27.6 percent shooting effort outweighed another feisty effort from the Youngstown State women's basketball team on Monday as the Penguins fell 73-45 to Bowling Green at Beeghly Center.

The Falcons forced 23 YSU miscues and converted those into a 25-9 edge in points off turnovers. Bowling Green also had scoring advantages of 30-18 in the paint and 13-3 on the fast break.

Sophomore guard Macey Nortey scored 14 points and had five assists to lead YSU. Freshman forward Brandi Brown finished with nine points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds.

Tracy Pontius had 16 points, five assists and four steals for Bowling Green. Lauren Prochaska chipped in with 12 points, and Tara Breske added 10.

Bowling Green led the entire contest, but YSU stayed within 10 points of the five-time defending Mid-American Conference champions through the first 16 minutes. Bowling Green led 13-5 on Kelly Zuercher's jumper around the 13-minute mark, but YSU chipped away and got within three when Rachael Manuel's bucket made the score 17-14 with 9:51 remaining.

The Falcons then went on a 9-2 run to go ahead by double digits for the first time, and they outscored the Penguins 13-3 over the final five minutes of the first half to take a 41-24 lead into the locker room.

An 8-0 run early in the second half upped Bowling Green's lead to 24, and the Falcons closed out the contest by scoring the final seven points. The 73-45 final was the largest margin of the game.

Youngstown State will have an 11-day break for the holidays before it opens the Horizon League and 2010 portions of the season. The Penguins will host Milwaukee on Saturday, Jan. 2, at 4:35 p.m.