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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Detroit
Falcons Work Through Opening-Night Jitters, Down Detroit 68-37
November 10, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 10, 2006
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DETROIT, Mich. - The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team battled through some early-game jitters to post a 68-37 win over the University of Detroit Mercy Friday night (Nov. 10). The game, the 2006-07 season opener for both teams, was held at Calihan Hall in the Motor City.
The Falcons received a balanced scoring effort, as no fewer than six players scored between nine and 11 points on the night. Seniors Carin Horne and Ali Mann scored 11 points apiece, while senior Megan Thorburn and junior Whitney Taylor each had 10 points. Senior Liz Honegger had nine points, as did classmate Amber Flynn.
The BGSU defense held the host Titans to just five field goals in the first half and 13 for the game. The Brown and Orange allowed UDM to shoot only 18.5 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, en route to a 24.5% field-goal percentage on the evening.
The Falcons, as mentioned, got off to a slow start offensively, as the hosts scored the first five points of the game and held BG without a field goal for over five minutes. After Sandi Brown opened the game with a three-pointer, an uncontested layup by the Titans' Joyce Massey gave UDM a 5-0 lead and prompted Falcon coach Curt Miller to take a timeout at the 18:38 mark.
The Falcons got on the scoreboard eight seconds later, on a Thorburn free throw, but BGSU's first basket wouldn't come until 14:54 on the clock, as Horne got back-to-back offensive rebounds. Her second rebound led to a putback and a three-point play. Junior Kate Achter followed with a pull-up jumper to tie the score at 7-7.
A few minutes later, Achter drove inside and kicked the ball out to Honegger for a right-side 3-pointer, giving the Brown and Orange an 11-9 margin. The hosts rallied to take a 13-12 lead, but Mann hit a pair of free throws with 10:47 left in the half, giving the Falcons the lead for good.
Flynn followed with a nifty spin move for a layup to give BG a 16-13 margin, and Taylor drove past four Titans, taking the ball all the way to the hoop for a finger-roll layup with 8:55 on the clock.
After Honegger split a pair of free throws, the senior grabbed a defensive rebound and threw a long outlet pass to sophomore Jasmine McCall on the break. The Detroit native slotted a pass to Thorburn for a layup, capping a 9-0 run and prompting UDM coach Mickey Barrett to burn a timeout.
The hosts broke a scoring drought of 4:14 with a three-pointer from Kandace Evans, but the Falcons proceeded to score the game's next six points. Mann's pass found Flynn inside for a layup, and McCall fed Thorburn on back-to-back possessions. The first was a layup in transition, and the second was a drive-and-dish that led to a short right-side jumper. The BGSU lead was double digits, 27-16.
Moments later, another long BG scoring run began with a sweet left-side J from Horne. The senior would hit a pair of free throws with 4:00 left in the first half, giving the visitors a 34-18 lead.
With 2:09 on the clock, Mann had the ball at the top of the arc, found herself virtually unguarded, and buried a straightaway 3. Taylor then drove the lane, drew Zemora Davis' third foul of the game, and hit both free throws for a 36-18 Falcon margin. The teams each hit one more charity toss, and BG headed to the lockerroom with a 37-19 advantage. The Falcon defense forced a Detroit shot-clock violation -- the second of the game -- just before the intermission.
The Titans made just one field goal over the final 11:14 of the first half, and BGSU outscored the hosts, 25-6, during that time.
For the Falcons, the second half began just like the first: slowly. BGSU went the first 3:18 without scoring. But, the Falcons allowed just one UDM hoop in that time. When Mann worked inside for a layup at the 16:42 mark, the Brown and Orange still led by 18.
The hosts would cut that lead to 16 points, but a Thorburn three-ball began a 16-0 Falcon run that removed all doubt about the outcome. Honegger scored inside despite being double-teamed, and then hit a three-pointer off a Mann pass. The versatile Honegger then stole the ball at the other end, and her outlet pass found Horne for another triple, giving the Brown and Orange a 50-23 margin.
That lead grew to 55-23 after two Mann free throws and a driving left-side layup by Taylor that led to a three-point play with 10:45 left. The Titans finally broke a scoreless slump of 6:37 with a hoop by Brown, but the hosts could get no closer than 27 points the rest of the way.
The Falcons shot 45.1% from the field and made five treys in 15 attempts. BGSU held a 39-36 rebounding edge, with Flynn pulling down a game-high eight caroms and Horne adding six.
McCall, playing in her hometown, had game-high totals of four assists and four steals.
Brown led UDM with 13 points and seven boards, playing 39 minutes. She was the lone Titan in double digits in scoring.
The Falcons will return to action on Monday (Nov. 13), heading to Notre Dame to take on the Fighting Irish. UND began the season Friday night with an 88-66 win over Central Michigan.
FALCON NOTES
* All 12 players on the active roster saw action for the Falcons, including all three freshmen ... Tara Breske made her collegiate debut with 10:45 remaining in the second half, while Sarah Clapper checked in with 8:54 on the clock ... Laura Bugher saw her first action with 6:49 left in the game.
* Senior Liz Honegger was credited with one blocked shot in the game, giving her a total of 153 in her career ... Honegger is now just two blocks shy of the school record, currently held by Angie Bonner (1986-90) ... Bonner had 155 blocks in 122 career games ... Honegger's 153 rejections have come in 94 games.
* BGSU is now 15-19 in season-opening games in program history, and 11-23 in road openers.
* The Falcons have won 35 of the last 39 games, dating to February of 2005 ... BGSU's only losses in that time have come to Kansas State, Delaware, Kentucky and UCLA, with the KSU and UCLA contests coming in the NCAA Tournament.
* Detroit still holds a 10-9 lead in the all-time series with BGSU ... but, the Falcons have won the last three contests in the series, including wins at Calihan Hall in each of the last two years ... last Nov. 30, the Brown and Orange rallied from a second-half deficit for a 78-67 win in the Motor City.
* BGSU has held two of the last three opponents under 40 points, dating to last season ... and, the Falcons have limited three of the last four foes to 46 points or less ... BGSU picked up wins by scores of 68-46 (Toledo) and 64-39 (Kent State) to cap last year's MAC Tournament run.
* Ali Mann scored in double digits for the 71st time in her career, while Carin Horne reached double figures in scoring for the 45th time as a Falcon ... Megan Thorburn's 10-point game marked the 16th time she has reached that plateau, while Whitney Taylor had the third double-figure scoring night of her BGSU tenure.
* Taylor played a career-high 18 minutes in the win, and also set a career best with four free throws made.
