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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
MIAMI (OH)
BGSU Drops Miami, 92-62, to Send Seniors Out in Style
February 28, 2007 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 28, 2007
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team shot 68.0 percent in the second half en route to a 92-62 win over Miami University Wednesday night (Feb. 28). The Mid-American Conference game was held at BGSU's Anderson Arena.
With the victory, the Falcons end the regular season with an overall record of 26-3, and a final MAC mark of 15-1. The RedHawks close the regular-season schedule at 12-17 and 6-10, respectively.
On 'Senior Night' at Anderson, the Falcons' five active seniors combined for 73 of BGSU's 92 points. Two of those seniors, Carin Horne and Ali Mann, scored 23 and 22 points, respectively.
Jenna Schone led the RedHawks with 19 points, while Amanda Jackson had 17.
BGSU's lead was just four points, 37-33, at halftime, but the Brown and Orange scored the first six points of the second half -- before the RedHawks were able to even take a shot -- to open up a 10-point lead with less than a minute elapsed. The Falcons outscored the 'Hawks by a 55-29 count in the second half.
BGSU shot over 60 percent for the third time this season, but the first in MAC play, tying a season high with the 92 points. The Falcons made 31 of 51 shot attempts (60.8%) on the night, while holding the visitors to a 31.3% success rate.
Junior Kate Achter scored 13 points and dished out eight assists for the home team, while seniors Liz Honegger and Amber Flynn had 11 points apiece. The Falcons' fifth active senior, Megan Thorburn, took just three total shots in the game, but was a perfect 2-for-2 from three-point land for six points in (hopefully) the final game for the seniors at "The House That Roars."
Before a large 'Senior Night' crowd -- BGSU's fourth crowd in excess of 2,000 fans in the last five home games -- the Falcons jumped out to a 6-0 lead. The Falcons' second possession of the game saw Honegger grab an offensive rebound and quickly dish the ball to Achter, who found Horne alone underneath the hoop. Then, Achter picked the pocket of a RedHawk player at midcourt, streaking in all alone for another easy layup. When an Achter pass led to a layup by Mann at the 17:51 mark, the home team's lead was six points and the visitors took a timeout.
The RedHawks, after going 0-for-4 with two turnovers on their first six possessions of the night, then heated up. MU made three consecutive shots, including a pair from beyond the arc, to tie the game at 8-8 by the first media timeout of the night.
After several scoreless minutes of action, Flynn cut down the lane and took a pass from Mann that led to another layup, and an offensive rebound and -- you guessed it -- layup from Mann gave the Falcons a 12-8 lead. The Falcons enjoyed a 42-14 advantage in points in the paint.
Horne's layup gave the Brown and Orange a 14-8 lead at the 11:37 mark. Stephanie Ford snapped BG's 6-0 run, breaking a 5:01 scoring drought for the RedHawks, but the Falcons would then hold MU without a field goal for nearly five more minutes.
Mann's jumper started a 9-0 run, a run that also included three-pointers from Honegger and Horne. Horne's triple, with the Falcons in transition, gave BG a 20-10 lead, and Honegger then made a straightaway 3 after sophomore Lindsey Goldsberry made the 'extra' pass to prompt the RedHawks' second timeout of the night.
Miami, just 4-for-18 from the field to that point, clawed back into the game at the foul line. The RedHawks were a perfect 11-for-11 from the stripe in the opening 20 minutes.
With BG holding that 23-10 lead, the visitors made four free throws to cut the margin to single digits, and the teams traded baskets for the next several minutes. After a Schone triple with 3:26 left in the half cut the lead to 32-24, the Falcons proceeded to score the next five points to take a 12-point lead.
The 'Hawks, however, got three free throws from Schone after she was fouled on a shot attempt from beyond the arc. Ashley Hawkins hit a jumper for the visitors with 1:13 on the clock, and Courtney Reed and Schone each went 2-for-2 from the stripe in the final minute. Schones tosses, with just 2.7 seconds left before halftime, capped a 6-0 run that brought MU within four points at the intermission.
BG, as mentioned, would score the first six points of the second half, beginning with a four-point possession. On the first possession out of the lockerroom, Thorburn's entry pass to Mann resulted in an 'and-one' layup. The free-throw try would not drop, but Horne grabbed the rebound and laid the ball in for a 41-33 lead. After a Miami timeout, Horne's steal and layup put the home team ahead by 10.
Jackson scored five points around an Achter layup, cutting the lead to 45-38, but the Falcon offense was clicking on all cylinders. BG went 7-for-7 from the field to begin the second half, and went on a 10-0 run to take a 55-38 lead.
That 10-0 run, the Falcons' 34th double-digit run of the year, began with a Mann layup. Thorburn hit a three-pointer in transition, and Mann knocked down a pair of free throws. After those tries, Goldsberry knocked the ball away from a Miami player deep in the RedHawks' end of the court. Goldsberry tracked the ball down in the corner, and the ball ended up in the hands of Honegger for a three-point try from the left elbow. That shot found nothing but net, giving BG a 17-point lead at the 16:32 mark.
The lead surpassed 20 points after Honegger deflected the ball on a Miami 2-on-1 opportunity. That deflection resulted in a steal, and Horne's acrobatic layup off an Achter pass gave BG a 64-43 lead with 12:26 remaining.
The RedHawks got as close as 16 points on a Schone trey with 8:54 left, but Horne answered with a long-distance call of her own. Flynn's three-pointer, off a kickout by freshman Tara Breske, gave BG a 77-55 lead with 6:49 left, and that lead never fell below 20 points again.
Thorburn's triple with 3:50 remaining gave the Falcons a 26-point lead, and a 'free fries' trey by Horne put the Brown and Orange ahead by an 87-60 count with 3:06 left. Freshman Laura Bugher's driving shot in the lane with 41 seconds left was the lone field goal for either team the rest of the night.
BG shot over 50 percent in both halves en route to the 60.8% FG rate in the game, and the Falcons were an impressive 8-for-13 (61.5%) from three-point range, including a 6-for-7 performance in the second half. The hosts struggled from the free-throw line in the opening half, but went 15-for-20 from the stripe in the second 20 minutes.
Horne was 3-for-4 from three-point territory, while Thorburn, as mentioned, was 2-for-2. Honegger, BGSU's career leader in three-pointers made and attempted, was 2-of-4 from long range.
Miami shot 31.3% from the field, including a 7-for-25 night (28.0%) from beyond the arc. Schone made four treys in seven tries.
Horne and Mann each had eight rebounds as the Falcons held a 38-33 advantage in that category. Laura Markwood led MU with five boards.
Goldsberry had a game-high five steals on the night, while Horne had three.
The Falcons' next action will be Tuesday (March 6) in the quarterfinal round of the MAC Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland. BGSU will face the winner of Sunday's first-round game between Toledo and Buffalo. The Falcons' Tuesday game is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m.
NOTES
* Wednesday night, as mentioned, was 'Senior Night' at Anderson Arena ... BGSU's six seniors -- Amber Flynn, Julie Gompers, Liz Honegger, Carin Horne, Ali Mann and Megan Thorburn -- were recognized in pregame ceremonies.
* The win over the RedHawks was BG's 98th victory since those seniors arrived on campus ... that class hopes they have played their final game at Anderson Arena ... if so, that would mean that they ended their careers with a 41-6 record at 'The House That Roars,' including a 32-2 mark in home games over the last three years.
* The Falcons, as mentioned, enjoyed a 42-14 advantage in points in the paint on Wednesday night ... BG also had a whopping 21-0 margin in fast-break points.
* BGSU now has a total of 26 wins this season, tied for the fourth most in school history ... last year's Falcon team went 28-3, and the 1986-87 and 1988-89 teams each won 27 games ... the '93-94 club had a 26-4 mark.
* Mann scored in double digits for the 97th time in her career, and had her 20th game of 20 or more points as a Falcon ... she now has 1,741 career points, and will finish her BG tenure in second place on the all-time scoring list at the University.
MAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
First Round - Sunday, March 4
Miami (#4 East) vs. Western Michigan (#5 West), 1:00 p.m.
Northern Illinois (#3 West) vs. Akron (#6 East), 3:00 p.m.
Toledo (#4 West) vs. Buffalo (#5 East), 5:00 p.m.
Ohio (#3 East) vs. Central Michigan (#6 West), 7:00 p.m.
Quarterfinals - Tuesday, March 6
Miami/WMU winner vs. Ball State (#1 West), 1:00 p.m.
NIU/Akron winner vs. Kent State (#2 East), 3:00 p.m.
Toledo/Buffalo winner vs. Bowling Green (#1 East), 5:00 p.m.
Ohio/CMU winner vs. Eastern Michigan (#2 East), 7:00 p.m.
Semifinals - Friday, March 9
Miami/WMU/BSU vs. NIU/Akron/KSU, Noon
UT/UB/BGSU vs. Ohio/CMU/EMU, 2:30 p.m.
Championship - Saturday, March 10
Semifinal winners, 1:00 p.m.
All games at Quicken Loans Arena; Cleveland, Ohio
