Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU Tops Akron, 85-48
January 14, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2004
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
BGSU COACH Curt Miller
"I am happy with the win. I don't think we played a full 40-minute game. I feel like we lost our focus when we got the lead, and we didn't get as much solid play, down the stretch, from our bench. But, we really came out with intensity, and knew what we had to do defensively to win the game. The key was guarding their three guards. They only combined for 20 points tonight, and we shut out one of their talented guards, which was a huge key in the game."
"Liz (Honegger) got us going. Her six offensive rebounds in the first half were great, when we weren't making shots. We talked in the lockerroom, saying that second-chance points and points in the paint were going to be important. Offensively, I felt like we were a little trigger-happy at the (three-point) arc. We shot 24-of-40, for 60 percent, inside the arc. I liked when we got offensive rebounds, or when we got the ball inside, because we were shooting at such a high clip in there. Rebounding, offensively, was key, and Liz was behind that."
"Tempo was big. (Akron coach) Kelly (Kennedy) does a great job, and she is going to get that program turned around, but we have more depth and more weapons right now. I felt like if we got the game over 70, they would have trouble scoring that many points against us. A 46-point first half really set the tone to get free fries for everyone."
"We are a much better rebounding team this year, and when we outrebound opponents by 22, we are going to win a lot of games."
BGSU FRESHMAN Liz Honegger
(On BGSU's rebounding)
"We go against some guys in practice and, if you can box them out, you can box anyone out. They're so quick, and I get frustrated in practice because they get around me so much, but it definitely helps us get better."
BGSU FRESHMAN Megan Thorburn
"There is a lot of emphasis on rebounding in practice. We do a lot of drills where you need to get the offensive rebound, and if you don't get it, you have to go again. It puts a lot of emphasis on the importance of rebounding."
BGSU FRESHMAN Ali Mann
"Throughout every game, we gain more and more confidence in each other. Everyone on this team plays an important role. If I'm not having a good game, I have confidence that someone will pick up the slack. I think we all feel that way about one another."
AKRON COACH KELLY KENNEDY
"Curt has done a very good job of recruiting some good players to compete in the MAC. That team went out there and competed their tails off tonight, and I commend them. We have a way to go to get better. I don't think we showed what we can do out there, but my compliments to Bowling Green for the effort they gave tonight."
"We didn't execute. We were not aggressive in attacking their zone, and we need to get better at that."
"They run the floor very well, and we're more of a half-court team ... I think we did a good job of guarding them in the half-court. I mean, they had 47 points from second chances and fast breaks. That tells you that we guarded them in the half-court, for the most part. It was just (a lack of) getting back in transition and getting beat on the boards. Twenty-two offensive rebounds, that's your story."
