Bowling Green State University
CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Falcons Rally Past CMU, 68-60
January 17, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2004
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team rallied from a second-half, double-digit deficit to record a 68-60 win over Central Michigan University Saturday afternoon (Jan. 17). The Mid-American Conference game was held at Anderson Arena.
With the victory, the Falcons improve to 10-5 overall and 3-1 in MAC play, while dropping the Chippewas to 4-11 and 0-4, respectively.
The Falcons scored the game's last nine points, holding Central scoreless over the final 2:33. The BGSU seniors, Lindsay Austin and Stefanie Wenzel, each hit key shots in the late going.
With CMU leading by a 60-59 margin, freshman Megan Thorburn converted a pair of free throws with 2:14 remaining to give the Falcons the lead for good. After a Chippewa three-point attempt was off the mark, BGSU got the rebound and Austin drove the lane for a layup witih 1:31 remaining.
Then, the BG defense forced a turnover, and Wenzel hit a jumper in the lane to give BG a five-point lead with 46.0 seconds remaining. Central then missed shots on the next two possessions, and the Chippewas were forced to foul. BG made three free throws in the final 27 seconds for the final margin.
The game featured several large shifts in momentum. The Falcons seemed to control the game early, making seven of the first 10 shots from the floor. After Central's Sharonda Hurd opened the scoring at the 18:01 mark, BG freshman Ali Mann scored the game's next eight points.
When junior Tene Lewis made a layup off a steal and outlet pass by sophomore Casey McDowell, the Falcons led by a 17-9 count. But, CMU began to come back.
After that 7-for-10 start, the Falcons made just two of the next 19 shots. Central scored seven-straight points to pull within 17-16, and stayed within four points over the next few minutes.
A 7-0 CMU run late in the half gave the Chippewas the lead for the first time, and the visitors took a 29-28 lead into the lockerroom.
BG took a short-lived lead on a Mann layup to begin the second half, but the Chippewas then got back-to-back three-pointers from Morgan Wills and Lindy Hatfield to take the lead by five, 35-30. Austin made a pair of free throws, but a Lindsay Mecoli triple put the Chippewas up by six.
The lead grew to a game-high 11 points when the Falcon bench was called for a technical foul with 13:03 left in the second half. CMU's Amanda Elwer hit both charity tosses, and the Chippewas led by a 47-36 margin.
The technical, however, seemed to give life to the Falcons, and BG scored 12 of the next 14 points. Austin hit a jumper, and Mann followed with a pair of free throws. Central's Ann Skufca, who had a career-high 19 points in the game, briefly slowed the rally with a jumper, but Mann hit a layup to cut the CMU lead to 49-42 with 11 minutes remaining.
BGSU got a steal and, on the ensuing possession, the Falcons got a pair of offensive rebounds. The second board came when freshman Liz Honegger grabbed her own missed three-point try and kicked the ball out to Austin for a triple. The shot moved the Falcons to within four points.
Austin then converted a conventional three-point play with 9:03 left, and the lead was down to one point. But, CMU was not finished.
Skufca answered with a three-pointer, and Casey Manning hit a layup to restore a six-point lead, 54-48. Mann, however, drew a foul and hit both free throws, and Wenzel followed with a hoop with 6:11 left.
After a CMU miss, Austin grabbed the rebound and the Falcons were off and running. Austin drove against a Central defender and, on the run, threw a behind-the-back pass to a streaking Thorburn for an easy layup that tied the game at 54-54.
The visitors kept coming, however. Hurd hit a jumper to give Central a two-point lead, but Mann hit two more free throws. Then, with 3:28 to play, Austin found Mann inside. Mann pump-faked, getting her defender into the air, then hit a layup as she was fouled. She made the free throw to give the Brown and Orange a 59-56 lead.
Baskets by Hurd and Skufca put CMU up, 60-59, with 2:33 left and set the stage for BGSU's game-ending 9-0 run.
Mann led all players with a game- and career-high 24 points, going 7-of-10 from the field, while Austin and Wenzel each had 14. Skufca was CMU's lone double-digit scorer.
The Falcons held a 34-31 rebounding margin, including a 17-10 advantage in the second half. BGSU shot .550 from the field in the second stanza en route to .420 for the game, while CMU shot .411 from the floor.
The Brown and Orange shot .957 from the line (22-for-23) while CMU was 8-for-12 from the stripe.
The Falcons now face a tough, two-game road swing, beginning with a Wednesday (Jan. 21) game at the arch-rival University of Toledo. That contest is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. at UT's Savage Hall.
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