Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
TOLEDO
Falcons Win At Toledo, 57-54
January 21, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2004
TOLEDO, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team shot nearly 61 percent from the field in the second half to rally for a 57-54 road victory over the University of Toledo Wednesday night (Jan. 21). The Mid-American Conference game was held at UT's John F. Savage Hall.
With the victory, the Falcons improve to 11-5 overall and 4-1 in MAC play. BGSU has won four consecutive games and seven of the last eight contests. The host Rockets dropped to 7-9 and 3-2, respectively.
Senior Stefanie Wenzel scored 16 points, including 12 in the second half, while freshman Ali Mann added 13. Mann's layup off a Wenzel pass with 18.7 seconds left was the lone scoring in the game's final three minutes.
The win was the Falcons' first at Savage Hall since January of 1998. Kelly Walker had a game-high 21 points for the Rockets.
After shooting just .313 in the first half of the contest, the Falcons made 14 of 23 shots (.609) in the second half. Wenzel and Mann combined to go 10-for-12 after the break, with Wenzel a perfect 5-for-5. The senior scored 12 of the Falcons' first 18 points of the second stanza.
The Falcons got off to a slow start in the opening half, missing the first six shots of the game. UT was not much better from the field, as the Rockets could score only four points in that time. When Lindsay Austin hit a three-point field goal at the 14:23 mark, for BG's first field goal, the Falcons held a 5-4 lead.
Then, Austin had a steal and layup, and Wenzel followed with a steal and layup of her own, giving the Brown and Orange a 9-4 lead. UT's Julie Hillis hit a layup at the 12:12 mark, ending an 0-for-9 shooting drought for the home team. The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes, before a Liz Honegger layup gave the Falcons a 17-10 lead with 7:30 left in the half.
BGSU still led by seven, 19-12, when the Rockets went on a 9-0 run to take the lead. Walker scored five of the nine points, and had assists on the other two baskets during that time. The Rockets completed a 16-3 run to take a six-point lead, and UT held a four-point edge, 30-26, at the half.
In the second half, Wenzel scored all 12 of her points in the first 6:07 of the half. The Falcons, after amassing 26 points in the first 20 minutes, scored 18 points in the first frenzied 6:40 before the initial media timeout in the second half.
After the Rockets' Danielle Bishop opened the second half with a basket to restore a six-point lead, Wenzel hit a three-pointer, then a jumper, to cut the lead to one. Walker hit a pair of free throws, but another Wenzel trey tied the score at 34-34, the first of five ties in the half.
Several minutes later, Wenzel and Mann broke a 38-38 deadlock with back-to-back layups, and BG led by four points with 14:48 remaining. The Rockets battled back again, however, going on a 7-2 run. When Crystal Young scored at the 12:30 mark, UT led by a 45-44 count.
Austin hit a layup to give BG the lead again, then both teams went scoreless for nearly three minutes, until a Mann layup upped the Falcon margin to three points with 9:27 left.
Amanda Davis responded with a hoop for the home team, and Walker hit a triple, giving UT a 50-48 lead with 8:29 remaining. The Rockets would score just four points the rest of the evening.
A Mann layup tied the game, but Walker hit her fifth triple of the game with 6:29 left, giving UT a 53-50 lead. That trey would prove to be UT's final field goal.
The teams traded turnovers and defensive stops until fewer than four minutes remained. With 3:50 left, Wenzel found Honegger for a right-side three-pointer to tie the score.
UT's Karin Hoogendam split a pair of free throws with 3:26 left, giving UT a one-point lead, but, out of the final media timeout, freshman Megan Thorburn hit a driving layup to give the Falcons the lead for good, 55-54, with 3:02 remaining.
BGSU then forced a shot-clock violation on the Rockets' next possession, but UT rebounded a Falcon miss and called time with 1:53 remaining. The Brown and Orange got a defensive stop,, and Mann got the defensive rebound with a minute-and-a-half left. But, UT held again, and got the ball back with just over a minute remaining in the game.
Once again, the Falcons had a solid defensive stand. The Falcons nearly came up with a steal, with players diving all over the court in an effort to grab the loose ball. The Rockets retained possession, but -- with the shot clock running down -- UT's Amanda Davis forced up a shot. After a scramble for the rebound, Thorburn grabbed the ball, and the Falcons called time with 45.8 seconds left.
On the ensuing possession, the Falcons worked the clock, and Wenzel's bounce pass found Mann for a layup and a three-point lead.
Toledo still had a chance to tie. With approximately nine seconds left, a Walker three-point attempt was off the mark. The Rockets grabbed the rebound, but Hillis was forced to hurry a three-point attempt, which fell short and went out of bounds with 1.8 seconds left.
BGSU inbounded the ball to Honegger, who held on as the clock ran out.
The Falcons, outrebounded by a 27-14 margin in the first half, held a 19-13 advantage in that category in the second half. For the game, BGSU held a 30-22 advantage in points in the paint, including an 18-6 margin in the final 20 minutes.
BGSU shot .436 from the floor, to the Rockets' .355. Each team made five three-pointers, with the Falcons going 5-for-17 (.294) and UT 5-of-22 (.227). Walker was 5-for-11 from behind the arc, while the rest of the team was a combined 0-for-11.
In addition to Walker's 21 points, Hillis had a double-double, with 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Mann and Thorburn each had eight rebounds to tie for the team lead for the Falcons. Mann also had three steals in 38 minutes.
The Falcons now are idle until a Tuesday (Jan. 27) game at Eastern Michigan University. Starting time for that contest is 7:00 p.m. at EMU's Convocation Center.
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