Bowling Green State University
Eastern Michigan
Eastern Michigan Prevails, 51-48
January 12, 2005 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2005
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Visiting Eastern Michigan University scored five-straight points in the late stages of the second half and held on for a 51-48 win over the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team Wednesday night (Jan. 12). The Mid-American Conference game was held at Anderson Arena before a crowd of 1,055.
With the win, the Eagles improve to 12-2 overall and 2-1 in MAC play, while the Falcons drop to 9-5 and 2-1, respectively. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Brown and Orange.
In a rematch of the 2004 Kraft MAC Tournament's championship game, there was a tournament-type atmosphere in Anderson Arena. It was perhaps only fitting that the game came down to a shot at the final horn, a BGSU three-point try that did not drop.
The Falcons took a 3-2 lead, but a layup by Nikki Knapp gave the visitors a lead they would hold for the remainder of the half.
That lead never got above five points, however, until Ryan Coleman hit back-to-back hoops just 18 seconds apart to put the Eagles up by a 22-16 count with 6:12 left before intermission.
The teams combined for only three baskets over the next five minutes, before Annie Malatinsky hit her only hoop of the night, a three-point field goal, that put the visitors up by a 27-20 count with 1:21 left. Then, Amy Freidenberger scored her only point of the game, hitting a free throw with 46 seconds left in the half for an eight-point lead, the biggest of the game. Achter's jumper with five seconds left cut the deficit to six points at the half.
In that first half, the Eagles held the Falcons' top-three scorers -- sophomores Liz Honegger, Ali Mann and Carin Horne -- to a combined two points, a Horne jumper with 1:42 left in the half. Achter (nine points), junior Casey McDowell (six) and senior Kelly Kapferer (five) combined for 20 of the Falcons' 22 first-half points.
In the second half, the lead fluctuated between five and seven points, and it looked like Eastern had a chance to extend the lead. But, McDowell drew a charging foul on EMU's Erika Ford as the Eagles looked to go up by nine. Then, Honegger's cross-court pass found an open Horne in the left corner, and her three-pointer with 13:03 left cut the margin to four, 36-32.
After an Eastern turnover, Honegger powered inside for a short jumper to cut the lead to two points with 12:19 left. The teams then combined for five-straight scoreless possessions, before a pair of free throws by senior Tene Lewis tied the game with 10:45 on the clock.
Coleman gave the Eagles the lead once again, hitting a jumper at the 9:08 mark. The Falcons hung close, until a big shift of momentum went the Eagles' way.
A Horne hoop had put the Falcons within two points, at 40-38, and the Falcons got the ball right back on a Honegger steal. The sophomore took a three-point try that would have given the Brown and Orange the lead, but the shot would not drop. Ford then hit her only two field goals of the game, on a pair of short jumpers just 26 seconds apart.
Achter responded with a jumper of her own at the 5:03 mark, but Ford answered with a pair of free throws with 4:12 left. Ford scored all six of her points in a 1:32 span, and the Eagles were back on top by six, 46-40.
Again, the Falcons battled back, getting to the foul line and converting. Mann drew Kristen Kilgore's fifth foul of the night, and hit both free throws with 3:50 left. Mann blocked a Ryann Kilgore shot at the other end, and Achter drew a foul on the ensuing possession. The freshman hit both of her charity tosses with 3:24 on the clock.
Then, Honegger blocked a Ford shot. The Eagles got the rebound, but could not convert the follow try, and Eastern was whistled for a foul on that rebound. Horne hit two shots to tie the game with 2:55 left.
Eastern responded right away, however, as Coleman's pass found an open Melis Ulker for a layup just 13 seconds later, giving the visitors the lead for good.
The Eagles forced a Falcon turnover with 2:10 left, and proceeded to hold onto the ball for the next 50 seconds. Ulker missed a shot with 1:40 left, as Honegger picked up another block, but Knapp got the offensive rebound. The possession culminated with a Coleman three-pointer with 1:20 left, putting Eastern ahead by five.
The Falcons missed a shot at the other end, and Eastern rebounded. Coleman was fouled, but missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity with 54 seconds left, and Honegger rebounded.
Mann sank a jumper with 40 seconds left, and the Eagles' lead was three. Eastern worked the shot clock down, but the Falcons forced a Coleman miss, and Honegger rebounded with 11 seconds left.
The Falcons took the ball across midcourt, and Achter sent a pass toward Mann in the left corner. The pass was deflected, but Mann was able to grab it and fire a hurried three-point shot just before the horn. The shot would not drop, however, and the Eagles had the win.
Coleman led the Eagles, who received votes in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll, with 13 points, and also had eight rebounds and four steals. Knapp had 12 points and eight boards, with eight points and six rebounds coming in the first half. Kristen Kilgore had nine rebounds to lead the Eagles, who had a 44-33 advantage in that category.
For the Falcons, Mann had nine points -- all in the second half -- and nine rebounds, while Honegger also had nine boards, along with three blocks and four steals. She finished with four points on 2-of-3 shooting.
Horne had nine points, while McDowell had six and Kapferer five.
Eastern made 21 turnovers to the Falcons' 19, but the Eagles held a 22-12 advantage in points off turnovers. EMU also had the advantage in points in the paint, 38-20, and second-chance points, 13-3.
The game featured the teams ranked first (BGSU) and second (EMU) in the MAC in field-goal percentage, but the defenses prevailed on this night. The Eagles shot 38.6 percent on the night, while holding the Falcons to a 30.6% rate, including a 6-for-25 (24.0%) performance in the second half.
BGSU went 3-for-8 from three-point land, including 2-for-2 in the first half, while Eastern made 2-of-9 shots from long range on the night.
The Falcons return to action Saturday night (Jan. 15), making the short trip to the Glass City for a 7:00 p.m. game vs. the arch-rival University of Toledo. Then, BG is back home for a pair of games next week, against Miami (Jan. 19) and Western Michigan (Jan. 22).
