Falcons Top RedHawks, 68-59

Wednesday, January 19

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

MIAMI (OH)

January 19, 2005 | Women's Basketball

Jan. 19, 2005

Final Stats |  Quotes

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team led from wire to wire, holding off several late charges from visiting Miami University en route to a 68-59 win over the RedHawks Wednesday night (Jan. 19). The Mid-American Conference game was held at Anderson Arena.

With the victory, the Falcons improve to 11-5 overall and 4-1 in MAC play, and BG remains in first place in the conference's West Division. BGSU, the lone remaining one-loss team in league play, is a game ahead of three 3-2 teams in the West -- Ball State, Toledo and Saturday's opponent, Western Michigan.

MU drops to 8-7 overall and 2-2 in the conference.

Sophomore Carin Horne had 15 points and a career-high five steals, while freshman Kate Achter tied Horne for team scoring honors. Achter had 13 of her 15 points in the first half as BGSU built a 34-23 lead at the intermission.

Sophs Ali Mann and Liz Honegger each hit double digits in scoring. Mann, despite struggling from the field, had a double-double, with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Mann also had a career-high five assists and matched her career best with two blocked shots.

Honegger narrowly missed a double-double of her own, with 10 points and nine boards. She also had three blocked shots.

Cindi Merrill led the RedHawks with 17 points, while Amanda Jackson had 14 points and 10 rebounds. A third RedHawk guard, Nicki Motto, had 12 points on four three-point field goals.

Achter had six of the Falcons' first eight points of the game, as BG took an 8-7 lead into the first media timeout of the night. A Mann free throw, one of nine on the evening for the sophomore, and a Honegger three-point field goal put the Brown and Orange ahead by five points, and a Mann layup several minutes later gave BG a seven-point lead, 16-9.

The RedHawks battled back, however, holding the Falcons scoreless for the next 3:18 while scoring six-straight points to cut the lead to a single point. In a first half that featured 24 turnovers -- 12 by each team -- the Falcons had nine giveaways by the 7:46 mark of the opening half.

With BGSU holding that 16-15 lead, the teams battled through over two minutes of scoreless basketball, before an Achter jumper sparked a 10-0 BG run, albeit slowly. That shot by the Oregon Clay H.S. product came at the 7:41 mark, and was followed by two more minutes without a point by either team.

It was Achter striking again, driving and scoring while being fouled. The three-point play put the Falcons ahead by six points. After a Miami miss at the other end, Mann kicked the ball out to Horne for a long three-pointer that put BG ahead by a 24-15 score and prompted Miami to take time.

Out of the timeout, however, Horne picked up a steal -- her fourth of the half -- and hit a pull-up jumper on the break, giving BG the first double-digit lead of the night at the 4:28 mark.

Merrill hit a pair of free throws to end a drought of 5:51 without a point for the visitors, but junior Casey McDowell hit a long triple to give BG a 29-17 lead. Then, Achter's jumper gave the Falcons a 14-point advantage, the largest of the half.

Miami, held without a field goal for a 7:10 span, finally hit a shot from the field at the 2:46 mark, in the person of Merrill. The 'Hawks ended the half on a 6-3 run to cut the lead to 11 at the break.

While each team had 12 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, BG had a 15-8 advantage in points off TO's, en route to a 25-10 margin in that category for the game.

In the second half, Miami crept within five points, at 42-37, on a Laura Markwood shot at the 13:50 mark. But, the Falcons responded with the second 10-0 run of the game. That run featured five free throws from three different Falcons, and was capped by a Horne trey at the 10:14 mark, giving BG a 52-37 lead.

Still, however, the resilient RedHawks would not go away. In the team's most recent three wins, Miami had rallied from second-half deficits, and a 9-2 run again narrowed the gap to five points with 5:08 left.

Achter drove through the heart of the Miami defense for a layup with 4:11 remaining, but Merrill hit a jumper at the 2:40 mark, and an Amber Miller free throw cut the lead to four points, 61-57, with two minutes left.

Horne drew a foul and hit a free throw with 1:37 left, and Honegger rebounded a Miami miss at the other end. The Falcons worked the clock, and a Honegger pass found Mann with the shot clock nearing zero. Mann, to that point 1-for-11 from the field, drained a right-side jumper to put the Falcons up by seven points with 54 seconds left, all but sealing the win.

The Falcons shot 40.0 percent from the field, to the RedHawks' 36.9% success rate, and BG attempted 30 free throws to Miami's five on the night.

The BG win snapped a 10-game regular-season winning streak for Miami against MAC West Division teams.

The Falcons return to action Saturday (Jan. 22), hosting WMU in a 3:00 p.m. game. That game is the first half of a sold-out doubleheader at Anderson, as the BG men's basketball team hosts Toledo at 6:00 p.m. that evening.