Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
OAKLAND
Falcons Stay Unbeaten With 72-59 Win at Oakland
December 22, 2005 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2005
Final Stats | Quotes
ROCHESTER, Mich. - Junior Liz Honegger paced all players in three categories as the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team remained unbeaten with a 72-59 win at Oakland University Thursday night (Dec. 22). The non-conference game was held at the Athletics Center 'O'Rena.
With the win, the Falcons extend the team's school-record start to a season to 8-0. The Golden Grizzlies drop to 4-6 on the year.
Honegger had a double-double, with 19 points and a whopping 16 rebounds, and also led all players with three blocked shots. Honegger's rebound total fell just one shy of her career best.
Juniors Ali Mann and Carin Horne had 17 and 15 points, respectively, with Horne scoring eight of BG's first 12 points on the night, and Mann scoring 15 first-half markers. Sophomore Kate Achter had 12 points to round out the double-digit scorers.
Anne Hafeli led the hosts with 16 points, while Jayme Wilson added 15 and April Kidd 13.
Oakland got out to a quick start in each half, taking an early 5-0 lead on a Nicole Piggott basket and a three-point field goal from Wilson. A Honegger layup got BG on the board at the 18:21 mark, but another triple, this time from Hafeli, put the hosts up, 8-2, with 17:22 left in the half. The six-point deficit was BGSU's biggest this season to date.
BGSU battled back, with Horne leading the way early. A hallmark of the 2005-06 Falcon team to date has been the team's balanced scoring, as well as the ability of different players to step up at different times. Horne hit a three-pointer just 10 seconds after Hafeli's triple, then picked Kidd's pocket at midcourt and sailed in for a layup at the 16-minute mark, and the Falcons were within 10-9.
Wilson hit a pair of free throws, but another Horne trey tied the game, 12-12, and also began an 8-0 run for the Falcons. Mann grabbed a rebound of her own miss and converted the putback try, and Honegger followed with a three-pointer in transition, and the Falcons led by a 17-12 count.
A Mann triple midway through the half put the Falcons up by a 22-16 count, and a Horne trey from the top of the arc gave BG a 25-19 advantage with 8:37 left before intermission. The three-pointer was Horne's third long-range make in as many tries to that point.
The Grizzlies fought back to get within a single point, at 27-26, after a Kidd layup with 6:17 left in the half. But, a Honegger trey off a Casey McDowell assist stopped a 4-0 OU run and gave BG a 30-26 lead.
After an Oakland hoop, it was Mann's turn to assert herself. She scored six consecutive points to spark a 10-0 run that ended the first half. Mann's first layup came off a nifty fake which got her defender in the air, and her next layup was another difficult shot in traffic in the lane. After a Honegger steal, BG pounded the ball inside to Mann once again, and her layup put BG ahead by eight, 36-28, at the 1:41 mark.
Mann then took a charge at the other end, as Piggott was whistled for the offensive foul, and the ensuing BG possession resulted in a pair of Honegger free throws. Another OU turnover resulted in a Honegger layup off an Achter feed, and BGSU had a 40-28 advantage at the half.
The Falcons held the Golden Grizzlies scoreless for the final 4:52 of the opening half. In that half, Mann (15), Honegger (12) and Horne (11) all hit double digits in scoring, combining for 38 of the Falcons' 40 points. BG shot 55.2 percent (16-for-29) from the field in that half, including a 6-for-11 performance (54.5%) from three-point land.
As was the case in the first half, Oakland got off to a quick start in the second stanza. The Grizzlies scored the first six points of the half, as BGSU missed the first nine shot attempts out of the lockerroom.
A Bonnie Baker hoop was followed by four-straight points from Kidd, cutting the BGSU lead in half. Honegger's free throws at the 17:37 mark stopped that OU run, and an Achter steal and layup restored the Falcons' double-digit advantage a minute-and-a-half later.
Despite that 0-for-9 shooting stretch at the offensive end, the Falcons helped their own cause at the other end of the court. Beginning at the 17:17 mark, the Falcons forced OU turnovers on four consecutive possessions, and on five of six trips down the floor.
A Lakeshia White bucket cut the lead to single digits, at 44-36, before Falcon freshman Jasmine McCall took her turn in the spotlight. McCall, a native of Detroit, scored seven consecutive BG points, beginning with a running layup over several defenders.
Wilson hit a layup at the other end, but McCall then converted a three-point play, and hit a pull-up jumper in the lane to give the Falcons a 51-38 lead with 11:13 left. A Horne steal and layup upped the margin to 15 points and prompted an Oakland timeout.
The hosts would not go away, battling back to within eight points on a Hafeli shot at the 8:12 mark. At that juncture, the Grizzlies were shooting 60.0% (9-for-15) in the second half.
Mann, however, took a pass from freshman Lindsey Goldsberry and drained a left-side jumper to put the lead into double digits for good. Neither team scored for over two minutes, before Honegger's strength resulted in a three-point play with 5:23 left.
On the play, Honegger took a pass down low, with two OU defenders draped all over her. Her first shot was no good, but Honegger outfought her opponents for the rebound, then converted the putback as White was called for the foul. The free throw gave BG a 61-48 lead.
With the margin at 11 points, junior Megan Thorburn hit a running layup with three-and-a-half minutes left. Hafeli drained a three, but Mann connected with Achter on a 'Hail Mary.'
As Mann prepared to inbound the ball, Achter lost her defender and went long. Mann's football-style pass found Achter far beyond the OU defense, and the sophomore's layup gave BG a 67-55 lead with 2:53 remaining.
After a pair of Wilson charity tosses, Honegger took a Mann pass and scored on a left-side layup. From there, the Falcon defense put the clamps on the OU offense, forcing five consecutive missed shots. Achter hit three of her four free-throw tries down the stretch, and a pair of Hafeli tosses in the final 10 seconds produced the final margin.
For the game, the Falcons shot 44.4% from the field, while Oakland had a 42.3% success rate. Horne had three steals as the Falcons forced the Grizzlies into 18 turnovers, while BGSU had 11 assists and just 10 turnovers on the night.
Achter had three of those 11 assists, while four players had two apiece. Mann had six rebounds and Horne five as BG held a 36-33 advantage in that category.
BGSU now takes an all-too-brief break for the holidays, before returning for a Dec. 26 practice. The next day, the Falcons leave for Philadelphia, Pa., and the Hawk Classic, hosted by Saint Joseph's. BGSU will face Delaware in Wednesday's (Dec. 28) first round, beginning at 4:00 p.m. The Falcons will face either Iona or the host school the following afternoon, with the consolation game scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and the championship at 4:00 p.m.
