Bowling Green State University Athletics
Wildcats Outlast Falcons, 70-60
March 21, 2005 | Women's Basketball
March 19, 2005
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SEATTLE, Wash. - Kansas State University seniors Kendra Wecker and Laurie Koehn combined for 47 points as the Wildcats downed Bowling Green State University, 70-60, Saturday night (March 19). The NCAA Championships First Round game was held at Bank of America Arena on the University of Washington campus.
With the win, K-State, seeded fourth in the Kansas City Regional, improved to 24-7 on the year, and advanced to Monday's (March 21) second round to face Vanderbilt. The Falcons, the 13th seed, see the season come to an end with a record of 23-8.
While Kansas State's seniors combined to score 51 of the team's 70 points, 90 percent (54 of 60) of BGSU's points came from non-seniors. Sophomore Liz Honegger had a team-high 15 points, and had a double-double with a game-high 13 rebounds. Classmate Ali Mann had 13 points and eight boards, while freshman Kate Achter had 10 points in the game.
Wecker, with 25 points, and Koehn, with 22, were K-State's only double-figure scorers. Wecker had 12 rebounds while senior Brie Madden grabbed 11.
The Falcons battled from start to finish, and hung with the nationally-ranked Wildcats. The game featured nine ties and 13 lead changes, and BG led #16 K-State for much of the first half.
The Falcons got on the board first, on a jumper by Mann with 45 seconds elapsed, and traded points with the Wildcats over the next few minutes. Honegger and Achter hit hoops, and two free throws by sophomore Carin Horne gave the Brown and Orange an 8-7 lead at the initial media timeout. At that point, the Falcons held an 8-3 rebounding advantage.
The Wildcats scored the next five points of the game, including Koehn's first three-point field goal of the night, before a hoop by junior Casey McDowell cut the BG deficit to 12-10 and gave each of the five Falcon starters two points.
A Honegger triple cut K-State's lead to 14-13, and a pair of Achter free throws gave BG a one-point lead with 12:57 left in the half. Just over 30 seconds later, Mann drew Wecker's second foul of the game, and the BG soph hit two charity tosses for a 17-14 Falcon lead.
The Wildcats rallied with the game's next four points, and a Koehn layup gave the Wildcats an 18-17 lead, in the first of four lead changes over the next several minutes. Horne's left-elbow three-pointer, however, gave BG a 22-21 edge with just over seven minutes left in the half.
Honegger and Wecker traded baskets before a Honegger shot was blocked on the next possession. But, Honegger grabbed the rebound and fed a cutting Tene Lewis. The senior converted a layup to give the Falcons a 26-23 lead and prompt Kansas State coach Deb Patterson to use a timeout with 5:17 left in the half.
Koehn - second in NCAA history in three-pointers made - hit her third of the game at the 4:38 mark, and Wecker stepped out and hit a three-ball less than a minute later. But, senior Sakima Smith's rebound and putback tied the score at 29-29 with 3:20 on the clock.
Koehn's fourth trey of the half gave KSU a three-point lead at the 1:56 mark, but Honegger answered with a triple off a Mann offensive rebound. Honegger then drew a Madden foul and made the second free-throw try, putting BG ahead by a 33-32 margin at the half.
Honegger nearly got her double-double in that first half, with 11 points and seven rebounds, and the Falcons held a first-half rebounding advantage of 25-22.
BGSU committed six turnovers in that opening 20 minutes, while forcing K-State into nine. The Falcons, however, would commit just one turnover in the entire second half.
In the second half, the teams traded baskets for the first two minutes, before the Wildcats went on a 7-0 run. Wecker started that run with a hoop, before Koehn scored the next five points. Her three-ball prompted Falcon coach Curt Miller to take time with 16:37 left in the game and K-State up by a 43-38 score.
The Wildcats slowly built that lead, until a pair of Wecker free throws gave K-State a double-figure lead, 51-41, with 11:48 left in the game. Mann converted a tree-point play, drawing Wecker's third foul in the process, but Shana Wheeler's basket restored a nine-point lead for the Wildcats.
BGSU was not finished, however. McDowell hit a layup, and Horne followed with a basket 30 seconds later. Then, Achter drove and scored while being fouled, and the Falcons were within three points, 53-50, with just over nine minutes to go.
Achter's free-throw try was unsuccessful, and the teams proceeded to battle through nearly two minutes of scoreless play. Wecker was called for an offensive foul, her fourth of the game, with 7:55 left, and a Madden foul at the other end sent Achter to the line for a one-and-one opportunity. She missed the front end, however, and Koehn hit a trey at the other end to give K-State a six-point lead with 7:22 left.
McDowell answered with a layup, but a Twiggy McIntyre three-point play upped the lead to seven points, and Wecker hit two charity tosses with 4:35 left.
Mann answered with a basket at the 4:22 mark, but the Falcon sophomore was called for her fifth foul less than a minute later, and two more Wecker free throws gave K-State a nine-point lead once again, 63-54. BG could get no closer than nine the rest of the way.
In addition to the three double-digit scorers, Horne and McDowell each had eight points for the Falcons. BGSU shot 30.1 percent from the field and made 5-of-21 three-point tries (23.8%).
Claire Coggins scored nine points for K-State, while Wheeler had six points and four blocks. Coggins blocked three BG shots herself, as the Wildcats totaled 10 rejections on the night.
Both Coggins and Wheeler had seven rebounds, as K-State held a 50-41 advantage in that department. The Wildcats shot 38.3% from the field and were 8-for-22 (36.4%) from three-point range, with Koehn going 6-for-13 from long distance.
BGSU forced 16 Kansas State turnovers, while committing only seven themselves. The Falcons held an 11-5 advantage in points off turnovers, and also led the Wildcats in second-chance points, 18-13, and points in the paint, 24-22.
The Falcons, after shooting 87.3% (55-of-63) from the free-throw line in the three Mid-American Conference Tournament games, went just 11-for-20 (55.0%) from the stripe against the Wildcats. By contrast, K-State was 16-of-18 (88.9%) in the game.
Wecker and Koehn, two of the most decorated Wildcats in history, combined for 26 points in the second half. Wecker, the Big 12 Conference's all-time leading scorer, had 18 points and went 10-for-10 from the free-throw line in the final 20 minutes. Her double-double was the 52nd of her career.
Koehn, who had a game-high 14 points at halftime, scored eight in the second stanza, and is now only two successful three-pointers away from tying the NCAA career record (391 by BYU's Erin Thorn, 1999-2003).
The Wildcats played for the first time without senior Megan Mahoney, the school's career assists leader. Mahoney, who holds the school records for consecutive games started and played (129), blew out her Achilles tendon in the Big 12 tourney championship game vs. Baylor.
