Honegger, Mann Named Women's Basketball co-Players of Year

April 24, 2005

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Sophomores Liz Honegger and Ali Mann were named the Bowling Green State University women's basketball co-Players of the Year for the 2004-05 season. The team was honored at the annual BGSU Women's Basketball Banquet, held at the Bowen-Thompson Student Union on the BGSU campus Saturday evening (April 23).

Honegger and Mann earned the award in a vote of team members. Honegger also was named the team's Power Player of the Year, while classmate Carin Horne was honored as the Impact Player of the Year.

Junior Casey McDowell picked up the team's Most Improved Player award, while freshman Kate Achter was the Playmaker of the Year. Senior Tene Lewis was the recipient of the Falcon Award, while sophomore Julie Gompers was named BG's Student-Athlete of the Year. Diane Tymiak was honored as the Booster of the Year.

Kate Achter and Liz Honegger celebrate after winning the 2005 Kraft MAC Tournament (BGSU Photo/Craig Bell)

Honegger shared team P-O-Y honors, and earned the Power Player of the Year award, which is given to the top post player. An All-MAC Second-Team selection, she was also named to the Kraft MAC All-Tournament Team. Honegger led the Falcons in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots on the season, with 14.5 points and 8.1 boards per game and 50 rejections to tie the school mark that she already shared. A two-time MAC Player of the Week, Honegger was named to the All-Tournament Team at each of BGSU's two in-season tournaments, at Brown and New Mexico. Honegger had eight double-doubles on the year, including a 15-point, 13-board performance vs. Kansas State in the NCAA Tournament.

Mann, who shared team Player-of-the-Year honors with Honegger, also joined her fellow soph on the All-MAC Second Team. Mann was second on the team in both scoring and rebounding, with 13.8 points and 7.4 caroms per game, and led the Falcons in both categories in league play. In MAC games, she had 15.0 ppg and 7.8 rpg. Mann scored in double digits in 24 games in 2004-05, including in 11-of-12 games to end the season. She suffered a sprained ankle in the Toledo game on Feb. 26, and was questionable for the Northern Illinois contest (March 1). Not only did Mann play at NIU, she tied for the team scoring lead, with 20 points in just 24 minutes, as the Falcons won the MAC's regular-season crown outright.

Kate Achter and Ali Mann rush the court to greet their teammates after defeating EMU, 77-57, in the MAC Tournament semifinal (BGSU Photo/Craig Bell)

Horne garnered the team's Impact Player of the Year honor, bestowed upon the player who made significant contributions throughout the season. Horne finished third on the Falcons in both scoring and rebounding, with 11.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest, and led the Brown and Orange in steals, with 63. For the second-straight season, she scored 17 points in the Kraft MAC Tournament's championship game. This season, that performance included several crucial baskets in the game's final minutes, as the Falcons downed Kent State, 81-75. Horne averaged 12.3 points and 4.9 rebounds in MAC play, and had a total of 12 steals in the league tourney, including a career-high seven in the semifinal-round win over Eastern Michigan.

Carin Horne passes off under pressure from Casey McDowell in a drill during practice at the Bank of America Arena in Seattle, the day before BGSU's NCAA game vs. Kansas State (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

McDowell was named the Falcons' Most Improved Player after tripling her scoring average from the prior year. She averaged 2.2 points per game in 2003-04, but scored 6.8 points per contest in the MAC Championship season. McDowell was named to the Kraft MAC All-Tournament Team after averaging 16.3 points and shooting 60.9 percent from the field (and 68.8% from three-point land) in the three tourney games. McDowell had a monster game in the quarterfinal win over Miami, with a career-high 31 points, including a school record-tying seven three-pointers. McDowell made 44 treys on the year, quadruple her total from the previous season, and shot a team-best 37.0% from long range in '04-05.

Achter earned the team's Playmaker of the Year award. The freshman replaced a four-year starter and all-league performer (Lindsay Austin) at the point-guard position, and the Falcons did not miss a beat. Achter was named the MVP of the Kraft MAC Tournament after averaging 18.0 points and 5.8 assists during the Falcons' three wins. She was named to the league's All-Freshman Team, and was the runner-up for the MAC Freshman-of-the-Year award. Achter started 24 games, including each of the last 23, and the Falcons went 20-4 in those games. On the year, she averaged 11.0 points and 4.0 boards to rank fourth on the team in each category, and led the team with 4.0 assists per game.

Tene Lewis (24) splits a pair of EMU defenders in the second half of the Falcons' league tourney semifinal win (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)

Lewis received the Falcon Award, presented to the player who exemplifies commitment, dedication and loyalty to the women's basketball program. Lewis played in all 31 games, starting seven, and averaged 2.8 points and 3.1 rebounds. The co-captain finished second on the team in assists, with 2.9, and was third in steals, with 1.8. She had 3.4 points, 3.8 boards and 3.3 assists (second on the team) per game in MAC play. Lewis, generally the first player off the bench, provided a spark and was a defensive stopper for the Falcons during her final three years. Prior to February, 2005, her career high for minutes played had been 27, but she played at least 27 minutes in seven of the last nine regular-season games.

Gompers earned the team's Scholar-Athlete Award. She did not play in 2004-05, due to injury, but worked all season to rehabilitate. Gompers and her sister, Lauren, both headed to the NCAA Championships, as Lauren is a member of the women's basketball team at Saint Francis (Pa.).

Seniors Tene Lewis, Sakima Smith and Kelly Kapferer with the Kraft MAC Tournament Championship trophy. (BGSU Photo/Brad Phalin)

The Falcons' two freshmen, Achter and Whitney Taylor, were presented with their letterwinner jackets by former Falcon Jena Ault, while the team's three seniors -- Lewis, Kelly Kapferer and Sakima Smith -- all were honored and had a chance to share their thoughts on their time at BG.

Other highlights included a spectacular video of the team's season, created by Julie Baker of BGSU's Instructional Media Services, and an impressive performance by Kapferer, who sang and played guitar as musical accompaniment for a slide show on the big screen.

The 2004-05 Falcons, of course, won both the Mid-American Conference regular-season and tournament titles, and advanced to the NCAA Championships for the first time in 11 years. The Falcons of head coach Curt Miller, associate head coach Jennifer Roos and assistants Brandi Poole and Kevin Eckert finished 23-8 overall, the team's most wins in 11 years as well, and BG was 13-3 in MAC play to win the West Division by two games. The season came to an end with a 10-point loss to Kansas State in the NCAA Championships First Round in Seattle, Wash.

BGSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS:

Co-Players of the Year: Liz Honegger and Ali Mann

Falcon Award: Tene Lewis

Power Player of the Year: Liz Honegger

Playmaker of the Year: Kate Achter

Impact Player of the Year: Carin Horne

Most Improved Player: Casey McDowell

Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Julie Gompers

Booster of the Year: Diane Tymiak

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