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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
EASTERN MICHIGAN
Falcons Win Battle of Unbeatens, 76-69, Over EMU
February 01, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2006
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - In a battle of Mid-American Conference women's basketball unbeatens, Bowling Green State University rode an early lead and a raucous home crowd to victory. The Falcons downed Eastern Michigan University by a 76-69 count on Wednesday night (Feb. 1) at venerable Anderson Arena.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 17-2 overall and a perfect 8-0 in MAC play. The Eagles fall to 13-6 and 7-1, respectively.
 Amber Flynn accepts congratulations from assistant coach Kevin Eckert (center) and head coach Curt Miller during Wednesday's win over Eastern Michigan. Flynn had 12 points in 13 minutes off the bench (photo by Brad Phalin)  |
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Falcon junior Liz Honegger had nine points, as did classmate Carin Horne. Honegger ripped down a game-best 15 rebounds.
Eastern had four players in double figures in scoring, led by Ryan Coleman. Coleman had a double-double, with 25 points and 11 boards, whil Patrice McKinney scored 17. Annie Malatinsky (11 points) and Nikki Knapp (10) rounded out the Eagle double-digit scorers.
The game marked the first time in MAC history, according to the league office, that a pair of 7-0 conference teams squared off. The Falcons' victory improved the team's winning streaks to eight games overall, 14-straight games (regular-season and tournament) against league foes and 15 in a row at home. The BG win also snapped Eastern's school-record nine-game winning streak.
The Falcons went to the free-throw line a whopping 42 times on the night, just two shy of the school record for a MAC game. BGSU made 29 of those tosses for a 20-point margin in that category. Eastern was 9-of-13 from the stripe.
Knapp opened the game with a pair of free throws just 25 seconds in, but the Falcons would score the next nine points and lead the rest of the night. A Mann layup, off the first of a team-high five Achter assists on the night, tied the score at the 19:15 mark, and a Honegger rebound led to an Achter layup just 18 seconds later.
Horne drew a foul and converted two free throws and, when junior Megan Thorburn hit a left-side three-pointer, the Falcons held a 9-2 advantage just 2:12 into the game.
Five-straight points from Coleman, however, got the Eagles right back into the game. The senior hit a jumper at the 16:36 mark, for the visitors' first field goal of the night, then converted a three-point opportunity just 31 seconds later.
Both teams struggled offensively for the next few minutes. After Coleman's three-point play, the Eagles would go scoreless for exactly five minutes. But, the Falcons could score just four points in that span. Honegger hit a layup off an Achter pass, and Mann knocked down a right-side jumper, for a 13-7 lead. The Eagles made just 2-of-11 shots (18.2 percent) to begin the game.
Malatinsky snapped the Eagles' scoreless slide with a three-pointer, her first of three on the night, at the 11:05 mark. Flynn, however, countered with a layup off an assist from senior Casey McDowell, and Mann's rebound and putback gave the Falcons a seven-point lead. On her hoop, at the 10:16 mark, Mann drew a foul and went to the line. She missed her free throw, but Flynn was there to grab the rebound and put the ball in the hoop for a 19-10 lead.
Eastern Michigan, however, would not go away. With the margin still nine points, the Eagles went on a 6-0 run, with a pair of jumpers by McKinney and one by Coleman cutting the Falcons' lead to just three, 21-18.
Achter snapped that run with a hoop, and, after another Coleman layup, Mann scored four-straight points. The junior hit a jumper at the 4:29 mark, then drew EMU starter Sarah VanMetre's third foul of the game just 28 seconds later, sinking both free throws for a 27-20 lead.
Again, the Eagles rallied, scoring five consecutive points to cut BG's lead to 29-27 with 2:22 left in the half. But, the Falcons would score the last six points of the half, with four coming at the foul line. BG took a 35-27 lead into the lockerroom.
In that opening half, the Eagles shot 34.4% as a team, going 11-of-32. Coleman was 6-for-11 from the floor, while the rest of the team combined to go 5-for-21. Both Coleman and Mann had 13 points in the opening half of play.
Eastern opened the second-half scoring, but Honegger then scored four-straight points to open up the first double-digit lead of the game. Her second basket in that span came when she slashed through several EMU defenders on the left side of the lane to lay in Mann's pass.
In between Honegger hoops, an Achter steal led to McKinney's third foul of the game, at the 18:41 juncture.
Coleman cut the lead to eight points, but an Achter three-point play put the lead to 11, at 42-31. Then, VanMetre was whistled for her fourth foul of the game, with 17:17 on the clock, and was forced to the bench.
Starting with the final point of Achter's three-point play, the Falcons would score their next nine points from the free-throw line. BGSU would go 5:22 without a bucket, but would actually increase the lead during that time, from 11 to 14 points. Then, freshman Jasmine McCall grabbed a rebound at the defensive end and pushed the ball up the floor. She found Horne on the right-side of the court, and the junior's three-point try hit nothing but net. The Falcons led by 17, 53-36, with 12:24 remaining, and the Eagles used a timeout.
A Malatinsky trey cut the lead to 14, and the margin stayed between 14 and 16 for the next several minutes. Just past the midway point of the half, Honegger grabbed one of her 15 defensive rebounds on the night, and threw a long outlet pass. Mann and Horne, on a two-on-one, filled the lanes with clinical precision, and Horne's pass found Mann in stride for an easy layup and an 18-point margin, 59-41.
EMU cut the lead back to 12 points, before Flynn took an Achter pass on the fastbreak and hit a three-pointer, the first of her career. That shot gave BGSU a 64-49 lead at the 6:31 mark.
Eastern continued to chip away, though, and cut the lead to 10 points with 4:36 left. Horne drove the right baseline and slid the ball to Honegger for an easy layup, but a McKinney jumper narrowed the gap to 10 once again, 68-58.
Achter scored for the Brown and Orange, but a Coleman jumper was followed by McKinney's three-point play, and the lead was down to seven points, 70-63, with 1:27 left. Almost immediately, the Eagles fouled Achter, who hit both of her free throws.
Again, EMU scored, but fouled Achter, who converted both tosses for a 74-65 lead with 57 seconds left. Despite missing six of their eight free throws over the remainder of the game, the hosts would let the Eagles get no closer than the seven-point final margin.
For the game, the Falcons shot 40.7% from the field to the Eagles' 38.9%. Achter, in addition to her 20 points, had five assists and five rebounds, and went 10-of-14 from the foul line. Honegger had a season-high four blocks.
Coleman was 12-for-28 for the Eagles, adding a team-high three assists to her 25-point, 11-board totals. She played all 40 minutes. VanMetre had just three points, going 1-for-2, but grabbed eight rebounds, while McKinney had seven boards. The Falcons held a 43-42 edge on the glass.
BGSU returns to action Sunday afternoon (Feb. 5), making the short trip north to take on the arch-rival University of Toledo. The game, the MAC Game of the Week, will begin at 4:00 p.m. and will air on Fox Sports Ohio, Comcast Local (Michigan), Comcast Sports Net (Chicago) and Adelphia (Buffalo).
NOTES
2006: 7-0 Eastern Michigan at 7-0 BGSU*
2000: 6-0 Kent State* at 5-0 Western Michigan
1998: 4-0 BGSU at 4-0 Kent State*
1999: 3-0 Kent State at 3-0 Toledo*
1996: 3-0 Toledo* at 3-0 Kent State
* winning team
