Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Kent State
Falcons Down Kent State, 62-50, to Clinch East Division Title
February 22, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2006
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Juniors Ali Mann and Liz Honegger each posted double-doubles to lead the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team past visiting Kent State University, 62-50, Wednesday night (Feb. 22). The Mid-American Conference game was held at BGSU's venerable Anderson Arena.
With the win, the Falcons clinched the MAC's East Division title. BGSU is now 23-2 overall and 14-0 in MAC play, with two regular-season games remaining. The Golden Flashes drop to 17-8 and 10-4, respectively. The two teams already had earned the East Division's top-two seeds and the accompanying first-round byes for the MAC Tournament.
Mann had 18 points and game-high 13 rebounds, while Honegger scored 13 points and grabbed 10 boards. Junior Carin Horne joined the duo in double digits in the scoring column, with 11 points, to help offset the game-high 20-point effort of KSU's Lindsay Shearer.
The victory also enabled the Falcons to complete the home portion of the regular-season schedule without a loss. BGSU is 11-0 at Anderson Arena this season. The Falcons increased their winning streaks to 14 games overall, 18 consecutive games at home and 20-straight games (regular-season and tournament) vs. MAC opponents.
The win was the Falcons' third in a row vs. the Flashes, but BG's first home win against KSU in nine years (since Feb. 12, 1997).
BG took a slim 23-21 lead into the half, but used a 7-0 run to take a 36-27 lead with 13:53 remaining. The Flashes got as close as four points on two occasions, but Horne's three-point field goal with 9:29 remaining gave the Brown and Orange a 41-34 lead, and sophomore Kate Achter followed with a layup less than a minute later. KSU never got closer than seven points thereafter.
BGSU shot 39.6 percent from the field, while holding the Flashes to a 33.3% field-goal rate for the game. KSU had just one more turnover than BG, 16-15, but the hosts enjoyed a 22-10 advantage in points off turnovers.
Both teams got off to a slow start, as the score was just 2-2 at the initial media timeout. Neither team scored until Shearer hit a pair of free throws with 1:36 elapsed. The teams combined to miss the first nine shots of the game before Achter's foul-line jumper knotted the score with 16:37 left in the half.
The Falcons, ranked #25 in the nation in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches poll, got a pair of foul shots from Mann at the 15:55 mark. BG forced Kent State to miss seven shots from the field to open the game before a Shearer jumper with 5:03 gone.
The teams battled back and forth, as Mann banked home her three-point try to give the Falcons a 10-8 lead at the 11:39 media break. That began a 7-0 BGSU run. Horne and Honegger each hit jumpers during that run, giving the hosts a 14-8 lead midway through the half. But, the visitors would rally right back.
The Flashes scored eight-straight points, with the last six coming in a span of only 32 seconds. A Shearer layup got things started, and Malika Willoughby's jumper cut BG's lead to two points. La'kia Stewart's reverse layup at the 8:59 mark tied the score and forced a BGSU timeout.
Out of the timeout, however, the Falcons immediately threw the ball away. Stewart intercapted the inbounds pass deep in the BG end and found Sarah Burgess for an easy layup.
BG responded with the game's next six points, holding the Flashes scoreless for a span of 3:47. A Honegger hoop snapped a Falcon scoreless streak of 4:23 and tied the score, and Horne's layup 16 seconds later gave the Brown and Orange the lead for good, although the game was far from being decided.
Neither team would score for two-and-a-half minutes, before freshman Lindsey Goldsberry's pass found Honegger for a jumper and a 20-16 lead. The Anderson Arena crowd of 1,603 started to increase the volume, but KSU's Tiffany Kelly quickly responded with a three-pointer, the Flashes' only successful trey of the night, to cut the lead to a single point.
The Falcons would hold that lead for the next 3:53, as neither team could score. During the back and forth play, the teams combined for seven missed shots and seven turnovers. There were also six fouls called during that time, including two on Shearer. She picked up her first on an offensive foul call at the 3:18 mark, then was called for an over-the-back foul with 1:40 left before intermission.
Honegger broke the scoreless spell with 1:12 left, taking a pass from Horne and hitting a left-elbow three with a defender's hand in her face. Mallorie Griffith answered with a jumper at the other end, closing the first-half scoring.
The Falcons shot just 32.1% in the opening half, but got out of the gate quickly in the second 20 minutes. BGSU outscored KSU by a 9-4 count in the opening 4:14.
The teams traded hoops for the first two-plus minutes, with the Falcons getting a fast-break layup from Mann (via an Achter assist) and a Honegger turnaround shot in the lane, but KSU responding with hoops from Stewart and Tiffany LaFleur. Junior Amber Flynn then grabbed a missed shot and converted the putback, giving the Falcons a 29-25 lead and starting a 7-0 run.
That run continued when, after a KSU offensive foul, Achter grabbed a rebound and hit a slashing layup in traffic. Flynn split a pair of charity tosses, and senior Casey McDowell found freshman Jessica McKenzie for a layup and a nine-point lead, 34-25, with 15:20 left.
A 5-0 run, capped by a Shearer layup, got the Flashes back to within four points, 36-32, with 11:50 left in the game. The teams traded free throws before Mann found Horne for a three-pointer at the 9:29 mark, upping the BG lead to 41-34.
After a Honegger steal, Achter's foul-line jumper restored the nine-point margin for the hosts, before KSU got a Griffith layup with 7:41 on the clock.
Moments later, however, Achter spotted Honegger inside for a layup, and Honegger then rebounded a KSU miss. The junior's quick outlet pass led to a fast-break opportunity, but the BG shot would not drop. Mann, however, grabbed the rebound and hit a layup, with Shearer whistled for a foul on the play. Mann hit the ensuing free throw to give the Brown and Orange a 50-38 lead at the 5:53 mark.
The teams traded points for the next few minutes. With four-plus minutes to go, the Falcons nearly turned the ball over, but Achter prevented a turnover by diving to the floor, grabbing the ball and finding a cutting Flynn for a layup and a 54-42 lead.
Less than 30 seconds later, Flynn kicked the ball out to McDowell, who drilled a left-side three for a 57-44 BG lead. After nearly two scoreless minutes, Mann hit a pair of free throws for a 15-point Falcon advantage with 2:19 left, and the lead remained in double digits until the final horn.
The Falcons got nine points and a game-high seven assists from Achter, while Flynn scored five points in just 13 minutes. After Shearer's 20-point total, Willoughby was the next-highest point producer for the Flashes, scoring eight.
Shearer went 6-of-16 from the field on the night, and the Falcons held KSU's other four starters to a combined 7-for-31 effort.
The Falcons, bouyed by the double-doubles from Honegger and Mann, held a 38-35 rebounding advantage. Shearer and Willoughby each had eight boards to tie for KSU honors.
The Falcons conclude the regular season with a pair of road games, beginning with Saturday's (Feb. 25) contest at Ohio University. BGSU then plays at Miami University on Tuesday night (Feb. 28), before facing a team to be determined in the league tourney quarterfinals on March 8.
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