Bowling Green State University
Kent State (Championship)
Bowling Green Cruises Past Kent State For Consecutive MAC Title
March 11, 2006 | Women's Basketball
March 11, 2006
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CLEVELAND (AP) - Carin Horne scored 16 points and No. 24 Bowling Green held Kent State to a season-low point total in a 64-39 victory Saturday, giving the Falcons their second straight Mid-American Conference tournament title.
Bowling Green (28-2) never trailed in rolling to its 19th straight victory. The Falcons shut down MAC player of the year Lindsay Shearer early and dominated the boards 41-23.
Bowling Green held Kent State (21-9) to a season-low 13 points in the first half and took Shearer out of the offense.
The senior forward, who led the MAC with a 20.9 point average, attempted just two shots in the first half and got to the foul line once for four points.
Shearer finished with 18 points, most coming after the game was out of reach.
Ali Mann, chosen tournament MVP, and Liz Honegger scored 14 points each. Kate Achter had nine points and seven assists.
Freshman Jasmine McCall dribbled out the final seconds at half court while Achter and her teammates jumped up and down on the sideline.
The Falcons, in the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since 1994, haven't lost since falling to Kentucky in overtime Jan. 2. They are the fifth team to go unbeaten in MAC conference play and have won 25 straight games against league schools.
Bowling Green jumped on Kent State to open the second half, led by Honegger, whose 3-pointer made it 38-17 with 16:55 left.
Kent State ripped off a 12-0 run fueled by Shearer and Sarah Burgess, who made a 3-point play after missing her first nine shots, to pull within 38-29.
But Horne widened the lead, scoring seven of the Falcons' next nine points.
Malika Willoughby then picked up her fourth foul with 8:32 left and threw her mouth guard to the floor in frustration. She was called for a technical foul and left with eight points.
The Golden Flashes shot 32 percent from the field and were 1-for-7 from 3-point range.
They struggled to get the ball inside to Shearer, who set a MAC tournament record with 44 points in last season's title game. She didn't attempt her first field goal until the 8:35 mark in the first half.
The Golden Flashes, who were seeking their first MAC tourney title since 2002, are now 3-8 in MAC tourney championship games. They lost to Bowling Green 81-75 in last year's final.
