Bowling Green State University
Belmont
Achter, Falcons Upend Bonnies With Late Second Half Surge, 68-61
November 24, 2007 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 24, 2007
Final Stats | Quotes
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - After scoring the first 10 points of the contest, senior captain Kate Achter took the Orange and Brown offense on her shoulders scoring 32 points en route to lifting the still-undefeated Bowling Green State University Falcons to their fourth straight win and a 68-61 come-from-behind-victory over the Bonnies of St. Bonaventure University. The Bonnies, who entering the match had posted one of the best starts in school history, was given their first loss of the season and is 5-1 to date.
Prior to tonight's contest, Achter, needed to net 29 points to tie Andrea Nordman's (89-93) 1,164 career point total and join her at the 16th overall spot on the all-time scorers list. Tonight, she not only met the total, but went on to surpassed it and is now responsible for 1,167 career points with the with the Falcons. Achter needs 43 additional points to move into the top fifteen on the all-time scorers list. (Note: Seven of the Top 22 players in the 1,000-Point Club have played under head coach Curt Miller.)
Achter's 32 points also set a new personal best for the senior; previously her highest scoring game (29 pts.) was a 77-66 win at Belmont - just six days ago. In fact, the last time a Falcon scored 30-plus points was Casey McDowell's 31 point showing in the MAC Tournament on March 9, 2005. For those keeping track, Achter was just three points shy of tying the program record of 35 points in one game. Former Falcon Francie Miller was the last player to reach the plateau on Feb. 17, 2001; she is one of three players to hold the record and is the only player to account for 35 points in two separate contests.
In the first half, the Falcons found themselves with a constant single-digit lead and on the two occasions were ahead by as many a nine.
Entering the locker room, BGSU was in familiar territory holding a favorable plus-one scoring margin over the Bonnies, 33-34. To date, the Falcons are 4-0 when leading at the half and are 104-20 under Miller historically under the same circumstances.
The storylines of the night were written in the second half beginning with an SBU three pointer courtesy of Katelyn Murray to give the visitor's the 38-36 lead at 16:41. After missing a jumper and a lay-up to follow Murray's lead-changer, SBU would go on to score two consecutive field-goals from behind the arc on as many possessions. The Bonnies were ahead of the Falcons 44-38 at the 14:29 mark and had extended the lead to as many as nine by 13:47.
Prior to tonight's game, the largest deficit the Falcons were forced to overcome was six first-half points at Belmont - tonight the Orange and Brown played catch-up for a majority of the second half.
Looking at the wrong end of an eight point scoring debt, tri-captain Lindsey Goldsberry knocked down the first of two BG long range jumpers to cut the disadvantage to five and then two. On the Bonnies next possession, Achter gave BG a defensive stop negating Tiara Johnson's shot with a block and dishing out one of her three assists to fellow tri-captain Whitney Taylor on the left wing. Within two points of the Bonnies, Tara Breske forced SBU's leading scorer Dana Mitchell to turnover possession of the ball and followed the defensive highlight with an offensive one - a jumper that evened the game at 53-53 and forced SBU to take thirty second timeout in an attempt to interrupt the Falcons' momentum.
Out of the TO, St. Bona regained the lead thanks to four made free throws and a jumper in the paint by Cara Gustafson. With just over three minutes left to be played, the Bonnies were once again up over the hosts, 59-53.
Breske, a major contributor to the first come-back rally, played the same role in the Falcons final turnaround. The sophomore post picked-up her only block of the night when she stopped Mitchell's shot and the payoff from the defensive play was a Falcon lay-up by Achter; Breske both began and finished the play contributing the block and the assist to Achter. With the hustle play, BG was down just two points with two minutes remaining in the game.
Achter and Breske once again combined for a BG score to tie the game at 59-all with 1:58 ticks still on the game clock. The Oregon, Ohio native converted a foul shot for the old fashioned three point play and went on to score seven of the Falcons nine points in the remaining minutes of play. During the stretch, she was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line marking the second straight game in which she was 15-17 from the stripe.
During the match, the lead changed four times and was tied on five separate occurrences. Each squad also saw their biggest leads at nine points.
The Falcons current 4-0 record is the second best start under Miller. In 2005, BG jumped out to an 8-0 start on the season before losing to Delaware on the road. With his guidance, the Falcons have won each of their first two games in Anderson Arena in every season since 2003-04.
Bowling Green will now prepare for a two-game road stand and will return to the "House That Roars" on Dec. 5 to host nationally ranked Notre Dame at 7:00 p.m. for their last home game of 2007.
##BGSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL##
