Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Falcons Complete Cross-Divisional Play with Win at Northern Illinois, 85-76
February 11, 2007 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 10, 2007
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DeKALB, Ill. (BGSUFalcons.com) - Senior Ali Mann and junior Kate Achter combined for 45 points and the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team shot 50.0 percent from the field in both halves as the Falcons picked up an 85-76 win at Northern Illinois University Saturday morning/afternoon (Feb. 10). The Mid-American Conference game was held at the Convocation Center.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 22-2 on the season, and BGSU is now 11-0 in MAC action. BGSU has won 15 consecutive games since a loss to Duke on Dec. 19. Northern Illinois falls to 15-8 overall and 6-5 in MAC action.
Mann, playing all 40 minutes, tied for game honors with 23 points and tied her career high with 16 rebounds -- 10 more than any other player on either team. Achter scored 22 points in the win, and senior Carin Horne scored 12 points to round out BG's trio of double-digit scorers.
Sophomore Jasmine McCall had six points off the bench, along with a game-high four steals. McCall entered the game and provided an immediate spark with an uber-successful stretch in the first half.
For the Huskies, Stephanie Raymond had 23 points to pace four players in double digits. Mary Basic had 18 points, Kylie York 12 and Kristin Wiener 10 for the hosts.
The Huskies made 11 three-point field goals in the game, with Raymond and Basic hitting four apiece and York three. BGSU was 6-of-19 from the arc.
Northern took an early lead as Basic drained a triple on the game's first possession. But, senior Liz Honegger took a pass from Horne and hit a left-side jumper before the first minute had elapsed, and a pull-up jumper by Achter gave the Falcons a 4-3 lead.
After the Huskies committed a turnover for the third-straight possession, Honegger's entry pass found Mann for a short jumper off the glass.
Several minutes later, with the Falcons running after a Honegger blocked shot and a Mann rebound, Achter was fouled and hit both free throws for a 10-5 BG lead. Wiener hit a jumper, but Achter drove coast-to-coast and hit a jumper for a 12-7 lead.
Then, Achter pounded the ball inside to Mann, who banked home a layup and was fouled by Basic. Out of the game's first media timeout, Mann completed the three-point play with a free throw for a 15-7 BG margin.
Northern battled back, scoring the next five points, and a Basic three-pointer cut the lead to 15-12, but a second and third effort by Mann resulted in a layup after the senior pulled down a pair of offensive boards. However, an NBA-style continuation foul was called on a Whitney Lowe drive, resulting in a three-point play that cut BG's margin to two points. Achter drove and scored, but Raymond came right back with a driving layup of her own. Sophomore Lindsey Goldsberry found Flynn for a shot shot and a 21-17 lead. The teams traded turnovers, then traded jumpers, as Mann hit a foul-line J before Weiner scored at the 10:43 mark.
Flynn blew past her defender for a basket, but Wiener scored again, then hit two free throws to cut the lead to 25-23. York's catch-and-shoot three-pointer gave the Huskies a one-point lead, 26-25, with 7:49 remaining in the half. But, McCall was about to take over the game for the next few minutes.
McCall, who had entered the game at the 8:18 mark, hit a jumper in the lane with 7:32 left in the half, then stole the ball from Lowe and fed Horne for a right-elbow three-pointer and a 30-26 lead at the 6:59 mark.
Almost immediately, the sophomore forced another turnover, poking the ball away at midcourt and heading in all alone for a layup with 6:37 left in the half. Then, Goldsberry stole the ball at midcourt and was fouled in the process, taking the teams into a media timeout.
McCall was whistled for a turnover, but stole the ball right back, concluding a 100-second stretch in which she totaled four points, three steals and an assist.
A three-pointer by York, however, cut BG's advantage to three points, at 32-29. A Horne steal at midcourt resulted in an easy layup for the senior, but Raymond answered at the other end. Mann's right-side drive led to a one-hander and a 36-31 lead, before Achter hit a right-side jumper for a seven-point lead.
McCall swatted a Raymond layup attempt out of bounds, but the NIU senior responded with a three-pointer off of the inbounds pass. Flynn's kick-out pass resulted in an Achter jumper and a 40-34 lead, and a jumper by Mann sent the Falcons into the lockerroom with a 42-34 lead.
Senior Megan Thorburn opened the second-half scoring, grabbing a defensive rebound and hitting a right-side triple for an 11-point BG lead. Northern rallied to score the next four points, but Achter scored on a baseline drive and reverse layup in traffic, and the junior then restored BG's 11-point margin on a length-of-the-court drive and jumper.
Mann grabbed one of her nine defensive boards on the day, and at the other end of the court, Achter fired a pass to Horne in the left corner. The senior's three-pointer found nothing but net, and the Falcons' lead was 52-38 as Northern Illinois called a timeout.
Out of that timeout, however, a Raymond shot was off the mark, and another Mann rebound led to another Achter drive. This time, the junior scored, drew a foul and hit the ensuing free throw, and BG held a 55-38 advantage at the 17-minute mark.
Becky Smith scored to stop the Falcons' 10-0 run, but Honegger slipped outside for a trey from the left corner, and BG held a 58-40 advantage. Again, the hosts looked to mount a comeback, scoring the next five points. However, Mann hit a straightaway three for a 61-45 advantage.
A minute later, Honegger fired a three-pointer, and the ball bounced off the front of the rim, into the air and through the hoop. The Falcons' margin was 19 points, 64-45, with just over 14 minutes on the clock.
A Raymond three-pointer began a 9-0 Northern run, all from beyond the arc. York and Basic followed with triples, and the Huskies were within 10 points. But, out of a timeout, Horne hit a running one-hander, and a Flynn steal led to a Mann jumper and a 68-54 score.
The Huskies scored the next five points, and the Falcons' lead was single digits before a Flynn baseline jumper gave the visitors a 70-59 advantage. Basic connected on a basket, but Mann hit two charity tosses, then a jumper at the 6:25 mark for a 74-61 score.
Raymond responded with a quick layup at the other end, and a jumper by Wiener cut the hosts' deficit to 74-65 with 4:40 left. The Huskies got the ball back via a steal, and York fired a three-point attempt with a chance to cut BG's lead to six points, but the shot was off the mark, and the Huskies were called for a foul as Mann grabbed the rebound. The Falcon senior split her tosses for a 10-point lead, and that lead would remain in double digits until under 10 seconds remained in the game.
A Flynn layup at the 3:14 juncture gave BG a 12-point lead, and McCall's steal and layup upped the advantage to 79-65. The remainder of BGSU's points all came at the free-throw line, as the Falcons made six charity tosses in the final two-plus minutes.
Flynn scored nine points in the win, while Honegger added eight. Honegger, Horne and Achter all had three assists for the Brown and Orange.
The Falcons had a 14-0 advantage in fast-break points, and BGSU also had 26 points off turnovers to the Huskies' eight. Northern had a 20-9 advantage in second-chance points.
BGSU returns to intra-divisional action for the final five games of the regular season, beginning Wednesday (Feb. 14). The Falcons will host Akron that evening, in a 7:00 p.m. start at Anderson Arena.
