Bowling Green State University
BUFFALO
Falcons Roll Past Bulls, 85-44, to Clinch MAC East Division Title
February 18, 2007 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2007
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BUFFALO, N.Y. (BGSUFalcons.com) - The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, for the second consecutive game, led from wire to wire, getting contributions from everyone on the active roster to win by over 40 points. On Saturday (Feb. 17), that win came over the University at Buffalo, and the final score was 85-44 in Mid-American Conference action at UB's Alumni Arena.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 24-2 overall and a perfect 13-0 in MAC action, while the Bulls drop to 8-17 and 3-10, respectively.
The Falcons' victory clinches the MAC East Division title outright for the Brown and Orange, for the second consecutive season. BGSU actually has won a division crown for the third-straight year, having won the West Division in 2004-05 prior to being moved back to the East.
The Falcons have won back-to-back games by over 40 points for the first time in program history, after Wednesday's 91-46 win over Akron.
Senior Megan Thorburn had a game-high 22 points, including a career-high six three-point field goals, vs. the Bulls. Thorburn's three-point total fell just one trey shy of the school's single-game record.
Senior Carin Horne and junior Kate Achter scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, for the Falcons, while senior Amber Flynn rounded out BG's double-digit scorers with 10 points off the bench.
Sophomore Lindsey Goldsberry scored seven points, making all three of her shot attempts on the day, and she also had game-high totals of six assists (without a turnover) and six steals. Goldsberry, played a team-high 29 minutes in the victory, set career bests in both assists and steals.
Jamie Schiebner led the Bulls with 17 points and six rebounds, going 7-for-9 from the floor. The rest of the team combined to shoot just 10-of-38 in the game.
For the second-straight game, the Falcons made a sizable run to begin the game. After scoring the game's first 13 points in Wednesday's (Feb. 14) 91-46 win over Akron, the Brown and Orange opened up an 8-0 advantage against UB.
Horne got the scoring started, with the first five points of the game. The senior hit a three-pointer on the Falcons' second possession of the game, then made a steal at midcourt and raced in for a breakaway layup. Then, Achter drove the baseline and kicked the ball to an open Thorburn in the left corner. Thorburn's first of her six triples on the night gave BG that eight-point lead before the game was two minutes old.
The Bulls got on the scoreboard when Belinda Gibb split a pair of free throws at the 17:52 mark, and Heather Turner's basket less than a minute later cut the BG lead to 8-3. But, the Falcons scored the next five points of the game to extend the margin to double digits for the first time. Horne upped her personal point total to eight with a triple from the right elbow, and the visitors had a 13-3 lead.
The Bulls got to within six points on several occasions over the next few minutes. But, Flynn's pass found Goldsberry for a layup and a 21-11 lead at the 11:44 mark, and BG's lead never fell below 10 points again.
After Goldsberry's hoop, Thorburn came up with a steal and fired the ball ahead to Achter for a layup, forcing the Bulls to take a timeout. Out of that break, however, the Falcons forced a UB miss, and senior Liz Honegger's pass spotted Flynn underneath for a layup and a 25-13 lead.
BG forced a shot-clock violation on the Bulls' next possession, and the Falcons' two sophomores teamed up for a basket, as Jasmine McCall's pass led to a Goldsberry left-side layup with 8:51 left.
After the next media timeout, the BG defense forced a five-second violation as the Bulls tried to inbound the ball, and Goldsberry's pass led to Achter's jumper at the 6:23 mark, giving the Falcons a 29-17 lead.
Then, Goldsberry made like a football defensive back and intercepted a pass at midcourt. BG's resulting sequence of quick passes led to senior Ali Mann firing the ball to Horne for a trailing three-pointer from the left elbow. BG's lead was 33-19.
Defense led to offense again, as Honegger stole the ball and fired it ahead to Achter for a layup, a UB foul and a Bulls timeout at the 4:53 juncture. Out of the timeout, Achter's free throw was good, and the Falcons led by 17.
Yet another steal, this time by Achter, led to two more points. Achter spotted McCall under the hoop, and McCall made the `extra pass' to find the open Mann. The senior captain laid the ball home for a 38-19 advantage. Then, Achter scored another layup, leading to another three-point play around a timeout.
Several minutes later, Mann stepped out to the corner of the court, took a pass from Horne and hit a left-side three-pointer to give the Falcons a 46-22 lead. A late three-pointer by Gibb brought the hosts within 20, and the Brown and Orange took a 47-27 lead into halftime.
The Falcons got off to a slow start in the second half, allowing the Bulls to score the first four points to cut the margin to 16. But, Horne hit a pair of shots, the second a short jumper at the 16:55 mark, and Achter stripped the ball away from Schiebner at midcourt and sailed in all alone for a layup and a 53-31 BG lead.
A few minutes later, Achter found Goldsberry for a three-ball from the left corner, and the Falcons had a 58-33 lead at the first media timeout of the half.
Back-to-back layups by Flynn were followed by a running jumper off the glass by freshman Tara Breske, and the Falcons had a 9-0 run and a 64-33 lead with 12:57 left.
Schiebner broke Buffalo's scoreless drought with two free throws at the 12:34 mark, but Goldsberry and Thorburn teamed up for a three-pointer. Goldsberry, double-teamed and looking to be in trouble, spun through the two UB defenders and threw a two-hand, underhanded pass to Thorburn before falling and hitting the ground. Thorburn took the pass and nailed a three-ball to give the Falcons a 67-35 lead at the 10:48 media break.
That three-pointer began a 15-0 run for the Brown and Orange, as UB would go scoreless for a span of 6:22. Thorburn scored nine points during that run, all from beyond the arc, before Dortae Freeman finally broke Buffalo's scoreless slide with a hoop with 5:47 on the clock.
Freeman's shot was UB's first successful field goal in 9:55. During that time, the Falcons put together a 24-2 run to salt away the road win.
Mann scored eight points to fall shy of double digits for the second time in as many games, after a 31-game double-digit scoring streak. Mann played a total of just six minutes in the second half Saturday, and did not attempt a shot after halftime.
BGSU had a season-high 24 assists, with five different players dishing out at least three apiece. In addition to Goldsberry's six, Achter and McCall each had four, while Honegger and Flynn dished out three each.
The Falcons shot 54.4 percent from the field for the game, going 17-for-29 (58.6%) in the first half and 14-for-28 (50.0%) over the final 20 minutes. BGSU has shot at least 50 percent from the field in seven-straight halves, dating to the Ball State game (Feb. 7).
UB shot 45.8% from the floor (11-for-24) in the first half, but just 26.1% in the second. The Falcon defense held the Bulls to just six makes in 23 attempts after halftime, for a game average of 36.2%.
BG committed just 11 turnovers and had 12 steals, as the Falcons hounded UB into 24 turnovers. BG had a whopping 37-7 advantage in points off turnovers, and a 34-12 margin in points in the paint.
The Falcons conclude the road portion of the regular-season schedule Tuesday (Feb. 20), heading to Northeast Ohio to take on Kent State University. BGSU then concludes the regular season with a pair of home games, vs. Ohio (Feb. 24) and Miami (Feb. 28).
