Bowling Green State University
BALL STATE
Flynn is X Factor as Falcons Top Ball State, 86-76
February 07, 2007 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2007
Final Stats |
Quotes |
AP Photo Gallery 
|
BGSU Photo Services Gallery
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Senior Amber Flynn scored a career-high 18 points and grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds off the bench, helping the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team to an 86-76 win over Ball State University Wednesday night (Feb. 7). The battle of Mid-American Conference divisional leaders was held before a crowd of over 2,000 at BGSU's Anderson Arena.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 21-2 on the season, and BGSU is atop the MAC's East Division with a perfect 10-0 league record. The Cardinals are now 17-4 and 8-2, respectively.
The Falcons shot 60.0 percent from the field in the second half en route to a 52.9% field-goal rate for the game, and BGSU made 25 free throws to tie a season best.
Junior Kate Achter matched Flynn's point total with 18, and also had six rebounds and four assists. Achter and Flynn combined to go 14-of-17 from the field on the night.
Senior Liz Honegger had 17 points, six boards and three blocked shots, while classmate Ali Mann rounded out BGSU's double-digit scorers with 15 points. Mann did most of her damage at the free-throw line, going 11-of-12 from the stripe.
The Ball State duo of Porchia Green and Kelsey Corbin combined for 51 points, with both players setting career bests. Green had 27 points to lead all players, while Corbin scored 24. Audrey McDonald also was in double figures for the Cardinals, with 11 points on the night.
The teams battled through a back-and-forth first few minutes, as the score was tied at 2-2, 4-4 and 6-6. Six consecutive points by Green gave the visitors a 10-6 advantage with just over six minutes gone, before BG came back.
The Falcons scored the next five points, as Mann hit a jumper, and senior Carin Horne took a pass from Flynn and drained a three-point field goal from the right elbow, giving the Brown and Orange an 11-10 advantage. BGSU went 5-for-11 from three-point land in the first half.
The Cardinals responded with a second-chance basket, as Kalynne Proctor scored after a Lisa Rusche rebound, but Achter's entry pass to Flynn resulted in a layup off the glass and a 13-12 BG lead, and the Falcons would not trail again.
Out of the next media timeout, senior Megan Thorburn took a pass from Flynn and connected on a long triple try, giving the Falcons a 16-12 lead. Then, Flynn grabbed an offensive board and hit an 'and-one' layup for a three-point play with exactly nine minutes left in the half. The free throw gave BG a 19-12 edge.
The Cards scored the next four points, on a pair of McDonald jumpers, but Honegger spotted a cutting Flynn alone underneath for a layup and a 21-16 lead. Honegger grabbed a rebound after a Ball State miss on the next possession, setting up a crowd-pleasing series of events at the other end of the floor.
An entry pass to Flynn inside was a little high and off the mark, but the senior saved the ball from going out of bounds with a leaping effort. Flynn, airborne underneath the basket, fired a pass to sophomore Lindsey Goldsberry on the left side of the court. Goldsberry whipped a pass back to Honegger at the left elbow, several feet beyond the three-point arc, and Honegger's long three-point shot found nothing but net, giving the Falcons a 24-16 advantage at the 6:41 mark.
Achter hit a pull-up jumper with 5:56 on the clock, then knocked down two free throws a minute later, and BG had a 9-0 run and a 28-16 lead. Corbin snapped that run with a pair of free throws, but it was Goldsberry's turn to hit a long three-pointer after a pass from Flynn.
BSU scored six-straight points to close within 31-24, but Flynn showed her versatility once again. The senior grabbed another offensive rebound and converted another shot while being fouled. The free throw gave BG a 34-24 lead with 2:49 left in the half.
Again, the Cards fought back, scoring five consecutive points (all from Green) to cut the Falcons' edge to five, 34-29. But, Achter grabbed a rebound, drove the length of the court and hit a pull-up J. After Corbin answered with a jumper in the lane, Honegger took a Goldsberry pass and drilled a three-pointer with 17 seconds left to close the first-half scoring. BG took a 39-31 lead into the lockerroom.
In that opening half, Flynn led the Falcons with 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while Achter and Honegger had eight points apiece. Green scored nearly half of Ball State's points, with 15.
Both teams got into some early foul trouble in the second half, a half which would feature a combined 50 free-throw attempts. On the opening possession of the half, Mann drove inside, drew Rusche's third foul of the game, and hit two tosses at the 19:43 mark. But, on the very next possession, Mann was called for her third foul of the game.
Both players remained in the game, and moments later, Mann would make Rusche pay. The Falcon senior co-captain drew the BSU junior's fourth foul of the night with 17:49 remaining. Mann split her free-throw tries to give the home team a 44-35 lead.
The teams matched each other's success for the next four-plus minutes, with BG's lead fluctuating between seven and 11 points. With 13:07 on the clock, however, Honegger hit a crazy three-pointer.
Achter's pass found Honegger at the left elbow, in front of the BGSU bench, and the senior let a shot fly. The ball hit the rim, bounded high in the air, hit off the rim several more times and rattled in. The trey gave the Falcons a 55-43 lead.
Another trip to the line by Mann resulted in two successful tosses and a 57-43 lead, and McCall split a pair of free throws less than a minute later. McCall made the first and missed the second, but Mann tapped the ball out to McCall for an offensive rebound, and the possession ended with Flynn making a trip to the stripe and making both of her tries.
Then, McCall drove and dished the ball to Goldsberry for a rainbow three in front of the BG bench. When the sophomore's shot finally came down, it swished through the hoop and gave BG a 63-45 lead midway through the half.
Much of the final 10 minutes of the game was a parade to the foul line. Beginning with two charity tosses by Julie DeMuth with 9:46 remaining, the Falcons (11-for-15) and Cardinals (17-for-19) combined for 34 free-throw attempts the rest of the way.
Flynn's third conventional three-point play of the game came with 4:47 left, and resulted in Rusche's fifth foul. Flynn's free throw gave the Brown and Orange a 74-59 lead.
BSU got within seven points with 25 seconds left, before BG hit three free throws to close the scoring. Each team used three timeouts over the game's final 1:08.
Flynn was 6-for-7 from the field and an identical 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. Achter was 8-of-10 from the floor. Honegger, in addition to her 17 points, had six rebounds and three blocked shots.
Mann struggled from the field, and was saddled with foul trouble for much of the game, but continued to work to get herself to the stripe. She went 11-for-12 from the line to score in double digits for the 23rd time in as many games this season.
Green had a game-high nine rebounds, in addition to her 24 points, as the Cardinals outrebounded the Falcons by a 34-30 count. Green also had four assists and three steals. Corbin and Rusche had six boards apiece.
BGSU had a 25-3 advantage in bench scoring, and the Falcons made 7-of-16 three-point field goals (43.8%) while holding BSU to a 2-for-15 (13.3%) long-distance effort.
The Falcons will conclude play against the MAC's West Division, heading to the league's "West Coast" for a Saturday (Feb. 10) game vs. Northern Illinois University. Tipoff is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. locally (12:30 p.m. Eastern) at the Convocation Center in DeKalb, Ill., and the game will be televised as the MAC Game of the Week.
NOTES
* The Falcons extended some lengthy streaks in the win over Ball State ... the victory gave BGSU a 14-game win streak since a Dec. 19 loss to #1-ranked Duke.
* Additionally, the Falcons now have won 35 consecutive games against MAC foes, a school and conference record, and BG has won the last 28 home games, the second-longest active homecourt streak in the nation.
* Senior Liz Honegger tied the school record for games started ... Honegger was in the lineup on Wednesday night, for her 115th career start, matching the record set by Jackie Motycka.
* Honegger's start was her 115th in a row ... she came off the bench in her first collegiate game, at Youngstown State in November of 2003, and has been in the starting lineup ever since.
* More on the Indiana native: Honegger's first successful three-pointer in the Ball State game was the 200th of her career ... she now has made 202 triples as a Falcon to extend her own school record.
* Honegger passed no fewer than four players on the BGSU career scoring list in Wednesday's game ... she moved ahead of Chris Tuttle (1,420 points), Lori Albers (1,424), Charlotta Jones (1,430) and Talita Scott (1,432) ... Honegger now ranks fifth in BGSU history with 1,433 career points.
* The Falcons are now 21-2 in home games vs. Ball State ... BG won the first 20 meetings between the teams at Anderson Arena, before the Cards won two in a row prior to Wednesday.
