Bowling Green State University
Duke University
Falcons Fall Just Short vs. Fourth-ranked Duke, 55-46
December 19, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2006
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CANCUN, Mexico - The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team played the fourth-ranked team in the country Tuesday night (Dec. 19). The Brown and Orange gave Duke University a scare before the Blue Devils ultimately prevailed, 55-46. The non-conference game was held at the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun, Mexico.
With the win, Duke improves to a perfect 10-0 on the season, while the Falcons drop to 7-2. The Blue Devils had won each of their previous nine games by at least 21 points.
For the Falcons, senior Ali Mann had 15 points -- all in the second half -- to pace a trio of double-digit scorers. Sophomore Lindsey Goldsberry had 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range, while junior Kate Achter scored 11.
Alison Bales and Lindsey Harding had 13 points apiece to lead the Blue Devils, while Wanisha Smith added 11. The 6-foot-7 Bales also had seven blocked shots in the game, in the process becoming the all-time Atlantic Coast Conference leader in that category.
The Dukies took a quick lead as Bales worked inside for an easy layup, and it looked like it might be a long night for the Falcons. But, Acther scored the game's next four points, driving around Bales for a layup, then hitting a pull-up jumper on the fastbreak.
Moments later, Achter drove again, this time drawing a foul on Bales and converting both free throws for a 6-4 BGSU lead. That lead held until the first media timeout of the night.
Duke took a 14-11 lead on a Bales layup at the 13:33 mark, but the Blue Devils would not score again for nearly nine minutes.
The Falcons went on a 9-0 run, which began with another pull-up jumper by Achter over Bales. Then, Goldsberry took a pass from fellow sophomore Jasmine McCall and hit a straightaway three for a 16-14 BG lead.
After nearly two scoreless minutes, senior Amber Flynn scored four-straight points to give the Brown and Orange a 20-14 lead. First, Flynn drove left to right across the lane and hit a layup. Then, she converted another layup, this time off an Achter pass on the break, and DU coach Gail Goestenkors took a timeout.
Harding hit a shot to break the Devils' 8:58 scoring drought, and Duke quickly scored seven consecutive points, capped by a Harding three-ball, to take a one-point lead.
That lead increased to 23-20 on an Abby Waner hoop, but Goldsberry struck again with a left-side 3, and the Falcons were tied. Another basket by Waner gave the Blue Devils a 25-23 lead at the intermission.
In that first half, Achter score 10 points, and the Falcons forced Duke to commit 12 turnovers. For the Blue Devils, Bales had nine first-half points and also blocked five shots before the intermission.
Mann was held scoreless in the opening half, but quickly asserted herself in the second period. The senior co-captain scored the first eight points of the half. After Bales forced a Mann miss, she rebounded her own shot and laid the ball in. Then, Mann headed outside and drained a pair of triples. Her second of those treys gave the Falcons a 31-25 lead, and Duke was forced to take time.
The Devils responded, however. A Carrem Gay hoop out of that timeout began a 14-0 Duke run. BGSU was held scoreless for 7:23 as DU built a 39-31 lead.
The Falcons finally stopped that run using some nifty passing. All five players touched the ball on BG's possession, and the ball never touched the ground. The possession culminated in Mann's finding Goldsberry for a right-side three-ball with 9:28 left.
A Mann jumper off a Liz Honegger pass cut DU's lead to three, at 39-36, but Wanisha Smith drove the lane and hit a short floater. Bales banked home a layup, then got to the line and converted a pair of free throws, and Duke's lead was nine points.
Mann knocked down her third three-pointer of the night, but Abby Waner responded with a fast-break layup to give the Blue Devils a 47-39 lead with just over six minutes left.
BG scored the next four points to get within 47-43, as McCall split a pair of charity tosses, and Goldsberry got free for her fourth triple of the night, again off of a Mann pass. But, Smith sliced through the lane and hit an and-one layup. The three-point play bridged the final media timeout of the night, and gave Duke a seven-point lead with 3:45 left.
Mann had a nice driving layup at the shot-clock buzzer, but BGSU could draw no closer than that five-point deficit.
The Blue Devils shot 47.8 percent on the night, while holding BGSU to a 29.1% success rate. The Falcons hit eight three-pointers to Duke's four, but the Brown and Orange shot 29.6% from long distance.
BGSU committed 18 turnovers in the game, but forced Duke into 23, and the Falcons had a slim 17-16 advantage in points off turnovers.
BG held Duke to no second-chance points, with an 8-0 advantage in that department. The Falcons also got 17 points from players off the bench to Duke's five.
The Falcons return to the Moon Palace Resort's court on Wednesday (Dec. 20), taking on the University of Texas at Arlington. That game is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. local time (7:00 p.m. Eastern).
NOTES * UT-Arlington, now 4-6 on the season, was victorious in the first game of the Caribbean Classic, with a 58-54 win over Liberty. Tuesday's complete results ...
UT-Arlington 58, Liberty 54 Pittsburgh 70, East Carolina 53 Duke 55, Bowling Green 46 SMU 73, Detroit 50
* Sophomore Lindsey Goldsberry doubled her previous career scoring high ... Goldsberry scored six points on four occasions during her freshman season ... she also, obviously, doubled her previous high for three-point field goals made, having hit a pair of treys on two prior occasions.
* Senior Ali Mann tied her career high with three three-pointers made ... Mann had made three treys on three prior occasions, most recently against arch-rival Toledo on Feb. 5, 2006.
* Mann moved up several spots on the BGSU career scoring list Tuesday night ... Mann's 15 points give her a career total of 1,422 ... she moved from ninth place into seventh, past Angie Bonner (1,412) and Chris Tuttle (1,420) ... Mann is two points behind sixth-place Lori Albers, eight in back of fifth-place Charlotta Jones and 10 behind fourth-place Talita Scott on the BG career scoring chart.
* Senior Carin Horne was held to just three points, but led all players with a season-high five steals ... that total was just two steals shy of her career best.
* Senior Liz Honegger was held scoreless for the first time in her storied BGSU career ... but, Honegger had a game-high and BGSU season-high 10 rebounds, and also added two assists, two steals and three blocked shots ... all three of her blocks came against 6-foot-7 Duke center Alison Bales.
* The Falcons lost for just the sixth time in the last 47 games ... BGSU's losses during that time have come against Kansas State, Kentucky, Delaware, UCLA, Notre Dame and now Duke.
* It is believed that Duke is tied for the highest-ranked opponent the Falcons have ever played ... the Blue Devils are ranked fourth in both the Associated Press and the USA Today ESPN polls ... BGSU played Maryland, ranked fourth in the nation, in the NCAA Tournament in 1989.
* The Falcons held Duke, one of the nation's top-scoring teams, more than 27 points under their average ... the Blue Devils tied their season high with 23 turnovers, and DU went to the free-throw line a season-low 10 times ... the Blue Devils had shot over 20 free throws in seven of the first nine games, including 30 tosses on two occasions.
