Bowling Green State University
UT Arlington
Falcons Down UT-Arlington, 59-48
December 20, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2006
Recap | Final Stats | Quotes
CANCUN, Mexico - Senior Amber Flynn scored a career-high 16 points, and classmate Liz Honegger set her school's career three-point field-goal record as the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team posted a 59-48 win over the University of Texas at Arlington Wednesday night (Dec. 20). The non-conference game was held at the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun, Mexico.
Senior Ali Mann also had 16 points as the Falcons improved to 8-2 on the year. The Mavericks drop to 4-7.
The Falcons shot 55.0 percent from the field in the second half, going 11-for-20 in the final 20 minutes to finish at an even 50.0% (22-for-44) for the game. BGSU held UTA to a 32.7% success rate, and the Falcons held a 34-30 advantage on the boards.
The Falcons never trailed, but BGSU's lead was in single digits for all but a minute-plus on the night. UTA was within five points, 51-46, at the game's final media timeout, but the Falcons got three key offensive rebounds over the game's final 2:41, leading to five points down the stretch.
Honegger, who was a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range in the game, took a pass from classmate Megan Thorburn and hit a triple on the Falcons' first possession of the night, with only 24 seconds elapsed. Honegger was coming off the first scoreless game of her storied BG career.
A Carin Horne jumper and a pair of Mann free throws gave the Brown and Orange a 7-1 lead, but the Mavs scored five-straight points to cut the Falcons' advantage to one at the 16:10 mark.
After two-and-a-half scoreless minutes of play, a Flynn kick-out pass found Honegger for another trey and a 10-6 lead at 13:30. A few minutes later, junior Kate Achter's nice look inside found Flynn for an equally nice layup and a 13-9 advantage.
Then, Mann drove the lane and hit an and-one layup, with the free throw putting BG up by a 16-9 count. A Mann steal and outlet pass found sophomore Jasmine McCall for a layup and an 18-11 lead, and Honegger than grabbed a defensive rebound and fired a soccer-style 'throw-in' pass to Flynn, who was ahead of the pack for another easy layup.
The Mavs kept battling back, working nearly all of the shot clock on every offensive possession, and UTA was within 20-16 after a second-chance layup at the 6:19 mark.
Flynn hit a baby hook shot for a six-point lead, but again, UTA used relentless offensive rebounding to get a second look, this time resulting in a three-pointer and a 22-19 Mav deficit.
Flynn made a nice move for another layup, and Achter hit a jumper in traffic to give the Brown and Orange a 26-19 lead. UTA would score the next six points to get within one yet again. Moments later, though, Mann's cross-court pass found an open Honegger for a left-side triple, a four-point lead and a place in history.
That Honegger triple, with 45 seconds left in the opening half, was the 174th of her career, setting a new BGSU record.
A jumper by Terra Wallace with just four seconds left in the half brought the Mavs within two points, 29-27, at the intermission.
Horne opened the second-half scoring with a driving layup, and Achter had a nice baseline drive and reverse layup in traffic at the 17:36 mark, putting the Falcons ahead by six points.
Moments later, Mann's putback resulted in a three-point opportunity. Her free throw was a no-go, but the Falcons had a 35-30 lead. With just under 15 minutes left in the game, some deft passing led to Mann spotting Flynn inside for a layup.
Horne hit back-to-back baskets to put BG up by six, and Mann had another nice assist, finding Flynn slicing through the lane for a layup and a 44-36 advantage. When Honegger grabbed an offensive rebound, that possession resulted in yet another driving layup by Flynn and a 46-38 lead with nine minutes left.
Then, Flynn was fouled and hit both free-throw tries to give the Brown and Orange a 10-point lead. UTA, though, responded with six-straight points before Mann hit a charity toss to stop that run.
An Achter layup in a crowd gave the Falcons a 51-44 lead with 4:19 left, and after a Tiffeny Riles jumper for the Mavs, Mann split a pair of free throws with 3:31 left.
BG got a stop on the ensuing possession, and on BG's possession, an offensive rebound by Lindsey Goldsberry resulted in a tough turnaround jumper by Mann with 2:35 on the clock.
A BG foul on a three-point attempt gave UTA's Erin Dixon three free-throw tries with 1:35 left, but none were successful, leaving the Falcons' lead at eight points.
The Falcons' next trip down the court resulted in two offensive boards, by Mann and Horne, and a dagger by Mann. Horne drove the lane and whipped a pass to Mann who drilled a three-pointer with the shot clock winding down. The possession lasted 53 seconds, and when it ended, BG had an 11-point lead and had clinched the outcome.
Horne had eight points and Achter six for the Falcons. Goldsberry had a team-high seven rebounds, while Mann and Honegger had six apiece. Mann led BG with four assists and Thorburn had three.
For the Mavs, Riles and LaTosha Duffey scored 12 points apiece, while Wallace added nine.
The Falcons were 4-of-12 from three-point range, with Mann's dagger being BG's only trey of the second half. UTA was 5-for-20 from long distance, with Duffey knocking down a pair.
The Brown and Orange will now enjoy one more day in Cancun before returning to the United States for the Christmas holiday. The Falcons will resume practice after Christmas in preparation for a two-game homestand against Delaware (Dec. 29) and Robert Morris (Dec. 31).
NOTES
* There will be no Cancun blog on Thursday, as the Falcon players will be enjoying a well-earned day off after final exams and two tough games in Cancun.
* Senior Liz Honegger, as mentioned, is now the school's all-time three-point leader ... Honegger has made 174 career triples, one more than Sara Puthoff (1994-98).
* Honegger now holds BGSU's career records for both blocked shots and three-pointers made.
* BGSU bounced back with a win after Tuesday night's 55-46 loss to #4/4 Duke ... the Falcons have won 42 of the last 48 games, and BG has not dropped back-to-back contests since February of 2004.
