By Jessica Ameling Assistant Sports Editor

After being down 12 at halftime, BGSU got back in the game against UT by stepping inside the 3-point line.

The Falcons scored just eight points in the paint in the first half, but had 26 in the second to roll to 18-2 overall and 9-0 in the Mid-American Conference with a 71-65 victory over the Rockets.

“I thought we took better 3’s, open 3’s, in rhythm 3’s, instead of the first half where we were very, very trigger-happy shooting 18 3’s,” said BG coach Curt Miller.

The score was tied 12 times in the battle of I-75, and there were five lead changes. A 3-point play by UT’s Savannah Werner brought the Rockets to within three, 66-63, with 55 seconds to play in the game. But once again, BG’s Carin Horne hit a 3-pointer, and two free throws from Liz Honegger sealed the game.

“Carin did not have a great game, but you can count on her making the big shot,” Miller said.

Along with sealing the game, Honegger jump-started the Falcons to begin the game, scoring 12 of her team’s first 16 points on route to a double-double.

But the Rockets (8-11, 3-6 MAC) had an answer for every BG basket. With seven minutes to go in the first half, UT’s Danielle Bishop hit a 3-pointer, tying the game at 23-23 and giving UT the momentum to close out the half.

Behind the play of Diana Reindl and Bishop, who were a combined 10-of-13 from the field in the first half, the Rockets went into the locker room up 37-25.

“Obviously we were down 12 when we went into the locker room and we just had to come out and be more aggressive,” Honegger said. “I don’t think we were ready from the tip.”

The Falcons shot just 30 percent in the first half, while the Rockets were 52 percent from the field.

But that all changed when a fresh 20 minutes was put on the scoreboard.

“Today it was a tale of halves,” Miller said after the game. “Clearly Toledo took it right to us and had us really on our heels. But our kids’ composure continues to amaze me.”

BG started the second half on a 16-7 run and then with eight minutes to play, a Mann 3-pointer gave the Falcons their first lead of the half, 48-46.

“They hit a couple daggers, those 3’s just killed us,” said UT’s Savannah Werner, the game’s high scorer with 20.

The Falcons shot 68 percent from the field in the second half and were 4-of-9 from behind the arc. BG also out-rebounded its opponent 34-26 for the game.

“Good teams like that, they find a way to win, and they found a way today,” said UT coach Mark Ehlen.

Honegger led BG with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Teammates Carin Horne and Kate Achter both chipped in 14, and Mann had 11. Casey McDowell contributed six assists and two timely 3-pointers in the final minutes of the game.

This marked the first time this season the Falcons have been down by double-digits, but Miller was impressed with his teams’ composure when playing from behind.

“We didn’t panic, we knew it was going to take awhile to get back into the game and we weren’t going to win it in any four-minute stretch,” Miller said. “We just kept plugging away until we took the lead, and then I was fairly confident we could finish the game off.”

UT’s Bishop had 18 points and teammate Reindl contributed 16. The game was played in front of a crowd of 2,610 in Savage Hall.

“Whenever we do bad, we do bad as a team, and we do good as a team,” Horne said. “So

basically we stayed together and we pulled each other through.”

The win marks the ninth straight for BG, and the sixth straight in the series against Toledo.

“That team is 18-2 for a

reason, they’re a very talented team. Aren’t their juniors eligible for the WNBA draft coming up?” Ehlen said, smiling. “We need to get these girls out of the league, that’s the biggest problem.”