Not in Anderson Arena. Not with a 15-point lead. Not with 28 points in the paint. Not by shooting 53 percent. Not against the No. 16 BG women’s basketball team.

Two “partners in crime” gave the Falcons enough energy to overcome a 23-8 deficit to start yesterday’s game against Toledo. Kate Achter and Ali Mann came out of the locker room for the second half with a new game plan and helped turn a three-point deficit into a 73-62 BG victory.

Early on, it looked as if BG may be facing its first loss in MAC play since Feb. 19, 2005 and their its loss at Anderson Arena since Jan. 12, 2005. But the team’s two big-time energy players came through.

In the second half Achter got to the line 12 times, and Mann scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting. More importantly, Achter and Mann provided emotion and fire for their teammates to feed off.

“That’s how we like to play. It fires us up. Kate especially knows that,” Mann said. “She’s my partner in crime, getting people fired up, but it makes the game a lot more fun.”

BG had two very important runs in the game. The first was a 10-0 run in the first half that got BG within five at 23-18 after trailing early. The second was a 17-4 run to end the game.

“We talked about how we thought the game would be decided by one big run, by one team or the other,” Miller said. “Fortunately, we got that last big run.”

Another reason the Falcons were able to regain so much energy after falling behind was the crowd of 2,323. The Falcons largest home crowd for the season exploded when Mann was fouled on a layup which she converted for a three-point play. The crowd never let up after that, and neither did the Falcons.

“The crowd was fantastic tonight,” Miller said. “When you are on the ropes, a crowd like that can will you to victory, and I hope that incredible support continues.”

Mann struggled from the field and Achter was tentative in the first half. Miller got them going at halftime.

“Needless to say Coach Miller got on my case a little bit at halftime. I’ve been playing well the last few games because I attack – that’s my job. I wasn’t doing anything like that in the first half,” Achter said. “I thought since we were down so many, let’s extend the game, let’s try and get to the free-throw line while the clock is stopped.”

Achter finished with 15 points and seven assists and played well defensively with three steals and four rebounds.

Mann had 18 points and six boards. Liz Honegger was also a big factor throughout the game. She led all scorers with 20 points.

On defense Lindsey Goldsberry was ferocious. She had five steals, and after Bishop’s hot start, Goldsberry nearly held her in check for the rest of the game. The energetic sophomore guard also added five points, four rebounds and four assists.

BG won the turnover battle 21-12 and scored 37 points off the Rockets’ miscues.

The Rockets got big contributions from their big three. Danielle Bishop led Toledo with 19 points and hit four three-pointers.

Savannah Werner and Diana Reindl scored 16 and 15 points respectively. The Rockets won the battle in the paint 28-24, mainly because of Werner and Reindl.

Toledo’s coach, Mark Ehlen, was proud of his team’s performance, but knew it would be tough to upset the Falcons.

“We attacked them. For most of that game, we were the attackers. The thing about Bowling Green is they smell a little blood and they go for it,” Ehlen said.

The Falcons face the MAC’s second-best team Wednesday in Ball State. The game is at 7 p.m. in Anderson Arena.