Just about the time you begin to feel sorry for the women’s basketball team, you realize it’s a lost cause.
The Falcons, four days removed from their last game of the season — a 70-60 loss to Kansas State in the NCAA tournament — have a bright future ahead of them.
Out of BG’s 60 points, 54 of them are from players that will return next year.
“I’m proud of our kids,” BG head coach Curt Miller said after the game. “We’re young and we’re looking forward to the future.”
That includes the return of second team All-Mid-American Conference selections Ali Mann and Liz Honegger, honorable mention All-MAC Carin Horne and All-freshman and MAC tournament MVP Kate Achter. The four combined to start 106 games this year while racking up 50.7 points per game.
Honegger proved herself as one of the premier players in the post this season, leading BG in points (14.5 per game), rebounds (8.1) and blocks (1.6).
Mann came through big for the Falcons and showed her toughness by scoring 20 points in 24 minutes against Northern Illinois in a MAC-clinching win.
Horne provides BG with one of the MAC’s most athletics players and one Miller feels has the talent to be the league’s best player some day.
And Achter proved how big she was in the MAC tournament, averaging 18 points and 5.7 assists while hitting all 20 of her free throw attempts.
The key for BG will not be maintaining their talent, but improving it. While the Falcons rolled through the MAC tournament thanks to their physical talent, Miller knows honing that talent will be a key if BG hopes to go farther next year.
“We’re talking about getting our youthful players in the weight room,” Miller said. “We’re talking about getting our youthful players in better shape. So that the next time we’re in this position we can take advantage.”
Now that the Falcons are in this position, with all five starters returning from a 23-8 team that won their MAC tournament games by an average of 14 points, they have one thing to look forward to and that is having a target on their back.
The Falcons were finished to pick fifth this year and were able to sneak past teams early in the year. Next season, they will be the team everyone in the MAC is looking to beat.
“We’re really young,” Honegger said. “And we have a great opportunity to come back [to the NCAA tournament].
“But we’re going to have people aiming for us even more.”
Miller is hoping that will translate into his team bringing their best every game.
“This group is hungry,” he said. “And they’ll need to be because next year we will be the hunted.”
The Falcons have an entire offseason to figure out where the team is going. Regardless, the program has some exciting years ahead.
