The Bowling Green women’s basketball team avoided the falling into the quicksand of losing to a lower ranked team once again, as they knocked off Central Michigan 72-58 at Anderson Arena last night.
Liz Honegger’s three point bucket to open scoring for the game set the tone for both teams’ offense from beyond the arc.
The Falcons drained 10 threes, while the Chippewas netted five. Casey Mc Dowell led the squad from downtown with 4-5 shooting to score 12 points. Honegger nailed three treys and ended with 13 points.
Central’s 3-8 record in the Mid-American Conference was deceptive, as they played better than their record might suggest, constantly challenging the first place Falcons and trying to force BG to play at their low tempo style.
“The way they play, they really try to slow the ball down,” McDowell said. “That was our goal, to just get out and run.”
Central Michigan’s defense came up big to stop the Falcons on the run.
They held the Falcons to just 8 fast break points while forcing them to score from the outside, which proved to be no problem for the Falcons’ long distance shooters.
BG was led offensively by Ali Mann and Carin Horne who had 16 points each. Kate Achter added eight points, six assists and three steals.
Defensively, the Falcons held CMU’s leading scorer, Casey Manning, to just three points, forcing other players to step up. Central’s Erin Kuhl nearly tripled her season average of five points, scoring 14.
Teammate Linday Hatfiled added 12, but the efforts of the Chips in several short second half scoring runs proved to be too little, too late.
For Central, the fourteen point loss was their worst margin of loss this season.
Head Coach Curt Miller noted the difficulty of attaining that margin against a team that heavily defends against inside shots.
“Central did a good job. Credit to them for execution,” Miller said. “Even though we broke even with Central in points in the paint, being able to break even in points in the paint is a big accomplishment.”
After a close loss to Akron (who also had only three conference wins) on Saturday, the Falcons remain atop the MAC West Division, improving their record to 17-6 overall and 10-2 in the MAC.
They are now focusing on preparing for what is sure to be a tough battle against Eastern Michigan on Saturday. In their last meeting with the Falcons, the Eagles came away with a three point loss.
A win in Saturday’s game could greatly benefit the Falcons come tournament time, but they must first beat the fatigue that is setting in late in the season.
“I’m not going to hit the panic button,” Miller said. “I think we’re a little tired. We will have to play a better overall game to beat Eastern Michigan.”
Miller hopes a day off on Wednesday will cure some of the late season fatigue his players are experiencing. Despite being tired, the squad is confident and excited about facing off against Eastern.
“This team is anxious to get prepared for Eastern,” Miller said.
As for the past two games and “avoiding the quicksand,” Miller feels relief with the wins.
“We took care of business and won two really important games that we could have looked back on and regretted,” Miller said.
The Falcons hope to close out their last games of the season and enter the postseason with few regrets.
