It was a special senior day for Bowling Green forward Kelly Kapferer.
For starters, she and the Bowling Green women’s basketball team were playing their arch rival, Toledo, to close out the home portion of their season.
Also, a win would clinch at least a share of the Mid-American Conference West title.
And third, she got to sing the national anthem.
It was basically a storybook day for the fifth-year senior.
But add to that day a 72-71 win and a game-winning shot and the story gets a bit unbelievable.
But that is just what happened for Kapferer.
With nine seconds remaining and the Falcons down two, Kapferer took an inbound pass from point guard Kate Achter, spun to the hoop, hit the shot and got the foul.
Kapferer then went on to hit the free throw, win the rivalry game and clinch a share of the MAC West with the flick of her wrist.
“I don’t think you can ask for a better set up,” Kapferer said. “That’s something I never thought could happen. It’s something you dream about when you’re young.”
Kapferer’s great individual play happened after she and fellow seniors Tene Lewis and Sakima Smith made the ultimate team move.
BG head coach Curt Miller normally likes to start his seniors on Senior Day but this game was a little different.
“The seniors came to me before this game. I am a person that believes you start your seniors on ‘Senior Day.’ But, they approached me and asked me not to change the starting lineup,” Miller said. “They said that this game was too important, and that just goes to show you what these seniors are all about. The team and winning a championship come over the glory of starting in their last home game.”
Even with all the drama working for the Falcons, the win was not easy for BG.
The Falcons ran out ahead of the Rockets early on and by the 11:06 mark had a 19-9 lead. What appeared to be another easy home win for BG was anything but that.
The Rockets dominated the game up until the final minute. They led for most of the second half and with 1:22 left maintained a 69-63 lead. The Falcons would use the next minute to grind that lead down to four when forward Liz Honegger drilled a three to move the score to 70-69.
On the other end of the floor, Toledo guard Crystal Young split a pair of free throws for what would lead to the eventual Kapferer winner. For the Falcons, the entire game felt like an uphill battle.
“For the first 39 minutes, it didn’t seem like we got any rolls,” Miller said. “But the last 30 seconds we got every roll.”
This fairy tale ending for the Falcons’ home season did not come without injury.
On a drive to the basket in the middle of the second half, forward Ali Mann was fouled and came down awkwardly, rolling her ankle. Mann sustained a sprain and is doubtful for the Falcons’ next game against Northern Illinois.
That game against the Huskies is tomorrow at 7 p.m. CST in DeKalb.
