Looking for a key to the Bowling Green women’s basketball team’s postseason play?
Look no further than the re-emergence of freshman Megan Thorburn who, since re-entering the Falcon starting lineup in Sunday’s overtime win over Ball State due to Carin Horne’s illness, has played like she did earlier in the season.
The result: two 17-point games, the latest of which helped propel the Falcons to a 71-62 win over Toledo, clinching the fourth seed in the Mid-American Conference tournament, which begins Saturday. Furthermore, BG swept the season series with the Rockets, a feat the Falcons haven’t accomplished since 1998. BG won in Toledo Jan. 21.
“There was a time I did lose confidence,” Thorburn said. “But you’ve just got to build right back up. It’s a whole new experience being in college, and getting through slumps is real hard. It’s nice to be out of it.”
Thorburn, who scored 22 points in her first collegiate game in November against Youngstown State, started the first 17 games of the year before being stricken with a case of food poisoning. Horne, who started the next eight games, played well, and BG coach Curt Miller wad forced to stay with Horne.
Last night, Thorburn scored seven of her points in a five-minute stretch midway through the second half that extended her team’s lead to 64-47 with just over seven minutes remaining.
“I just couldn’t take Carin out of the lineup,” Miller said. “Megan was the difference tonight. In the non-conference schedule, Megan was at the top of the MAC in 3-point field goal percentage, and then I think she went a stretch of ten games that she hit just one three. So she has had some ups and downs. I think she’s battled her inner demons more than anything, and she plays as a confident person. I’m glad she’s got her confidence back at this time of the year.”
Thorburn also grabbed eight rebounds and teamed with fellow freshmen Ali Mann and Liz Honegger to grab 26 rebounds combined.
“They’re strong,” Toledo coach Mark Ehlen said. “They outmuscled us, there’s no question about that. Those three almost out-rebounded us as a team. They’re just stronger than we are. They played pretty hard defense … I give them credit. I thought they played well and hard, and they’re strong inside and rebound well.”
Senior Stefanie Wenzel scored 19 points, including 11 in the first nine minutes of play. Mann scored 17 points, while Tene Lewis hit her first three of the season in the second half.
Mann said the rebounding was a focal point for the team.
“It was a definitely big part of the game,” she said. “They annihilated us on the boards the last time, and we started off a little shaky tonight. In the second half, we dominated the game and didn’t give them any second-chance points.”
