The Bowling Green wonen’s basketball team is about to set off on a month-long road trip, but last night the sqaud found that there was no place like home. The Falcons easily defeated Youngstown State 83-61.
The win provided a sense of redemption for BG, who had fallen to Youngstown State in both of their last two meetings.
The teams traded baskets for most of the first half, playing to a 22-22 tie with just over seven minutes left in the half. The Falcons made the most of the final seven minutes with five BG players scoring in a 19-5 scoring run to end the half with a comfortable 41-27 lead.
The Falcons tenacious defense forced nine first half turnovers, while the Penguins shot an abysmal 27.6 percent. Meanwhile, the Falcon offense more than double Youngstown State’s shooting percentage, with two players scoring in double figures at the half and four players ending the game with at least ten points.
Freshmen point guard Kate Achter sparked the offense with perfect eight for eight shooting from the field and seven for eight shooting from the charity stripe. Achter also had five assists and four steals, committing only one turnover in 30 minutes of play.
“Our defense definitely created our offense for us,” Achter said. “You want to convert off of your hard work, so that was out motivation.”
Liz Honegger provided Achter with the ultimate go-to player, ending the game with 14 points and perfect free throw shooting on five attempts. Honegger was also a dominant force defensively and on the boards with four blocks and fifteen rebounds.
Carin Horne also had a standout night offensively, scoring 14 points in just 22 minutes on the floor. Horne drained two of her three attempts from behind the arc. Casey McDowell also made two long distance shots, providing a spark in the Falcon offense throughout the game.
The Falcons continued to dominate at both ends of the court, while Youngstown State struggled, scoring only sporadically. BG cruised to the win in a complete team effort, with 41 points scored by players off the bench. For Ali Mann, it was business as usual. Mann’s aggressive play on both offense and defense led to 14 points for the Falcons.
Miller was impressed with his team after the easy win.
“I don’t know if we [ever] played that smoothly all last year. That was a good team that we just beat easily, That’s as well as we’ve played since I’ve been here, in four years,” Miller said.
