University of Toledo
BALL STATE
Bowling Green Squeaks By Toledo, 72-71
2/26/2005 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BOWLING GREEN, OH - Bowling Green's Kelly Kapferer converted a three-point play with 9.1 seconds left to help lift the Falcons to a 72-71 victory over Toledo in Mid-American Conference action at Anderson Arena.
Kapferer accepted an inbounds pass from teammate Kate Achter and converted a layup, then made the ensuing free throw to hand the Rockets their third-consecutive loss.
Kapferer's three-point play capped a comeback for the Falcons, who trailed by six points with 1:22 left. Carin Horne and Liz Honegger each hit three-point field goals as Bowling Green outscored Toledo, 9-2, in the final 1:13.
"I could've done a thousand things differently today, but the bottom line is you got a four-point lead with thirty seconds to go and you need to finish those games off," Toledo Head Coach Mark Ehlen said. "We just didn't do it. It's always hard to lose a game like this."
Toledo has played 10 games this season that have been decided by five points or less. The Rockets are 4-6 in those contests, including 0-2 against the Falcons.
Sophomore Danielle Bishop led five UT players in double digits with 20 points. It is the sixth time Bishop has tallied at least 20 points in a game this season. Junior Crystal Young added 13 points, while three teammates - senior Karin Hoogendam, freshman Olivia Terry and sophomore Savannah Werner - each had 11. Terry added 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.
"We just have to finish games," Bishop said. "It came down to the wire, and we just couldn't pull it off. We played a hard fought and pretty smart game. BG got a few calls their way at the end, and we just couldn't respond."
Horne led four Falcons in double digits with 17 points, while Honegger and Ali Mann each had 15. Mann left the game with 8:18 left after suffering an apparent ankle injury, and did not return. Achter chipped in 10 points to round out BG's double-figure scorers.
The Falcons jumped out of the blocks quickly, scoring the game's first five points. Honegger hit a three-pointer and Horne followed with a layup before the Rockets could catch their breath.
The Rockets battled back, cutting the lead to 8-6 on a Hoogendam layup with 15:55 left in the half. That field goal, however, would be UT's last field goal for almost four minutes, as BG opened up a 17-7 lead before a Bishop field goal ended that run.
Horne responded to Bishop's layup with one of her own, and the lead was back to double digits with 11:06 remaining. Werner and the Rockets then proceeded to score the next five points. The Angola, IN native hit a triple, followed by a layup to cut the lead to 19-14 and forced the Falcons to use a timeout.
After a layup to put Bowling Green ahead by seven, Young hit a three and Terry followed with a three-point play off a big-time block and steal, and the Rockets were within a single point, 21-20, with 7:20 left.
Mann drained a three-pointer on BG's ensuing possession, but Terry responded with a pair of free throws and freshman Kristi Zeller hit a triple to give the Rockets a 25-24 lead at the 5:53 mark. That triple was the first lead change of the game, as the final six minutes would feature seven lead changes.
As the opening 20 minutes came to a close, the Rockets led by two points with 31 seconds left, before a BG basket with 11 seconds remaining produced a 35-35 halftime tie.
In the second half, Bowling Green surged ahead, 41-37, when Achter stole an inbounds pass and went coast-to-coast for a layup. Then, after a UT miss, Mann converted a fast-break layup, and the Rockets used a timeout with 16:06 left.
After another UT miss, Achter converted a driving layup, and the Falcons led by six points. After the layup, the Rockets proceeded to score the game's next eight points, with Young and Bishop hitting three-point field goals on back-to-back possessions.
A Mann jumper with 12:10 left lifted the Falcons into a tie, and Horne hit on BG's next possession to put the Brown and Orange ahead, 47-45, with 11:19 left.
The game was tied three times over the next few minutes, before four-straight Hoogendam points put the Midnight Blue and Gold up by a 58-54 count with 6:07 remaining. Honegger was fouled on a three-point try, and made all three free throws to cut the lead to a point, but a pair of Rocket free throws by Bishop and Hoogendam put the visitors up by five points, 62-57, with 5:10 left.
Honegger hit a jumper, but Young countered with her third three-point field goal of the contest, and UT's lead was 65-59 with 4:18 left.
Kapferer hit a jumper on BG's next possession, then Achter threw an inbounds pass off Hoogendam's back to herself, and hit a layup with 3:14 remaining to cut the Rockets lead to two points.
Young, however, responded with a layup. After a BG turnover, UT ran the shot clock down to its final seconds and Young found Werner for a wide-open layup with 1:22 left. Toledo's lead was back to six points, 69-63, but that would be the Rockets' final field goal of the day.
Quickly, the Falcons came down the floor and cut the lead in half, as Horne drained a trey at the 1:13 mark. On UT's next possession, Bishop made a shot with 51.7 seconds left, but it waved off as she was called for an offensive foul.
Achter missed on a layup try, and Hoogendam grabbed the rebound. The Falcons fouled Young with 31.8 seconds left, and she split her free-throw tries for a four-point UT lead.
Again, BG dialed long distance, as Honegger hit a trey with 20 seconds left.
The Falcons fouled Young again, and the Detroit, MI native split her two free-throw shots, putting the Rockets up by two and setting the stage for Kapferer's three-point play.
Off the inbounds, Young pushed the ball up the floor and the Rockets had numbers ahead but play was stopped around mid-court. The game clock was inadvertently stopped with seven seconds left and play was halted. UT had one final try to win the contest, but Young's shot fell short as the buzzer sounded.
"Today was a great environment," Ehlen said. "I'm proud of our team. I thought they played their butts off. There is no question in my mind that if BG wins the MAC Championships or even if they don't, if they are just one of the elite teams this year, by god we are right there too."
The Rockets close the regular season on Tuesday, March 1 when it hosts Eastern Michigan. Game time is slated for 8:00 p.m. at Savage Hall. The contest will be broadcast live by FoxSports Ohio and Comcast Local (Michigan).
