So this game is far from over, but we've got an All-Tournament Team Ballot sitting in front of us that's due 13 minutes from now. So far I've put Duke's Alison Bales, ASU's Danielle Orsillo and Rutgers' Kia Vaughn on the ballot. I'm going to let Matee Ajavon and Emily Westerberg duke it out for the MVP spot and second place, but with 15 minutes remaining and ASU only trailing by 7, anything could happen. Let's just say I'm not writing in pen.
As the sounds of their fans chanting their school letters filled the Jack Breslin Center, the players, standing at halfcourt, taking bows and taking it all in, knew they had arrived.
This wasn't No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 7 Bowling Green, no. This was simply the better team with the better players winning the game.
The Commodores might be champions of the mighty SEC, but in my mind and in the minds of the Falcon players and coaches, Bowling Green, champions of the MAC and the first-ever MAC team in the Sweet 16, knew they would win.
"We know we're one of the top 16 teams in the country," said the night's hero, senior leader Ali Mann.
As the sounds of their fans chanting their school letters filled the Jack Breslin Center, the players, standing at halfcourt, taking bows and taking it all in, knew they had arrived.
This wasn't No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 7 Bowling Green, no. This was simply the better team with the better players winning the game.
The Commodores might be champions of the mighty SEC, but in my mind and in the minds of the Falcon players and coaches, Bowling Green, champions of the MAC and the first-ever MAC team in the Sweet 16, knew they would win.
"We know we're one of the top 16 teams in the country," said the night's hero, senior leader Ali Mann.
With 48.8 seconds to go, the leader of this Bowling Green squad put her foul trouble behind her and the team on her back.
Ali Mann nailed the biggest shot of her storied career, a long-range three, to increase BGSU's lead to 55-49 and possibly seal the upset bid for the Falcons.
Like she said after Sunday's first-round game, when it's crunch time she wants the ball in her hands. She thrives on the clock winding down, lives for the big shot.
She got the ball, took the shot and with 32 seconds and a six-point lead, Bowling Green may have just punched their ticket to the Sweet 16.
Vanderbilt better thank their lucky stars for Liz Sherwood.
The center is doing all the scoring with 18 points. Carla Thomas has awoke from her slumber, she now has eight to go with 10 boards.
Vandy is fighting its way back into this game and with 8:35 to go they trail 48-41.
The Commodores are actually out-shooting Bowling Green, 45 percent to 41.5. The difference, however, comes with BGSU's five threes to Vandy's one and the five more made free throws.
The 'Dores have the rebounding advantage as well, 30-22. You would think that Vanderbilt was winning, except for the 18 turnovers compared to just 10 for BGSU.
With Maryland and Stanford already falling, the 2-seeds left in the tourney are Purdue and Vanderbilt.
Bowling Green is doing their best to eliminate the Commodores.
Amber Flynn is simply dominating inside with superb post moves and solid moves off the dribble. The team is passing well, moving without the ball and being extremely aggressive and it is paying off big time.
The Falcon fans are making this place rock louder than the first game.
Bowling Green does not want to go home and right now they are proving that much more than Vanderbilt. The Commodores are actually hitting on 44 percent of their shots, but they have no answer for the Falcons' offense.
If not for Liz Sherwood, Vanderbilt would be in trouble.
The 6'4" junior center has eight points for Vandy, who trail BGSU 26-16 with 7:00 to play in the opening half.
Ali Mann and Carin Horne are pacing the Falcons with seven points apiece and Kate Achter has four points and three assists.
The crowd is loving this Bowling Green team, and what's not to love. Curt Miller's bunch can play and they play with heart and emotion. They are definitely a fun team to watch.
One is chivalrous lance-toting bloody soldier from days of yore, while the other is the gate-keeper to hell with a blood circulation problem.
Both are Sweet 16 bound and on a collision course with each other.
Next weekend in Greensboro, No. 4 Rutgers, who defeated Michigan State tonight, 70-57, will meet the Blue Devils of top-ranked Duke.
Leading the way for the Scarlet Knights was Kia Vaughn who finished with 16 points and seven boards. Essence Carson had 15 points, eight rebounds and Epiphanny Prince had 14 and six assists. Brittany Ray came up with three huge three-pointers and finished with nine.
With 4:00 to play, I think it can almost be made official...Rutgers is going to the Sweet 16.
The score is 59-45 and the last four made field goals by the Knights have been three-pointers.
Michigan State has gotten solid games from Lucas-Perry (12 points), Haynes (14) and Aisha Jefferson (11), but past that threesome, the points have been scarce.
You can't win shooting 29 percent, either. Also, it's never good when your opponent makes over 50 percent of their threes.
Rutgers is winning every single statistical category with the exception of free-throw percentage and surprisingly, rebounding.
There it is...right down the road for Michigan State...they just...can't...get...over it.
With 7:35 to play and the score 49-40 Rutgers, everytime MSU makes a bit of a push, RU pushes right back.
Talk about balanced scoring for the Knights, five players have six or more points; and the player with six is Sunday night's leading scorer Matee Ajavon, who is having a slight off night and is in foul trouble with four.
MSU's Allyssa DeHaan is not having the best of nights.
Plagued with three fouls, DeHaan just scored her first points with 12:58 to go in the game.
Her numbers: 1-6, 4 points, 3 rebounds and a block. Not the superstar numbers Michigan State needed, and as such, MSU trails the Scarlet Knights, 44-35 with 11:41 to go.
Kia Vaughn has scored her 14th point of the night for the Knights. Essence Carson has nine and Heather Zurich seven.
Michigan State's free throw shooting is keeping them in the game. They have hit 14-of-14 thus far.
Rutgers' center Kia Vaughn is pacing the Knights with 12 points and four rebounds and the Knights have the halftime lead, 32-25.
Mia Johnson hit a shot at the buzzer for Michigan State.
The Spartans are led by Rene Haynes' 11 points. Along with Haynes and Johnson, only Victoria Lucas-Perry and Aisha Jefferson (six points apiece) scored in the half for MSU.
The run, which spanned about five minutes, was mostly sparked by the Knights' defense and the scoring of Kia Vaughn and Epiphanny Prince, with a big Brittany Ray three-pointer thrown in.
MSU's DeHaan is on the bench with two quick fouls.
Heather Zurich, Matee Ajavon and Myia McCurdy all have two fouls for Rutgers.
Michigan State took the early lead and held it until the 10:51 mark when Rutgers managed to tie the score on a Kia Vaughn putback and a foul.
In the early going MSU looks like they are able to get inside on Rutgers due to Allyssa DeHaan's presence. DeHaan only has two rebounds and no points, but her body being there, taking up space and freeing lanes for the likes of Victoria Lucas-Perry and Rene Haynes to drive, has been the difference.
Rutgers was missing shots early, but have since come on with Heather Zurich hitting a three and Vaughn scoring the last two buckets.
The Scarlet Knights got 20 points from Matee Ajavon, 14 from Kia Vaughn and played their scrubs for most of the second half, while still increasing the final margin to 77-34.
ECU managed to shoot only 16.4 percent for the entire game! Someone should have shot them, put them out of their misery.
In ECU's defense, the rebounding differential was within one.
How about C. Vivian Stringer isn't even watching the game anymore. She's playing miss mary mack with the trainer. OK that's not true. But I really wish it was.
After scanning the crowd here in East Lansing...all 13 of them. I do have this much for you.
ESPN Sign:
Unfortunately not, something tells me even ESPN isn't broadcasting this mess anymore. I'd put it on fishing and run with it. If I made a sign it would say this.
Everyone Stop Playing Now, I wan't to go home.
Purple Hats:
It's ECU...the entire band has purple hats, and they all look funny, every single one.
Rutgers Mascot:
Why, oh why doesn't he have muscles? He's a giant head in street clothes basically. Poor Knight...
Seriously, they aren't even playing. They walked off the court and are sitting on their bench with their hands folded in their laps and pouty looks on their faces.
OK, that's not true...what is true? With 11:00 to go in the game, the Pirates finally hit their FIRST SHOT OF THE HALF!
We've got ourselves a snooze fest here in East Lansing in the last game of the night. And just in time too, I've been up since 3 a.m.
This one was close, until Rutgers showed up. And then, not so much.
I'm not sure ECU's plan of scoring in 5-minute intervals has been too successful for them. In the second half they should try scoring every time they get the ball. Or at least every other possession would be nice.
When they first walked onto the court I thought, "what's LSU doing here?" (ECU's colors are purple and gold)
Essence Carson went after a loose ball, inadvertantly running into the referee standing by the sideline. The ref than went flying into the crowd just in front of me.
That was exciting. The ref, Carson and the press row table will stay in the game.
With 11:35 to go in the first half, the score is 16-10 Rutgers.
The Knights are shooting 46 percent--finally! a team that can shoot--but are only up four on a team that is only at 31 percent.
Cherie Mills leads the way for ECU with seven points and three boards. For Rutgers, it is still Matee Ajavon with seven. Center Kia Vaughn has six points and three rebs.
Like the team they are about play, the Pirates of East Carolina had a shaky start to their season. Unlike, Rutgers, however, the Pirates had a shaky middle of their season as well.
With a record of 19-13 that comes largely due to a 10-game winning streak to end the season, ECU will be playing less to defeat the Big East Champs, and more to stay with them.
Rutgers plays phenomenal defense, with Essence Carson the Big East Defensive Player of the Year.
The Pirates start three players averaging double figures in scoring. Sophomore guard LaCoya Terry drops 13.2, sophomore guard Jasmine Young hits on 13.6 a game and senior center Cherie Mills scores almost 15 per.
Well, it looks like the first team to shoot 30 percent is going to win this game, and that is the home team, Michigan State.
The Spartans have skyrocketed to 33 percent shooting and it seems enough, as with 10 minutes and change they have a comfortable 50-36 lead.
The 14-point lead always feels better when your opponent is shooting 24 percent. And nine...yes nine, I can't even write the number due to AP Style, that's how bad it is...nine percent from three-point range.
The Icecapades have made their way to East Lansing, except instead of laying the ice down over the court, they put it on the rims.
At the half, Michigan State has a 25-20 lead...if you can call it that.
The Spartans are shooting a lights out 8-for-29 from the field. I say lights out since it seems they are shooting in the dark.
MSU is holding the five-point lead because, well, Delaware, if possible, has been worse. The Blue Hens have also hit just eight shots in the half, but they've jacked it up 41 times, for a nice round percentage of 19.5.
If you think three point shooting has been any better...it hasn't. The Spartans are making just 27 percent of their threes while the Lady Hens an abysmal 10 percent.
Delaware can't even buy a made basket at the free throw line where they are shooting 37.5 percent thus far.
By pouring it on, of course, I mean the cement over all the bricks these two teams are tossing at the rim.
Question: How do you shoot 24 percent and still manage to tie the team you are playing?
Answer: The other team is shooting 24 percent also.
Oh, the humanity, it's brutal.
The teams have combined for 13-of-54 shooting, including a whopping mind-numbing 2-of-13 from long range.
The good news for State? DeHaan woke up a tad. She now has six points and seven boards with a little over three minutes remaining and the score tied 17 all.
My favorite nickname vs. everybody's favorite home team (next to UConn).
Although the circle at halfcourt says "NCAA," both lanes and both baselines read, "Michigan State" and "Spartans."
Although I disagree with allowing teams to play on their own home court during the NCAA Tournament, I must admit, this place is packed with fans wanting to see their Spartans in the tourney.
The 5-seed are led by guard Victoria Lucas-Perry, a 5-foot-9 senior that averages 13.5 points and almost six rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Aisha Jefferson and senior guard Rene Haynes both average 10.3 ppg.
Bowling Green needed the entire game to pull this one out, but in the end it was too much Ali Mann for Oklahoma State to handle.
Mann finished with a team-high 16 points, but this was a team effort.
Liz Honeggar added 15 points, Kate Achter threw in 14 points and nine assists and Amber Flynn has 10 points as well.
Leading the way for OSU was star-in-the-making Andrea Riley, who finished with 20 points and was the Cowgirls' only offense down the stretch. She did pick up a technical foul for being too emotional after she was fouled. The tech came at a crucial moment with BGSU clinging to a four-point lead with under a minute to play.
With 2:13 to go in the game, the teams are throwing blow for blow and the score is knotted at 60.
It seems everytime down court freshman guard Andrea Riley hits another big shot for OSU.
Then, on the other end, it's Ali Mann and the three-point stylings of center Liz Honegger--a 5-foot-11 bruiser who has the biggest body on the court and the oddest three-point stroke. It goes in though. Honegger leads the Falcons with 13 points, Mann has 12 and that pesky little guard Kate Achter has 10 and almost a double double with assists.
