The BG News

Issue date: 3/21/07 Section: Campus

Media Credit: Jason Rentner The First Time: The women's team celebrates an emotional moment after their well-deserved win over Vanderbilt late last evening.

EAST LANSING, Mich - Ali Mann was not ready to go home just yet. The senior forward's clutch 3-pointer with 56 seconds to go put the exclamation point on one of the most exciting games that she has played in her career.

"[It felt] amazing. Running down the court after that three was one of the best feelings I've had in my career here," Mann said.

When the ball left her hand, her coach knew it was good.

"I heard Coach Miller in the background say 'got it.'"

The 59-56 victory puts BG in the Sweet 16 for the first time in school and conference history. The Falcons kept the witty Commodores at bay despite shooting just 5-4-22 in the second half.

Mann was one of four double-digit scorers, paced by reserve forward Amber Flynn. Flynn had 21 points and five rebounds and found every crevice in the Vanderbilt defense that she could to get to the basket.

The way BG was scoring in the first half, it seemed that the Falcons would have to be very ineffective in the second half for Vanderbilt to come back. They led 37-24 and were shooting 54 percent.

BG was not all that effective in the second half, shooting 5-of-22, but their play on the other end made up for the low shot percentage.

The Commodores had a good plan on defense coming out of the locker room, but the one player they had a hard time accounting for Flynn - she took advantage. The senior had 13 first half points and in the second half got to the free throw line eight times and made seven.

Mann scored 10 points in the game while battling foul trouble. None were more important than her last three.

"When we needed a huge shot late in the game, Ali Mann hit a huge 3," Miller said.

The Falcons made Vanderbilt the third No. 2 seed to bow out of the tournament. They admitted that the many upsets that have already happened in this year's women's tournament inspired them.

"We were talking, Ali and I, while we were watching the game before and actually said, 'this is the weekend of upsets, so Vanderbilt was next in line,'" Achter said.

Achter added 10 points including 6-of-8 free throws and dished out eight assists, a few of which gave Amber Flynn easy baskets. Carin Horne had 12 points and six rebounds.

The Falcons now move on to Greensboro, N.C. to face No. 3 seed Arizona State. It may be hard for BG to start preparing.

"Don't pinch me," Miller said.

As for being a mid-major in the Sweet 16, BG knows it can do some damage.

"We think we deserve to be here, and we think that we are one of the top 16 teams in the nation," Mann said.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the win is that the 31-3 Falcons will get to see their hallowed senior class play again.

"We're just excited to keep this streak rolling and keep playing with each other as long as we can," Mann said.

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