BGSU Hosts Evansville to Begin Wednesday Doubleheader

Wednesday, December 2

Bowling Green, Ohio

6:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Evansville

Tickets

Miriam Justinger v Davidson - Nov 27 2015 - Rodney Williams

Senior Miriam Justinger & the Falcons return home for a Wednesday game vs. Evansville

Photo by: Rodney Williams

December 01, 2015 | Women's Basketball

Falcon Marching Band will be in full force at the Stroh

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, after playing three closely-contested games away from home in an eight-day span, returns home to begin the month of December. The Falcons of head coach Jennifer Roos face the University of Evansville on Wednesday night (Dec. 2), with tipoff set for 6:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center (4,347). The game is the first half of a hoops doubleheader at the Stroh, with the BGSU men's team facing UMBC following the women's game..

LINKS
GAME NOTES: BGSU | Evansville
FALCON MARCHING BAND: FMB Night at the Stroh
GET TO KNOW...: Roos* | Fleming* | Brooks* | Nusseibeh | Rosati
2015-16 Women's Basketball Media Central
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* coming soon

FALCON MARCHING BAND
The entire Falcon Marching Band will be in attendance at Wednesday's doubleheader.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
Wednesday's game will be available on your computer or video-streaming device via ESPN3. Additionally, the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO)is scheduled to broadcast every BGSU women's basketball game again this season. Live stats will also be available, and @BGSUwbb will provide in-game updates on Twitter. All links will be available at BGSUFalcons.com on game day.

HOT-SHOOTING FALCONS!
• The Falcons shot 52.1 percent from the field in Saturday's (Nov. 28) win over Jacksonville, going 25-of-48 from the floor. It marked the first time this season that BG shot better than 50%, and it was the Falcons' highest success rate in over a year. The Brown and Orange shot 55.8% from the field in a 65-53 win over Michigan in the third round of the WNIT on March 27, 2014.

• Saturday's effort against Jacksonville was BG's best in a road game since earlier in that 2013-14 season, when the Falcons shot 55.8% from the floor in a 78-62 road win over Ohio (Jan. 30, 2014). BGSU went 24-for-43 against both Ohio and U-M.

HOT-SHOOTING FALCONS! PART TWO
• The Falcons shot a blistering 66.7 percent in the second half of Saturday's win over Jacksonville, going 12-of-18 from the field. That was the team's best percentage in a half since the aforementioned Michigan game, when the Brown and Orange also went 12-of-18 from the floor in the second half of that win.

• BGSU has not had a better-shooting half since going 18-of-26 (69.2%) in the first half against Ohio on March 3, 2013. That day, the Falcons took a 44-23 halftime lead en route to a 73-52 victory.

• BGSU did not shoot over 50% in a game last year, and the Falcons shot 50% or better in only six halves. Two seasons ago, BG shot at least 50% in a game five times, and shot 50% or better in 22 halves.

LAST TIME OUT: FALCONS THWART JACKSONVILLE'S COMEBACK BID
• The Falcons built a big lead, saw Jacksonville come all the way back, then ran past the Dolphins in the overtime period. The result was a 72-69 BGSU win on Saturday (Nov. 28), the final day of the UNCW Hampton Inn Thanksgiving Classic.

• Redshirt sophomore Kennedy Kirkpatrick led all scorers with a career-high 19 points, pacing four Falcons in double figures. Seniors Miriam Justinger and Lauren Tibbs had 14 points apiece, while sophomore Rachel Myers scored 11.

• Tibbs had a double-double, with a game-high 10 rebounds in the OT win.

• Justinger led a three-point barrage for the Falcons, who were 10-of-21 (47.6%) from long distance in the win. Justinger went 4-of-5 from three-point land, with Myers hitting three long-range shots and Kirkpatrick two.

• Brandi Buie scored 15 points for the Dolphins, while Sherranda Reddick had 13 and Kayla Gordon 12.

• The Falcons shot 66.7% from the field in the second half, going 12-for-18, but JU battled back from 18 points down to force the extra session.

• BGSU never trailed during the entire 40 minutes of regulation. On the afternoon, Jacksonville led for a total of 18 seconds (early in the overtime period), while the Falcons led for 43:18.

• BG surged out to an early 11-2 lead, and the Falcons went ahead by 16 points before the Dolphins scored the last five points of the half to cut the deficit to 11, 27-16, at the intermission.

• That BG lead ballooned to 18 points midway through the third quarter, as the Falcons spotted the Dolphins a layup, then went on a 13-4 run. A Justinger three capped that run and made it a 40-22 game.

• But, JU began to battle back. The Dolphins got as close as seven points before junior Ashley Tunstall's three-point play gave BG a 49-39 lead after three periods.

• With just over two minutes left, Kirkpatrick drilled a three-point try, opening up a seven-point lead. But, the Dolphins were not finished. JU tied the score with 15.8 seconds remaining, and promptly stole the ball right back. A layup try would not drop, however, and the teams went to OT.

• In the extra period, the Dolphins took the lead for the first time all day when Reddick split a pair of free throws with 4:21 to go. But, Tibbs was fouled as she grabbed an offensive board at the other end, and the fifth-year senior hit two charity tosses with 4:02 on the clock.

• From there, neither team scored until just 1:49 remained, when Justinger spotted Tibbs for a wide-open layup. The Dolphins made 1-of-2 free throws, but Kirkpatrick found Tibbs for another layup and a 66-62 lead with 55.6 seconds left.

• Then, Kirkpatrick came up with a steal, went coast to coast and hit a layup for a six-point edge with 36 seconds to go. Reddick hit a corner three with 21.8 seconds left, but that was as close as the Dolphins would get.

WORKING OVERTIME
• Saturday's Jacksonville game marked the Falcons' first overtime contest in nearly two years, since a three-point loss at Central Michigan on Jan. 18, 2014. Those are the only two OT games in the Jennifer Roos head-coaching era, although Roos was at the helm for the Falcons' 45-minute win at CMU on Jan. 28, 2012. That was one of two games in which she served as interim head coach of the Falcons.

• BGSU is now 24-19 in overtime games. Interestingly, the Falcons are just 5-11 at home and 19-8 away from home (17-6 away, 2-2 neutral-site) in OT contests. BG has never played an overtime game at the Stroh Center.

• BG has won four of the program's last five overtime games.

TAKE SOME, THEY'RE FREE
• Last season, the Falcons were sixth in the entire nation in free-throw percentage, shooting 77.0 percent from the stripe. And, if the early stages of the season are any indication, the 2015-16 team has picked up right where the '14-15 club left off.

• BGSU currently ranks second in the country in free-throw percentage, having shot 82.7% from the line through five games. The Falcons have made 62 tosses in 75 tries. BG trails only SMU (83.7%; 82-of-98) in the national rankings.

• The Falcons began the season by making 15-of-18 shots from the line (83.3%) vs. Illinois State, and BG then went 19-of-20 vs. Bradley, hitting 18 consecutive charity tosses in that game before missing a shot in the final minute. BGSU's 95.0% success rate vs. BU set a new Stroh Center record.

• BGSU went 7-of-9 (77.8%) at the line at Cincinnati, 'only' 9-of-14 (64.3%) vs. Davidson and 12-of-14 (85.7%) against Jacksonville. The Falcons have made at least 70% of their free throws in four of this year's five games and in 29 of the last 35 games, dating to the beginning of last season.

SHARE THE LOVE
• The Falcons and the opponents each have made 109 field goals through five games. BGSU has 57 assists on those 109 buckets, compared to just 40 assists for the opponents.

• BGSU's offense is balanced enough that no player has more than 2.0 assists per game, but six players have at least 1.0 assist per contest. Freshman point guard Sydney Lambert has 2.0 assists per game, and senior post players Erica Donovan and Miriam Justinger have 2.0 and 1.8 assists per outing, respectively.

• Redshirt sophomore Kennedy Kirkpatrick is fourth on the team in assists, with 1.4 per game. BGSU's leader in assists per 40 minutes? That'd be junior center Abby Siefker, who has 3.5, just ahead of Donovan and Kirkpatrick (3.3 assists per 40 minutes each).

• Siefker had seven assists as a freshman and 10 in 12 games last winter. This year, she has six helpers through five games. Siefker has had at least one assist in each of BG's five contests this season.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• Bowling Green enters the Evansville game with a record of 3-2. BGSU began the season with a pair of double-digit wins at the Stroh Center, then left Northwest Ohio and played three games that were decided by a total of 10 points.

• Last weekend, the Falcons went to Wilmington, N.C., and split a pair of games at the UNCW Hampton Inn Thanksgiving Classic. BGSU dropped a 70-66 decision to Davidson on Friday afternoon (Nov. 27) before downing Jacksonville, 72-69 in overtime, on Saturday (Nov. 28).

• BGSU began the season with home victories over a pair of Missouri Valley Conference teams, dispatching Illinois State and Bradley in a three-day span, before losing a narrow 54-51 contest at Cincinnati the following weekend (Nov. 21).

• Three players have double-digit scoring averages, led by a fifth-year senior Lauren Tibbs. Tibbs, in her first season at BGSU after transferring from Marquette, has 11.6 points per game, and also leads the Falcons with 8.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots per game. Tibbs is shooting a BG-best 58.1 percent from the field.

• Senior Miriam Justinger and freshman Sydney Lambert have 10.4 and 10.2 ppg, respectively. Justinger is third on the team in both rebounding (5.0 rpg) and assists (1.8 apg). Lambert is tied for the team lead in assists (2.0 apg) and steals (1.2 spg). Lambert has hit a BG-best 10 three-point field goals to date, while Justinger has made nine long-distance shots.

• Redshirt sophomore Kennedy Kirkpatrick has 8.0 ppg off the bench, while senior Erica Donovan and sophomore Rachel Myers have 6.6 and 6.0 ppg, respectively. Donovan is second on the team in rebounding, with 5.4 boards per game, and she is tied with Lambert for the BG assists lead (2.0 apg).

• Kirkpatrick scored a game- and career-high 19 points in the win over Jacksonville, and is shooting a team-best 92.3% (12-of-13) from the free-throw line. Myers had a season-high 11 points vs. JU, and is third on the team with six three-pointers made to date.

• Freshman Carly Santoro has 4.2 ppg, while juniors Rachel Konieczki and Ashley Tunstall each have 2.2 ppg to date. Santoro is tied for the team steals lead (1.2 spg), while Tunstall is fourth on the Falcons with 3.6 rebounds per contest.

• In addition to the aforementioned nine players, junior Abby Siefker has played in all five games to date. Siefker has 3.0 rebounds and is second on the Falcons with 1.0 blocks per outing.

• Donovan, Justinger, Lambert, Myers and Tibbs each have started all five games for the Brown and Orange this season.

• The Falcons are shooting 39.8% from the field, 31.8% from three-point land and an eye-popping 82.7% from the free-throw line. The opponents are shooting 37.1% from the floor, 26.4% from the arc and 65.7% from the stripe.

• BGSU has a scoring margin of +5.4 and a rebounding margin of +7.4. The Falcons have blocked 3.2 shots per game after averaging 1.5 bpg a year ago.

• Head coach Jennifer Roos and the Falcons returned a total of eight letterwinners, all of whom had started at least five games in their BGSU careers entering the season. That group included seniors Donovan and Justinger, juniors Konieczki and Siefker and sophomores Kirkpatrick, Myers, Sarah Baer and Haley Puk.

• Those eight returnees were joined by five newcomers, including a pair of transfers who were eligible to play immediately. The quintet of new faces includes Tibbs, Tunstall, Lambert, Santoro and Maddie Cole.

• Donovan was named to the Preseason All-MAC Team, despite missing most of last season due to injury. She was one of just two players conference-wide to be named to the preseason all-league team for the second-straight season.

• The 2014-15 Falcons went 9-21 overall after four players on the 12-woman preseason roster suffered season- or career-ending injuries, and a fifth missed the bulk of the conference schedule due to injury as well. The returning players entered the season with a combined total of 203 starts in the Brown and Orange.

SCOUTING EVANSVILLE
Evansville is 1-4 on the young season, and the Purple Aces will be looking to snap a brief two-game losing streak on Wednesday night. UE has yet to play at home in 2015-16, and Wednesday will mark the team's fourth game in the state of Ohio (it will be BG's fourth game in Ohio this season as well). The Aces dropped single-digit games to Xavier and Miami to begin the year, before posting a 72-63 win at Cleveland State. UE spent the Thanksgiving holiday in San Luis Obispo, Calif., falling to Montana State on Friday (81-55) and Santa Clara on Saturday (62-44). Individually, junior guard Sara Dickey leads the Purple Aces in a veritable plethora of categories, including scoring (16.0 ppg), rebounding (4.8 rpg), assists (2.4 apg) and steals (2.6 spg). Freshman forward Kerri Gasper has 12.2 ppg and 4.6 rpg, ranking second on the team on both lists. Last season, coach Oties Epps and the Aces went 13-19 overall and 6-11 in Missouri Valley Conference play, but advanced all the way to the semifinals of the MVC Tournament. Epps welcomed back eight letterwinners, including three starters, from that 2014-15 club.

THE BGSU-UE SERIES
The Falcons lead Evansville, 2-1, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU won the most recent meeting. In the second-ever game at the Stroh Center, back-to-back three-pointers keyed a 10-0 second-half run as the Falcons pulled away from the Purple Aces for a 71-54 win (Nov. 20, 2011). Chrissy Steffen scored 16 points, while Noelle Yoder had a career-high 14. That game came a year after the Aces scored the first 16 points of the game and downed the visiting Falcons, 63-62 (Nov. 12, 2010). BG clawed back and actually took the lead in that contest, but UE hit four free throws in the final 1:24 to regain the advantage. Evansville went 11-for-18 from three-point land in that game. The first meeting between the clubs came nearly three decades ago, as the Falcons picked up a 88-78 win at Anderson Arena (Nov. 5, 1986). The Falcons are 2-0 at home (1-0 at the Stroh) and 0-1 on the road vs. UE. Jennifer Roos is 0-0 against the Aces as a collegiate head coach.

SIXTY POINTS = SUCCESS AT THE STROH
• The Falcons have an overall record of 50-16 at the Stroh Center since the building opened prior to the 2011-12 season. While a 75.8% winning percentage is certainly impressive, BGSU's chances of winning at home have increased exponentially when the team scores at least 60 points.

• The Falcons scored over 60 points in each of this season's first two games – both wins – at the Stroh. BGSU is now 47-2 (95.9%) when reaching the 60-point mark inside the Stroh, and BG is 29-2 when scoring at least 70 points, 12-0 when hitting the 80-point mark and 3-0 when reaching the 90-point plateau.

• BGSU is a perfect 18-0 when scoring between 60 and 69 points at the Stroh. The Falcons are 17-2 when scoring 70-79 points in the building. The losses came to VCU (72-71) in the 2012 WNIT and to Akron (79-71) late last season.

SIXTY POINTS = SUCCESS ANYWHERE
Regardless of venue, the Falcons' chances of winning have significantly improved when the team scores 60 or more points. BGSU is a perfect 3-0 this season when reaching or surpassing the 60-point threshold. Last year, BGSU reached the 60-point plateau only nine times, including just twice after Christmas. The Falcons went 8-1 in such games last winter. Two years ago, BG scored at least 60 points 29 times in 35 games, going 27-2.

THREE-GION OF BOOM
BGSU will be looking to extend an impressive streak on Wednesday vs. Evansville. The Falcons have hit at least one three-pointer in each of the last 346 games. BG has not been held without a triple in over 10 years – since Feb. 12, 2005, at Akron, when the Falcons won, 61-52, despite going 0-of-13 from long distance.

THREE-MENDOUS
BGSU hit a season-high 10 three-point field goals in the win over Jacksonville. The Falcons reached double digits in that category five times last season and nine times the year before.

THREE-LIGHTFUL
The Falcons have made at least five three-point field goals in each of this season's five games to date. BG has hit four or more triples in 37 of the last 38 games, dating to late in the 2013-14 season. The lone exception during that stretch was last year's MAC Tournament first-round game, when BG made three treys at Western Michigan.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Senior Lauren Tibbs had 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds vs. Jacksonville. It was her second double-double of the young season. Tibbs had 12 points and 12 boards in the Falcons' win over Bradley. She just missed posting another one at Cincinnati, with team-leading totals of 11 points and nine rebounds.

UP NEXT
Following the Evansville game, the Falcons will continue a stretch of three games in a seven-day span with a pair of road contests. BGSU will head to the Rock and Roll Capital of the World this weekend, facing Cleveland State on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 5). The Falcons and Vikings will meet in a 1:00 p.m. start, with the game being played at Quicken Loans Arena, the site of the MAC Tournament. Then, BGSU ventures to Charlottesville, Va., for a Tuesday (Dec. 8) game vs. Virginia. That game is set for an 11:00 a.m. tipoff.

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