Falcons Embark Upon Expedition to MAC's "West Coast"

Wednesday, January 20

DeKalb, Ill.

8:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Northern Illinois

Rachel Konieczki v Ashland - Nov 7 2015 - Bianca Garza photo

Rockford native Rachel Konieczki & the Falcons face NIU in DeKalb Wednesday night

Photo by: Bianca Garza, BGSU Marketing and Communications

January 19, 2016 | Women's Basketball

BGSU faces Northern Illinois in Cross-Divisional Conflict Wednesday night

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team takes to the road for the first time in two weeks, heading to the Mid-American Conference's westernmost point. The Falcons of head coach Jennifer Roos travel to DeKalb, Ill., for a Wednesday (Jan. 20) game vs. Northern Illinois University. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. locally (8:00 p.m. ET) at the Convocation Center.

LINKS
GAME NOTES: BGSU | NIU
2015-16 Women's Basketball Media Central
Buy Tickets | Join the Falcon Club Today!
#TBT(uesday): Prochaska Scores Last 6 Points as BG Downs NIU with a Blizzard on the Way | Stats

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
If you can't make it to DeKalb on Wednesday night, you can still follow the Falcons via your radio- or computer-like devices. The BGSU-NIU game, like all of BGSU's games, will be broadcast by WBGU-FM 88.1, the flagship home of Falcon women's basketball, and will be available over the air or on the web. Additionally, Wednesday's game will be streamed on ESPN3.com, and live stats will be available as well. And, in-game updates can be found at @BGSUwbb on your twitter machine. To follow the Falcons, simply log on to BGSUFalcons.com and click the 'calendar' link on the day of the game, or navigate your way to the women's basketball page.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• Bowling Green enters Wednesday's game with an overall record of 5-9, and the Falcons are 1-4 in MAC play. BG is looking to snap a four-game losing streak, including Saturday's (Jan. 16) 67-56 setback vs. Ball State at the Stroh Center.

• BG opened conference action with a 64-58 win at Miami (Jan. 2), but the Brown and Orange fell to Western Michigan, 74-45 (Jan. 6), before dropping a 72-57 decision to defending MAC champion Ohio (Jan. 9). The Falcons lost to visiting Akron, 71-55 (Jan. 13), prior to the Ball State game.

• The Miami game was the Falcons' first in 12 days, and just BG's second in a 25-day span. BGSU played three games in seven days to begin December, and after a game on Dec. 8, did not play again until Dec. 21. Then, a trip to San Antonio just after Christmas was cancelled.

• BGSU is 3-4 at home, 1-4 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site games this season. The Falcons are 0-3 at the Stroh in MAC play, and BG is 1-1 on the road in league action after going 0-10 against conference opponents away from Bowling Green last year (0-9 in the regular season, 0-1 in the MAC Tournament).

• BG began the season with a pair of double-digit wins at the Stroh, then left Northwest Ohio and played three games that were decided by a total of 10 points.

• Each of the Falcons' first three home games came against Missouri Valley Conference foes, and the Brown and Orange won those three games by an average of 16.3 points. BG began the season by dispatching both Illinois State and Bradley at the Stroh Center over a three-day span, before losing a narrow 54-51 contest at Cincinnati the following weekend.

• The Falcons headed to Wilmington, N.C., and split a pair of games, dropping a 70-66 decision to Davidson before downing Jacksonville, 72-69 in overtime. Those two contests were part of the UNCW Hampton Inn Thanksgiving Classic.

• BGSU began the month of December with a 74-56 win over Evansville at the Stroh, but BG then lost to Cleveland State, 69-48, at Quicken Loans Arena. The Falcons dropped a 68-39 decision before more than 10,000 fans at Virginia on Dec. 8, then suffered a 58-45 setback against perennial mid-major power South Dakota State at the Stroh nearly two weeks later (Dec. 21).

• Just one Falcon, fifth-year senior Lauren Tibbs, has a double-digit scoring average. Tibbs, in her first season at BGSU after transferring from Marquette, has 11.0 points per game, and also leads the Falcons with 6.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shots per contest. Tibbs is shooting a BG-best 57.3 percent from the field, ranking her third in the entire MAC in field-goal percentage.

• Freshman Sydney Lambert and senior Miriam Justinger have 9.6 and 8.5 ppg, respectively. Justinger scored a season-high 20 points in the Akron game, while Lambert has scored 17 points in each of the Falcons' last two Saturday contests. Lambert and Justinger are tied for the team assists lead, with 1.9 helpers per game apiece.

• Lambert paces the Falcons with a total of 27 three-point field goals made, after hitting a season-high five triples vs. Ball State. Justinger is tied for the BG lead in steals, and she ranks third on the team in rebounding. She has made 16 long-distance shots this year, ranking third on the Falcons on that list as well.

• Lambert is shooting 42.2% from three-point land, while Justinger has made 31.4% of her long-range attempts.

• Sophomore Rachel Myers and redshirt soph Kennedy Kirkpatrick have 6.8 and 4.8 ppg, respectively. Myers is second on the Falcons with 22 three-pointers made, and she is shooting 36.7% from long range. Lambert (third) and Myers (seventh) each are ranked among the MAC's top-10 players in three-point field-goal percentage.

• Kirkpatrick is third on the Falcons in assists and is tied for fourth on the team in three-pointers made.

• Freshman Carly Santoro has 4.7 ppg, while junior Ashley Tunstall has scored 4.1 ppg to date. Santoro posted season-high totals in points (11), rebounds, field goals made and attempted at Western Michigan, and she added nine points and a season-high six rebounds against Ball State. Tunstall had a 13-point, nine-rebound game at Miami, and is second on the team with 4.7 boards per contest. She was limited to just 11 minutes in the Ohio game due to injury, and missed both the Akron and BSU games.

• Sophomore Haley Puk has 2.0 ppg, while junior Rachel Konieczki is averaging 1.5 ppg and junior Abby Siefker 1.2. Siefker is second on the Falcons in blocked shots, with 11 rejections in 14 games.

• Eight players – Justinger, Kirkpatrick, Konieczki, Lambert, Myers, Santoro, Siefker and Tibbs – each have seen action in all 14 games, while Tunstall and Puk have played in 12, sophomore Sarah Baer nine and freshman Maddie Cole four. Justinger, Lambert, Myers and Tibbs each have started all 13 games for the Brown and Orange this season, while Tunstall joined them in the starting lineup for six-straight games before sitting out the last two contests. Siefker drew her first start of the season vs. the Zips, and also was in the starting five for the BSU game.

• The Falcons are shooting 38.1% from the field, 32.3% from three-point land and 71.5% from the free-throw line. The opponents are shooting 39.4% from the floor, 31.9% from the arc and 65.9% from the stripe.

• In MAC games only, Tibbs is averaging 11.6 points and 6.4 rebounds and is shooting 53.2% from the floor, while Lambert has 10.6 ppg and has hit a team-leading 12 triples. Both Justinger and Myers are averaging 8.0 ppg in MAC play.

• 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. The returnees were joined by five newcomers, including a pair of transfers (Tibbs and Tunstall) who were eligible to play immediately.

• 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.

JUSTINGER REACHES 900
Senior Miriam Justinger enters the NIU game with a career total of 900 points at BGSU. She ranks 34th in school history, just two points behind Tecca Thompson (902 points from 1986-90) on the BG career list.

LAST TIME OUT: BALL STATE HOLDS OFF BG'S FOURTH-QUARTER SURGE
• BGSU nearly came all the way back from a double-digit deficit, but Ball State held off the Falcons' fourth-quarter surge Saturday afternoon (Jan. 16). The visiting Cardinals picked up a 67-56 win at the Stroh Center.

• All five starters scored in double figures for the Cardinals (12-4, 4-1 MAC), led by Carmen Grande with 18 points. Jill Morrison had 13 points, including a team-leading four three-point field goals, while Nathalie Fontaine scored 12 points and Moriah Monaco and Renee Bennett added 10 apiece.

• Falcon freshman Sydney Lambert tied her season high by scoring a team-leading 17 points for the second-straight Saturday at the Stroh, while senior Lauren Tibbs added 14 points. Lambert hit a game-high five three-pointers, the highest total of her young career.

• Lambert was 6-of-10 from the field on the day, including a 5-for-8 performance from beyond the arc. Tibbs went 6-of-11 from the floor as BGSU (5-9, 1-4 MAC) shot 42.0 percent from the field to the Cardinals' 41.5%.

• After the Falcons had tied the score midway through the second quarter, the Cardinals scored the last 11 points of the period, including a corner three by Morrison at the buzzer, to take a 34-23 halftime lead. The lead reached 14 points after another triple opened the third quarter, but the Falcons battled back within seven points on multiple occasions in that third period, and trailed by nine after 30 minutes of play.

• The fourth quarter saw the visitors go ahead by 12 points in the first minute, before the Falcons got within two points on freshman Carly Santoro's layup with 4:34 to go. BG could draw no closer, however, as Grande's layup began a 9-0 run that sealed the road win for the Cardinals.

• Santoro had nine points and a team-high six rebounds off the bench. BGSU's bench scored 18 points to just four for their Ball State counterparts.

• Senior Miriam Justinger led all players with five assists on the day, tying her career high.

THE NORTHERN ILLINOIS HUSKIES
Northern Illinois will enter Wednesday's game with an overall record of 8-8, and the Huskies are 1-4 in MAC action to date. NIU has played four of the first five conference contests on the road, including a narrow 66-59 loss at Toledo on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 16). The Huskies opened MAC play with a road win vs. Akron, but have dropped the next four contests, falling to Miami and Central Michigan on the road and Eastern Michigan at home. The EMU game, an 87-80 overtime decision, is Northern's only loss at the Convocation Center this season. NIU is 4-1 at home, 2-6 on the road and 2-1 in neutral-site games. Junior guard Ally Lehman leads the team in a multitude of categories, including scoring and rebounding. Lehman is averaging a double-double, with 13.3 points and a MAC-leading 11.5 rebounds per contest. She also paces the Huskies in assists (4.3 apg) and blocked shots (1.3 bpg). Sophomore forward Kelly Smith and freshman guard Mikayla Voigt have 11.6 and 10.0 ppg, respectively, while redshirt sophomore forward Jazmine Harris is averaging 9.7 ppg. Smith has led the Huskies in scoring in each of the last three games, and also has 6.8 rpg, while Voigt has made a team-leading 22 three-point field goals. Lehman, Smith, Voigt and redshirt senior guard Lacia Gorman each have started all 16 games for coach Lisa Carlsen this season, while junior forward Amber Gray joined that quartet in the starting lineup at UT. Last season, the Huskies finished 12-17 overall and 8-10 in MAC action. Carlsen, in her first season at the NIU helm, inherited nine letterwinners, including three starters, from that 2014-15 club.

THE BGSU-NIU SERIES
The Falcons lead Northern Illinois, 23-13, in the all-time series between the teams, but the Huskies posted a 67-50 win in DeKalb in the teams' most recent meeting (Jan. 28, 2015). That NIU win snapped a 13-game BGSU series winning streak. The Brown and Orange won the first 2014-15 matchup with the Huskies, posting a 65-59 win at the Stroh Center (Jan. 14, 2015). BGSU is 14-5 in home games (including 3-0 at the Stroh), 8-8 on the road and 1-0 in neutral-site contests vs. Northern through the years. Prior to last season's second meeting, NIU's last win over the Falcons was an epic, four-overtime affair at Anderson Arena (Feb. 18, 2004), when the Huskies pulled out a 102-97 decision. Jennifer Roos is 3-1 against NIU as a collegiate head coach. That record does not include a 2012 win over the Huskies, when she was serving as interim head coach of the Falcons.

FALCONS VS. THE MAC
The Falcons continue to own the best record in MAC history. Entering Wednesday's Northern Illinois game, BGSU has an all-time record of 393-173 (.694) in MAC regular-season contests, for the most wins and highest winning percentage of all league institutions. And, BG leads the series with all 11 MAC foes, making the Falcons the only team in the league, obviously, with a winning series record against every other school. BG also has the most overall victories and highest overall winning pct. of any conference institution.

THREE-MARKABLE
The Falcons have made at least five three-point field goals in each of this season's 14 games to date. In fact, BG has hit four or more triples in 46 of the last 47 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.

THREE-LIGHTFUL
BGSU will be looking to extend an impressive streak in the NIU game. The Falcons have hit at least one three-pointer in each of the last 355 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.

UP NEXT
Following the Northern Illinois game, the Falcons will return home for the next two contests. BGSU will face Kent State on Saturday (Jan. 23 – Alumnae Day), with that game beginning at 2:00 p.m. Saturday's contest is the first half of a hoops doubleheader which will see the Falcon men's team host KSU as well. The BG women then face Eastern Michigan at the Stroh next Wednesday (Jan. 27 – Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night).
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