Falcons Host Zips on Senior Night

Wednesday, February 28

Bowling Green, OH

7:00 PM ET

Bowling Green State University

Akron

Tickets

Rachel Myers Haley Puk Senior Night 2018

February 27, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Myers, Puk, Eli & Hosinski to be recognized in pregame ceremonies

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

BGSU vs. AKRON
<><> Wednesday, February 28, 2018 • 7:00 p.m. <><>
<><> Stroh Center (4,347) • Bowling Green, Ohio <><>
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><> TELEVISION / VIDEO: ESPN3.com <><>
<><> RADIO / AUDIO: BGRSO <><>
<><> LIVE STATS: www.BGSUFalcons.com <><>
<><> TWITTER: @BGSUwbb <><>

all available audio, stats & video links can be found at BGSUFalcons.com on game day

UP NEXT FOR THE FALCONS...
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team wraps up the home portion of the 2017-18 schedule on Wednesday evening (Feb. 28). Head coach Jennifer Roos and the Falcons will host the University of Akron in a 7:00 p.m. contest, on Senior Night at the Stroh Center.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
If you can't make it to the arena on game day, fear not – you can still follow the Falcons via your radio- or computer-like devices. Wednesday's Akron game will be available via free video and audio streams, and fans can also follow along with live stats and Twitter updates. All links will be available via BGSUFalcons.com.

All of BGSU's home games, and many road contests, will have audio broadcasts, courtesy of the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO). And, every BGSU home game this season will have a free live stream, with all but one home contest in 2017-18 aired via ESPN3.com. Additionally, all of BG's conference road games are scheduled to be streamed via ESPN3.com.

Live stats are also available for all games, and in-game Twitter updates for every BGSU game can be found at @BGSUwbb.

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. Any and all available links to ticket info. and game coverage will be available there.

THANKS, SENIORS

49040 — Connor Eli (left) & Jason Hosinski

Wednesday, as mentioned, will be Senior Night at the Stroh, with the four seniors in the Falcon program recognized in ceremonies prior to tipoff. That quartet includes Rachel Myers, Haley Puk and managers Connor Eli and Jason Hosinski. The Senior Night festivities are scheduled to begin at approximately 6:43 p.m.

The Falcons have won 14 of the 16 Senior Day/Night games since Jennifer Roos came to Northwest Ohio, and BG is 19-3 in the last 22 such contests.

SENIORS CAN HIT THE THREE
The two seniors on BGSU's roster – Haley Puk and Rachel Myers – each have a proclivity for hitting shots from beyond the arc. Both players are ranked among the top 20 Falcons in program history in career three-point field goals made.

Puk has made 116 long-range shots as a Falcon, ranking her 15th in school history. Myers is right behind her classmate, having hit 115 triples to rank 16th on that BGSU list.

WEDNESDAYS WITH WILLIAMS
Freshman point guard Kennedy Williams is averaging 3.3 points per game this winter, and is scoring 4.5 ppg in MAC play to date. Over the Falcons' last six Wednesday games, however, Williams has averaged 6.8 points per contest.

Entering the spring semester, Williams' career-high total for points in a game was five. But, in midweek MAC matchups since that time, she has scored at least five points in all six games. Williams tied her then-career best with five points at Central Michigan, then had six vs. Kent State and seven at Ball State. She scored a career-high 10 points in the road match vs. KSU, and had six points vs. Western Michigan and seven against Buffalo.

No matter the day of the week, Williams has certainly stepped up her play as of late. She is shooting 50 percent from the field over the last seven games, going 17-for-34 from the floor after shooting 13-for-37 in BG's first 20 contests. From the arc, Williams shot a very respectable 9-for-25 (36.0%) in her first 20 games, but has gone 10-for-21 (47.6%) in the last seven outings.

THE FALCONS: A QUICK OVERVIEW
BGSU is 10-17 on the season, and the Falcons are 2-14 in Mid-American Conference play. BG is 5-8 at the Stroh Center, 4-9 in true road games and 1-0 in neutral-site contests, and the Orange and Brown will enter the Akron game looking to snap a 10-game losing streak.

The Falcons opened the season with seven games in a 19-day span. BGSU went 6-1 during that time, then began December by downing Xavier before a large School Day crowd at the Stroh. But, BG then dropped six of the next seven games.

BGSU stopped a five-game slide with a 66-64 win at Akron (Jan. 13), and the Falcons then returned home and topped Kent State, 60-50, four days later. But, BG then suffered narrow setbacks to Ohio and Toledo to begin the current streak. Most recently, BG dropped a 92-64 decision at Miami on Saturday.

Head coach Jennifer Roos and her staff – which is comprised of assistant coaches Jacey Brooks, Nick Moore and Jessie Ivey, director of operations Monique Rosati and video coordinator Amanda Cutcher – welcomed back a total of nine returning players, including three starters, from a year ago. The list of returnees includes two seniors, three juniors and four second-year Falcons.

Rachel Myers and Haley Puk make up the senior class, while Maddie Cole, Sydney Lambert and Carly Santoro each are in their junior year. Sophomores Andrea Cecil, Caterrion Thompson and Jane Uecker also returned, as did Clare Glowniak, who is a redshirt freshman in terms of eligibility.

The nine returnees were joined by five freshmen, including Terri Battle, Madisen Parker, Angela Perry, Sierra Thompson and Kennedy Williams. Perry was injured and missed the entire non-league slate, but has played in 15 of the 16 MAC games.

Lambert, Puk and Santoro each have started all 27 games this season, while Cecil has made 21 starts, Uecker 13 and Glowniak eight. Perry and Caterrion Thompson each made their first collegiate start in the first Miami meeting, and both have now started six-straight games.

Heading into the Akron game, two Falcons are scoring in double digits, while two others are scoring at least 8.5 points per game. Santoro leads the team with 12.9 ppg, and is nearly averaging a double-double, with a team-leading 8.9 rpg. She ranks third in the MAC in rebounds, and her total of 11 double-doubles this season is the highest by a BG player in 20 years.

Lambert has 10.1 ppg, while Cecil and Puk are averaging 8.8 and 8.5 ppg, respectively. Caterrion Thompson (5.9 ppg) is fifth on the Falcons in scoring, and she ranks fourth in the MAC in three-point percentage (41.3%; 31-of-75).

Lambert leads the team in assists, with 2.0 per game, while Santoro has 1.7 helpers per contest. Santoro (1.6) and Lambert (1.5) are ranked 1-2 on the team in steals per game, as Lambert has 42 and Santoro 40. Lambert has knocked down 54 three-point field goals this year, while Puk has hit 39 and Caterrion Thompson 31.

Puk is fourth in the league in free-throw percentage, having made 83.1% of her shots from the stripe (54-of-65) to date.

In MAC play, Santoro has BG-best averages of 11.6 ppg and 7.9 rpg, while Lambert has 9.6 ppg, Caterrion Thompson 7.6 and Puk 7.3. Three Falcons are ranked among the top-12 in the MAC in three-point field-goal pct., as Williams is currently fourth (41.7%; 15-of-36), Thompson sixth (41.4%; 24-of-58) and Puk 12th (36.5%; 19-of-52). The Falcons are second in the MAC in three-pointers made (7.6 per game) in league contests. Puk is third in the league in free-throw accuracy (86.5%).

THE CARLY 500
Junior Carly Santoro pulled down the 500th rebound of her career in the game at Northern Illinois. Entering the Akron game, she now has a total of 518 boards in 86 career games, for an average of just over 6.0 rebounds per contest.

Santoro has pulled down 468 of those rebounds since moving into the starting lineup at the beginning of last season. Since the start of her sophomore year, she is averaging nearly 8.1 rebounds per outing.

If Santoro can keep up that pace, the 5-10 guard has a chance to finish her career ranked among the top-10 rebounders in BGSU history.

SYD THE KID
Over the last few weeks, BGSU guard Sydney Lambert has rapidly moved up the BGSU list for career three-point field goals made. Lambert hit 10 triples in a three-game span in late January, knocking down four against both Toledo and Kent State.

Entering the Akron game, Lambert – just a junior – has hit 181 long-distance shots after drilling four more shots from the arc at Miami. She ranks fifth in school history, and is just three successful triples shy of matching fourth-place Chrissy Steffen (184 from 2009-13) on that list.

FALCONS VS. THE MAC
The Falcons continue to own the best record in MAC history. Entering the Akron contest, BGSU has an all-time record of 404-209 (.660) in MAC regular-season games, 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 with a winning series record against every other school. BG also has the most overall victories and highest overall winning pct. of any league institution.

SCOUTING AKRON
Akron is 8-19 on the season, and the Zips are 2-14 in MAC play. UA's league wins have come at home vs. Kent State and on the road against Eastern Michigan, and the Zips come to BG looking to stop a three-game losing streak, including a narrow 60-55 loss at KSU on Saturday. UA is 6-9 at home, 1-9 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site matchups this season. In the MAC, the Zips are 1-7, both at home and away. Megan Sefcik is averaging a team-best 12.5 points per game, but has missed 11 of UA's 16 league games due to injury. Shaunay Edmonds has 11.2 ppg and a team-high 4.2 assists per outing. Four other Zips are averaging between six and eight ppg, including Haliegh Reinoehl, who is fourth in the MAC with 8.6 rebounds per game. Last year, UA went 9-21 overall and 2-16 in the MAC. Head coach Jodi Kest welcomed back 10 letterwinners, including three starters, from that club.

THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Akron, 54-7, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU won each of the last three meetings, including a 66-64 thriller in this year's first matchup (Jan. 13, 2018). In that game, Haley Puk's clutch three-pointer with 19.9 seconds to go capped a furious Falcon comeback after BG had trailed by 12 points with under seven minutes to go. Last year, the Brown and Orange posted a 62-58 win in Akron (Jan. 7, 2017), snapping a four-game UA series winning streak. Then, the Falcons exploded for an 86-50 win over the Zips in the last meeting at the Stroh Center (Feb. 4, 2017). BG won the first 26 series matchups, saw Akron capture two of the next five games, then won 19 more in a row before a UA win in January of 2013. BGSU is 28-2 in home games, 24-5 in road contests and 2-0 in neutral-site meetings vs. the Zips over the years.

FOR MORE INFORMATION...
Much, much more information is available by clicking the PDF version of these notes, which is available near the top of this very page.

UP NEXT
Following the Akron game, the Falcons will hit the road to face MAC East Division-leading Buffalo on Saturday (March 3), with tipoff scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at UB's Alumni Arena. The UB game is the final regular-season contest for both the Falcons and the Bulls.

Then, BGSU will begin MAC Tournament play on Monday evening (March 5). BGSU will be on the road for Monday's first round, facing an opponent to be determined.

BGSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
REMAINING REGULAR-SEASON SCHEDULE
Wed., Feb. 28 – AKRON, 7:00 p.m. (Senior Night)
Sat., March 3 – at Buffalo, 2:00 p.m.
Mon., March 5 – MAC Tournament First Round (site, time and opponent TBA)

HOME games at the Stroh Center
All times Eastern