Falcons Head to MAC's "West Coast" for Saturday Meeting with Huskies

Saturday, February 10

DeKalb, IL

1:00 PM CT (2:00 PM ET)

Bowling Green State University

Northern Illinois

Bench celeb v WMU - Isaiah Vazquez photo

Falcons Head to MAC's "West Coast" for Saturday Meeting with Huskies

February 09, 2018 | Women's Basketball

BGSU takes on NIU in DeKalb

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

BGSU at NORTHERN ILLINOIS
<><> Saturday, February 10, 2018 • 2:00 p.m. ET <><>
<><> Convocation Center (9,100) • DeKalb, Ill. <><>
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><> TELEVISION / VIDEO: ESPN3.com <><>
<><> RADIO / AUDIO: BGRSO <><>
<><> LIVE STATS: www.NIUHuskies.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 cross-divisional portion of the regular-season schedule with a trip to the Mid-American Conference's "West Coast" this weekend. Head coach Jennifer Roos and the Falcons venture to DeKalb, Ill., for a Saturday (Feb. 10) game vs. Northern Illinois University. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. local time (2:00 p.m. Eastern) at NIU's Convocation Center.

BGSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL LINKS
Purchase Tickets Here! | Join the Falcon Club Today!
Game Notes: Bowling Green | NIU | BGSU Game Notes Central
2017-18 Schedule | Spark Page | Giveaways / Promotions
Falcons Welcome Dean to Program
"In The Nest" - Parker
2017-18 Record Book | Quick Facts | Career Stats of Current Falcons
PHOTO GALLERIES: WMU | Miami | UT | Ohio | Ohio 2 | Kent St. | Ball St. | Eastern Mich. | Ferris St. | FSU 2 | Xavier | Valparaiso | Canisius | Eastern Ky. | Seton Hill
SWEET SIXTEEN TEAM RECOGNITION STORIES: Jan . 4 | Jan. 11 | Jan. 19 | Jan. 25 | Feb. 1

LOOKING TO MAKE SOME ILLI-NOISE IN THEIR FIRST TRIP HOME
The BGSU roster features four natives of the state of Illinois. All four are true freshmen, and Saturday marks the Falcons' first game inside the state of Illinois since that quartet – Terri Battle (Chicago, Ill./Simeon), Angela Perry (Rochester, Ill./Rochester), Sierra Thompson (Mattoon, Ill./Mattoon) and Kennedy Williams (Marshall, Ill./Marshall) – came to BG.

SPEAKING OF THE FRESHMEN...
Freshmen Angela Perry and Kennedy Williams combined to score all of BGSU's first-quarter points on Wednesday night (Feb. 7) vs. Western Michigan, and Falcon frosh combined for 19 of the team's 27 points in the opening half.

Perry scored BG's first seven points of the night, and was involved in the scoring of 10 of the Falcons' first 11 points, as she assisted Williams on a three-pointer late in the first quarter. That duo combined to go 3-for-3 from the field in the first quarter, as the Falcons were 3-of-10 as a team.

BGSU's first 17 points of the night came from freshmen. Sierra Thompson got an offensive rebound and putback in the second quarter, then slashed through the Bronco defense for a layup. After junior Sydney Lambert hit a free throw with 2:50 left in the half (the first point by a non-freshman), first-year Falcon Madisen Parker turned the corner and hit a driving layup.

BG's first seven field goals of the night came from four Falcon frosh.

PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF IT: BGSU'S REMAINING SCHEDULE
The Falcons, as mentioned, are wrapping up the cross-divisional schedule this week. After the NIU game, BGSU will have a midweek bye before facing Ohio in Athens next Saturday (Feb. 17). The Ohio game begins a stretch of five-straight games vs. East Division opponents to end the regular season.

The Falcons' schedule falls into an interesting pattern over the final month of the regular season. Beginning with the WMU game, the Falcons have/had seven regular-season games remaining. All three of the games at the Stroh Center during that time are/were played on Wednesday nights, with Buffalo (Feb. 21) and Akron (Feb. 28) scheduled to make trips to Northwest Ohio in late February.

BGSU's four remaining regular-season road games all are on Saturday afternoons. In addition to NIU and Ohio, the Falcons will make trips to Miami (Feb. 24) and UB (March 3).

WEDNESDAYS WITH WILLIAMS
Freshman point guard Kennedy Williams is averaging 2.6 points per game this winter, and is scoring 3.6 ppg in MAC play to date. Over the last five Wednesdays, however, Williams has averaged 6.8 points per contest.

Entering the month of January, Williams' career-high total for points in a game was five. But, in midweek MAC matchups over the last month-plus, she has scored at least five points in all five games. Williams tied her 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 this week vs. Western Michigan.

LAMTORO (SAMBERT?)
Juniors Sydney Lambert and Carly Santoro have been constants in the BGSU lineup. Lambert has started all 82 of the Falcons' games since she arrived on campus. Santoro, one of the Falcons' top players off the bench as a freshman, has started all 54 contests since the beginning of her sophomore year.

Santoro and Lambert rank 1-2 among active Falcons in multiple categories. Santoro has 40 career double-digit scoring games, including six games of 20 or more points. Lambert has 39 career games with 10 or more points, and she has five 20-point games as a Falcon.

Lambert leads all current Falcons with 813 career points, while Santoro has scored 794 points since joining the Orange and Brown. They are averaging 9.9 and 9.7 points per game, respectively, since coming to BG.

THE FALCONS: A QUICK OVERVIEW
BGSU is 10-13 on the season, and the Falcons are 2-10 in Mid-American Conference play. BG is 5-7 at the Stroh Center, 4-6 in true road games and 1-0 in neutral-site contests, and the Orange and Brown will enter the NIU game looking to reverse a six-game losing streak.

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.

Senior Haley Puk and juniors Sydney Lambert and Carly Santoro each have started all 23 games this season, while sophomore Andrea Cecil has made 21 starts, classmate Jane Uecker 13 and redshirt freshman Clare Glowniak eight. Freshman Angela Perry and soph Caterrion Thompson each were in the starting lineup for the first time last Saturday vs. Miami, and they both started Wednesday's Western wingding as well.

Heading into the NIU matchup, two Falcons are scoring in double figures, and two more are not far off that pace. Santoro leads the way with 13.2 ppg, and is nearly averaging a double-double, with a team-leading 9.3 rpg. She ranks third in the MAC in rebounds.

Lambert has 10.0 ppg, while Puk and Cecil are averaging 9.0 and 8.5 ppg, respectively. Caterrion Thompson (5.9 ppg) is fifth on the Falcons in scoring, and she ranks third in the MAC in three-point percentage (44.3%; 27-of-61).

Lambert leads the team in assists, with 2.2 per game, while Santoro has 1.7 helpers per contest. Santoro (1.7) and Lambert (1.6) are ranked 1-2 on the team in steals per game. Lambert has knocked down 46 three-point field goals this year, while Puk has hit 37.

In MAC play, Santoro has BG-best averages of 11.8 ppg and 8.3 rpg, while Lambert has 9.3 ppg, Caterrion Thompson 8.2 and Puk 7.9. Puk is shooting 45.9 percent from three-point range in league contests, having gone 17-of-37 from the arc, and Thompson has shot 45.5% (20-of-44) from downtown. They rank third and fourth, respectively, in the conference in that category.

FALCONS VS. THE MAC
The Falcons continue to own the best record in MAC history. Entering the NIU contest, BGSU has an all-time record of 404-205 (.663) 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 NIU
Northern Illinois is 12-11 on the season, and the Huskies are 4-8 in the MAC. NIU snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 10-point win over Kent State last weekend, and the Huskies then dismantled Akron, 84-61, on the road on Wednesday. Northern is 5-3 at home, 6-6 on the road and 1-2 in neutral-site matchups this season. In the MAC, NIU is 2-3 in DeKalb and 2-5 in hostile venues. Courtney Woods leads the team – and the MAC – in scoring, with 21.4 points per game overall and 23.2 ppg in league games. Kelly Smith and Mikayla Voigt have 15.8 and 13.9 ppg, respectively. Last year, NIU was 21-13 overall and 12-6 in the MAC. Head coach Lisa Carlsen welcomed back nine letterwinners, including three starters, from that club.

THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Northern Illinois, 24-14, in the all-time series between the teams, but NIU won the most recent meeting. In last year's lone matchup, the Huskies picked up an 89-76 win at the Stroh (Jan. 4, 2017). BG's last trip to DeKalb saw the Falcons end the first half on a 21-0 run en route to a 58-43 win (Jan. 20, 2016). BG has won 14 of the last 16 meetings with the Huskies, and BGSU is 14-6 in home games, 9-8 on the road and 1-0 in neutral-site contests vs. Northern through the years.

UP NEXT
Following the NIU game and a midweek bye, the Falcons will head to Athens to meet Ohio on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 17. Then, BGSU returns home to face East Division-leading Buffalo on Wednesday, Feb. 21.

BGSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
REMAINING REGULAR-SEASON SCHEDULE
Sat., Feb. 10 – at Northern Illinois, 2:00 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 17 – at Ohio, 1:00 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 21 – BUFFALO, 7:00 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 24 – at Miami, 2:00 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 28 – AKRON, 7:00 p.m. (Senior Night)
Sat., March 3 – at Buffalo, 2:00 p.m.

HOME games at the Stroh Center
All times Eastern