BGSU Visits WMU at MAC Tournament Begins

Monday, March 5

Kalamazoo, MI

5:30 PM ET

Bowling Green State University

Western Michigan (First Round)

Tickets

March 04, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Falcons face Broncos in Monday's first round

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

BGSU at WESTERN MICHIGAN
<><> MAC Tournament First Round <><>
<><> Monday, March 5, 2018 • 5:30 p.m. <><>
<><> University Arena (5,421) • Kalamazoo, Mich. <><>
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><> TELEVISION / VIDEO: ESPN3.com <><>
<><> RADIO / AUDIO: None <><>
<><> LIVE STATS: www.WMUBroncos.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 hits the road as the Mid-American Conference Tournament gets underway this week. Head coach Jennifer Roos and the Falcons travel to Kalamazoo, Mich., for a Monday (March 5) matchup with Western Michigan University. BGSU, seeded 11th, will face the sixth-seeded Broncos in a 5:30 p.m. start at University Arena.

The BGSU-WMU winner will head to Cleveland for Wednesday's (March 7) quarterfinal round. Third-seeded Ball State awaits either the Falcons or Broncos, and that quarterfinal contest will be the fourth and final game of the day at Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday evening.

THE FALCONS IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT
BGSU enters Monday's game with an all-time record of 44-22 in MAC Tournament contests. The Falcons have won 11 league tournament titles, the most of any conference institution, and BG has the second-highest winning percentage (.667) of any team in league tourney games. BGSU's conference tournament win total also places the Falcons second among MAC teams. A complete list of BGSU's game-by-game results in MAC Tournament play can be found in the PDF version of these notes.

FALCONS VS. WMU IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT
The Falcons and Western Michigan are meeting for the eighth time in MAC Tournament play, and BGSU holds a 4-3 lead. The teams are squaring off in the league tourney for the third time in six years.

Three years ago, in the most recent MAC tourney matchup, the host Broncos picked up a 65-42 win in first-round action in Kalamazoo. The previous meeting saw the Falcons post a 55-53 victory in the second round of the 2013 MAC Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena. Prior to that, the Falcons captured a 63-62 win in the 2004 quarterfinals, on a buzzer-beating jumper by Lindsay Austin.

The Falcons are 1-2 in road games and 3-1 in neutral-site matchups vs. the Broncos in the MAC Tournament. BGSU is 1-1 in the first round, 1-0 in the second round, 1-2 in the quarterfinals and 1-0 in the championship game vs. WMU.
GAME-BY-GAME RESULTS VS. WMU IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT
Year Round Site Result
1988 CG Centennial Hall; Toledo W 70-53
1995 QF Kalamazoo, Mich. L 64-67
2000 QF Public Hall; Cleveland L 63-87
2001 1st Rd. Kalamazoo, Mich. W 78-75
2004 QF Gund Arena; Cleveland W 63-62
2013 2nd Rd. Quicken Loans Arena; Cleveland W 55-53
2015 1st Rd. Kalamazoo, Mich. L 42-65

FALCONS BY ROUND AND SITE IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT
The Falcons enter the 2018 MAC Tournament with an all-time record of 4-5 in the first round. BG is 1-0 in league tourney second-round games, 0-1 in the third round, 15-6 in quarterfinal-round contests, 13-8 in the semifinals and 11-2 in championship-game appearances.

BGSU is a perfect 10-0 in MAC Tournament home games, including a 1-0 mark at the Stroh Center. The Falcons are 2-8 in road games and 32-14 in neutral-site contests in the league tourney over the years.

One of the Falcons' two road wins in MAC Tournament play came at Western Michigan in 2001. BGSU, the ninth seed for that year's tourney, avenged a 16-point loss in the regular season with a 78-75 win over the eighth-seeded Broncos.

THE FALCONS: A QUICK OVERVIEW
BGSU is 11-18 on the season, and the Falcons went 3-15 in Mid-American Conference regular-season play. BG was 6-8 at the Stroh Center, and the Falcons are 4-10 in true road games and 1-0 in neutral-site contests to date

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 skid with a 66-64 win at Akron (Jan. 13), and the Falcons returned home and topped Kent State, 60-50, four days later. But, BG then suffered narrow setbacks to Ohio and Toledo to begin a 10-game slide. The Brown and Orange snapped that streak with Wednesday's 84-63 win over Akron on Senior Night at the Stroh Center, before falling at Buffalo 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 played in 17 of the 18 MAC games.

Lambert, Puk and Santoro each have started all 29 games this season, while Cecil has made 23 starts, Uecker 13, Glowniak and Perry eight apiece and Caterrion Thompson six. Cecil and Perry have joined Lambert, Puk and Santoro in the starting five for the last two games.

Heading into the WMU game, just one Falcon is scoring in double digits, but three others are averaging at least 8.5 points per game. Santoro leads the team with 12.5 ppg, and is nearly averaging a double-double, with a team-leading 8.7 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 9.9 ppg, while Cecil and Puk are averaging 8.6 and 8.5 ppg, respectively. Caterrion Thompson (6.3 ppg) is fifth on the Falcons in scoring, and she ranks second in the MAC in three-point percentage (42.5%; 34-of-80).

Lambert leads the team in assists, with 1.9 per game, while Santoro and Puk each have 1.6 helpers per contest. Santoro (1.6) and Lambert (1.5) are ranked 1-2 on the team in steals per game, as Santoro has 45 and Lambert 44. Lambert has knocked down 58 three-point field goals this year, while Puk has hit 43 and Caterrion Thompson 34.

In MAC play, Santoro finished with BG-best averages of 11.1 ppg and 7.7 rpg, while Lambert had 9.3 ppg, Caterrion Thompson 8.1 and Puk 7.4. Two Falcons were ranked among the top-12 in the MAC in three-point field-goal pct., as Thompson was third (42.9%; 27-of-63) and Puk 11th (36.5%; 23-of-63). Williams (34.9%) would have finished 14th in the league, but she fell just shy of the minimum qualifying mark. The Falcons were second in the MAC in three-pointers made (7.6 per game) in league contests. Perry was tied for ninth in the MAC in blocked shots, with 17 in 17 conference games.

SYD-THREE LAMBERT
Over the last few weeks, BGSU guard Sydney Lambert has rapidly moved up the BGSU list for career three-point field goals made. Lambert – just a junior – now has hit 185 long-distance shots in her career, and has moved past Chrissy Steffen (184 from 2009-13) into sole possession of fourth place on the school list.

Lambert's next target on that list is third-place Liz Honegger (216 from 2003-07). Lambert is on pace to finish her career ranked second all-time in three-pointers made at BGSU.

SENIORS CAN HIT THE THREE AS WELL
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 now ranked among the top 15 Falcons in program history in career three-point field goals made.

Puk hit a game- and career-high four triples vs. Akron, and now ranks 14th in school history with 120 successful long-range shots as a Falcon. Myers is right behind her classmate, having hit 118 triples to rank 15th on that BGSU list. WIth two successful treys Wednesday vs. Akron and one more at Buffalo, Myers moved past her former teammate, Jasmine Matthews (117 from 2011-15).

SCOUTING WMU
Western Michigan has an overall record of 16-14, and the Broncos finished the regular season with a 9-9 MAC ledger. Western finished third in the West Division and earned the sixth seed for the league tourney. The Broncos have won two-straight games after losing the previous four, and WMU is 9-4 at home, 6-8 on the road and 1-2 at neutral sites this winter. Breanna Mobley paces three double-figure scorers for the Broncos, with team-leading averages of 16.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. She is fourth in the MAC in field-goal pct. (54.6%). Deja Wimby and Marley Hill have 11.6 and 10.2 ppg, respectively, and Wimby is third in the MAC in assists (6.0 apg) and tied for sixth in the league in steals (2.3 spg). Mobley had 28 points, eight rebounds and five blocks in Saturday's 85-66 win at Northern Illinois, while Wimby had a double-double, with 14 points and 11 assists. Last year, WMU was 19-13 overall and 8-10 in the MAC. Head coach Shane Clipfell welcomed back 11 letterwinners, including four starters, from that club.

THE SERIES
The Falcons lead WMU, 35-31, in the all-time series between the teams, but Western has won the last eight meetings, including a 67-58 verdict in this year's first matchup in Kalamazoo (Dec. 30, 2017) and an 81-67 decision a month ago at the Stroh Center (Feb. 7, 2018). BG's last victory over WMU came on Feb. 5, 2014 (72-50 at the Stroh). The Falcons are 18-13 at home, 14-17 on the road and 3-1 at neutral sites vs. the Broncos over the years.

UP NEXT
The BGSU-WMU winner will head to Cleveland for Wednesday's (March 7) quarterfinal round to face third-seeded Ball State. That quarterfinal contest will be the fourth and final game of the day at Quicken Loans Arena. The semifinals and championship are set for Friday (March 9) and Saturday (March 10), respectively, at The Q.