Bowling Green State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Opens Season Saturday
November 15, 2001 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
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GAME #1 - BGSU AT YOUNGSTOWN STATE
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2001 - 7:00 P.M.
BEEGHLY CENTER - YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO
THE GAME: The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team opens the regular season with four games away from home, beginning Saturday evening (Nov. 17) ... the Falcons open the Curt Miller Era with a trip across the state to face Youngstown State University ... starting time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Beeghly Center (6,500).
Following the YSU game, the Brown and Orange will return to the road for a Tuesday (Nov. 20) game at the University of Detroit Mercy ... the next morning, the team will leave for Boulder, Colo., for a pair of games in the Coors Classic ... BGSU will open that tourney with a Friday (Nov. 23) contest against the host team, #12-ranked Colorado ... Houston and Yale round out the tournament field ... then, the Falcons will return home for a Nov. 27 game vs. Eastern Kentucky.
PROBABLE STARTERS ^
12 Lindsay Austin * 5-7 So. G Cincinnati, Ohio 20 Kim Griech ** 5-7 Jr. G Tallmadge, Ohio 22 Francine Miller *** 5-11 Sr. G Kalida, Ohio 34 Pam Brown * 6-0 R-So. F Warren, Ohio 44 Dana Western-Schuka *** 5-11 Sr. F Whitestown, Ind.^ based upon last game's starters
ABOUT THE FALCONS: BGSU is coming off an 89-81 loss to the Premier All-Stars in the team's lone exhibition Monday (Nov. 12) ... BG finished the 2000-01 season with a record of 11-18, and the Falcons completed Mid-American Conference play with a league ledger of 6-10 ... BGSU ended conference play in fourth place in the MAC's East Division ... the Falcons posted a 78-75 win at Western Michigan in the first round of the 2001 Kraft MAC Tournament, before losing to Toledo in the quarterfinal round ... a total of 11 letterwinners return from that squad.
The returnees include a pair of seniors, Francine Miller and Dana Western-Schuka ... Miller, who earned All-MAC Second-Team honors last year, led the team in scoring (14.3 ppg) ... she was named to the Preseason All-MAC Team by the MAC News Media Association for the second consecutive year ... Western-Schuka averaged 6.8 points and led the Falcons with 4.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocked shots per game a year ago.
Other returnees include junior Kim Griech, who averaged 7.8 points and made 46 three-point field goals a year ago ... sophomore Lindsay Austin started 28 of BG's 29 games last winter, and averaged 6.8 points and a team-best 3.6 assists per outing ... redshirt sophomore Pam Brown started 18 games, including the last seven, in her first playing season ... Brown averaged 6.3 points and 4.9 boards.
Juniors Rachal Hamilton, Megan Jerome and Karen Stocz also return, and are joined by sophomores Kelly Kapferer, Emily Pohl and Stefanie Wenzel ... BGSU's two freshmen, Tene Lewis and Sakima Smith, were teammates at Detroit's Communication & Media Arts H.S. ... another newcomer, Giani Bowles, comes to BG after three years at St. John's University ... Bowles will sit out the 2001-02 season and retain one season of eligibility.
On the sidelines, Curt Miller is joined by first-year assistants Jennifer Roos and Brandi Poole ... Roos spent the last eight years as an assistant at Davidson College, while Poole was at West Virginia University last year ... Afra Smith is a student assistant coach on the 2001-02 staff.
The Falcons went 6-5 at Anderson Arena last year ... BGSU was 3-12 on the road and 2-1 in neutral-site contests ... in MAC play, the Brown and Orange went 5-3 at home and 1-7 on the road.
SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE: Youngstown State played just one exhibition game, beating the Ohio Girls Basketball Magazine Legends, 89-84, Wednesday (Nov. 14) ... junior Maggie Johnston, who sat out last season after transferring from George Mason, had a game-high 25 points ... sophomore Heather Harris had 20 points, while senior Jenny Horner had 13 points and seven rebounds ... sophomore Cathy Hanek dished out a team-high seven assists, while freshman Jen Perugini had a team-best nine rebounds ... those five players - Perugini and Harris at the forward spots, Horner at center and Johnston and Hanek at guard - are the Penguins' probable starters ... Harris is the team's top returning scorer, having averaged 7.7 points per game a year ago ... a year ago, YSU posted a 10-18 overall record and went 6-10 in Mid-Continent Conference play ... the Penguins now compete in the Horizon League (formerly the Midwestern Collegiate Conference) ... head coach Ed DiGregorio enters his 19th season, all in Youngstown, and has a record of 301-203.
THE SERIES: The Falcons hold a narrow 9-8 advantage over Youngstown State in the all-time series between the teams ... YSU holds a 4-3 edge in games played in Youngstown ... Saturday's game marks the fourth time in five years that BGSU's regular-season opener is against the Penguins ... BGSU won last year's game by a 95-88 count at Anderson Arena (Nov. 18, 2000) ... the teams will be meeting for the ninth consecutive year ... YSU captured the last game at the Beeghly Center, 83-68 (Nov. 20, 1999) ... that Penguin victory snapped a seven-game Falcon win streak in the series.
LAST TIME OUT: The Falcons rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to take a lead just five minutes into the second half, but the Premier All-Stars responded to the challenge and posted an 89-81 win Monday (Nov. 12) at Anderson Arena ... BGSU began the second half with a 17-6 run over the first four minutes to tie the game at 50-50 ... a layup by sophomore Lindsay Austin gave the Falcons a 56-54 lead a few minutes later, but that would be the host team's lone lead of the half ... senior Francine Miller, despite being saddled with early foul trouble, led all players in scoring, with 21 points in 22 minutes ... Austin had 15 points, and had a double-double with a game-high 11 assists ... she also had five rebounds to tie classmate Kelly Kapferer for team honors ... sophomore Pam Brown had 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while junior Kim Griech had 10 points and a game-high four steals ... the All-Stars' roster included a pair of players who spent last season with the WNBA's Cleveland Rockers in Tricia Bader-Binford and Rushia Brown, as well as Jamie Lewis, who was the WNIT Most Valuable Player for Ohio State last March ... six players hit double digits in scoring for the All-Stars, led by former Toledo standout Angela (Drake) Bray with 21.
A HOMECOMING OF SORTS: A pair of Falcon players will be close to their homes when BGSU takes on Youngstown State Saturday ... junior Karen Stocz, who hails from Cortland, is a product of Lakeview High School ... redshirt sophomore Pam Brown, a Warren native, prepped at Harding H.S. ... the first collegiate game for the two players was at the Beeghly Center two years ago ... Stocz had two points, two rebounds and an assist in nine minutes of action in an 83-68 YSU win (Nov. 20, 1999) ... Brown did not see action, and eventually was redshirted that season ... Stocz's sister, Sandra, earned a pair of letters on the women's basketball team at Youngstown State ... new BGSU coach Curt Miller is a native of Girard, Pa., which is located approximately 80 miles from Youngstown.
EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS: No, Bowling Green is not eligible for the Horizon League championship ... but, the Falcons compete against five of the nine Horizon League (formerly the Midwestern Collegiate Conference) institutions this season ... in addition to Youngstown State, BGSU also will face Detroit, Butler, UW-Milwaukee and Wright State ... YSU is a first-year member of the league, having competed in the Mid-Continent Conference last year.
GO WEST: The 2001-02 season marks the final campaign for the Falcons as a member of the MAC's East Division ... in October, the MAC welcomed the University of Central Florida as a member for the sport of football only, beginning in 2002 ... the league placed UCF in the East Division ... BGSU is being moved to the West Division for all sports, beginning in the 2002-03 academic year.
FRANCINE MILLER ON PRESEASON ALL-MAC TEAM: Senior Francine Miller has been named to the Preseason All-MAC Team for the second consecutive year ... Miller, despite missing all of six games and parts of several others due to injuries last year, averaged 14.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.7 steals ... she was an all-league second-team pick ... the Preseason All-MAC Team also consisted of Ball State's Tamara Bowie, Western Michigan's Kristin Koetsier, Miami's Kim Lancaster and Eastern Michigan's Stephanie Smiley.
MILLER HONORED BY PEERS, TOO: Late last season, the Cleveland Plain Dealer conducted a survey of team captains of each MAC women's basketball team, asking various questions about their peers in the league ... Francine Miller topped two of the six categories ... she was listed as the "Best Finisher" in the league ... the article stated, "if this player gets free in the open court, get out the camera" ... perhaps more importantly, Miller was the overwhelming winner in the category "The Last Shot" ... the question read, "With the game on the line, who in the MAC can take it and make it?" ... the article stated about Miller, "Because she can get where she wants, when she wants and is a 3-point threat to boot, Miller's peers had no qualms about picking her as tops in the clutch."
MILLER MOVING UP SCORING CHARTS: Francine Miller enters her senior season looking to continue her move up the BGSU career scoring chart ... With 1,079 career points, Miller is the MAC's active career scoring leader, and she ranks 13th in school history ... she scored her 1,000th career point in a win over Marshall last Jan. 17 (as part of a school record-tying 35-point game) ... in that game, she became just the fifth player in BGSU annals to reach 1,000 career points as a junior ... Miller is ranked third all-time on the BGSU career scoring average list, with a points-per-game average of 13.83 ... her next target on the BGSU points list is 12th-place Andrea Nordmann (1,164 points, 1989-93).
FALCONS HONORED AMONG ACADEMIC TOP 25: The BGSU program was among the teams honored when the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced its annual Academic Top 25 lists in September ... the Falcons had a team GPA of of 3.232 during the 2000-01 academic year, tied for 20th-best among all NCAA Division I schools ... "I am ecstatic about inheriting a team that is ranked in the top 25 academically," said Curt Miller. "I am very dedicated to the student-athlete, and I am committed to building upon this success."
MAC PRESEASON POLL: The Falcons were picked to finish third in the East Division in the MAC News Media Association's 2001-02 preseason poll ... last year, BGSU was picked to place fifth, and wound up finishing fourth in the division ... the complete poll follows, with first-place votes, points received and last year's divisional finish:
East Division Pts. LYF 1-Kent State (41) 307 1st 2-Miami (4) 269 T-2nd 3-Bowling Green 184 4th 4-Buffalo 181 T-2nd 5-Ohio 169 5th 6-Marshall 97 6th 7-Akron 68 7thWest Division Pts. LYF 1-Toledo (28) 252 1st 2-Ball State (16) 232 2nd 3-Eastern Michigan 144 4th 4-Northern Illinois 138 3rd 5-Western Mich. (1) 129 5th 6-Central Michigan 50 6th
Tournament Winner: Toledo 21, Kent State 10, Miami 7, Ball State 4, Western Michigan 2, Marshall 1.
TRIPLE YOUR FUN: Several 2001-02 Falcon team members are ranked among the BGSU career three-point leaders ... senior Francine Miller is third on the all-time school list for career three-point percentage (.416, 117-of-281) ... junior Kim Griech is sixth on that list (.383, 72-of-188), while senior Dana Western-Schuka is in ninth place (.361, 53-of-147) ... Miller is third all-time in three-pointers made, while Griech is eighth and Western-Schuka ninth on that list ... Miller is third in three-point attempts, while Griech is eighth and Western-Schuka ninth.
85 GAMES AND COUNTING: The Falcons have made at least one three-point field goal in every game during the past three years ... in fact, BGSU has drained a triple in each of the last 85 games, a school record ... the last time the Falcons were held without a trey was on March 1, 1998 ... the previous school record was 29-straight games on two occasions - most recently, in the 1993-94 (last five games) and 1994-95 (first 24 games) seasons.
EVERYONE'S A THREAT: A total of 11 different Falcons made at least one three-point field goal last season ... 10 of those players had drained a "three" by the fifth game of the season ... a total of 10 different players hit a trey in 1999-2000, as well as in 1998-99 ... prior to that time, the most players to hit a trey in the same season was seven.
INJURY REPORT: Junior Rachal Hamilton (plantar fascia) is expected to be sidelined until mid- to late-December ... last year, the Falcons missed a total of 41 player-games due to injury or illness ... a total of seven players, including four who were or would have been starters, were sidelined at one point or another ... all three of last year's seniors - Jackie Adlington, Angie Farmer and Afra Smith - missed at least one game ... Adlington missed over half the season, while Farmer missed five games in December ... Smith was injured in the MAC Tournament opener and missed the quarterfinal game ... Francine Miller missed all of six games and part of several others ... she had a meniscus injury that bothered her for much of the year ... Megan Jerome was diagnosed with a stress fracture in her back last Feb. 2, and missed the remainder of the season.
ANDER-RIFFIC! The Falcons have made at least six three-pointers in every home conference game in the last two years ... BGSU made a total of 68 treys in eight home games last year ... the previous season, the Falcons made an average of 11.75 three-point field goals per contest ... adding in the 2000 MAC Tournament first-round contest vs. Ohio, BGSU is averaging 10.0 treys and shooting .435 (170-of-391) over the last 17 home games vs. MAC teams.
STILL SHOOTING (AND MAKING) THE TREY: The three-point shot has been a staple of Falcon teams over the past few years ... two years ago, the Brown and Orange set a new NCAA Division I record for three-point field goals made per game ... BGSU sank 259 treys in 28 contests, for an average of 9.25 per game ... last season, the Falcons averaged 6.97 three-pointers made per contest ... Bowling Green made at least five treys in 25 of the 29 games last season.
MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME: In the first 12 seasons after the three-point shot was adopted (1986-87 to 1997-98), Bowling Green teams made a total of 666 three-pointers in 1,890 attempts ... over the last three years, BGSU's totals were nearly 90 percent of the totals during those first 12 years ... during the last three years, Falcon teams have made 596 treys in 1,646 tries.
FALCONS ON THE AIR: Campus station WBGU-FM (88.1) is scheduled to air a total of 15 women's basketball games (plus any postseason contests) this year, including all of the Falcons' home games ... the station will broadcast road games at Detroit (Nov. 20) and Toledo (Jan. 30), and may air the Feb. 19 game at Ohio as well, depending upon the MAC race and other factors ... the complete schedule:
FALCON PLAYER NOTES
LINDSAY AUSTIN: Sophomore from Cincinnati, Ohio ... had 15 points, 11 assists and five rebounds in exhibition game vs. Premier All-Stars ... played in all 29 games last year, starting 28 at point guard ... averaged 6.8 points, fifth on the team ... led the Falcons with 3.6 assists, and had 1.4 steals per game.
GIANI BOWLES: Senior from Detroit, Mich. ... will sit out the 2001-02 season after transferring from St. John's University ... will have one year of eligibility remaining.
PAM BROWN: Redshirt sophomore from Warren, Ohio ... started the exhibition game ... had 12 points and four rebounds in that game, going 5-of-7 from the field (1-for-1 from three-point land) ... played in all 29 games a year ago, starting 18 ... started the last six contests of the year ... averaged 6.3 points and 4.7 rebounds ... averaged 8.9 points over the last seven games.
KIM GRIECH: Junior from Tallmadge, Ohio ... started the exhibition game and had 10 points and a game-high four steals ... played in 28 games in 2000-01, starting eight ... averaged 7.8 points, fourth on the team, and 18.7 minutes ... shot .393 (46-of-117) from three-point distance on the year.
RACHAL HAMILTON: Redshirt junior from Castalia, Ohio ... has a plantar fascia injury ... did not see action in the exhibition game, and is likely to return in mid- to late-December ... played in eight games off the bench a year ago.
MEGAN JEROME: Junior from Marion, Ohio ... had a rebound and a steal in eight minutes vs. the Premier All-Stars ... last year, played in 15 games off the bench, but missed the final month of the season with a back injury ... injury was diagnosed on Feb. 2 ... averaged 3.6 points in 11.3 minutes per game ... shot .526 (10-of-19) from three-point land on the year.
KELLY KAPFERER: Sophomore from Jefferson, Ohio ... scored eight points, and tied for team honors with five rebounds, in 21 minutes off the bench vs. Premier All-Stars ... played in all 29 games last year, having started four ... averaged 13.6 minutes, 3.6 points and 3.4 rebounds ... finished third on the team in blocked shots, with 13 (0.4 bpg).
TENE LEWIS: Freshman from Southfield, Mich. ... did not see action in the exhibition game.
FRANCINE MILLER: Senior from Kalida, Ohio ... a Preseason All-MAC selection for the second consecutive year ... had a game-high 21 points in 22 minutes vs. the Premier All-Stars ... has a total of 1,079 career points entering her senior year ... an All-MAC Second-Team selection last year after earning first-team honors as a sophomore ... played in 23 games last year, starting 21 ... led the team with 14.3 points, and ranked second with 4.5 rebounds per game ... led the team in steals (1.7), and was second in assists (2.9), blocks (0.6) and free-throw percentage (.851).
EMILY POHL: Sophomore from Fowler, Mich. ... had a rebound in three minutes off the bench in the exhibition game ... saw action in all 29 games last year, making one start ... averaged 1.8 points and 1.2 assists in 12.6 minutes per game.
SAKIMA SMITH: Freshman from Detroit, Mich. ... had six points and two rebounds in the exhibition game ... also had an assist and a steal in 15 minutes.
KAREN STOCZ: Junior from Cortland, Ohio ... had a point and a rebound in four minutes vs. the Premier All-Stars ... played in 21 games a year ago, starting two ... averaged 2.0 points and 1.3 rebounds.
STEFANIE WENZEL: Sophomore from Sussex, Wis. ... played 13 minutes in the exhibition game, scoring three points ... saw action in 16 games off the bench as a freshman ... averaged 2.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 7.6 minutes played ... was 5-for-10 (.500) from three-point land.
DANA WESTERN-SCHUKA: Senior from Whitestown, Ind. ... had five points, three rebounds and three steals in exhibition ... played in all 29 games last winter, starting 13 ... averaged 24.6 minutes played, second on the team ... was sixth in scoring, with 6.8 points per game ... led the team in blocked shots (25, 0.9 avg.) and rebounding (4.8 avg.).
