Bowling Green State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Readies For Exhibition Opener
November 08, 2001 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 8, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
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BOWLING GREEN VS. PREMIER ALL-STARS
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2001 * EXHIBITIONANDERSON ARENA * BOWLING GREEN, OHIO * 7:00 P.M.
RADIO: WBGU-FM (88.1)
THE GAME: The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team begins the Curt Miller Era with a home exhibition game against the Premier All-Stars Monday night (Nov. 12) ... the game, the lone exhibition contest for the Falcons, is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. at BGSU's venerable Anderson Arena.
WBGU RADIO: Monday's game will be aired on campus station WBGU-FM (88.1) ... the station is scheduled to broadcast a total of 16 games in 2001-02 ... BGSU will air all 13 home games (including the exhibition) as well as three road contests ... the complete schedule is listed later in this release.
BGSU NUMERICAL ROSTER
5 Megan Jerome ** 5-9 Jr. G Marion, Ohio 3.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg 10 Stefanie Wenzel * 6-0 So. G Sussex, Wis. 2.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg 11 Emily Pohl * 5-7 So. G Fowler, Mich. 1.8 ppg, 1.2 apg 12 Lindsay Austin * 5-7 So. G Cincinnati, Ohio 6.8 ppg, 3.6 apg 20 Kim Griech ** 5-7 Jr. G Tallmadge, Ohio 7.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg 22 Francine Miller *** 5-11 Sr. G Kalida, Ohio 14.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg 24 Tene Lewis 5-8 Fr. G Southfield, Mich. 25 Kelly Kapferer * 6-2 So. C Jefferson, Ohio 3.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg 31 Giani Bowles % 5-5 Sr. G Detroit, Mich. 32 Karen Stocz ** 6-0 Jr. F Cortland, Ohio 2.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg 33 Sakima Smith 6-0 Fr. F Detroit, Mich. 34 Pam Brown * 6-0 R-So. F Warren, Ohio 6.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg 42 Rachal Hamilton ** 6-1 R-Jr. C Castalia, Ohio 1.1 ppg, 0.6 rpg 44 Dana Western-Schuka *** 5-11 Sr. F Whitestown, Ind. 6.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg % transfer from St. John's Univ., will sit out 2001-02 and have one year of eligibility remaining 2000-01 statistics listed for BGSU's 11 returning players
ABOUT THE FALCONS: BGSU 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.
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.
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.
PREMIER ALL-STARS: The Premier All-Stars are playing a total of 10 games against collegiate teams, with BGSU the last stop on the tour ... former Ohio State standout Lisa Cline is on the squad, along with former Toledo star Angela (Drake) Bray ... a pair of players who saw action in Anderson Arena last year - Ohio State's Jamie Lewis and Youngstown State's Brianne Kenneally - are on the squad as well ... the team's schedule and results follow:
Nov. 1 Buffalo W 89-62 Nov. 2 Central Mich. L 56-58 Nov. 3 Bradley W 90-84 Nov. 4 Michigan St. L 74-93 Nov. 6 Akron W 92-77 Nov. 7 Penn State L 68-78 Nov. 9 Indiana 7:00 p.m. Nov. 10 Kentucky 7:00 p.m. Nov. 11 Ohio 1:00 p.m. Nov. 12 Bowling Green 7:00 p.m.
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.
FALCONS ON THE AIR: Campus station WBGU-FM (88.1) is scheduled to air a total of 16 women's basketball games (plus any postseason contests) this year, including all of the Falcons' home games ... the first broadcast is Monday's exhibition vs. the Premier All-Stars ... the complete schedule:
WBGU BROADCAST SCHEDULE:
Nov. 12 Premier All-Stars Nov. 20 at Detroit Nov. 27 Eastern Kentucky Nov. 29 IPFW Dec. 8 UW-Milwaukee Dec. 15 Wright State Jan. 2 Kent State Jan. 9 Northern Illinois Jan. 12 Buffalo Jan. 14 Akron Jan. 26 Marshall Jan. 30 at Toledo Feb. 5 Ohio Feb. 14 Western Michigan Feb. 19 at Ohio Feb. 23 Eastern Michigan
UP NEXT: The Falcons will open the season with four games away from home, beginning with a Nov. 17 tilt at Youngstown State ... start time for that game is 7:00 p.m.
