Bowling Green State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Shuffles Off...
February 23, 2001 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
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GAME #26 - BGSU AT BUFFALO
SAT., FEB. 24, 2001 - ALUMNI ARENA
BUFFALO, NEW YORK - 5:20 P.M.
SERIES: BUFFALO LEADS, 3-2 - LAST MEETING: Buffalo 77, at BGSU 74 (OT) (JAN. 27, 2001)
BGSU PROBABLE STARTERS
F 22 Francine Miller 5-11 Jr. Kalida, Ohio 13.8 ppg 4.4 rpg F 31 Afra Smith 5-9 Sr. Madison, Wis. 7.9 ppg 3.0 rpg C 34 Pam Brown 6-0 Fr. Warren, Ohio 6.2 ppg 4.2 rpg G 12 Lindsay Austin 5-7 Fr. Cincinnati, Ohio 7.0 ppg 3.8 apg G 24 Angie Farmer 5-9 Sr. Wayland, Mich. 10.6 ppg 2.3 rpg
THE GAME: The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team hits the road for the final time this season. The Falcons (10-15 overall, 6-8 Mid-American Conference) head to New York to face the University at Buffalo (18-7, 9-5 MAC) in Saturday (Feb. 24) action. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:20 p.m. at UB's Alumni Arena (8,500).
Following the UB game, the Falcons will conclude the regular season with a Wednesday (Feb. 28) game vs. Miami University at venerable Anderson Arena (5,000), before opening MAC Tournament play on March 3, with opponent and site to be determined.
COACH DEE KNOBLAUCH: Falcon head coach Dee Knoblauch is in her third season at her alma mater, and has a record of 34-46. She has a 23-23 ledger in MAC play. Knoblauch (pronounced: kuh-NOB-low), a 1983 graduate of the University, assumed the reins of the Falcon program on August 21, 1998.
Knoblauch, in her 14th season as a head coach, has an overall record of 216-165 (.567). She came to BGSU after 11 seasons at Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio. Over her final five years there, she led the Purple Raiders to a 116-32 mark (.784), including three NCAA Tournament appearances and two NCAA Division III "Final Four" berths.
As a player, Knoblauch was a two-time All-MAC Second-Team selection, and she was named to the Academic All-MAC First Team as a senior. She led the league in assists in each of her last two seasons, and still holds all of the school records in that category.
MAC TOURNAMENT SITUATION: The Falcons, despite Wednesday's (Feb. 21) loss at Eastern Michigan, moved one step closer to hosting a first-round game in the MAC Tournament. If the regular season were to end today, the Falcons would be the eighth overall (and final homecourt) seed for the MAC Tournament, and would host Ohio University in the tourney's first round.
BGSU has a magic number of one over Western Michigan in the race for that eighth spot. One Falcon win or one Bronco loss would clinch a homecourt berth for the Brown and Orange.
The Falcons (6-8 MAC) have a one-and-a-half-game lead on ninth-place OU (5-10), and a two-game lead on current 10th-seeded WMU (4-10). Ohio, a double-overtime loser to UB Wednesday, can do no better than match the Falcons' current total of six MAC wins, and BG holds the tiebreaker over the Bobcats by virtue of a sweep of the season series between the teams.
Western Michigan lost to Central Michigan Wednesday night, putting the Broncos two games behind the Falcons with two games to play. WMU, however, holds the tiebreaker over the Brown and Orange.
ABOUT THE FALCONS: BGSU sports a record of 10-15 on the season, and the Falcons are 6-8 in MAC play. After opening league action with four consecutive wins, the Falcons lost the next five contests. BG has gone 2-3 in the last five games, including last Saturday's (Feb. 17) 90-73 win over visiting Marshall. In that game, junior Francine Miller tied the school single-game record with 35 points.
Following the win over Marshall, though, the Falcons suffered an 86-50 loss to Eastern Michigan Wednesday (Feb. 21).
BGSU has enjoyed a measure of success at home this year, but the team has struggled in hostile venues. The Falcons are 6-4 at Anderson Arena, 2-11 on the road and 2-0 in neutral-site contests this year. In MAC play, BGSU is 5-2 at home and 1-6 on the road.
Individually, Miller leads the team in scoring, with 13.8 points per game. Miller, an All-Mid-American Conference First-Team selection last year, has hit double digits in scoring in 14 of her 19 games, including in seven of the last eight.
Senior Angie Farmer is second on the team with 10.6 points per outing. She tied her season-high output with 20 points vs. Marshall.
Senior Afra Smith is third with 7.9 points per game, while sophomore Kim Griech averages 7.8 points. Junior Dana Western is fifth on the squad with 7.3 markers per contest. The Falcons' top-five scorers, though, combined for just 17 points at EMU.
Freshman Lindsay Austin (7.0 ppg), redshirt freshman Pam Brown (6.2 ppg) and senior Jackie Adlington (5.5 ppg) also are averaging in excess of five points per game. Adlington, however, missed the last two games and is questionable for the UB contest due to a foot injury.
Falcon freshmen had 31 of the team's 50 points at EMU.
From long distance, several Falcons have posted impressive shooting percentages. Farmer is shooting .430 from behind the arc, having made 40 of her 93 three-point field-goal attempts. She has a team-high 2.0 treys per game. Western is shooting .420 (29-of-69) from long distance, while Griech is shooting .375 (39-of-104) from beyond the arc. Miller is now shooting .337 (31-of-92) from long range.
Overall, Miller leads the team with 96 field goals made (5.1 per game), while Smith has 79. Smith is shooting .467 from the floor on the year, having gone 79-of-169. Brown has a .458 percentage (66-of-144), while freshman Kelly Kapferer is shooting .450 (36-of-80). In limited action, Adlington has shot 28-of-57 from the field (.491).
Western currently leads the team in rebounding (4.7 rpg), followed by Miller (4.4 rpg) and Brown (4.2 rpg). Adlington is averaging 6.4 boards in her 11 games, and has led the team in rebounding in eight of the last nine contests in which she has seen action. She has paced the team in that category in every game in which she has played more than six minutes.
Austin leads the team with 3.8 assists and has 1.5 steals per game, while Miller has averaged 3.1 assists and has 1.7 steals in her 19 games to date. Western averages 1.2 steals and paces the team with 23 blocked shots on the year (0.9 bpg).
BGSU is shooting .414 from the floor, while the opponents have a field-goal percentage of .437. The Falcons are sinking free throws at a .728 rate, while the opponents are shooting .722 from the stripe. BG is shooting .370 from three-point range and averaging 7.08 triples per game, while the foes have shot .321 from behind the arc.
In MAC games only, Miller leads the team with 14.5 points per game, while Farmer has 11.0. Adlington has a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game, followed by Kapferer's 4.1 average. As a team, the Falcons are shooting .738 from the charity stripe and .360 from three-point land, while averaging 7.36 treys per game in league play.
BGSU finished the 1999-2000 season with an 11-17 overall record, and the Falcons ended MAC play with an 8-8 record after winning the last four games. The Brown and Orange saw a five-game winning streak come to an end with a loss to Western Michigan in the quarterfinal round of the MAC Tournament.
SCOUTING BUFFALO: Buffalo enters Saturday's game with an overall record of 18-7 and the Bulls have a MAC record of 9-5 ... UB is embroiled in the battle for the MAC's third seed and a first-round bye for the league tournament ... UB, along with Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois, sits a half-game behind Ball State in the battle for that third seed ... the Bulls have won two consecutive games and five of the last six ... Buffalo posted an 86-83, double-OT win over visiting Ohio Wednesday (Feb. 21) to move to 11-2 in home games (5-2 vs. MAC foes) this year ... individually, senior center Tiffany Bell leads the team in scoring and rebounding, with 18.4 points and 7.5 boards ... a pair of senior guards, Mari McClure and Sonia Ortega, average 15.4 and 8.9 points, respectively ... Ortega has 6.3 rebounds and team-best totals of 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals, while McClure averages 3.8 helpers ... freshman forward Jessica Kochendorfer (7.8 ppg) and freshman guard Virginia Jennings (4.1 ppg) round out the probable starting five ... last year, UB finished 18-11 overall and 7-9 in the MAC ... Cheryl Dozier is 51-30 in her third year as a collegiate head coach, all at UB.
THE SERIES: The Falcons lead the all-time series with 11 of the 12 MAC opponents, but Buffalo is that pesky 12th team ... BG trails UB by a 3-2 margin in a series that began in November of 1997 ... the short series already has provided several memorable games ... in this year's first meeting (Jan. 27), UB got 36 points from Tiffany Bell en route to a 77-74 overtime win at Anderson Arena ... the teams split last year's two meetings, with the road team overcoming a double-digit deficit to win in each game ... UB rallied from 20 points down for an 85-81 win (Jan. 8, 2000) at Anderson ... two months later (Feb. 25, 2000), Francine Miller's free throws with 4.9 seconds left gave the visiting Falcons a 63-62 win ... BG had trailed by 13 points early in the second half of that game ... the road team has won the last three contests, and the teams have split the previous two meetings at Alumni Arena.
LAST TIME OUT: The Falcons never got untracked, shooting just 18.5 percent in the first half in an 86-50 loss at Eastern Michigan Wednesday (Feb. 21) ... the Falcons led 4-3 when EMU scored the next eight points to start a back-breaking 32-3 run ... the Brown and Orange went nearly 12 minutes without a field goal during one first-half stretch ... the Eagles led by a 39-17 margin at the half, and BGSU never got closer than 22 points in the second half ... the Falcons, who made just five field goals in 27 attempts in the first half, went 13-of-28 from the floor (.464) in the second half en route to a .327 percentage for the game ... BG did shoot 6-of-13 from beyond the arc ... freshman Lindsay Austin led the Falcons with 14 points, including a pair of triples in as many attempts ... senior Angie Farmer and redshirt freshman Pam Brown each had eight points ... Dru Bishop's 14 points led a balanced Eagle effort, as Kristy Maska and Stephanie Smiley each had 13 points ... Smiley had game-high totals of six assists and five steals.
MILLER TIES SCHOOL RECORD: Junior Francine Miller tied the school single-game scoring record in last Saturday's (Feb. 17) win over Marshall, with 35 points ... Miller already owned a piece of that record, having scored 35 points at Kent during the 1999-2000 season ... former Falcons Jackie Motycka and Jacki Raterman are the only other BG players to reach that mark.
MILLER REACHES MILLENNIAL MARK: Francine Miller's prolific scoring effort vs. Marshall Saturday moved her up the career chart as well ... she hit a three-pointer with 5:31 remaining in the game, to become just the 16th player in school history to amass 1,000 career points ... Miller became just the fifth player in BGSU annals to reach 1,000 career points as a junior ... she enters the UB game ranked 16th in school history, with a total of 1,013 career points in 74 games ... Miller is fourth all-time with a points-per-game average of 13.7.
FARMER ON ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAM: Senior Angie Farmer was named to the Verizon Academic All-District IV University Division Team, it was announced Wednesday (Feb. 22) ... Farmer, who maintains a 3.78 cumulative GPA as a secondary education (social studies) major, earned second-team honors for the second consecutive year ... the district team is made up of student-athletes from NCAA Division I schools in Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee ... to be nominated, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve on the team, and carry a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or higher ... team members are selected by a vote of members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) within the district.
EVERYONE'S A THREAT: Senior Jackie Adlington hit the first three-pointer of her Falcon career in the second Ohio contest (Feb. 7) ... Adlington became the 11th different Falcon to hit a trey this 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 last year, as well as in 1998-99 ... prior to the Dee Knoblauch Era, the most players to hit a trey in the same season was seven.
ADLINGTON ADDS A LOT: Over the past few weeks, senior Jackie Adlington has asserted herself as a force to be reckoned with ... she suited up for the Central Michigan game (Jan. 9), marking her first time in uniform since the season opener ... Adlington had not played since breaking her foot vs. Youngstown State (Nov. 18) ... she played just one minute against Central, but averaged 7.6 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds in the next eight games ... after totalling four points and nine rebounds in her first nine games as a Falcon, she amassed 61 points and 66 boards in the next eight games ... Adlington set or tied her BGSU high in either scoring or rebounding in four-straight games ... in the first Buffalo meeting (Jan. 27), she set BG bests with 14 points and 11 rebounds, posting the first double-double of her brief Falcon tenure ... Adlington also had 11 boards at Akron (Feb. 10), and led the Falcons in rebounding in eight consecutive games ... she suffered a foot injury after playing just three minutes at Miami (Feb. 12), and missed the Marshall and EMU games ... she is questionable for the UB game ... Adlington has led BGSU in rebounding in each game this year in which she has played more than six minutes.
ANDER-RIFFIC! Believe it or not, the Falcons' total of six three-pointers made against Kent State (Feb. 3) is the team's lowest total in a MAC home game in two years ... in eight home conference games last season, the Falcons made an average of 11.75 three-point field goals per contest ... BGSU shot an eye-popping .461 from three-point range in those games ... this year, the Falcons have totalled 59 treys in seven MAC home games ... adding in the MAC Tournament first-round contest vs. Ohio last February, BGSU is averaging 10.1 treys and shooting .433 (161-of-372) over the last 16 home games vs. MAC teams ... the Falcons have made at least six triples in every one of those games.
THREE BALL, CORNER POCKET: In Mid-American Conference play last season, the Falcons averaged almost 10 three-point field goals made per game, with 159 successful triples in 16 games ... this year, the Brown and Orange sank a season-high 12 in the first Akron meeting, and added 10 at Ohio, nine vs. both CMU and Marshall, and eight on four occasions ... BGSU has made a total of 262 successful triples in the last 30 MAC regular-season contests (8.73 per game).
INJURY REPORT: The Falcons have had their share of injuries, and then some, this season ... senior Jackie Adlington suffered a foot injury after just three minutes of the Feb. 12 Miami game ... she missed the Marshall and EMU games, and is questionable for the UB contest ... freshman Stefanie Wenzel sat out the Marshall contest due to illness, but returned to action vs. EMU ... sophomore guard Megan Jerome was diagnosed with a stress fracture in her back on Feb. 2, and will miss the remainder of the season ... Dee Knoblauch's team actually went through the month of January relatively injury-free after playing five December games without three starters - Adlington, fellow senior Angie Farmer and junior Francine Miller ... Miller also missed the Jan. 24 game at NIU with a thigh injury, but has seen action in each game since that time.
WHO'S STARTING NOW? Last year, only seven different players started at least one game ... this season, a total of 11 different players have made at least one start ... no player has started all 25 games, and only freshman Lindsay Austin has started 24 contests ... coach Dee Knoblauch has utilized 11 different starting lineups this season, including a recent stretch in which she used six different lineups in as many games ... she used only three different combinations during all of last season, and used the same lineup for the last 19 games of 1999-2000.
FALCONS IN NCAA RANKINGS: The Falcons were listed in two categories when the NCAA released the latest national statistics ... as a team, BGSU was 10th in the nation in three-point field goals per game, with an average of 7.13 through games of Feb. 19 ... BGSU, of course, set a national record in that category last year, making 9.25 treys per game ... individually, senior Angie Farmer was tied for 11th in the nation in three-point percentage, with a success rate of .429 ... after the EMU game, the Falcons are averaging 7.08 triples, while Farmer is shooting .430 from behind the arc.
NEED TO GET TO THE LINE: The Falcons have been on the short end of the free-throw statistics over much of the MAC season ... in the Western Michigan game (Jan. 31), BGSU attempted a total of just two free throws to the Broncos' 31 ... at Akron (Feb. 10), BG had seven FT attempts to Akron's 38 ... BG had 23 free-throw attempts, the team's most in MAC play this season, at Miami, but the RedHawks had 30 tries ... finally, BGSU got to the line more than the opponent, with 22 tries to Marshall's 19 Saturday ... still, though, over the last seven games, the Falcons are averaging 12.3 free-throw attempts to the opponents' 28.0 ... BG is averaging 13.9 charity tosses in MAC games, to the foes' 26.6.
BLOCK PARTY: The Falcons blocked a total of seven shots in the Feb. 7 win over Ohio ... that total was BG's most since a four-overtime game at Ball State two years ago (Jan. 6, 1999) ... the school record for blocks in a game is 11.
BLOCK PARTY II: Freshman Kelly Kapferer had four blocked shots vs. Ohio (Feb. 7), the most of her brief Falcon career ... that total was the most by a Falcon in over five years, since Michelle Terry had four vs. Eastern Michigan on Jan. 17, 1996 ... the school record is six, set on three occasions.
MORE BLOCKING TIDBITS: By the 12th game of the season, the Falcons had surpassed the blocked-shots total for all of last year ... after posting a total of 39 blocks (1.39 per game) last winter, the Falcons now have blocked 72 shots this season ... BG is averaging 2.88 rejections per contest this year ... junior Dana Western entered the season with a career total of eight blocked shots ... through 25 games this year, she already has a total of 23 rejections to her credit.
81 GAMES AND COUNTING: The Falcons have made at least one three-point field goal in every game during the Dee Knoblauch Era ... in fact, BGSU has drained a triple in each of the last 81 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.
BENCH PROVIDES A LIFT: Not surprisingly, BGSU's injury woes in December have translated into greater experience and depth in the subsequent months ... the Falcons have gotten tremendous production from the bench players in a number recent games ... some of the impressive margins include 41-14 in the win at Ohio (Jan. 6) and 33-13 vs. Toledo (Jan. 13) ... the Falcons held bench advantages of 35-7 and 34-3, respectively, vs. NIU and Buffalo ... in the 14 MAC games, BG has gotten 388 points (27.7 per game) from the bench players to the foes' 307 (21.9 avg.).
KAPFERER KONNECTS: Freshman Kelly Kapferer saw limited action in the early going this season, but hit her stride once conference play rolled around ... Kapferer is shooting .490 (24-of-49) over the last 13 games, after going 12-of-31 (.387) during the first 12 contests of the year.
WORKING OVERTIME: The Falcons' overtime loss in the first Buffalo meeting (Jan. 27) was BGSU's first OT game in nearly two years, since a 98-93 home triumph over Eastern Michigan on Feb. 20, 1999 ... in each of those games, Francine Miller hit a three-pointer in the dying seconds of regulation to force the extra session ... the loss to Buffalo broke a five-game BG winning streak in overtime games ... the Falcons had not lost an OT contest since an 82-77 setback at Ohio in the 1996 MAC Tournament's quarterfinal round (March 5, 1996).
FARMER'S FREE THROWS: Senior Angie Farmer entered the season with a career free-throw percentage of .813, and has done nothing to hurt that stat this year ... this season, she has missed just three free throws in 54 attempts, for a .944 success rate ... she made her first 22 free-throw attempts of the MAC campaign, including sinking all 10 charity tosses in the win over Akron ... Farmer enters the UB game with a .952 conversion rate (40-of-42) in league play.
STILL SHOOTING (AND MAKING) THE TREY: The three-point shot is a staple of a Dee Knoblauch-coached team ... last winter, 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 ... through 25 games this season, the Falcons are averaging 7.08 three-pointers made per contest ... Bowling Green has made at least five treys in every game but three this 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 two-plus years, BGSU's totals are nearly 86 percent of the totals during those first 12 years ... entering the Buffalo game, Dee Knoblauch's teams have made 571 treys in 1,585 tries since she became head coach of her alma mater.
WRITE THOSE RECORDS IN PENCIL: Entering last season, the school record for three-pointers made in a game was 12 ... BGSU hit double digits in that category no fewer than 12 times last year, including a 16-for-38 performance - both school records - in a win over Akron (Jan. 26) ... the Falcons have hit double digits three times in 2000-01, including twice in MAC play to date ... BG made 11 treys vs. Charleston Southern, 12 against Akron and 10 at Ohio ... the Falcons have made at least six three-pointers in 12 of the 14 MAC games this year.
SMART, VERY SMART: The BGSU women's basketball team has had a great deal of success in the classroom ... as a team, the Falcons have a grade-point average of 3.13 through the fall semester ... eight of the team's 14 players have a cumulative GPA of 3.28 or better, led by sophomore Megan Jerome at a perfect 4.00 through her first three semesters at the University ... senior Angie Farmer has a 3.78 GPA.
SMART, VERY SMART II (OR, "FOUR-POINT GUARDS"): The Falcons' four true freshmen seem to have successfully made the transition to college life ... in addition to receiving regular playing time on the court, all four had a GPA of 3.45 or better during their first semester on campus ... point guards Lindsay Austin and Emily Pohl each had a perfect 4.00 GPA in the fall, while Stefanie Wenzel had a GPA of 3.76 ... Kelly Kapferer had a 3.45 GPA in the fall ... on the hardwood, Austin, Kapferer and Pohl all have played in every game this year, while Wenzel has seen action in 16 contests.
TRIPLE YOUR FUN: Four current Falcons are ranked among the BGSU career three-point leaders ... senior Angie Farmer is currently in second place on the all-time school list for career three-point percentage (.424, 151-of-356), while junior Francine Miller is third (.406, 108-of-266) ... sophomore Kim Griech is now seventh on that list (.371, 65-of-175), while junior Dana Western is in eighth place (.371, 53-of-143) ... Farmer is second all-time in three-pointers made, while Miller has moved into sole possession of third place ... Griech is eighth and Western ninth on that list ... Farmer is second in three-point attempts, while Miller is fifth ... Griech is eighth and Western has moved into ninth.
IS THAT A NEW RECORD?: Before Dee Knoblauch returned to campus, the school records for three-point field goals made and attempted in a season were 97 and 296, respectively ... Knoblauch's first team made 135 treys in an even 400 attempts, and last year's squad shattered the records yet again, making a MAC-record 259 triples in 710 attempts ... currently, the 2000-01 squad is on a pace to make "only" 198 treys.
