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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Opens MAC Tournament Play
March 02, 2001 | Women's Basketball
March 2, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
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GAME #28 - BGSU AT WESTERN MICHIGAN
SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2001 - UNIVERSITY ARENA
KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN - 7:00 P.M.
MAC TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND
SERIES: BGSU LEADS, 23-18
BGSU PROBABLE STARTERS
F 22 Francine Miller 5-11 Jr. Kalida, Ohio 13.8 ppg 4.3 rpg F 31 Afra Smith 5-9 Sr. Madison, Wis. 8.0 ppg 3.3 rpg C 34 Pam Brown 6-0 Fr. Warren, Ohio 6.3 ppg 4.4 rpg G 12 Lindsay Austin 5-7 Fr. Cincinnati, Ohio 6.8 ppg 3.6 apg G 24 Angie Farmer 5-9 Sr. Wayland, Mich. 11.1 ppg 2.3 rpg
THE GAME: The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, having completed the 2000-01 regular season, now embarks upon the postseason. The Falcons (10-17 overall, 6-10 Mid-American Conference), seeded ninth for the MAC Tournament, head to Kalamazoo, Mich., to meet eighth-seeded Western Michigan University (9-18, 6-10 MAC) in a Saturday (March 3) contest. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at University Arena (5,800).
The winner of the BGSU-WMU game will advance to the MAC Tournament's quarterfinal round on Tuesday (March 6) to face the #1-seeded University of Toledo. That game will begin at 2:00 p.m. at Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
The MAC Tournament continues with semifinal matchups on Friday, March 9, and the championship game the following day.
COACH DEE KNOBLAUCH: Falcon head coach Dee Knoblauch is in her third season at her alma mater, and has a record of 34-48. 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 216-167 (.564). 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.
BGSU'S MAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The Falcons have posted a 20-10 record since the MAC Tournament was instituted in 1982 ... BGSU's win total ties the Falcons for second-most among league teams, and the .667 winning pct. is the second-best of any school ... the Brown and Orange's six tournament titles are tied for the most by any league school ... the Falcons are making a tourney appearance for the 17th time in its 19-year history ... BGSU is in the tourney for the 15th-straight year, the longest current streak among MAC schools.
ABOUT THE FALCONS: BGSU sports a record of 10-17 on the season, and the Falcons finished MAC play with a league ledger of 6-10. BGSU ended conference play in fourth place in the MAC's East Division, and the Falcons tied Western Michigan for the eighth-best record in the league. WMU, however, won the tiebreaker for tournament seeding by virtue of an 86-70 win in the only head-to-head meeting between the schools during the regular season.
After opening league action with four consecutive wins, the Falcons lost the next five contests. BG will enter the WMU game looking to break a three-game losing streak.
BGSU has enjoyed a measure of success at home this year, but the team has struggled in hostile venues. The Falcons are 6-5 at Anderson Arena, 2-12 on the road and 2-0 in neutral-site contests this year. In MAC play, BGSU went 5-3 at home and 1-7 on the road.
Individually, junior Francine 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 16 of her 21 games, including in nine of the last 10.
Senior Angie Farmer is second on the team with 11.1 points per outing. She posted a season-high 22 points in Wednesday's (Feb. 28) game vs. Miami, hitting six three-pointers.
Senior Afra Smith is third with 8.0 points per game, while sophomore Kim Griech averages 7.4 points. Junior Dana Western is fifth on the squad with 7.0 markers per contest.
Freshman Lindsay Austin (6.8 ppg), redshirt freshman Pam Brown (6.3 ppg) and senior Jackie Adlington (5.3 ppg) also are averaging in excess of five points per game.
From long distance, several Falcons have posted impressive shooting percentages. Farmer is shooting .431 from behind the arc, having made 47 of her 109 three-point field-goal attempts. She has a team-high 2.1 treys per game. Western is shooting .403 (29-of-72) from long distance, while Griech is shooting .376 (41-of-109) from beyond the arc. Miller is now shooting .357 (35-of-98) from long range.
Overall, Miller leads the team with 105 field goals made (5.0 per game), while Smith has 87. Freshman Kelly Kapferer is shooting .458 from the floor on the year, having gone 38-of-83. Brown has a .453 percentage (73-of-161), and Smith is shooting .448 (87-of-194). In limited action, Adlington has shot 29-of-61 from the field (.475).
Western currently leads the team in rebounding (4.8 rpg), followed by Brown (4.4 rpg) and Miller (4.3 rpg). Adlington is averaging 6.2 boards in her 12 games, and has led the team in rebounding in eight of the last 10 contests in which she has seen action.
Austin leads the team with 3.6 assists and has 1.4 steals per game, while Miller has averaged 3.0 assists and has 1.7 steals in her 21 games to date. Western averages 1.3 steals and paces the team with 24 blocked shots on the year (0.9 bpg).
BGSU is shooting .413 from the floor, while the opponents have a field-goal percentage of .437. The Falcons are sinking free throws at a .721 rate, while the opponents are shooting .722 from the stripe. BG is shooting .372 from three-point range and averaging 7.04 triples per game, while the foes have shot .322 from behind the arc.
In MAC games only, Miller led the team with 14.3 points per game, while Farmer had 11.8. Adlington had a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game, followed by Western and Kapferer with 4.1 and 4.0, respectively. As a team, the Falcons shot .724 from the charity stripe and .364 from three-point land, while averaging 7.25 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 WESTERN MICHIGAN: Western Michigan enters Saturday's game with an overall record of 9-18, and the Broncos, like the Falcons, finished with a MAC record of 6-10 ... WMU comes into the league tourney riding a two-game winning streak ... needing to win out to have a chance for a tourney homecourt berth, the Broncos posted narrow home victories over Northern Illinois (67-66, Feb 24) and Eastern Michigan (86-83, Feb. 28) to end the regular season ... WMU has a 6-3 home record this year, including a 6-2 mark vs. MAC teams ... individually, junior forward Karen Deurloo leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, with 17.2 points and 7.4 boards ... she had 18.3 points and 7.8 rebounds in league action ... senior guard Sarah Hurrle averages 15.6 points, while freshman guard Emily Samuelson has 9.6 points (14.2 in MAC games) ... junior guard Brianne Gallert (5.3 ppg, 3.7 apg) and junior center Casey Stevenson (2.8 ppg) join the aforementioned three players in WMU's probable starting five ... Gallert's twin sister, Brooke, averages a team-high 3.9 assists off the bench ... Ron Stewart has a record of 53-59 in his fourth season as a collegiate head coach, all in Kalamazoo.
THE SERIES: The Falcons lead the all-time series with 11 of the 12 MAC opponents (BG trails Buffalo, 4-2), and the Falcons hold a 23-18 advantage in the series with WMU ... the Broncos have won the last five games, however, including an 86-70 win in Kalamazoo in the teams' lone 2000-01 regular-season meeting (Jan. 31) ... WMU ended the Falcons' 1999-2000 season with a win in a MAC Tournament quarterfinal game at Cleveland's Public Hall a year and a day ago (87-63, March 2, 2000) ... BGSU is 10-9 all-time in games played at WMU, but the Broncos have won the last two contests there ... overall, BGSU had won five-straight games over WMU before the Broncos' current five-game streak.
THE (TOURNAMENT) SERIES: The Falcons and Western Michigan will be meeting for the fourth time in MAC Tournament play ... WMU holds a 2-1 lead ... BGSU's lone win came in the championship game of the 1988 tourney, a 70-53 win at Centennial (now Savage) Hall in Toledo ... the Broncos have won the last two tourney meetings, with a 67-64 win in the quarterfinal round in Kalamazoo in 1995, and last year's 87-63 quarterfinal decision in Cleveland.
BGSU VS. MAC TOURNEY FOES: The Falcons have played nine different schools in the MAC Tournament, with Toledo being the most common opponent ... BGSU has met the Rockets six times, having won four games ... the Falcons have played Central Michigan and Kent (State) five times each, while meeting Ball State four times, WMU and Ohio three apiece, Eastern Michigan twice and Akron and Miami once each ... the Falcons' record against each team in MAC Tournament play follows:
* Akron 0-1 * Ball State 4-0 * Central Michigan 3-2 * Eastern Michigan 2-0 * Kent (State) 3-2 * Miami 1-0 * Ohio 2-1 * Toledo 4-2 * Western Michigan 1-2
MILLER MOVING UP SCORING CHARTS: Junior Francine Miller continues to move up the BGSU career scoring chart ... as part of a prolific scoring effort vs. Marshall (Jan. 17), she reached the 1,000-point plateau for her Falcon career ... Miller hit a three-pointer with 5:31 remaining in the second half, to become just the 16th player in school history to reach the millenial mark ... Miller became just the fifth player in BGSU annals to reach 1,000 career points as a junior ... she enters the WMU game in 15th place in school history, with a total of 1,039 career points in 76 games ... Miller is fourth all-time with a points-per-game average of 13.7.
MILLER TIES SCHOOL RECORD: Junior Francine Miller tied the school single-game scoring record in the 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.
THE FARMER IN THE ZONE: On BGSU's "Senior Night," one senior Falcon put forth a stellar effort ... Angie Farmer, the only player in her fourth year with the team, had a game-high 22 points and added five assists ... the point total missed her career best by just two, and the assist total was just one off that career standard ... she hit a BGSU season-high six three-pointers, just one away from her own school record ... Farmer, a native of Wayland, Mich., ranks second in school history in career three-pointers made (158), attempted (372) and three-point percentage (.425) ... she likely will have a large contingent of fans in attendance at University Arena.
FARMER ON ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAM: Senior Angie Farmer was named to the Verizon Academic All-District IV University Division Team, it was announced Feb. 21 ... 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 next three games ... Wednesday's Miami rematch marked the first time all year that Adlington has played more than six minutes and not led the team in rebounding.
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 totalled 68 treys in eight MAC home games ... adding in the MAC Tournament first-round contest vs. Ohio last February, BGSU is averaging 10.0 treys and shooting .435 (170-of-391) over the last 17 home games vs. MAC teams ... the Falcons have made at least six triples in every one of those games.
FALCONS IN NCAA RANKINGS: The Falcons were listed in two categories when the NCAA released the latest national statistics Wednesday (Feb. 28) ... as a team, BGSU was 13th in the nation in three-point field goals per game, with an average of 6.96 through games of Feb. 26 ... BGSU, of course, set a national record in that category last year, making 9.25 treys per game ... the Falcons were 28th nationally with a three-point field-goal percentage of .368 ... individually, senior Angie Farmer led the nation in free-throw percentage, with a success rate of .949 ... she has made 56 charity tosses in 59 attempts this season ... after the Miami game, the Falcons are now averaging 7.04 triples and shooting .372 from behind the arc ... Farmer did not attempt a free throw in the Miami game.
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. three teams and eight on four occasions ... BGSU has made a total of 275 successful triples in the last 32 MAC regular-season contests (8.59 per game).
INJURY REPORT: The Falcons have had their share of injuries, and then some, this season ... senior Jackie Adlington returned to active duty after missing three games ... she had suffered a foot injury after just three minutes of the first Miami game (Feb. 12) ... 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.
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 27 games, and only freshman Lindsay Austin has started 26 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.
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 UA's 38 ... BG had 23 free-throw attempts, the team's most in MAC play this season, at Miami (Feb. 12), but the RedHawks had 30 tries ... over the last nine games, the Falcons are averaging 12.4 free-throw attempts to the opponents' 28.3 ... BG averaged 13.8 charity tosses in MAC games, to the foes' 27.1.
BLOCK PARTY: 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 76 shots this season ... BG is averaging 2.81 rejections per contest this year ... junior Dana Western entered the season with a career total of eight blocked shots ... this year, she has a total of 24 rejections to her credit.
83 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 83 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 16 MAC games, BG got 409 points (25.6 per game) from the bench players to the foes' 343 (21.4 avg.).
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 59 attempts, for a .949 success rate ... that percentage leads the nation, as of the latest NCAA statistics (Feb. 28) ... Farmer made her first 22 free-throw attempts of the MAC campaign, including sinking all 10 charity tosses in the win over Akron ... Farmer led the MAC with a .957 conversion rate (45-of-47) in conference 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 27 games this season, the Falcons are averaging 7.04 three-pointers made per contest ... Bowling Green has made at least five treys in all but four games 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 88 percent of the totals during those first 12 years ... entering the WMU game, Dee Knoblauch's teams have made 584 treys in 1,618 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, 2000) ... the Falcons have hit double digits three times in 2000-01, including twice in MAC play ... BG made 11 treys vs. Charleston Southern, 12 against Akron and 10 at Ohio ... the Falcons made at least six three-pointers in 13 of the 16 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.
DOUBLE DIGITS: Jackie Adlington had 14 points in the first Buffalo game (Jan. 27) ... Adlington became the 12th different Falcon player to hit double figures in scoring on at least one occasion this year ... eight different players hit double digits in that category during all of last year.
YOUNG AT THE POINT: It is safe to say that the Falcons will start a freshman at the point-guard spot whenever the team takes the floor ... both of the team's point guards are frosh ... Lindsay Austin started each of the first 17 games, and has started 26 contests overall ... Emily Pohl, the other freshman point guard, made her first collegiate start vs. Buffalo (Jan. 27) ... Austin is averaging a team-high 28.9 minutes per game, with Pohl averaging 12.4.
SEE, KIDS, THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE...: The Falcons' win over Toledo broke a four-game losing streak to the Rockets ... BG had not beaten UT since Jan. 31, 1998 ... senior Angie Farmer is the only member of the Falcons (player or coach) who was on the team for that win three years ago ... the Falcons remain the only MAC team to defeat the Rockets this year.
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 (.425, 158-of-372), while junior Francine Miller is third (.412, 112-of-272) ... sophomore Kim Griech is seventh on that list (.372, 67-of-180), while junior Dana Western is in ninth place (.363, 53-of-146) ... 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 now fourth ... Griech is eighth and Western ninth.
MILLER ON PRESEASON ALL-MAC TEAM: Junior Francine Miller was named to the preseason All-MAC Team in October ... voting for the five-player team was conducted by members of the MAC News Media Association ... last year, Miller became just the second sophomore in school history to earn all-league first-team laurels, joining Jackie Motycka in that exclusive club.
