Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Host Iona Sunday Afternoon
November 23, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 23, 2002
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, after suffering a narrow loss to open the 2002-03 season, will look to bounce back in Sunday's (Nov. 24) game against Iona College. Head coach Curt Miller's team will face the Gaels in a 1:00 p.m. game at BGSU's venerable Anderson Arena (4,700).
Game Notes (12 pages) in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Following the Iona game, the Falcons will have a week and a half off before hosting Butler University in a 5:45 p.m. contest on Wednesday, Dec. 4. That game will be the first half of a Falcon basketball doubleheader that will see the BGSU men's team host Buffalo.
WBGU RADIO TO BROADCAST AT LEAST 25 GAMES
WBGU-FM (88.1) is scheduled to air 24 regular-season games, including the Iona contest, plus any postseason action ... the BGSU department of athletics and the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO) have reached an agreement to have WBGU serve as the flagship station for both hockey and women's basketball for the 2002-03 academic year ... the broadcasters for women's hoops will vary on a game-to-game basis ... games produced by BGRSO are scheduled to be heard on the Internet at bgrso.org and via the Real One Package available through bgsufalcons.com.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
BGSU is coming off a 70-64 loss to Youngstown State in the season opener Friday (Nov. 22) ... senior Francine Miller led the Brown and Orange with 16 points and eight rebounds in that game, while classmate Kim Griech added 11 points and junior Stefanie Wenzel 10 ... freshman point guard Molly Martin, getting the start in her collegiate debut, had four points and seven assists in 21 minutes.
The Falcons lost by an 87-83 count to the Premier All-Stars in the team's lone exhibition on Nov. 12 ... BG finished the 2001-02 season with a record of 9-19, and the Falcons completed Mid-American Conference play with a league ledger of 6-10 ... the Brown and Orange ended conference play in fourth place in the MAC's East Division ... a total of nine letterwinners return for 2002-03 ... that list includes one player who did not letter last year, Miller ... Miller played in just four of the Falcons' 28 games last year, and was granted an additional year of eligibility.
In addition to Miller, the senior class includes Griech, Megan Jerome and Karen Stocz ... Griech, one of just two Falcons to start every game last year, was named the team's Impact Player of the Year for the 2001-02 campaign ... she averaged 10.4 points per game, good for second on the team ... Jerome was the Falcons' Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The junior class includes Lindsay Austin, Pam Brown and Wenzel ... Austin suffered a sprained ankle in practice Thursday (Nov. 21) ... she did not suit up for the YSU contest, and will miss the Iona game as well ... Brown, who also has been suffering from an injury, did suit up Friday, but did not see action.
Last winter, Wenzel was named the BGSU Player of the Year after leading the Falcons in scoring with 11.6 points per game ... Austin was the team's Playmaker of the Year after leading the team and ranking among the MAC leaders in assists and assist/turnover ratio ... Brown was named the Power Player of the Year, given to the top post player ... despite missing 10 games due to injury, she averaged 7.3 points and a team-high 6.0 rebounds.
The 2002-03 roster includes two sophomores, Tene Lewis and Sakima Smith ... Lewis was named the Most Improved Player of the Year last season ... she played in 24 games, making three starts.
The freshman class includes four players, from four different states ... Britt Anderson (Fort Collins, Colo.), Martin (Noblesville, Ind.), Marisa Smith (Arnold, Pa.) and Jill Lause (Dublin, Ohio) join the squad ... all four frosh played in the YSU contest ... additionally, Casey McDowell (Hudson, Ohio), a transfer from Indiana State University, is on campus, but will sit out the 2002-03 season per NCAA transfer rules ... McDowell will have three years of eligibility remaining.
On the sidelines, Curt Miller is joined by second-year assistants Jennifer Roos and Brandi Poole ... Kevin Eckert, who spent the last four seasons at the University at Buffalo, is in his first season on the staff.
BGSU went 5-7 at home last winter, and the Falcons were 3-10 on the road and 1-2 in neutral-site contests in 2001-02 ... BG went 4-4 at home and 2-6 on the road in MAC games.
SCOUTING IONA
Iona will be playing its second game in as many days, having lost a 92-36 decision at Toledo Saturday afternoon (Nov. 23) ... seniors Jessica Attinelly and Charlotte Rocker led the team with seven points each ... the Gaels were picked to finish 10th in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) this season in the preseason coaches poll ... IC dropped the team's lone exhibition game, 77-73 in overtime, to Istrobanka Lokomotiva (Nov. 16) ... junior forward Michelle Fahy led the Gaels with 28 points in that contest, while sophomore point guard Sheena Howard had 11 points and six assists ... head coach Anthony Bozzella inherits four returning starters from last year's team, which went 8-21 overall and 5-13 in MAAC play ... three seniors - center Attinelly, guard Renee Gaudette and G/F Rocker - join Fahy as returning starters ... Attinelly, Howard, Fahy, junior guard Kendra Kirby and sophomore guard Jamie Donnelly comprised the starting lineup at UT ... Bozzella, in his first year with the Gaels, has a coaching record of 154-132 in his 11th season ... the school's athletic web site is www.iona.edu/gaels.
THE SERIES
Sunday's game will be the first-ever meeting between BGSU and Iona in women's basketball.
LAST TIME OUT
Jessica Olmstead's tie-breaking three-pointer with 44 seconds left lifted Youngstown State to a 70-64 win over the Falcons Friday night (Nov. 22) in the season opener for both teams ... Olmstead, a sophomore guard, was one of four Penguins to score in double digits on the night ... she had 12 points and went 3-for-4 from three-point range, after scoring a total of 29 points and making two triples during her entire freshman year ... the game featured 12 ties, and neither team led by more than nine points on the evening ... YSU, leading by a point at the half, scored the first eight points of the second stanza to build a 45-36 lead, but the Falcons then went on a 14-2 run to take the lead, 50-47, with just under 10 minutes left ... the lead would change hands seven times in those final 10 minutes, with neither team leading by more than two points until Olmstead's three-pointer ... after that shot, the Falcons' Francine Miller could not convert on a shot attempt with 30 seconds remaining ... YSU's Maggie Johnston was fouled, but missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity with 26 ticks left ... Miller grabbed the rebound, and the Falcons tried to set up a play ... but, with six seconds left, a shot by junior Stefanie Wenzel would not fall ... Olmstead grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 3.7 seconds left ... after a technical foul on the BG bench, the Penguins made three of the four free throws for the final margin ... Miller had a game-high 16 points for BGSU, and led the Falcons with eight rebounds ... the teams battled to a tie on the boards, 36-36 ... senior Kim Griech had 11 points, while Wenzel had 10 on the night ... Johnston and Jessica Forsythe had 14 points apiece for YSU, while Barb Fabianova scored 13 off the bench ... Johnson, Fabianova and Olmstead each made three three-pointers as the Penguins went 12-of-23 from long distance on the night ... for the Brown and Orange, senior Karen Stocz had nine points and six rebounds in a career-high 32 minutes, while classmate Megan Jerome had eight points off the bench ... freshman Molly Martin, making her collegiate debut, had four points and tied for game honors with seven assists in 21 minutes of action ... Martin drew the start at point guard after junior Lindsay Austin suffered a sprained ankle in practice Thursday (Nov. 21) ... Forsythe had eight rebounds to pace the Penguins, while Olmstead had a team-high seven assists and six boards ... YSU Penguins shot .446 from the field to the Falcons' .339 ... BGSU went 7-of-25 (.280) from three-point land and 19-of-21 from free-throw range (.905).
IN THE OPENER...
The Falcons are now 13-17 all-time in season-opening games, and BGSU's loss Friday snapped a two-game winning streak in the opener ... BG is now 19-10 in home openers over the years (the locations of most games in 1973-74, BG's first season, are unknown) ... the Falcons dropped last year's home opener (to Easstern Kentucky, 83-63 on Nov. 27, 2001), snapping a four-game winning streak in lidlifters at Anderson Arena ... despite the two-game losing streak in home openers, the Falcons have won 12 of the last 15 home-opening games.
GO WEST
The Falcons, who have played in the East Division since the MAC went to a divisional format five years ago, move to the West Division for the 2002-03 campaign ... the move was a result of the MAC's adding the University of Central Florida as a football-only member and placing UCF in the East Division.
FALCON FRESHMEN UNITE!
All four BGSU freshmen saw action in the Youngstown State game ... one of those frosh, Molly Martin, started the game at point guard after junior Lindsay Austin was injured in Thursday's practice (Nov. 21) ... Martin responded with four points and seven assists in 21 minutes in her collegiate debut ... the other three freshmen -- Jill Lause, Marisa Smith and Britt Anderson -- all saw action off the bench ... Smith had two points and two rebounds in 14 minutes, adding two assists ... Anderson had two points and a rebound in seven minutes of action, while Lause also had two points in seven minutes ... in the exhibition game, all four frosh were on the floor together for a span of approximately 3:25 in the second half ... in that contest, the four combined to score 30 points and shoot .667 (12-of-18) from the field ... Martin was 3-for-3 and Smith 3-for-6 ... Lause had 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, and added eight rebounds ... Smith had nine points in just 14 minutes, while Martin had seven points and four assists in 14 minutes.
IS THIS PRESEASON OR MIDSEASON?
Freshman Britt Anderson, recruited to BGSU by women's basketball coach Curt Miller, competes in two sports for the Falcons ... Anderson walked on to the women's soccer team in August, and helped that squad to a fourth-place MAC finish ... Anderson, just four days removed from starting a MAC Tournament semifinal soccer match, saw action in the women's basketball exhibition ... she did not score, but had four rebounds, an assist and a steal in six minutes ... in the YSU game, as mentioned, she had two points and a rebound in five minutes ... on the pitch, Anderson appeared in 19 of BG's 22 matches, starting the last 12 ... she finished fifth on the team in scoring (nine points), and was tied for fourth in goals (four).
FRANCINE THE SCORING MACHINE: MILLER ON BGSU CAREER CHARTS
Senior Francine Miller continues to move up the BGSU career scoring chart ... with 16 points against Youngstown State, Miller has moved past Andrea Nordmann (1989-93) into 12th place in school history ... Miller now has 1,165 career points, and her next target is 11th-place Jacki Raterman (1,213 points from 1995-99) ... Miller has averaged 14.04 points per game over the first 83 contests of her career, the third-best average in BGSU annals.
ANOTHER DOUBLE-DIGIT OUTING FOR MILLER
Francine Miller, who missed nearly all of last season due to injury, returned to the lineup and had a game-high 16 points vs. Youngstown State ... Miller had double-digit scoring totals in each of the three games in which she played last year (not counting the Detroit game, in which she was hurt less than four minutes into the game) ... she now has scored at least 10 points in 58 of her 83 career games.
TURNING UP THE DEFENSE
In Curt Miller's first season, the Falcons were markedly improved on defense ... BGSU showed glimpses of that stingy defense against YSU ... the Falcons, trailing by a 47-40 score early in the second half of that game, did not allow the Penguins to score a point for the next 8:15 of the contest ... in fact, BGSU held YSU without a basket for a stretch of 9:54 in that second half.
114 GAMES AND COUNTING
The Falcons have made at least one three-point field goal in every game during the past four-plus years ... in fact, BGSU now has drained a triple in each of the last 114 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.
