Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Host IUPUI Monday
December 30, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2002
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
Complete Game Notes (22 pages) in PDF Format
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BGSU (5-4)
VS.
IUPUI (3-6)
GAME #10
MONDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2002
ANDERSON ARENA (4,700)
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO
RADIO: WBGU-FM (88.1)
SERIES: FIRST MEETING
THE GAME
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, coming off the team's most lopsided win in nearly nine years, finally returns home after a six-game road swing. The Falcons of head coach Curt Miller, after posting a 50-point win to close the pre-Christmas schedule, will host IUPUI in a Monday (Dec. 30) game, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at venerable Anderson Arena (4,700).
Following the IUPUI game, the Falcons will begin the 2003 portion of the slate with the final non-conference game. BGSU will play at Oakland University in a 7:00 p.m. contest on Friday, Jan. 3, 2003. The Athletic Center O'rena (3,005) will be the site of that contest.
SUCCESS ON THE ROAD
BGSU, as mentioned, just finished a six-game stretch away from Anderson Arena ... the Falcons were 4-2 in those six games, and BG has won three of the last four games ... the Brown and Orange is 3-1 in true road games this season, after going 3-10 during all of 2001-02 ... BGSU is 4-2 in games played away from Anderson (both road and neutral-site contests) this winter, after posting a 4-12 mark in such games a year ago.
WBGU RADIO TO BROADCAST AT LEAST 25 GAMES THIS SEASON
WBGU-FM (88.1) is scheduled to air 24 regular-season games, including the IUPUI 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 will take a 5-4 record into the IUPUI game ... the Falcons closed the pre-Christmas slate by splitting a pair of games at the Bearcat Invitational (Dec. 21-22) ... BG dropped an 88-57 decision to host Cincinnati, but bounced back in a big way, beating Savannah State by a 50-point margin, 89-39, in the consolation game ... freshman Marisa Smith exploded for 22 points, including six three-point field goals, in the latter game ... Cincinnati native Lindsay Austin was BGSU's lone representative to the all-tournament team.
Prior to the UC game, BG won at IPFW, 76-58 (Dec. 11), behind a career-high 20 points from Austin, and at Cleveland State, 62-59 (Dec. 14) ... senior Francine Miller had 23 points, including 17 in the first half, of the CSU game ... the Falcons had split a pair of games at the Radisson Suites Roundball Classic the previous weekend, defeating host Florida Atlantic, 77-62 (Dec. 6), before falling to UNC-Wilmington by a 72-55 count in the championship game the next evening ... senior Kim Griech was BGSU's lone representative to the all-tournament team.
The Falcons opened the season with a 70-64 loss to Youngstown State (Nov. 22), but rebounded for an 81-62 win over Iona two days later (Nov. 24) ... just prior to leaving for Florida, the Falcons dropped a 61-54 decision to visiting Butler (Dec. 4).
Miller leads the team in scoring, with 12.9 points per game ... she also paces the Falcons in rebounding, with 5.9 per contest, and steals, with 1.9 per outing.
Griech is second on the Falcons with 11.9 points per game ... she paces the Brown and Orange in three-point field goals made (18) and free-throw pct. (1.000; 21-of-21), and is second in three-point FG pct. (.429; 18-of-42) and field-goal pct. (.458) ... Griech leads the team in minutes played per game (26.8).
Austin is averaging 9.7 points, a team-high 3.4 assists and 2.0 steals per game, while junior Stefanie Wenzel has 8.8 points per outing ... redshirt junior Pam Brown has averages of 5.3 points and 3.4 rebounds, while Marisa Smith now has 5.3 points per game as well ... senior Megan Jerome has 5.1 points and is third on the team in both rebounding (3.9 rpg) and assists (2.2 apg).
Griech, Miller, Wenzel and senior Karen Stocz (4.1 ppg) have started all nine games to date for the Falcons ... freshman Molly Martin, who is second on the team in assists (2.6 apg), started the first four contests at point guard ... Austin, who was slowed by a sprained ankle at the start of the season, has started each of the last five contests.
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 returned 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 winter, and was granted an additional year of eligibility.
In addition to Miller, the senior class includes Griech, Jerome and 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 Austin, Brown and Wenzel ... 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 named 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 also 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.), Jill Lause (Dublin, Ohio), Martin (Noblesville, Ind.) and Marisa Smith (Arnold, Pa.) join the squad ... Anderson has seen action in all nine games, while the other three frosh each have played in eight contests ... additionally, Casey McDowell (Hudson, Ohio), a transfer from Indiana State University, is on campus, but is sitting 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.
The Falcons are 1-2 at home, 3-1 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site games ... 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 last year.
The Falcons are shooting .406 from the field, while holding the opponents to a FG pct. of just .357 ... BG has made 59 three-point field goals, and the Falcons are are shooting .331 from behind the arc ... the foes have made 56 treys and have a long-distance pct. of .313 ... the Brown and Orange converted 134 free throws to the foes' 105 over the first nine contests ... BGSU is shooting .766 from the stripe, compared to .607 for the opponents.
SCOUTING IUPUI
IUPUI is 3-6 after a road loss, 83-61, to Kansas on Saturday (Dec. 28) ... prior to that, the Jaguars posted a 77-71 win over South Florida on Dec. 19 ... IUPUI suffered a pair of overtime losses to start the season, falling to Iowa and Murray State ... the team's other setbacks have come against Illinois State, Wake Forest and Indiana State, all on the road ... IUPUI, 3-0 at home, has beaten Eastern Illinois and Evansville, in addition to USF ... the Jaguars are 0-5 on the road and 0-1 in neutral-site games this year ... individually, senior forward Tiffany Kyser leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, with 17.3 points and 8.0 boards per game ... Kyser also has a team-best 2.9 steals per game ... freshman forward Brooke McAfee is second on the team with averages of 9.8 points and 6.6 rebounds, and she leads the team with 2.9 blocks ... junior forward Natalie Hendricks has 8.7 points and 5.2 boards per game ... sophomore forward Jessica James and freshman forward Kia Hayes average 8.0 and 7.9 points per game, respectively ... 10 different players have started at least one game this year, with Kyser the lone player to start all nine contests ... Kris Simpson is in her eighth season as a head coach, all at IUPUI, and has a record of 85-113 ... Simpson has six letterwinners, including three starters, back from last year's 11-17 team ... that squad tied for fourth in the Mid-Continent Conference with a 6-8 league record ... the school's athletic web site is www.iupui.edu/~jagsport.
THE SERIES
The Falcons have never met IUPUI in women's basketball ... both teams were part of the Kroger Thanksgiving Classic two years ago (Nov. 24-25, 2001), but the Falcons and Jaguars did not meet ... both BGSU and IUPUI defeated Charleston Southern, but lost to host Auburn, in that tournament.
LAST TIME OUT
The Falcons scored the game's first 28 points en route to an 89-39 dismantling of Savannah State (Dec. 22) in the consolation game of Cincinnati's Bearcat Invitational ... freshman Marisa Smith led the Falcons, now 5-4 overall, with 22 points, the most of her brief career ... Smith made six three-point field goals in 10 attempts ... her six treys fell just one shy of the school record ... the 50-point margin of victory ties for the fourth-biggest win in BGSU history. The school record is 58 points, set vs. Taylor on Dec. 5, 1981.
MARISA HAS A BREAKOUT GAME
BGSU freshman Marisa Smith had 22 points, by far the most of her brief Falcon career, in the win over Savannah State ... Smith, a native of Arnold, Pa., made six three-point field goals, just one shy of the school record, in 10 attempts ... she also set career bests for field goals made (seven) and attempted (13), blocked shots (two) and minutes played (24) in the SSU contest ... after amassing totals of 20 points and four three-pointers in the first seven games of her collegiate career, Smith surpassed those totals in the SSU game alone ... she shot .471 from the field and .500 from three-point land in the Falcons' two games at the Bearcat Invitational ... her three blocks in the tournament were the first three of her career.
AUSTIN, REIGNING MAC PLAYER OF WEEK, EARNS ANOTHER HONOR
BGSU junior Lindsay Austin was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Week, the league office announced on Dec. 16 ... Austin, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, earned the honor for the first time in her Falcon career ... the Falcons then went to Austin's hometown for the Bearcat Invitational, and Austin was BGSU's lone representative to the all-tournament team ... playing in her hometown for the first time as a collegian, she averaged 9.5 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds in just 20.5 minutes per game ... Austin had a team-high 14 points against Cincinnati, then had five points and a season-high seven assists in only 14 minutes against Savannah State ... she made both of her three-point field-goal attempts on the weekend ... after missing the first two games of the year due to injury, Austin has returned to average 9.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.0 steals ... she leads the Falcons in assists and field-goal pct. (.492) on the year, and is second in steals and third in scoring.
FRANCINE THE SCORING MACHINE: MILLER NOW NINTH ON BGSU CAREER CHARTS
Senior Francine Miller continues her climb up the BGSU career scoring chart ... in the Cleveland State game, Miller moved up a notch for the second consecutive contest ... she had 23 points vs. the Vikings, moving past Michelle Shade (1,233 pts.; 1991-95) into ninth place in school history ... entering the IUPUI game, Miller has 1,265 career points ... her next target is Stephanie Coe (1983-87), who had 1,363 career points ... Miller has averaged 13.9 points per game over the first 91 contests of her career, the third-best average in BGSU annals.
GOOD START
The Falcons have an overall record of 5-4 heading into the IUPUI contest ... that nine-game start is the best for BGSU since the 1997-98 team went 6-3 to begin the year ... that 1997-98 squad went on to post 21 wins and earn a WNIT berth.
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
The Falcons currently have five non-conference wins this season, with two more games prior to the Mid-American Conference schedule ... the last team to post as many as five wins in the pre-MAC slate was the 1997-98 team, which went 5-3 ... no BGSU team has had more out-of-conference wins since 1993-94, when the Falcons were 6-2 ... the school record for wins prior to the MAC season is nine, amassed by the 1991-92 team (9-2).
ON THE ROAD
Despite the loss at Cincinnati, the Falcons are 3-1 in road games this season ... BGSU won a total of three road games during all of last year, going 3-10 on the road.
QUITE A RUN
The Falcons began the Savannah State game (Dec. 22) on an incredible run ... BGSU scored the first 28 points of the contest, holding the Lady Tigers scoreless for a span of 9:43 ... SSU began the game 0-for-23 from the field ... the Falcons led, 40-3, by the time the Lady Tigers made a field goal at the 6:07 mark of the first half ... at that point, the Falcons had made 12 field goals in 16 attempts, including an 8-of-11 effort from three-point land ... BG held Savannah State to a FG pct. of .094 in the first half (3-for-32) and a .208 pct. for the game (15-of-72).
TOUGH DEFENSE!
The Savannah State game marked the second time in four games that BGSU held the opponent to a field-goal percentage of under .300, after the Falcons had not done so in over eight years ... BGSU held IPFW (Dec. 11) to a FG pct. of just .295, then limited SSU to just a .208 rate from the field ... prior to the IPFW contest, the Brown and Orange had not held the other team to a shooting rate of under .300 since Dec. 1, 1994, in a 76-38 win over Youngstown State ... against SSU, the Falcons allowed only three first-half field goals, all in the final 6:07 ... in the IPFW contest, the Falcons allowed only three baskets over the final 14:21 of the first half, then held the 'Dons without a point in the first 2:28 of the second half ... the Falcons allowed IPFW just seven field goals and a field-goal pct. of .212 in the first 20 minutes ... BGSU now has a field-goal pct. defense of just .357 on the season.
TOUGH DEFENSE II
The Falcons held opponents to a field goal percentage of .350 or less seven times last year, after doing so just once in 29 games the previous year ... this season, BGSU has turned the trick four times in the first nine games ... the Falcons just missed a fifth such effort, as Cleveland State shot .351 against BGSU.
TURNING UP THE 'D'
In Curt Miller's first season, the Falcons were markedly improved on defense ... BGSU has shown glimpses of that stingy defense this year as well ... the Falcons' most dominant performance to date came against Savannah State, as BGSU held the Lady Tigers without a point for the game's first 9:43 and without a field goal for an incredible 13:53.
HOLDING THEM UNDER 60
The Falcons allowed Savannah State only 39 points in that win ... BGSU had not held an opponent under 40 points in a game since limiting Youngstown State to 38 on Dec. 1, 1994 ... the SSU game marked the 10th time in the first 37 games of the Curt Miller Era that BGSU held the opponent under 60 points ... prior to Miller's arrival, the Falcons had held foes to less than 60 points in only eight games over the previous four seasons combined.
BG had won 93 consecutive games over an 18-year span when holding the opposition to less than 60 points, but that streak came to an end last Dec. 27, when BGSU lost to Yale despite allowing just 51 points ... the last Falcon loss in such a situation had come early in the 1983-84 season, in a 59-47 loss at Indiana ... in the history of the program, the Falcons now have a record of 171-13 when holding the opponent to less than 60 points ... BG is now 117-4 in such games over the last 21-plus seasons.
60 ON "D" IS ... NEVER MIND
The Falcons, after winning those 93 consecutive games when limiting the opponents to fewer than 60 points, then lost three of the next five such games ... the Falcons were 4-3 last year when holding the opponent below 60 points, but BGSU is 3-0 in such games this season ... the Falcons held Yale and Lehigh to 51 and 55 points, respectively, on consecutive nights last December ... the Falcons had not held back-to-back opponents to under 60 points since January of 1997 ... in mid-February, BGSU turned the trick again, holding Marshall (Feb. 16) and Ohio (Feb. 19) to 56 points apiece ... ironically, BGSU went 1-1 in both of those two-game sets ... this year, however, the Falcons held back-to-back opponents under 60 points, and BG won both games, vs. IPFW (Dec. 11) and Cleveland State (Dec. 14) ... in the decade of the 1990s, the Falcons went a perfect 46-0 when holding foes to 60 points or less ... in the history of the program, the Falcons now have a record of 172-13 when holding the opponent to less than 60 points ... nine of those 13 losses came prior to the 1980-81 season ... BG is 118-4 (.967) in such games over the last 21-plus seasons ... three of those four losses came last year.
SCORING 70 THEMSELVES
While the Falcons have had success when holding opponents under 60 points, the 70-point benchmark might be a better barometer for this year's BG offense ... the Falcons are 4-0 this year when scoring more than 70 points in a game, and BG is 1-4 when held to fewer than 70 points ... last year, BGSU was 6-3 when scoring 70 points or more, and 3-16 when held under 70.
OFFENSE GETS IN GEAR
BGSU shot a season-high .571 vs. Savannah State, shooting better than 50 percent from the field in both halves ... the Falcons made 15-of-25 shots in the first 20 minutes, BG's best shooting half this year to date ... BGSU now has shot .500 or better in three halves this year ... the Brown and Orange had a FG pct. of over .500 only four times in 56 halves of play last season.
OFFENSE GETS IN GEAR II
The Falcons scored 75 or more points in a game four times in last season's 28 contests ... this year, BGSU has scored over 75 points in four of the first nine games.
A GOOD RATIO
A pair of Falcons have posted impressive assist-to-turnover ratios in the early going this season ... senior Megan Jerome has 20 assists and only seven turnovers on the season, for an assist/TO ratio of 2.86 ... Jerome's 20 assists on the season puts her just one away from her total for all of last year (21) ... junior Lindsay Austin has a team-high 24 assists and just 10 TOs this year, for a 2.40 ratio.
NUMEROUS OFFENSIVE THREATS FOR THE FALCONS
Freshman Marisa Smith had 22 points, the most of her brief BGSU career, in the win over Savannah State ... Smith becomes the fifth different player to have a 20-point game this year, joining seniors Francine Miller (two) and Kim Griech (one) and juniors Lindsay Austin (one) and Stefanie Wenzel (one) ... only three different players scored as many as 20 points in a game last winter.
MILLER MAKES MOST OF MINUTES
Senior Francine Miller has an average of 12.9 points per game this season, which is down a bit from her ppg averages of previous years ... but, it should be noted that Miller has compiled that average in only 24.1 minutes per game this year ... she is scoring an average of 21.4 points per 40 minutes this year.
BENCH SCORING
BGSU got a total of 76 points from players coming off the bench in the two games at UC, including a whopping 50 points off the bench in the Savannah State win ... BG's 50 points off the bench in that game was a season-high, while SSU's 12 points from reserves was the lowest total for a Falcon opponent this year.
BRITT BATTLES ON THE BOARDS
Freshman Britt Anderson has an average of 4.0 rebounds per game this year, good for second on the team ... Anderson has posted that average in just 12.7 minutes per game on the season ... she is averaging 12.6 rebounds per 40 minutes, best on the team.
LEWIS DISHES 'EM OUT
Sophomore Tene Lewis' teammates would be wise to keep their hands up when she has the ball, for they could be receiving a pass at any time, from any angle ... Lewis had a career-high six assists in the Cincinnati game, several on crowd-pleasing plays, in just 22 minutes ... on the weekend, Lewis had a total of eight assists, after amassing a total of 16 in the first 31 games of her Falcon career ... in the Bearcat Invitational, Lewis had totals of 13 points, six rebounds and the eight assists.
CHARITY BEGINS AT THE STRIPE
Bowling Green has had a measure of success at the free-throw line in the early part of the season ... through nine games, the Falcons have a FT pct. of .766 ... that average includes the UNC Wilmington game, in which the Falcons were a perfect 11-for-11 at the line ... the best single-game performance in school history is the Falcons' 12-for-12 effort vs. Northern Illinois on Feb. 23, 1999 ... BGSU's free-throw pct. "defense" has been helpful as well, as the opponents have shot just .607 from the line.
MILLER MAKES HER MARK Senior Francine Miller missed nearly all of last season due to injury, and still is not back to 100 percent ... but, she continues to add to her impressive career totals ... as mentioned earlier, Miller now has a career total of 1,265 points ... that places her in 60th place all-time among MAC players, and third among active players around the conference ... she now has 502 career rebounds to rank fourth in the conference among active players ... her total of 139 three-point field goals made places her third among MAC players ... she also ranks among the active leaders in steals (143, fourth) and assists (206, fifth).
OTHER FALCONS AMONG MAC CAREER LEADERS
In addition to Francine Miller, a few other Falcons are ranked among the MAC's active career leaders ... senior Kim Griech is fourth in three-point field goals made, with 133, and is 14th in scoring (749 points) ... junior Lindsay Austin is fourth in assists (257) and ranks 28th in scoring (524 pts.).
GRIECH LEADS THE MAC IN FT PCT.
Senior Kim Griech's name can be found on several MAC statistical lists in the season's early going ... as of this morning (Dec. 30), Griech led the league in free-throw pct. (21-of-21; 1.000) ... she was tied for fourth in three-point field goals made (2.00 per game), and was 11th in three-point pct. (.429).
OTHER FALCONS AMONG MAC LEADERS
In addition to Griech, a number of other Falcons were listed among the MAC leaders ... senior Francine Miller is 14th in the league in scoring, and also is eighth in FT pct., ninth in steals, 14th in FG pct. and tied for 15th in three-point FG made ... junior Lindsay Austin is second in assist/turnover ratio, eighth in steals, ninth in FG pct. and 10th in assists ... senior Megan Jerome was fourth in the league in FT pct., while freshman Jill Lause is fifth in blocked shots ... freshman Marisa Smith is tied for eighth in three-point FG pct., while sophomore Sakima Smith is ninth in blocks.
122 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 122 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.
