Bowling Green State University Athletics
Francine Miller Granted Another Year Of Eligibility
April 17, 2002 | Women's Basketball
April 17, 2002
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Bowling Green State University women's basketball senior Francine Miller has been granted an additional year of eligibility. The Mid-American Conference office has approved Miller's appeal for a medical hardship, meaning that Miller will return to the Falcon team for the 2002-03 season.
"Obviously, we are ecstatic to get the official word that Francine has been granted an additional year of eligibility," said BGSU head coach Curt Miller, who recently completed his first season at the helm. "She is one of the best players in program history, and we look forward to sending her out on a good note.
"She gives instant credibility to our team, and having her back will make everyone on the floor a better player. It is an honor to be able to coach Francine for an additional year."
Francine Miller, who was named to the Preseason All-Mid-American Conference Team by the MAC News Media Association in October, played in just four of the Falcons' 28 games during the 2001-02 season. She scored 26 points in the season-opening win at Youngstown State (Nov. 17), before suffering a knee injury less than four minutes into the Detroit game three days later.
Miller missed the remainder of the UDM contest, as well as the next nine games, with a knee injury. She had surgery on Dec. 8 to remove loose cartilage from her kneecap, and returned for the Kent State game on Jan. 2. In that contest, she came off the bench to score a game-high 29 points.
In the next game, on Jan. 5 at Central Michigan, Miller scored a team-high 15 points off the bench. Miller, who was not fully recovered, then elected to miss the remainder of the season while her injury healed.
Miller, a native of Kalida, Ohio, averaged 17.5 points per game in 2001-02. When the Detroit game is factored out -- she attempted only one shot in her four minutes of action -- Miller averaged 23.3 points per contest.
Miller will enter the 2002-03 season with a career total of 1,149 points, ranking her rank 13th in school history. She has averaged 14.01 points per game over the first 82 contests of her career, the third-best average in BGSU annals.
Miller played in every game over her first two years at BGSU, but missed five games in her junior season of 2000-01 due to a meniscus injury. She was an All-MAC Second-Team selection that year after earning first-team honors as a sophomore.
The Falcons ended the 2001-02 campaign with an overall record of 9-19, and BGSU had a MAC mark of 6-10, good for a fourth-place finish in the league's East Division. Dana Western-Schuka was the lone senior other than Francine Miller on that 2001-02 squad.
