Bowling Green State University Athletics
Miller Reprises Starring Role On Basketball Team
September 26, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Aug. 20, 2002
By DAMON BECK, Sentinel Sports Writer - Take two.
With the return of his star performer and five new actors in supporting roles, coach Curt Miller is busy preparing for his second season of directing the Bowling Green women's basketball show.
"I'm the typical coach. I'm cautiously optimistic about the upcoming season," Miller said. "It's a new start."
You can't blame him for being a little hesitant about predicting big things for the Falcons this year.
After inheriting a squad that was already thin on talent, Miller spent his first preseason designing the team around senior Francine Miller (no relation), the one go-to player he had on the roster.
When she went down early in the second game everything changed. BG's All-Mid-American Conference guard was gone essentially for the rest of the season.
"It just killed us," said Miller of Francine Miller's injury. She came back to play in two mid-season games before sitting out the rest of the year. She was granted a medical hardship by the Mid-American Conference and will be back this fall to take another crack at her senior season.
The 5-foot-11 swing player is stronger than ever, according to coach Miller. Arguably the best returning player in the MAC, with a big season Francine Miller could finish as high as second all-time on the Falcons' career scoring list. She comes into this year withi 1,149 points and needs to average 18 points per game to pass the 11 players ahead of her to finish second, trailing only Jackie Motycka's (1985-89) 2,122 career points.
Eight other letterwinners return for BG which finished 9-19 overall, 6-10 in the MAC, last year. Miller added four freshman recruits and senior guard Giani Bowles will be eligible after sitting out last season as a transfer from St. John's.
"I'm excited about having five seniors but at the same time we have four freshmen," he said. "We'll have plenty of experience along with a good dose of youthful enthusiasm."
BG has just two forwards and one center on the roster, so Miller is looking to go with a four guard lineup.
Joining Francine Miller as projected starters will be senior 5-7 Kim Griech (10.4 ppg), junior point guard Lindsay Austin (9.2 ppg), 6-0 guard Stefanie Wenzel (11.6 ppg) and 6-0 forward Pam Brown (7.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg).
"We will be exploring ways to successfully put all three (Miller, Griech, and Wenzel) on the floor at the same time," Miller said of his veteran wing players. "The biggest area of concern will be defending the big powerful forwards. We will also have to figure out how we are going to rebound with offensive minded guards in the lineup. On the plus side, those three on the floor at the same time will give a ton of teams matchup problems."
Last season's starting center, 6-2 Kelly Kapferer (7.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg), elected not to return. Sophomore Emily Pohl (1.0 ppg), who would have been the fourth point guard on the team and walk-on 6-2 junior center Rachal Hamilton (.9 ppg), who had a year of eligibility remaining but graduated will also not play this season. The Falcons lost just one senior, 5-11 forward Dana Western-Schuka (6.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg) from last year's squad.
"Kelly Kapferer's departure really hurts us," Miller said. She remains in school at BG. "We have taken a lot of steps forward but Kelly leaving is a big step back. To her credit, if she didn't have the desire to play at least she walked away rather than becoming a cancer on the team like some players have done around the country when they really didn't want to play any longer."
Griech started all 28 games last year. A 3-point specialist, she struggled from beyond the arc shooting just 28 percent after connecting on nearly 40 percent in her first two seasons.
Wenzel led the team in scoring while filling in at the spot left vacant by Francine Miller's injury. She had six 20-plus-point scoring games and had a season-high 30 points in a win over Buffalo.
Brown, a strong left-handed post, missed 10 games with a knee injury last year. She has been an off-and-on starter her first two seasons with the Falcons.
Coach Miller is expecting big things from Austin, who has been a starter at the point since her opening game as a freshman.
"With Shala Crook gone from Ball State, Lindsay Austin is the best athletic point guard in the league," Miller said. "She has a chance to have a very special final two years."
Also returning will be senior guard Megan Jerome (3.0 ppg), senior forward Karen Stocz (3.3 ppg) and sophomores guard Tene Lewis (1.6 ppg) and forward Sakima Smith (2.6 ppg).
Bowles will back-up Austin and will be fighting for playing time with 5-8 freshman point Molly Martin. Center 6-2 Jill Lause, 5-11 guard Britt Anderson, and 5-10 guard Marisa Smith round out the freshman class.
"We have really upgraded our depth and with a lot of work in the weight room, we have upgraded our strength," Miller said of his 2002-03 team. "Our big weakness will be rebounding."
BG opens the season Nov. 22 when the Falcons host Youngstown State.
