Bowling Green State University Athletics
BG Hosts CMU To Kick Off Hoops DH
January 17, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
Complete Game Notes (25 pages) in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Bowling Green (8-6, 1-2)
vs.
Central Michigan (7-7, 1-2)
Game #15
Saturday, January 18, 20031:00 p.m.
Anderson Arena (4,700)
Bowling Green, Ohio
Radio: WBGU-FM (88.1)
Series: BGSU Leads, 32-11
Last Meeting: at CMU 81, BGSU 71 (Jan. 5, 2002)
THE GAME
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, in the midst of a rugged eight-game stretch vs. Mid-American Conference West Division rivals, return home for an afternoon contest. The Falcons (8-6, 1-2 MAC) of head coach Curt Miller host Central Michigan University in a Saturday (Jan. 18) game, which is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. tipoff at BGSU's venerable Anderson Arena (4,700). The contest, BG's only home action in a five-game stretch, is the first half of a Falcon hoops doubleheader, as the BG men will face Akron in a 4:00 p.m. start.
Following the CMU game, the Falcons will return to the road to take on the preseason conference favorite, Ball State University, in Wednesday (Jan. 22) action. That contest is slated to begin at 7:00 p.m. at John E. Worthen Arena (11,500) in Muncie, Ind.
EIGHT ISN'T ENOUGH
The Falcons are only one win away from matching the team's victory total for all of last year ... BGSU, 9-19 last winter, has an overall record of 8-6 heading into the CMU contest ... this year's 14-game start is the best for a Falcon club since the 1997-98 team went 10-4 to begin the season ... that 1997-98 squad went on to post 21 wins and earn a WNIT berth.
WBGU RADIO TO BROADCAST AT LEAST 25 GAMES THIS SEASON
WBGU-FM (88.1) is scheduled to air 24 regular-season games, including all remaining contests, 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 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, as mentioned, will take an 8-6 record into the CMU game ... the Falcons have dropped the last two contests, both on the road, after opening the MAC schedule with a 73-72 home win over Ohio ... after that win, however, the Falcons saw a four-game winning streak snapped with a 78-58 loss at Northern Illinois Saturday (Jan. 11), and BGSU then lost a 70-62 decision at Toledo Wednesday (Jan. 15).
Prior to the NIU game, the Falcons had won six of seven contests ... the Ohio game had marked the Falcons' second consecutive one-point win, as BG closed the non-conference slate by hanging on for a 70-69 victory at Oakland (Jan. 3) ... that game came on the heels of a come-from-behind win over IUPUI, 69-59, on Dec. 30.
The Falcons had ended 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.
Senior Francine Miller continues to lead the team in scoring, with 13.8 points per game ... she also paces the Falcons in rebounding, with 5.4 per contest, and ranks second in steals, with 2.1 per outing.
Senior Kim Griech is second in scoring, with 11.6 points per game, and paces the Brown and Orange in three-point field goals made (27) and free-throw pct. (.892; 33-of-37) ... Griech leads BGSU in minutes played (27.9 mpg), and is second in assists (1.6 apg) ... she tops the Falcons in scoring in MAC games, with 15.3 points per contest.
Junior Lindsay Austin is third on the team in scoring (10.6 ppg), and leads the Falcons in assists (4.4 apg) and steals (2.3 spg), and ranks among the MAC leaders with an assist-to-TO ratio of 1.96.
Junior Stefanie Wenzel has 9.4 points per outing and a three-point field-goal percentage of .372 (16-of-43) on the year ... redshirt junior Pam Brown has averages of 5.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in seven games, but has missed the last six contests due to injury and will likely sit out the CMU game.
Freshmen Marisa Smith and Jill Lause average 4.6 and 4.2 points per game, respectively, while senior Megan Jerome has 4.1 ppg ... Smith has a team-best three-point FG pct. of .519 (14-of-27) on the year, while Jerome leads the Falcons in asst./TO ratio (2.00) and is third in assists (1.6 apg) ... Lause is shooting .525 (21-of-40) from the field this year, and has made 12 of her last 15 field-goal attempts.
Griech, Miller, Wenzel and senior Karen Stocz (3.6 ppg) have started all 14 games to date for the Falcons ... freshman Molly Martin had started the first four contests at point guard ... Martin, however, left the team in late December for personal reasons ... Austin, slowed by a sprained ankle at the start of the season, has started each of the last 10 contests, and the Falcons are 6-4 during that time.
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.
The freshman class now includes three players, from three different states ... Britt Anderson (Fort Collins, Colo.), Lause (Dublin, Ohio) and Marisa Smith (Arnold, Pa.) joined the squad for the 2002-03 campaign ... Anderson has seen action in all 14 games, while the other two frosh each have played in 13 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 four seasons at the University at Buffalo, is in his first season on the staff.
The Falcons are 3-2 at home, 4-3 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 .405 from the field, while holding the opponents to a FG pct. of .386 ... BG has made 88 three-point field goals, and the Falcons are shooting .332 from behind the arc ... the foes have made 89 treys and have a long-distance pct. of .336 ... the Brown and Orange converted 207 free throws to the foes' 162 this year to date ... BGSU is shooting .742 from the stripe, compared to .643 for the opponents.
SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Central Michigan, like BGSU, checks into Saturday's game with a 1-2 MAC record, and the Chippewas are 7-7 overall after an eight-point loss to West Division favorite Ball State Wednesday (78-70; Jan. 15) ... CMU has defeated Akron and lost an overtime decision at Eastern Michigan in the team's other conference action to date ... head coach Eileen Kleinfelter is currently starting three freshmen and a sophomore, but a senior tops the team in scoring ... Bowling Green native Desiree Eidson has 15.1 points per game, and the forward also leads the team in rebounding, with 6.9 boards per outing ... freshman forward Lindsay Mecoli has 8.7 points per game, including 13.3 ppg in MAC games ... classmate Erin Kuhl, a guard, has 8.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and a team-best 3.3 assists, while sophomore guard Lindy Hatfield is averaging 6.8 points and 4.1 caroms ... Hatfield is averaging 8.0 rebounds in the three MAC games ... freshman guard Casey Manning (6.0 ppg) joins the aforementioned four players in the CMU probable starting five ... Kleinfelter has a record of 17-25 in her second year with the Chippewas, and is 239-106 in her 12th year as a collegiate head coach ... she welcomed back six letterwinners, including three starters, from last year's team that went 10-18 overall and 2-14 in MAC action ... the school's athletic web site is www.cmuchippewas.com.
THE BGSU-CMU SERIES
The Falcons hold a 32-11 lead over Central Michigan in the all-time series between the teams, but the Chippewas captured the last meeting ... CMU's 81-71 home win last Jan. 5 snapped a five-game Falcon series win streak ... BGSU has won eight of the last 10 contests, including an 82-63 triumph in the teams' last game in Anderson Arena, two years ago (Jan. 9, 2001) ... the Falcons hold a 16-5 lead in home games vs. the Chippewas, and BGSU has won the last five meetings in Anderson ... only one of the last seven overall series meetings has been decided by fewer than 10 points.
SOME MAC SERIES INFORMATION
The Northern Illinois victory over the Falcons on Jan. 11 gives the Huskies a narrow 10-9 advantage in the all-time series between those teams ... NIU becomes the only MAC school to hold a series advantage over BGSU ... the Falcons lead the all-time series with 10 of the 12 MAC opponents, and BGSU and Buffalo are tied, 4-4, in that series ... the Falcons will get a chance to even the NIU series, in the teams' 2002-03 rematch on Feb. 1 in Anderson Arena.
BGSU-CMU: COMMON OPPONENTS
The Falcons and Chippewas played a total of three common opponents during the non-conference season, and each went 2-1 in those games ... the Brown and Orange lost to Youngstown State, but won at Cleveland State, while the Chippewas downed YSU before falling to CSU ... both teams defeated Oakland; BGSU by a point, CMU by 22 ... the outcomes follow ...
Opponent BGSU's Result CMU's Result Youngstown State L, 64-70 (H, Nov. 22) W, 56-51 (N, Dec. 1) Cleveland State W, 62-59 (A, Dec. 14) L, 63-66 (H, Dec. 17) Oakland W, 70-69 (A, Jan. 3) W, 61-39 (H, Nov. 26)
LAST TIME OUT
Tia Davis scored 21 points and host Toledo won the battle of the boards to ultimately down the Falcons, 70-62, Wednesday night (Jan. 15) at Savage Hall ... UT (9-5, 2-1 MAC) held a 48-32 rebounding advantage, including a 30-16 margin in the second half ... the Rockets, who had 20 offensive rebounds on the night, had 27 second-chance points to the Falcons' (8-6, 1-2 MAC) three ... junior Lindsay Austin led the Brown and Orange with 15 points, while senior Kim Griech and Francine Miller had 14 and 12, respectively ... the Falcons opened the game by holding the Rockets scoreless on their first five possessions ... BGSU scored the first five points before UT got a rebound layup from Amanda Davis at the 17:10 mark ... the Falcons went on a 9-0 run, beginning with a basket by senior Karen Stocz ... but, UT answered the run by scoring the game's next 12 points as part of a 23-6 run over the next 11 minutes ... a basket by Karin Hoogandam gave the Rockets their first lead of the night, 20-18, at the 8:12 mark ... then, after a Griech basket tied the score, a free throw by Lexee McConnell gave the hosts the lead for good with 5:52 left in the first half ... the Rockets built the lead to seven, but BGSU rallied with two triples in the final minute of the half ... Griech hit the first, then made a steal and fed Miller for the second ... a free throw gave UT a 30-28 halftime lead ... in the second half, the Rockets scored the first four points, and began the half on a 12-2 run to take a 40-30 lead ... moments later, a Kelly Walker basket gave the Blue and Gold a 13-point lead, the largest of the game, at 44-31 ... but, the Falcons made a run ... Miller made back-to-back layups to cut the lead to nine, and a pair of free throws by freshman Marisa Smith got the Falcons within seven points ... Walker hit a three, but senior Megan Jerome answered with a triple of her own, and freshman Jill Lause and Austin hit layups to bring BG within three points, 47-44, with 10:22 left ... the Rockets led by a 53-47 count moments later, and neither team would score over the next two minutes ... the Falcons had several possessions with chances to whittle away at the Rocket lead, but could not convert ... finally, UT's Mary Blessing drew a foul and made both tosses with 6:33 left ... after a Hoogendam hoop, Blessing made two more free throws with 4:49 remaining, giving the hosts a 59-47 lead ... the Falcons could come no closer than seven points the rest of the game, and the Rockets put the game away by going 6-for-6 at the foul line in the final 1:09 of the game.
GOOD FG PCT. DEFENSE, BUT...
BGSU shot .404 from the field in Wednesday's game, to Toledo's .354 percentage ... but the Rockets' ability to get offensive rebounds and convert them into points was the difference in the game ... the Blue and Gold had 13 offensive boards in the second half alone ... UT held a 27-3 advantage in second-chance points for the game, including a 17-0 margin in the second half.
GO WEST
Saturday's game vs. CMU marks the Falcons' first home intradivisional contest since moving to the MAC's West Division ... the Falcons, who have played in the East Division since the MAC went to a divisional format five years ago, moved 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.
NOTHING'S EASY IN THE WEST
The 2002-03 season marks the Falcons' first year as a member of the MAC's West Division ... in the early going in conference play, it would appear that the West is the tougher division this winter ... heading into Saturday's games, West Division teams have a combined 6-1 record against their foes from the East ... four of the six wins have come on the road ... in all league games, MAC West teams are 9-2 at home.
LAUSE LIGHTS IT UP
Freshman Jill Lause missed her first field-goal attempt of the NIU game, ending her streak of consecutive field goals made at nine ... Lause hit her only other shot of the game, though, and went 2-for-4 at Toledo ... she now has made 12 of her last 15 FG tries ... on the season, Lause is shooting .525 from the field (21-of-40) ... she had the finest game of her young Falcon career in the win over IUPUI (Dec. 30), coming off the bench to post a season high in scoring for the second consecutive game ... after scoring eight points in the Savannah State game (Dec. 22), Lause was 6-of-6 from the field en route to 14 points vs. IUPUI ... she tied her season best for rebounds, with five, and set new standards in assists (two), steals (one) and minutes played (26) ... after scoring a total of 19 points in her first seven collegiate games, Lause scored 22 points over the next two contests.
SMITH'S STELLAR SHOOTING
Another Falcon freshman, Marisa Smith, went 2-for-2 from three-point land in the Northern Illinois contest ... despite missing her only long-range try at Toledo, she is 14-of-27 from long range on the year ... with a three-point FG pct. of .519, Smith is on pace to set a new school single-season record ... teammate Francine Miller currently holds the record, having shot .453 (43-of-95) from beyond the arc in 1999-2000 ... the MAC record is .497, by WMU's Kelly DeLong in 1995-96 ... Smith has made four of her last five three-point attempts, and has drained eight of her last 10 long-range shots dating to the second half of the Savannah State game.
FRANCINE THE SCORING MACHINE: MILLER SURPASSES 1,300 CAREER POINTS
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 (Dec. 14), moving past Michelle Shade (1,233 pts.; 1991-95) into ninth place in school history ... with 20 points in the Ohio game, Miller surpassed the 1,300-point mark for her career ... she enters the CMU contest with a total of 1,342 points ... the next target for Miller is Stephanie Coe (1983-87), who had 1,363 career points ... Miller has averaged 13.98 points per game over the first 96 contests of her career, the third-best average in BGSU annals.
A RARE FALCON DQ
Francine Miller fouled out of the Toledo game Wednesday, drawing her fifth foul with just 23.8 seconds remaining ... Miller became the first Falcon player to foul out of a game this season.
AUSTIN DISRUPTIVE ON DEFENSE
Lindsay Austin had a large amount of success in disrupting Toledo's inbounds plays on Wednesday ... Austin had a game-high four steals in the game, with most of them coming off of UT inbounds throws from under the Rockets' basket ... several of Austin's steals led to uncontested layups ... Austin now has a team-best average of 2.3 steals per game.
TIME CHANGE FOR MIAMI GAME
The starting time for the Falcons' Feb. 15 game vs. Miami has been changed ... the game will now begin at 4:30 p.m. at Anderson Arena ... the time was changed because the BGSU men's game vs. Western Michigan has been included in the MAC's television package ... the men's game will begin at 2:00 p.m. at Anderson.
