Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Head To Oakland Friday
January 02, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
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BGSU (6-4)
at
OAKLAND (3-6)
Game #11
Friday, January 3, 2003
Athletic Center 'O'rena (4,005)
Rochester, Michigan
RADIO: WBGU-FM (88.1)
SERIES: OU leads, 2-0
Last Meeting: at Oakland 83, BGSU 56 (Feb. 6, 1982)
THE GAME
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, having won four of the last five games, looks to close the non-conference portion of the schedule on a successful note. The Falcons of head coach Curt Miller, after posting a come-from-behind win over IUPUI to close the 2002 slate, will open 2003 with a Friday (Jan. 3) contest at Oakland University. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Athletic Center 'O'rena (4,005) in Rochester, Mich.
Following the Oakland game, the Falcons will begin the 16-game Mid-American Conference slate with a home game against Ohio University. The Falcons and Bobcats will tangle Wednesday (Jan. 8), beginning at 7:00 p.m. at BGSU's venerable Anderson Arena (4,700).
SUCCESS ON THE ROAD
Prior to the IUPUI game, BGSU completed 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 away from home ... 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.
GOOD START
The Falcons are already two-thirds of the way to matching last year's win total ... BGSU, 9-19 last year, has an overall record of 6-4 heading into the Oakland contest ... this year's 10-game start is the best for a Falcon club since the 1997-98 team went 7-3 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 six non-conference wins this season, with one more game prior to the MAC schedule ... the last team to post as many as six wins in the pre-MAC slate was the 1993-94 team, which went 6-2 ... no BGSU team has had more out-of-conference wins since 1991-92, when the Falcons were 9-2 ... that '91-92 team set the school record for wins prior to the MAC season.
WBGU RADIO TO BROADCAST AT LEAST 25 GAMES THIS SEASON
WBGU-FM (88.1) is scheduled to air 24 regular-season games, including the Oakland 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, as mentioned, will take a 6-4 record into the Oakland game ... the Falcons closed the 2002 portion of the schedule by winning four of the last five games ... most recently, BG rallied from an 11-point deficit for a 69-59 win over visiting IUPUI Monday (Dec. 30) ... freshman Jill Lause was 6-of-6 from the field en route to a season-high 14 points, while junior Stefanie Wenzel also had 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
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 ... 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.
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) ... then, BGSU dropped a 61-54 decision to visiting Butler (Dec. 4), before splitting 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 made the all-tournament team at FAU.
Prior to the UC tourney, BG won road games 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.
Miller leads the team in scoring, with 12.6 points per game ... she also paces the Falcons in rebounding, with 5.5 per contest, and steals, with 2.3 per outing.
Griech is second on the Falcons with 10.7 points per game ... she paces the Brown and Orange in three-point field goals made (18) and free-throw pct. (1.000; 23-of-23), and is second in three-point FG pct. (.383; 18-of-47) ... Griech leads the team in minutes played per game (26.1).
Austin is averaging 9.9 points, a team-high 3.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game, while Wenzel has 9.3 points per outing ... Marisa Smith now has 5.6 points per game and leads the team with a three-point FG pct. of .500 (12-of-24) ... redshirt junior Pam Brown has averages of 5.3 points and 3.4 rebounds, but has missed the last two games due to injury and will likely sit out the Oakland game as well.
Senior Megan Jerome has 5.2 points and is third on the team in assists (2.0 apg) and fourth in rebounding (3.5 rpg) ... Griech, Miller, Wenzel and senior Karen Stocz (3.9 ppg) have started all 10 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 six contests.
The Falcons are 2-2 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 .363 ... BG has made 63 three-point field goals, and the Falcons are shooting .325 from behind the arc ... the foes have made 60 treys and have a long-distance pct. of .311 ... the Brown and Orange converted 151 free throws to the foes' 112 over the first 10 contests ... BGSU is shooting .759 from the stripe, compared to .612 for the opponents.
SCOUTING OAKLAND
Oakland is 3-6 after a road loss, 58-52, to Buffalo on Monday night (Dec. 30) ... the Golden Grizzlies have lost five of the last six games against a tough group of opponents, but the one win during that time came against Ole Miss of the Southeastern Confernece (54-52; Dec. 21) ... Oakland's other wins this year have come at home against Detroit and Pikeville ... OU has lost to Central Michigan, Michigan State, Georgia, Michigan and Clemson, in addition to UB ... the Grizzlies are 2-2 at home to date ... individually, senior guard Katie Wolfe, the Mid-Continent Conference Preseason Player of the Year, leads the team with 21.6 points per game ... Wolfe, named to the All-Mid-Con First Team in each of her first three seasons, also leads the Grizzlies in assists (3.1 apg) and is second in rebounding (3.9 rpg) ... freshman guard Jayme Wilson is second on the team in scoring, with 11.4 points per game, while senior guard Romica Clint has 10.4 points, 2.6 assists and a team-high 1.7 steals ... freshman Anne Hafeli has 8.9 points off the bench, while sophomore forward Amanda Batcha has 4.4 points and a team-high 10.8 rebounds per outing ... junior forward Jasmin MacAlpine joins Wolfe, Wilson, Clint and Batcha in the probable starting lineup for first-year head coach Eileen Shea-Hilliard ... Shea-Hilliard was named the head coach on Nov. 4, 2002, less than a week after Beckie Francis stepped down due to health reasons ... Shea-Hilliard's squad has nine letterwinners, including two starters, back from last year's NCAA Tournament team ... that team went 17-14 overall and tied for second in the Mid-Con with a league mark of 8-6 ... but, OU won the league tournament to advance to NCAA play ... OU's athletic web site is www.ougrizzlies.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons trail Oakland by a 2-0 count in the all-time series between the teams ... BGSU and OU have not met in nearly 21 years, however ... Oakland captured a narrow, 61-59 decision in BG on Feb. 7, 1981, then posted an 83-56 home win just under a year later (Feb. 6, 1982).
LAST TIME OUT
The Falcons rallied from a double-digit deficit to post a 69-59 victory over visiting IUPUI Monday night (Dec. 30) ... for a detailed recap of that game, click here.
LAUSE LIGHTS IT UP
Freshman Jill Lause had the finest game of her young Falcon career in the win over IUPUI Monday (Dec. 30) ... for the second consecutive game, Lause came off the bench to post a season high in scoring ... 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 has scored 22 points over the last two contests.
THE GAME-ENDING RUN
The Falcons trailed for most of the first 30 minutes of Monday's game vs. IUPUI, falling behind by as many as 11 points ... and, with 10:22 left in the second half, BG still trailed by seven points, at 56-49 ... from that point on, however, the Brown and Orange held the Jaguars to a single field goal ... BGSU ended the game on a 20-3 run over that 10:22 span ... IUPUI, after shooting .577 from the field in the first half, ended the game in a 1-for-14 shooting slump, with six of the team's 24 turnovers coming in that stretch.
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 BG win ... BGSU had not held an opponent under 40 points in a game since limiting Youngstown State to 38 on Dec. 1, 1994 ... then, BG ended the IUPUI game on a 20-3 run to hold the Jaguars to 59 points ... that game marked the 11th time in the first 38 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 season (Dec. 27, 2001), 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.
TOUGH DEFENSE!
The Savannah State game (Dec. 22) 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 .363 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 10 games ... the Falcons just missed a fifth such effort, as Cleveland State shot .351 against BGSU.
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 2-4 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.
KIMMY KONVERTS
Senior Kim Griech has enjoyed a great deal of success when she gets to the foul line this year ... Griech has made all 23 of her free-throw attempts this season, leading the MAC in that category ... she is just two tosses shy of leading the nation, as the NCAA minimum is 2.5 FT's per game (MAC minimum is 2.0 FT/game) ... Griech has made her last 25 FTs dating to last season.
WINNING THE BATTLE OF THE BOARDS
The Falcons held a 40-33 advantage in rebounding in the IUPUI game, including a 27-14 margin in the second half ... BGSU had a season-high 17 offensive boards in that game ... the Falcons have outrebounded three opponents this year - winning all three games - after posting a rebounding advantage just five times (3-2) during all of last season.
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.
SMITH STILL HOT FROM BEHIND THE ARC
Freshman Marisa Smith showed that her hot shooting hadn't cooled down over the holiday break ... eight days after her 6-of-10 performance from three-point range vs. SSU, she went 2-of-2 from long distance against IUPUI ... her first trey, which came just before the end of the first half, cut the Falcon deficit to one point entering the intermission ... her other triple, with 5:42 left in the game, gave BGSU the lead for good ... Smith now has made 12 three-point field goals on the season, including eight in the last two games, and is shooting a team-best .500 (12-of-24) from long distance this year.
MARTIN LEAVES TEAM
Freshman point guard Molly Martin has left the team for personal reasons ... Martin, who left the team just after Christmas, played in eight of the Falcons' first nine games, starting the season's first four contests ... she averaged 1.6 points and 2.6 assists in 13.8 minutes per game.
FRANCINE THE SCORING MACHINE: MILLER 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 Oakland game, Miller has 1,275 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 92 contests of her career, the third-best average in BGSU annals.
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).
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 ... through 10 games, 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 10 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 nine turnovers on the season, for an assist/TO ratio of 2.22 ... 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 29 assists and 14 TOs this year, for a 2.07 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.
Freshman Jill Lause's season-high 14-point effort vs. IUPUI makes her the ninth different Falcon to have at least one double-digit scoring game this season ... a total of 10 players scored at least 10 points in a game last 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 3.7 rebounds per game this year, good for a tie for second on the team ... Anderson has posted that average in just 12.4 minutes per game on the season ... she is averaging 11.9 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.
