Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU Hosts Northern Illinois Saturday Afternoon
January 31, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 31, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
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BOWLING GREEN (9-8, 2-4 MAC)
vs.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS (8-10, 4-3 MAC)
Game #18
Saturday, February 1, 2003
1:00 p.m.
Anderson Arena (4,700)
Bowling Green, Ohio
Radio: WBGU-FM (88.1)
Series: NIU leads, 10-9
Last Meeting: at NIU 78, BGSU 58 (Jan. 11, 2003)
THE GAME
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, after playing four of the last five games on the road, returns home to Anderson Arena for yet another tough test in Mid-American Conference play. The Falcons (9-8, 2-4 MAC) of head coach Curt Miller will look to avenge a loss from one of those road contests, hosting Northern Illinois University in Saturday (Feb. 1) action. The game is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start at Anderson (4,700).
Following the NIU game, the Falcons will return to the road for a Wednesday (Feb. 5) game at Central Michigan University. That contest is slated for a 7:00 p.m. start at Rose Arena (5,200) in Mt. Pleasant, Mich.
The Falcons' last game, a 75-51 loss at Western Michigan Wednesday (Jan. 29), completed a five-game stretch which saw the Falcons play on the road against the MAC West Division teams picked to finish first through fourth -- NIU, Toledo, Ball State and WMU.
FALCONS STILL LOOKING TO TOP LAST YEAR'S WIN TOTAL
With nine wins on the season, the Falcons have tied the win total for all of last season ... despite the current two-game losing streak, BGSU has an overall record of 9-8 with at least 11 games remaining this year ... last year's team posted an overall mark of 9-19 ... this year's 17-game record is the best for a Falcon club since the 1997-98 team went 13-4 ... that 1997-98 squad went on to post 21 wins and earn a WNIT berth.
TOUGH TESTS IN JANUARY
The Western Michigan game completed the Falcons' January schedule ... BGSU's seven January games saw the Falcons play on the road five times, facing the teams picked to finish first through fourth in the MAC West ... the team's other road game came against a 2002 NCAA Tournament participant (Oakland) ... BG had a 3-4 record on the month.
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 a 9-8 record into the NIU game ... the Falcons, after a 63-45 home win over Central Michigan on Jan. 18, have lost the last two games ... BG dropped a 96-71 decision at Ball State (Jan. 22) before a 24-point setback to Western Michigan Wednesday (Jan. 29).
The Falcons had opened the MAC schedule with a 73-72 win over Ohio (Jan. 8), the team's second one-point win in as many games ... then, however, the Falcons saw a four-game winning streak snapped with a 78-58 loss at Northern Illinois (Jan. 11) in the teams' first meeting of the year ... BGSU also fell at Toledo, 70-62 (Jan. 15), before rebounding to beat Central ... prior to the initial NIU game, the Falcons had won six of seven contests.
Senior Francine Miller continues to lead the Falcons in scoring, with 12.9 points per game ... she also paces the team in rebounding (5.5 rpg), steals (2.4 spg) and blocked shots (0.76 bpg).
Senior Kim Griech is second in scoring, with 10.9 points per game, and leads the Brown and Orange in three-point field goals made (32) and free-throw percentage (.886; 39-of-44) ... Griech also leads BGSU in minutes played (27.8 mpg), and is tied for second in assists (1.6 apg) ... she is averaging 11.5 points per game in MAC contests, just behind Miller's team-leading 11.8 ppg average.
Junior Lindsay Austin is third on the team in scoring (10.5 ppg), and leads the Falcons in assists (4.0 apg) ... Austin is second on the team in steals (2.1 spg) and ranks fourth in the MAC with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.76.
Junior Stefanie Wenzel has 9.4 points per outing and a three-point field goal percentage of .358 (19-of-53) on the year ... freshman Marisa Smith has upped her scoring average to 5.1 ppg, after scoring a team-high 14 points at WMU ... Smith has a team-best three-point FG pct. of .514 (18-of-35) on the year.
Senior Megan Jerome and freshman Jill Lause average 4.2 and 4.1 points per game, respectively ... Jerome leads the Falcons in asst./TO ratio (2.17) and is tied for second in assists (1.6 apg) ... Lause is shooting .521 (25-of-48) from the field this year, and has made 16 of her last 23 field-goal attempts.
Griech, Miller, Wenzel and senior Karen Stocz (3.2 ppg) have started all 17 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 season's outset, has started each of the last 13 games.
BGSU finished the 2001-02 season with a 9-19 record, and the Falcons completed MAC 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 ... all three have seen action in 16 of the Falcons' 17 games ... 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 4-2 at home, 4-5 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site games ... in MAC contests, BGSU is 2-0 at home and 0-4 away from Anderson Arena ... the Falcons went 5-7 at home last winter, and BG was 3-10 on the road and 1-2 in neutral-site contests in 2001-02 ... the Brown and Orange went 4-4 at home and 2-6 on the road in MAC games last year.
The Falcons are shooting .403 from the field, while the opponents have a FG pct. of .398 ... BG has made 112 three-point field goals, and the Falcons are shooting .339 from behind the arc ... the foes have made 105 treys and have a long-distance pct. of .333 ... the Brown and Orange converted 234 free throws to the foes' 206 this year to date ... BGSU is shooting .755 from the stripe, compared to .671 for the opponents.
SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Northern Illinois comes to BGSU riding a three-game winning streak, including the team's first road victory of the season, a 61-60 triumph at Ohio Wednesday (Jan. 29) ... the Huskies, 8-10 overall and 4-3 in the MAC, played without the services of the team's lone seniors, Kim Boeding and Kristan Knake, in the OU contest ... both Boeding (dizziness related to an inner ear infection) and Knake (ankle sprain) are questionable for the game at BG ... junior forward Jennifer Youngblood paces the team in both scoring (14.4 ppg) and rebounding (8.3 rpg), with Knake second in the former category (10.8 ppg) and Boeding second in the latter (6.1 rpg) ... Boeding also averages 9.6 points ... junior guard Lindsay Secrest has 8.3 points and a team-high 30 three-point field goals this year, while junior forward Stephanie Smith has 6.6 points ... freshman center Joi Scott (6.8 ppg) and junior guard Monique Davis (5.7 ppg, 3.3 apg) join Secrest, Smith and Youngblood in the probable starting five for head coach Carol Hammerle ... Hammerle has a record of 57-77 in her fifth season in DeKalb ... she is 513-303 in her 30th year overall ... the school's athletic web site is www.niuhuskies.com.
THE BGSU-NIU SERIES
The Falcons trail Northern Illinois, 10-9, in the all-time series between the teams ... the Huskies are the lone MAC team to lead the series with BG [the Falcons and Buffalo are tied, 4-4, in that series] ... NIU has won the last three games, including a 78-58 victory in DeKalb in the teams' first matchup this season (Jan. 11, 2003) ... the Falcons hold a 7-3 advantage in home games vs. the Huskies, but NIU broke a four-game Falcon home win streak in the series with last year's 56-52 victory (Jan. 9, 2002) ... Northern has won four of the last five overall series meetings, and the Huskies hold a 4-3 advantage in the series since rejoining the MAC for the 1997-98 season.
LAST TIME OUT
Host Western Michigan scored the first 10 points of the second half, breaking open an eight-point game en route to a 75-51 victory over the Falcons Wednesday night (Jan. 29) ... with the victory, the hosts remain the lone unbeaten team in the MAC (11-5 overall, 5-0 MAC) ... a pair of Smiths led the Falcons (9-8, 2-4 MAC) in scoring ... freshman Marisa Smith had a team-high 14 points off the bench, while sophomore Sakima Smith had a season-high 10 points.
EVERYONE'S A THREAT FROM LONG RANGE
Sophomore Sakima Smith made her first two three-point field goals of the season in the Western Michigan game (Jan. 29) ... in the process, Smith became the 12th different Falcon to sink at least one trey this season, a new school record ... the 2002-03 campaign marks the fifth-straight season that 10 or more players have hit a three-pointer ... in both the 2001-02 and 2000-01 seasons, 11 different players on the BG squad made at least one long-range shot ... a total of 10 different players hit a trey in 1999-2000, as well as in 1998-99 ... prior to that time, the most players to hit a triple in the same season was seven.
SMITH'S STELLAR SHOOTING
Freshman Marisa Smith went 2-for-3 from three-point land in the Western Michigan contest, en route to a team-high 14 points ... Smith is now 18-of-35 from long range on the year ... with a three-point FG pct. of .514, 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 drained 12 of her last 18 long-range shots dating to the second half of the Savannah State game.
BRITT LENDS A HELPING HAND
Freshman Britt Anderson tied her season high with five points, and also had a season-best five assists in the WMU game ... Anderson, with all five points and three helpers in the first half, had a hand in five of the Falcons' eight hoops in the initial 20 minutes.
GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS
Western Michigan entered Wednesday's game leading the nation in three-point field-goal percentage (.448 at the time of the latest rankings) and ranked among the national leaders in scoring offense (fourth, 82.1 points per game) and three-pointers made per game (7.1) ... the Falcons held the Broncos under those averages, as WMU scored 75 points, made six treys and shot .375 from long range ... but, WMU held the BGSU offense to a season-low 51 points, and forced the Falcons into a season-high 25 turnovers in the game.
A LONG TIME BETWEEN TRIPS TO THE LINE
BGSU went a total of 59:59 between free-throw attempts ... the Falcons went 3-for-3 in the Jan. 22 contest at Ball State ... but, after a pair of tosses by junior Stefanie Wenzel exactly seven minutes into that game, the Falcons did not get to the line in the final 33 minutes ... at WMU, the Brown and Orange did not get to the stripe until the Bronco bench was whistled for a technical foul 13:01 remaining in the second half ... the Falcons ended the night with six free throws in eight attempts.
OPPONENTS SHOOT FOR .500
Western Michigan became the second-straight Falcon opponent to shoot over 50 percent from the field, after BGSU had not allowed a team to do so in nearly a year ... Ball State shot .522 from the field, the first time in 24 games -- since the Toledo game of Jan. 30, 2002 -- that a Falcon foe had made over half of its field-goal attempts ... then, WMU shot .519 in Wednesday's contest.
FRANCINE THE SCORING MACHINE: MILLER MOVES INTO EIGHTH PLACE
Senior Francine Miller continues her climb up the BGSU career scoring chart ... in the Ball State game, she moved past Stephanie Coe (1,363 pts.; 1983-87) into eighth place in school history ... Miller enters the NIU contest with a total of 1,369 points ... her next target is seventh-place Angie Bonner (1983-87), who had 1,412 career points ... only 20 points separate the third- through seventh-place scorers in school history, meaning that Miller is just 63 points away from that third-place spot ... Miller has averaged 13.83 points per game over the first 99 contests of her career, the third-best average in BGSU annals.
GO WEST
The Falcons are in their first season as a member of 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 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.
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.
