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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons At Akron Saturday
February 21, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 21, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
Complete Game Notes (34 pages) in PDF Format
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BOWLING GREEN (10-13, 3-9 MAC)
at
AKRON (2-21, 1-11 MAC)
Game #24Saturday, February 22, 2003
3:00 p.m.
JAR Arena (5,942)
Akron, Ohio
Radio: WBGU-FM (88.1)
Series: BGSU leads, 30-2
Last Meeting: at BGSU 85, Akron 73 (Jan. 14, 2002)
THE GAME
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, coming off the team's highest-scoring outing in Mid-American Conference play this season, returns to the road for a Saturday afternoon contest (Feb. 22). The Falcons (10-13, 3-9 MAC) of head coach Curt Miller head to Northeast Ohio for the first of two consecutive Saturdays, taking on the University of Akron. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at UA's James A. Rhodes (JAR) Arena (5,942).
Following the UA game, the Falcons will return home for a Wednesday (Feb. 26) contest against Marshall University. That game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. at BGSU's venerable Anderson Arena (4,700).
WENZEL NAMED TO ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAM
BGSU junior Stefanie Wenzel has been named to the Verizon Academic All-District Team, it was announced Friday (Feb. 21) ... Wenzel, who was named to the second team, earns academic all-district honors for the first time in her Falcon career ... the district team is made up of student-athletes from Division I schools in Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee ... to be nominated, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve, and must carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher ... Wenzel is one of just three MAC student-athletes to be named to the team ... she maintains a 3.96 GPA in language arts education.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
BGSU will take a 10-13 record into the Akron contest ... the Falcons have dropped seven of the last eight games, but are coming off one of the team's better efforts of the year, a 90-85 loss to Ball State Wednesday (Feb. 19) ... the one win during that eight-game span came against West Division co-leader Toledo (66-62; Feb. 8).
Senior Francine Miller continues to lead the Falcons in scoring, with 14.7 points per game ... Miller, who has scored over 20 points in each of the last four games, also paces the team in rebounding (5.9 rpg), steals (2.3 spg), blocked shots (0.74 bpg) and minutes played (29.0 mpg) ... she moved from eighth to third place on the BGSU career scoring list in a two-game span earlier in February ... in MAC games only, Miller leads the Brown and Orange with 15.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
Senior Kim Griech is second in scoring, with 10.5 points per game, and leads the Brown and Orange in three-point field goals made (45) and free-throw percentage (.909; 50-of-55) ... Griech is tied for second on the team in assists (1.6 apg) ... junior Lindsay Austin is third on the team in scoring (9.8 ppg), and leads the Falcons in assists (4.1 apg) ... Austin is second in both steals (2.1 spg) and minutes played ... she ranks among the MAC leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.85).
Junior Stefanie Wenzel has 9.7 points per outing and has made 29 three-point field goals on the year, including a season-high five at Buffalo ... senior Megan Jerome and freshman Marisa Smith are averaging 4.4 and 3.9 ppg, respectively ... Jerome leads the Falcons in asst./TO ratio (1.89) and is tied for second in assists (1.57 apg), while Smith has a team-best three-point FG pct. of .439 (18-of-41) on the year.
Senior Karen Stocz and freshman Jill Lause average 3.7 and 3.6 points per game, respectively ... Stocz has averaged 6.8 points over the last four games, having totalled 27 points in that time after scoring 13 points in the previous eight contests ... Lause is shooting .517 (31-of-60) from the field this year, and has made 22 of her last 35 field-goal attempts ... sophomores Sakima Smith and Tene Lewis averaged 1.9 and 1.8 points, respecitvely ... Lewis started both the UT and UB games, and has totalled 14 assists in the last four games ... she is fourth on the team in that category (1.5 apg).
Miller has started all 23 games for the Falcons, while Griech has made 22 starts and Wenzel and Stocz 21 apiece ... Austin, slowed by a sprained ankle at season's outset, has started each of the last 19 games ... Falcon coach Curt Miller utilized this season's most common starting five -- Austin, Griech, Miller, Stocz and Wenzel -- against Toledo and BSU, after using four different starting lineups in as many games ... a total of nine different players have made at least one start this season.
The Falcons are 5-5 at home, 4-7 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site games ... in MAC contests, BGSU is 3-3 at home and 0-6 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 .400 from the field, while the opponents have a FG pct. of .407 ... BG has made 162 three-point field goals, and the Falcons are shooting .340 from behind the arc ... the foes have made 132 treys and have a long-distance pct. of .332 ... the Brown and Orange converted 298 free throws to the foes' 293 this year to date ... BGSU is shooting .762 from the stripe, compared to .699 for the opponents.
SCOUTING AKRON
Akron checks into Saturday's game with an overall record of 2-21, and the Zips have a MAC record of 1-11 ... Akron's conference victory came against Marshall, a 59-49 decision at home on Jan. 15 ... the team's other win came on the road against Cleveland State (73-65; Dec. 3) ... most recently, the Zips dropped a narrow, 45-42 decision at Northern Illinois last Saturday (Feb. 15) ... UA, 1-9 at home this season, will be looking to snap an overall eight-game losing streak ... UA has struggled offensively this season, averaging 52.4 points per game ... the Zips have topped 70 points just once, in the win at CSU ... senior center Cassandra Martin leads the team in both scoring (13.6 ppg) and rebounding (8.0 rpg) ... she also paces the Zips in blocked shots ... sophomore guard Lindsay Hemmelgarn has 9.5 points per game, and leads the Zips with 1.7 assists per outing ... junior guard Dominique Harris and sophomore guard Jen Arnold are averaging 8.3 and 7.1 points, respectively, while senior guard Raegan Johnson has 6.7 ppg ... senior forward Felecia Bell (2.9 ppg) joins Arnold, Harris, Hemmelgarn and Martin in the Zips' probable starting five ... Kelly Kennedy is in her first year as a collegiate head coach ... last season, the Zips went 1-27 overall and 0-16 in conference action ... the school's athletic web site is www.GoZips.com.
THE BGSU-AKRON SERIES
The Falcons hold a 30-2 lead over Akron in the all-time series between the teams, but the Zips have captured two of the last three meetings in the Rubber City ... all-time, BGSU is 13-2 in road games vs. UA, but the host Zips posted an 88-63 win in the last meeting at the JAR ... UA's other series win came in the quarterfinal round of the 1999 MAC Tournament ... the Falcons won the last overall series meeting, 85-73 at Anderson Arena last year (Jan. 14, 2002) ... BGSU, which won the first 26 overall series meetings, has won four of the last five games between the teams ... none of the last seven meetings has been decided by less than 12 points.
FALCONS TOP LAST YEAR'S WIN TOTAL
The Falcons' 66-62 win over Toledo (Feb. 8) was BG's 10th victory of the campaign ... the Falcons have surpassed the win total for all of last season ... BGSU has an overall record of 10-12 with at least six games remaining this year ... last year's team posted an overall mark of 9-19 ... this year's 22-game record is the best for a Falcon club since the 1997-98 team went 18-4 ... that 1997-98 squad went on to post 21 wins and earn a WNIT berth.
LAST TIME OUT
All five Ball State starters scored in double figures as the Cardinals held on for a 90-85 win over the Falcons Wednesday night (Feb. 19) at Anderson Arena ... for BSU (16-7, 10-3 MAC), the victory was the first-ever triumph in 21 road games vs. the Falcons ... BG (10-13, 3-9 MAC) got a game-high 23 points from senior Francine Miller, who topped the 20-point mark for the fourth consecutive game ... Miller was one of five Falcon players in double digits ... senior Kim Griech had 18 points, and led all players with four three-point field goals ... Tamara Bowie and Kate Endress each had 20 points to pace the Cardinals, with Bowie adding a game-high 12 rebounds
FRANCINE THE SCORING MACHINE
In the Ball State contest (Feb. 19), senior Francine Miller scored over 20 points for the fourth consecutive game ... believe it or not, the current streak marks the first time in her BG career that she has topped the 20-point mark in four-straight games ... Miller has scored a total of 89 points (22.3 ppg) over the last four contests ... she has hit double digits in 74 of her 105 career games, including 27 outings of 20-plus points.
FRANCINE THE SCORING MACHINE II: THE CAREER TOTALS
With 21 points in the Feb. 12 game at Buffalo, senior Francine Miller moved up three more notches on the BGSU career scoring list ... Miller, who went from eighth place to third place on that list in a two-game span, passed Lori Albers (1989-94), Charlotta Jones (1994-98) and Talita Scott (1990-94) in the UB game ... heading into the Akron game, Miller now has 1,487 career points as a Falcon ... Miller had passed Angie Bonner (1,412 pts.) and Chris Tuttle (1,420 pts.) in the Toledo game (Feb. 8), when she scored a game-high total of 23 points ... Miller also ranks third on the BGSU list for career scoring average, with 14.16 points per game through her first 105 contests ... the only players ahead of Miller (on each list) are Sara Puthoff (1,678 pts. from 1994-98) and Jackie Motycka (2,122 pts. from 1985-89) ... Miller has led the Falcons in scoring in each of the six games, and has surpassed 20 points in five of those contests, including the last four.
A RARE HOME HALFTIME DEFICIT
The Ball State game marked the first time in the Curt Miller Era that the Falcons trailed at halftime in a home conference game ... prior to Wednesday, BG had led at halftime in all 13 such games since Miller assumed the helm nearly two years ago.
THE STREAK IS SNAPPED
Wednesday's Ball State win was the Cardinals' first-ever victory at Anderson Arena ... Bowling Green now holds a 20-1 advantage in home games vs. BSU ... the Falcons remain undefeated in home games against two other MAC teams - Akron (16-0) and Marshall (5-0) ... Marshall is the opponent for BGSU's next home game, on Wednesday (Feb. 26).
10 FOR FIVE
Wednesday's Ball State game marked the first time in over two years that the Falcons had five players score in double digits ... the last such game came on Jan. 9, 2001, when six players turned the trick in a win over Central Michigan.
GRIECH SETS SCHOOL RECORD FOR ATTEMPTED 3'S
Last Wednesday (Feb. 12) at Buffalo, senior Kim Griech moved into first place on the BGSU career list for three-pointers attempted ... entering the Akron game, Griech now has tried 471 long-range shots in her career ... she passed Sara Puthoff (453 from 1994-98) ... Francine Miller is third on that list, with 418 triple tries in her Falcon tenure.
MORE RECORDS COULD FALL (ALSO TITLED: TRIPLE YOUR FUN)
Several players on the 2002-03 Falcon roster are ranked among the BGSU career three-point leaders ... as mentioned above, senior Kim Griech is now the school's all-time leader in three-pointers attempted ... both Griech and senior Francine Miller are within sight of the BGSU record for triples made in a career ... Miller has connected on 166 three-pointers in her career ... she has moved past Angie Farmer (160) into second on that career list, and trails current record-holder Sara Puthoff by just seven ... Griech has moved into a tie for third on that list, with 160 successful treys ... Miller is third on the all-time school list for career three-point percentage (.397, 166-of-418) ... junior Stefanie Wenzel (.350; 70-of-200) has moved up to eighth on that list, with Griech (.340; 160-of-471) ranked 11th ... senior Megan Jerome (.322, 39-of-121) is threatening to add her name as well ... Wenzel is 10th all-time in both three-pointers made and attempted, with Jerome 13th on the latter list.
MJ FOR THREE
Senior Megan Jerome had a season-high 11 points vs. Ball State Wednesday (Feb. 19) ... Jerome, in only 19 minutes, tied her career high with three three-point field goals, and had four assists, just one away from her career best.
LONG-RANGE SUCCESS
BGSU made a season-high 13 three-pointers in the Ball State game ... the team total was the highest in exactly three years, since BG went 14-of-34 from long range in a win over Miami on Feb. 19, 2000 ... the Falcons have made at least five treys in 33 of the last 34 MAC home games, and BG is averaging 8.00 triples in this year's six home conference contests.
THREE THREES FOR THREE FALCONS
In Wednesday's (Feb. 19) Ball State contest, the Falcons had three different players make at least three three-pointers for the first time since Jan. 26, 2000 ... in that game, a 94-72 win over Akron, four players made at least three triples (Angie Farmer 6-9; Sherry Kahle 4-9; Francine Miller 3-5; Jaymee Wappes 3-6) as the Falcons set a school record and tied the MAC mark by making 16 treys as a team ... vs. Ball State, senior Kim Griech made four triples, while seniors Miller and Megan Jerome had three apiece.
ANOTHER WACKY THREE-POINT NOTE
The BSU game marked the first time four Falcons had made two or more three-pointers since a Jan. 3, 2001, game vs. Akron ... in that 84-65 win, Kim Griech (4-8), Francine Miller (2-8), Dana Western (2-4) and Angie Farmer (2-5) all made at least a pair of long-range shots, as the Falcons made 12 as a team ... vs. the Cardinals, junior Stefanie Wenzel had two treys, while Miller, Griech and senior Megan Jerome each had at least three long-range buckets (see above note).
BOTH TEAMS HITTING FROM DOWNTOWN
Both BGSU and Ball State had stellar nights from beyond the arc Wednesday ... the Falcons made a season-high 13 three-pointers in 24 attempts (.542), while BSU went 10-of-19 (.526) from long range ... the teams combined for 15 triples in 25 attempts in the first half.
SLOWING DOWN THEIR STAR
The Falcons have had some success at shutting down the other team's top player over the past few games ... in the Miami game (Feb. 15), BGSU held reigning MAC Player-of-the-Year Heather Cusick to just a 2-of-16 shooting performance from the field ... four days later, Tamara Bowie scored 20 points, and went 6-of-15 from the floor on the evening ... while Bowie's performance would be a great game for a lot of players, the Falcons actually held her to her lowest FG pct. (.400) in a MAC game this season, and her third-lowest pct. of the year.
SETTING SEASONAL MARKS
In Wednesday's game vs. Ball State, the Falcons had season-high totals for both field goals made (32) and three-pointers made (13) ... BGSU also set a season mark for three-point FG pct. (.542) ... the team's total of 85 points marked the Falcons' highest total in a MAC game this year, and the second-highest total behind only the 89 points amassed in a 50-point win over Savannah State (Dec. 22).
ANDER-RIFFIC!
The Falcons have had a great deal of success in three-point shooting over the past few seasons, particularly in conference games at home ... in that time, BGSU had a streak of 26 consecutive MAC games in which the Falcons made at least five triples ... that streak came to an end last year, but the Falcons still averaged 7.00 treys per home MAC game last winter ... BGSU is averaging 8.00 triples in home league games this season ... adding in the 2000 MAC Tournament first-round contest vs. Ohio, BGSU has averaged 8.77 treys and shot .400 (272-of-680) over the last 31 home games vs. MAC teams ... the Falcons have made at least five treys in 33 of the last 34 home MAC games.
