Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Host Marshall Wednesday Night
February 25, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
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BOWLING GREEN (11-13, 4-9 MAC)
vs.
MARSHALL (9-15, 5-8 MAC)
Game #25
Wednesday, February 26, 2003
7:00 p.m.
Anderson Arena (4,700)
Bowling Green, Ohio
Radio: WBGU-FM (88.1)
Series: BGSU leads, 8-2
Last Meeting: at Marshall 56, BGSU 43 (Feb. 16, 2002)
THE GAME
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, coming off a Mid-American Conference road victory, looks to put a winning streak together as the team gears up for the conference tournament. The Falcons (11-13, 4-9 MAC) of head coach Curt Miller host Marshall University in Wednesday (Feb. 26) night action, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at venerable Anderson Arena (4,700).
Following the Marshall game, the Brown and Orange will return to the road for a Saturday (March 1) game against Kent State University. That contest will begin at 2:00 p.m. at KSU's M.A.C. Center (6,327). Then, BGSU will close the regular season with a Tuesday (March 4) home game vs. Eastern Michigan University, beginning at 7:00 p.m. The MAC Tournament begins with first-round games on Saturday, March 8, at campus sites. BGSU's opponent and site for that first-round contest is still to be determined.
MAC TOURNAMENT PICTURE
If the regular season ended today, the Falcons would be the 10th seed for the MAC Tournament, and would hit the road to face the seventh seed in the first round ... the top three seeds in the conference tourney will earn first-round byes, with the division winners earning the first and second seeds ... the team with the best record among the remaining 11 schools will earn the third seed and the final first-round bye ... the fourth through eighth seeds for the tournament will host first-round contests on Saturday, March 8 ... following the first-round contests, the five winners will join the top-three seeds at Cleveland's Gund Arena for the quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 12 ... the semifinals and championship are scheduled for March 14 and 15, respectively ... to follow is a look at the conference record of each school, along with their remaining regular-season games:
School (W-L -- Remaining Games) Toledo (11-3 -- at Northern Illinois, vs. Central Michigan) Miami (9-4 -- vs. Ohio, vs. Buffalo, vs. Marshall) Ball State (11-3 -- vs. Kent State, vs. Eastern Michigan)Western Michigan (8-5 -- at EMU, vs. Central Michigan, at Northern Ill.) Kent State (8-5 -- at Ball State, vs. BGSU, at Buffalo) Eastern Michigan (7-6 -- vs. WMU, at Ball State, at BGSU) Northern Illinois (7-6 -- at CMU, vs. Toledo, vs. WMU) Buffalo (7-6 -- vs. Akron, at Miami, vs. Kent State)
Marshall (5-8 -- at BGSU, vs. Akron, at Miami) Bowling Green (4-9 -- vs. Marshall, at Kent State, vs. EMU) Central Michigan (4-9 -- vs. NIU, at WMU, at Toledo) Ohio (4-10 -- at Miami, at Akron) Akron (1-12 -- at Buffalo, at Marshall, vs. Ohio)
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 will take a 11-13 record into the Marshall contest ... the Falcons snapped a three-game losing streak Saturday (Feb. 22), holding off a late Akron charge for a 65-62 road win ... prior to that game, BG had dropped seven of the last eight games ... the most recent home contest was one of the team's better efforts of the year, a 90-85 loss to Ball State last Wednesday (Feb. 19) ... BG's most recent victory prior to Saturday came against West Division co-leader Toledo (66-62; Feb. 8).
Senior Francine Miller continues to lead the Falcons in scoring, with 14.5 points per game ... Miller struggled, shooting-wise, in the UA game, but still wound up with a double-double ... she had scored over 20 points in each of the previous four games ... Miller also paces the team in rebounding (6.1 rpg), blocked shots (0.71 bpg) and minutes played (29.0 mpg), and is second in steals (2.2 spg) and three-point field goals made (38) ... 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 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
Senior Kim Griech is second in scoring, with 10.8 points per game, after averaging 17.5 points in last week's two games ... Griech leads the Brown and Orange in three-point field goals made (47) and free-throw percentage (.887; 55-of-62) ... she is third on the team in assists (1.5 apg) ... junior Stefanie Wenzel has moved into third on the team in scoring, with 10.1 points per outing ... she has made 30 three-point field goals on the year, and averaged a team-best 18.0 points in last week's two games.
Junior Lindsay Austin is fourth in scoring (9.5 ppg), and leads the Falcons in assists (4.2 apg) ... Austin also leads BG in steals (2.2 spg) and is second in minutes played ... she ranks among the MAC leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.88).
Senior Megan Jerome and freshman Marisa Smith are averaging 4.4 and 3.9 ppg, respectively ... Jerome leads the Falcons in asst./TO ratio (2.00) and is second in assists (1.58 apg), while Smith has a team-best three-point FG pct. of .442 (19-of-43) on the year.
Senior Karen Stocz and freshman Jill Lause average 3.8 and 3.4 points per game, respectively ... Stocz has averaged 6.6 points over the last five games, having totalled 33 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 average 1.9 and 1.8 points, respecitvely ... Lewis started both the UT and UB games, and is fourth on the team in assists (1.4 apg).
Miller has started all 24 games for the Falcons, while Griech has made 23 starts and Wenzel and Stocz 22 apiece ... Austin, slowed by a sprained ankle at season's outset, has started each of the last 20 games ... Falcon coach Curt Miller has utilized this season's most common starting five - Austin, Griech, Miller, Stocz and Wenzel - in the last three games, 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, 5-7 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site games ... in MAC contests, BGSU is 3-3 at home and 1-6 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 169 three-point field goals, and the Falcons are shooting .341 from behind the arc ... the foes have made 138 treys and have a long-distance pct. of .335 ... the Brown and Orange converted 312 free throws to the foes' 307 this year to date ... BGSU is shooting .759 from the stripe, compared to .695 for the opponents.
SCOUTING MARSHALL
Marshall checks into Wednesday's game with an overall record of 9-15, and the Thundering Herd is 5-8 in MAC action ... Marshall, after posting back-to-back wins over conference divisional leaders Ball State and Kent State, lost at Ohio, 80-66, Saturday night (Feb. 22) ... MU is 1-5 in MAC road games this season ... the Herd leads the conference in rebounding by a wide margin (+7.2, and +7.7 in MAC games) ... individually, sophomore guard Sikeetha Shepard-Hall leads the team in scoring, with 13.7 points per game, and has a team-high 30 three-point field goals ... senior guard Ida Dotson has 11.8 points per game, while junior F/C Catie Knable has 7.7 ppg and a MAC-best 9.5 rebounds per game ... Knable had 21 boards in the Herd's 56-43 victory over the Falcons last year (Feb. 16, 2002) ... senior center Amy Reed has 7.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while junior Amy Smith is scoring 7.2 points per outing ... junior guard Christina Harbin (5.6 ppg, a team-high 3.6 assists per game) has joined Dotson, Knable, Reed and Shepard-Hall in the starting lineup for the past three games for head coach Royce Chadwick ... Chadwick has a record of 18-34 in his second year in Huntington ... he is 418-166 in his 19th year as a collegiate head coach ... last season, the Herd went 9-19 overall and 5-11 in conference action ... the school's athletic web site is www.herdzone.com.
THE BGSU-MARSHALL SERIES
The Falcons hold an 8-2 lead over Marshall in the all-time series between the teams, but the Thundering Herd won the most recent meeting, 56-43 in Huntington (Feb. 16, 2002) ... that gave the teams a split of their 2001-02 season series, as the Brown and Orange had posted a 76-52 decision at Anderson Arena on Jan. 26, 2002 ... BGSU is 5-0 in home games vs. Marshall, and the home team has won the last six overall series meetings ... since MU rejoined the MAC for the 1997-98 season, BGSU is 5-2 against the Herd ... since an 86-81 BG win in Huntington in the first-ever MAC meeting between the schools (Jan. 24, 1998), none of the last six games has been decided by single digits.
FALCONS TOP LAST YEAR'S WIN TOTAL
The Falcons' 66-62 win over Toledo (Feb. 8) was BG's 10th victory of the campaign, surpassing the win total for all of last season ... after the win over Akron, BGSU has an overall record of 11-13 with at least four games remaining this year ... last year's team posted an overall mark of 9-19 ... this year's 24-game record is the best for a Falcon club since the 1997-98 season.
LAST TIME OUT
It wasn't easy, but the Falcons picked up a MAC road win at Akron Saturday afternoon (Feb. 22) ... BGSU (now 11-13, 4-9 MAC) held off a late surge by host Akron to post a 65-62 victory at James A. Rhodes Arena ... the win marks the first conference road victory of the season for the Brown and Orange ... junior Stefanie Wenzel led the Falcons offensively, scoring a game-high 20 points, while senior Kim Griech added 17 ... Wenzel scored 16 of her points in the first half, while Griech had 14 markers in the second half.
A RARE REBOUNDING ADVANTAGE
In Saturday's Akron game, BGSU held a 39-33 advantage in rebounding ... that marked the first time in MAC play, and just the fourth time this season, that the Falcons have outboarded the opponent ... BG is a perfect 4-0 in those games.
MILLER DOES THE LITTLE THINGS
Senior Francine Miller, despite going just 1-of-11 from the field at Akron, still managed to post her second double-double of the season ... she had 10 points, including an 8-for-8 effort at the foul line, and had a game-high 11 rebounds and three assists ... Miller made all four of her free-throw attempts in the game's final half-minute.
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, that marked the first time in her BG career that she topped the 20-point mark in four-straight games ... Miller was held to 10 points at Akron, but still has scored a total of 99 points (19.8 ppg) over the last five contests ... she has hit double digits in 75 of her 106 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 Marshall game, Miller now has 1,497 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 14.12 points per game through her first 106 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 six of the last seven games, and has surpassed 20 points in five of those contests.
A HOT-SHOOTING WEEK FOR KIMMY THE GRIECH
Senior Kim Griech had a hot shooting hand last week, averaging 17.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game ... she shot .579 from the field, making 11 of her 19 shots, and was 6-of-10 (.600) from three-point land ... Griech scored 18 points in the Falcons' narrow loss to Ball State, going 4-of-7 beyond the arc ... at Akron, she scored 17 points, including 14 in the second half.
WENZEL NAMED TO ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAM
BGSU junior Stefanie Wenzel has been named to the Verizon Academic All-District Team, it was announced on 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 four MAC student-athletes, and three in District IV, to be named to the team ... she maintains a 3.96 GPA in language arts education.
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, obviously, is the opponent for BGSU's next home game.
GRIECH, MILLER IN MAC'S TOP-20
Two current Falcons have moved onto the MAC's top-20 list for career three-point field goals made ... senior Francine Miller has drained 166 treys in her career, ranking her 17th in conference history, while senior Kim Griech has made 162 triples to rank 20th in MAC annals ... Sara Puthoff, the school's all-time leader, ranks 16th on the MAC list.
GRIECH SETS SCHOOL RECORD FOR ATTEMPTED 3'S
On Feb. 12 at Buffalo, senior Kim Griech moved into first place on the BGSU career list for three-pointers attempted ... entering the Marshall game, Griech now has tried 474 long-range shots in her career ... she passed Sara Puthoff (453 from 1994-98) ... Francine Miller is third on that list, with 422 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 also passed Farmer to move into third, with 162 successful treys ... Miller is third on the all-time school list for career three-point percentage (.393, 166-of-422) ... junior Stefanie Wenzel (.348; 72-of-207) is ninth on that list, with Griech (.342; 162-of-474) ranked 11th ... senior Megan Jerome (.328, 40-of-122) 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.
'D' UP
It sounds strange to say in a game where the Falcons gave up 90 points, but BGSU had stretches of solid defense in the contest against Ball State (Feb. 19) ... in fact, the Falcons did not allow the Cardinals to score a basket in the game's final 9:05 ... the Cards only took five shots and had four turnovers in that time ... but, BSU was able to get to the free-throw line, going 12-of-12 from the stripe in that span ... then, in the Akron game, the Falcons allowed UA to score only five points in the final 14:22 of the first half ... in fact, from that time until an Akron layup with just 12 seconds left in the half, UA went 1-for-16 from the field and 1-of-6 from the free-throw line, while committing 11 turnovers and nine fouls.
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 ... including 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.
