Bowling Green State University Athletics
Francine Miller is the Ultimate Warrior: Coach Calls Intense Senior Best Ever at Bowling Green
March 16, 2003 | Women's Basketball
March 8, 2003
By MATT MARKEY, Blade Sports Writer - As she nears the end of her basketball career at Bowling Green State University, Francine Miller's locker is almost full.
She has collected All-Mid-American Conference honors three times. She has started 100 games. She is tied for the top single-game performance in BGSU history with 35 points -- and has done it twice.
She will finish third on the school's all-time scoring list behind Jackie Motycka and Sara Puthoff, but a case can be made that Miller is the best player Bowling Green has even had.
"I mean no disrespect to Jackie Motycka and Sara Puthoff, but Francine Miller is probably the best player to ever put on the Falcon uniform," BG coach Curt Miller said. "The team hasn't had as much success during her five years as it did during the Jackie Motycka era or the Sara Puthoff era, but based on individual talent, Francine is the best player."
The senior from Kalida leads the Falcons (12-15, 5-11 MAC) into tonight's first-round game in the MAC Tournament at Eastern Michigan (12-15, 9-7).
"Francine is an intense competitor, and it doesn't matter if it is practice or a game," her coach said. "She is your friend off the court, but out there she is going to beat you. She is not afraid to have some teammates upset with her at times because of how hard she plays in practice, because she knows they will still be friends when the ball stops bouncing."
Miller, who started the season 13th on the BGSU all-time scoring list, missed almost all of last season after suffering a knee injury in the second game. She received a medical hardship and worked to rehab the knee for her final season.
"Something like that injury, it makes you realize things can be taken away from you at any moment," she said. "You have to be strong and get through it. It was a battle, but one I always wanted to win."
"She did what she needed to do to get back on the floor," coach Miller said, "but the thing that sets Francine apart from others is that once she saw that she was not going to be the player she once was due to the injury, she struggled with that for a bit, but then she adapted her game.
"She is excelling now because she realized her strengths and weaknesses after the injury and then adjusted her game. She wasn't stubborn, she basically coached herself. And never once did she feel sorry for herself, and never once wanted to quit. She never once complained to bring the team down."
Miller was first-team All-MAC as a sophomore, just the second Falcon to earn that distinction in her second season. She was on the all-freshman team the year before, and was second-team All-MAC as a junior.
"I had an easier transition coming in to college ball, because in the summers I played against the best competition in the nation and that really prepared me to be able to come in here and play right away," Miller said. "I came in with the number one goal of playing as a freshman. I didn't want to sit the bench."
Five games into her freshman season Miller moved into the starting lineup, and only injuries have kept her off the floor since then.
"Everything inside of me makes me want to win," she said. "I've always been taught to play with confidence, to go as hard as you can, and to take the ball to the basket. I can usually feel the defenders around me, but that doesn't matter. I take it in and try and get a foul."
Miller's coach said her lion-hearted approach has made her a dream to work with. When he decided to take the BG job two seasons ago, the 5-11 guard/forward was a prominent part of the formula.
"I probably don't take the job here if it wasn't for having the opportunity to coach Francine Miller," he said. "It is nice when the best player in your program is also your hardest worker. She teaches so much by example that the coaching staff doesn't have to harp on the usual things. Every single kid on the floor looks around and wants to be Francine, but they also see her working harder than them. Everyone raises their level by being around her. She is the ultimate warrior."
