Bowling Green State University Athletics
Second Season Starts Saturday
March 07, 2003 | Women's Basketball
March 7, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
Complete Game Notes (37 pages) in PDF Format
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BOWLING GREEN (12-15)
at
EASTERN MICHIGAN (12-15)
Game #28
Saturday, March 8, 2003
7:00 p.m.
Convocation Center (8,824)
Ypsilanti, Michigan
MAC Tournament First Round
Radio: WFOB-AM (1430)
Series: BGSU leads, 37-9
Last Meeting: at BGSU 70, EMU 69 (March 4, 2003)
THE GAME
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, after closing the regular season with a one-point win at home, now must face that same opponent on the road. The Falcons (12-15 [5-11 Mid-American Conference]) of head coach Curt Miller will begin play in the 2003 Kraft MAC Tournament with a first-round game vs. Eastern Michigan University Saturday (March 8), beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Convocation Center (8,824) in Ypsilanti, Mich. The Falcons are seeded 10th for the 13-team tournament, while EMU is the seventh seed.
The winner of the BGSU-EMU game will advance to the MAC Tournament's quarterfinal round to face second-seeded Miami on Wednesday (March 12) at 5:30 p.m. The quarterfinals, semifinals (March 14) and championship (March 15) all will be held at Gund Arena (11,000) in Cleveland, Ohio.
BGSU'S MAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Falcons are participating in the MAC Tournament for the 19th time in its 22-year history ... BG has posted a 21-12 record since the MAC Tournament was instituted in 1982 ... the Falcons' complete game-by-game tournament history can be found in the pdf version of these notes ... BGSU's win total ranks the Falcons third among league teams, and the .636 winning pct. is also the third-best of any school ... the Brown and Orange's total of six tournament titles places the team second among league schools ... BGSU has made the tourney for the 18th-straight year, the longest current streak among MAC schools ... since all 13 schools make the tournament under the current format, the Falcons' current streak is likely to continue ... BGSU is 2-4 all-time in road games in the MAC Tournament, and the Falcons have a record of 2-1 since the league adopted the current 13-team tourney format ... in first-round games since that time, BGSU has posted a home win over Ohio (84-70, 2000 MAC Tournament) and a road win over Western Michigan (78-75, 2001) before losing last year's game at OU (68-74, 2002).
MAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
The Falcons, as mentioned, are the 10th seed for the MAC Tournament ... the top three seeds in the conference tourney earn first-round byes, with the division winners (Toledo and Miami) earning the first and second seeds ... Ball State, as the team with the best record among the remaining 11 schools, earns 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 games, 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 ... the complete schedule follows ...
2003 KRAFT MAC TOURNAMENT
FIRST ROUND (Saturday, March 8 - campus sites) Game 1 - #9 Marshall (11-16) at #8 Northern Ill. (12-15), 7:05 p.m. CT Game 2 - #12 Ohio (8-19) at #5 Kent State (15-12), 5 p.m. Game 3 - #13 Akron (2-25) at #4 Western Mich. (16-11), 2 p.m. Game 4 - #10 BGSU (12-15) at #7 Eastern Mich. (12-15), 7 p.m. Game 5 - #11 Central Mich. (11-16) at #6 Buffalo (17-10), 7 p.m.QUARTERFINALS (Wednesday, March 12 - Gund Arena, Cleveland) Game 6 - NIU/Marshall winner vs. #1 Toledo (19-8), 1 p.m. Game 7 - KSU/OU winner vs. WMU/UA winner, 3 p.m. Game 8 - BGSU/EMU winner vs. #2 Miami (16-11), 5:30 p.m. Game 9 - UB/CMU winner vs. #3 Ball State (18-8), 7:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS (Friday, March 14 - Gund Arena) Game 10 - Winner G6 vs. Winner G7, Noon Game 11 - Winner G8 vs. Winner G9, 2:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP (Saturday, March 15 - Gund Arena) Game 12 - Winner G10 vs. Winner G11, 1 p.m.
BGSU VS. EMU IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT
The Falcons will be meeting Eastern Michigan for the third time in the MAC Tournament, and the game marks the teams' first tourney meeting in Ypsilanti ... the Falcons downed EMU in the quarterfinal round in back-to-back years, with a 77-71 decision in 1990 and a 97-75 triumph the following year ... both of those games were played in Anderson Arena.
BGSU VS. MAC TOURNEY FOES
BGSU has played nine different schools in the MAC Tournament, with Toledo being the most common opponent ... BGSU has met the Rockets seven times, and the Falcons have played Central Michigan and Kent (State) five times each; Ball State, Ohio and Western Michigan four times apiece; Eastern Michigan twice and Akron and Miami once each ... BGSU's record against each team follows:
* Akron 0-1 * Ball State 4-0 * Central Mich. 3-2 * Eastern Mich. 2-0 * Kent (State) 3-2 * Miami 1-0 * Ohio 2-2 * Toledo 4-3 * Western Mich. 2-2
FALCONS ON THE RADIO FOR AT LEAST 25 GAMES THIS SEASON
At least 25 of the Falcons' games are slated for live radio broadcasts in 2002-03 ... student station WBGU-FM (88.1) aired 24 regular-season games ... the BGSU-EMU game Saturday will be broadcast on WFOB-AM (1430) ... the game was moved to WFOB due to WBGU's previous commitment to broadcast the Falcon hockey team's regular-season final‚ vs. Ferris State on Saturday evening ... the BGSU department of athletics and the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO) 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 ... Erik Bell and Chad McNeal will call the EMU game Saturday ... 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 ended the regular season with a record of 12-15 ... the Falcons snapped a two-game losing streak with a 70-69 win over EMU on Tuesday (March 4) ... prior to that game, the Falcons had fallen to visiting Marshall in a 69-50 decision (Feb. 26) before losing at Kent State, 82-61, last Saturday (March 1).
Senior Francine Miller continues to lead the Falcons in scoring, with 15.0 points per game ... Miller has led the Falcons in scoring in each of the last three games, including a 22-point output vs. EMU, and she has paced BG in that category in nine of the last 10 contests ... Miller also tops the team in rebounding (6.1 rpg), blocked shots (0.67 bpg) and minutes played (29.6 mpg), and is second in steals (2.0 spg) and three-point field goals made (41) ... she moved from eighth to third place on the BGSU career scoring list in a two-game span in mid-February ... in MAC games only, Miller led the Brown and Orange with 15.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
Senior Kim Griech is second in scoring, with 10.6 points per game, and she leads the Brown and Orange in three-point field goals made (53) and free-throw percentage (.882; 60-of-68) ... Griech is third on the team in assists (1.6 apg) ... junior Stefanie Wenzel is third on the team in scoring, with 10.0 points per outing ... she has made 36 three-point field goals on the year.
Junior Lindsay Austin is fourth in scoring (9.0 ppg), and leads the Falcons in assists (4.04 apg) ... Austin also leads BG in steals (2.2 spg) and is second in minutes played (28.9 mpg) ... she ranks among the MAC leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.68).
Seniors Megan Jerome and Karen Stocz are averaging 4.2 and 4.0 points, respectively ... Jerome leads the Falcons in asst./TO ratio (1.83) and is second in assists (1.63 apg), while Stocz had a career-high 12 points in Tuesday's win ... freshmen Jill Lause and Marisa Smith are averaging 3.7 and 3.4 points per outing, respectively ... Lause is shooting .541 (40-of-74) from the field this year, and has made 31 of her last 49 field-goal attempts (.633) ... Smith has a team-best three-point FG pct. of .413 (19-of-46) on the year.
Sophomore Sakima Smith averages 2.0 points ... her classmate and former high-school teammate, Tene Lewis, averages 1.7 points, but is done for the season due to a broken nose.
Miller has started all 27 games for the Falcons, while Griech has made 26 starts, Stocz 25 and Wenzel 24 ... Austin, slowed by a sprained ankle at season's outset, has started each of the last 23 games ... Falcon coach Curt Miller had utilized this season's most common starting five - Austin, Griech, Miller, Stocz and Wenzel - in five consecutive games, after using four different starting lineups in as many games ... he altered his starting lineup for Tuesday's "Senior Night" contest, inserting senior Jerome in place of Wenzel ... a total of nine different players have made at least one start this season.
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 went 6-6 at home this season, and BG is 5-8 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site games ... in MAC contests, BGSU finished 4-4 at home and 1-7 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 .398 from the field, while the opponents have a FG pct. of .414 ... BG has made 184 three-point field goals, and the Falcons are shooting .339 from behind the arc ... the foes have made 150 treys and have a long-distance pct. of .334 ... the opponents have made 351 free throws to 346 for the Brown and Orange this year to date ... BGSU is shooting .755 from the stripe, compared to .712 for the opponents.
SCOUTING EASTERN MICHIGAN
Eastern Michigan checks into Saturday's game with an overall record of 12-15, and the Eagles went 9-7 in MAC play to finish fourth in the West Division ... EMU had won five of the last six games, including two-straight wins, prior to the loss at BG Tuesday ... EMU is 6-5 at home this season, and the Eagles posted a 5-3 record in MAC games at the Convocation Center ... individually, sophomore guard Ryan Coleman leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, with 14.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game ... Coleman, who had 23 second-half points en route to a game-high 26 points at BGSU, also paces the Eagles in steals (2.6 spg) ... freshman forward Nikki Knapp has 12.1 points and 6.4 boards per game, while senior forward Abby Wiseman has 11.9 points and 5.1 rebounds ... senior guard Dru Bishop rounds out the Eagles' four double-digit scorers, with 10.0 points per outing ... junior guard Marion Crandall and freshman center Melis Ulker average 6.4 and 6.0 points, respectively, while sophomore guard Erika Ford has 4.6 points and a team-high 5.3 assists per game ... Bishop, Coleman and Wiseman each have started all 27 games this year, while Ford has made 23 starts ... Knapp has made 15 starts, including nine in MAC play, but Ulker (eight starts this year) was in head coach Suzy Merchant's starting lineup at BG Tuesday ... Merchant has a 76-65 record in her fifth season in Ypsilanti, and she is 130-94 in her eighth season as a collegiate head coach ... last season, the Eagles went 18-11 overall and posted a 10-6 mark in MAC play ... the school's athletic web site is www.emich.edu/goeagles.
THE BGSU-EASTERN MICHIGAN SERIES
The Falcons hold a commanding 37-9 lead over Eastern Michigan in the all-time series between the teams, including wins in the last two meetings, but the Eagles have had some success vs. BGSU over the past few years ... the teams have split the last six overall meetings ... the Falcons hold a 15-6 advantage over EMU in road games, but BG is winless in two tries at the Convocation Center ... the Eagles won each of those two games by more than 30 points ... in the last meeting in Ypsilanti, the Eagles raced to an 86-50 win (Feb. 21, 2001) ... BG won last season's lone meeting, a 78-62 decision (Feb. 23, 2002), prior to Tuesday's 70-69 win ... both of those games were played at Anderson Arena ... before the last six meetings, the Falcons had won 16 consecutive games vs. Eastern, and BG had captured 33 of 34 games vs. the Hurons/Eagles.
IF THEY PLAYED THIS GAME ON THE PITCH...
A pair of MAC soccer standouts will be suited up for their basketball counterparts when the Falcons and Eastern Michigan meet on Saturday ... BGSU's Britt Anderson and EMU's Jessica Hupe each are multi-sport athletes for their respective schools ... Anderson played in 19 of the Falcon soccer team's 22 matches, starting the final 12 ... she was fifth on that team in scoring, and tied for fourth on the squad with four goals ... she saw action in BG's women's basketball exhibition game on Nov. 12, just four days after the soccer team's loss in the MAC Tournament's semifinal round ... Hupe, the EMU soccer program's career goals leader, was an All-MAC First-Team pick on the pitch in the fall ... she set school records with 17 goals and 39 points for EMU this past season.
LEWIS DONE FOR THE SEASON
BGSU sophomore Tene Lewis will not play in the EMU game or in any subsequent contests ... Lewis, who suffered a broken nose in practice on Thursday, Feb. 20, is done for the season ... she played in both the Akron (Feb. 22) and Marshall (Feb. 26) games, wearing a protective covering on her face ... once the swelling went down, Lewis had surgery on Feb. 27 ... she played in all 25 games to that point, and finishes her sophomore campaign with averages of 1.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists.
LAST TIME OUT
On "Senior Night" at Anderson Arena, all four BGSU seniors contributed as the Falcons downed Eastern Michigan, 70-69, Tuesday (March 4) ... both teams ended the regular season with 12-15 overall records ... all four seniors in the game played a role for the Falcons ... Francine Miller had a team-high 22 points, and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds ... Karen Stocz joined Miller in double digits, with a career-high 12 points ... Megan Jerome played a career-high 38 minutes, and had six points and four assists ... the fourth senior, Kim Griech, hit a pair of free throws with 7.8 seconds left in the game to give BG a three-point lead ... for the visitors, Ryan Coleman had a game-high 26 points, including 23 of EMU's 51 second-half points
STOCZ, JEROME SIZZLE ON "SENIOR NIGHT"
Seniors Karen Stocz and Megan Jerome played a key role for the Falcons on "Senior Night" ... Stocz had a career-high 12 points, making five of her six shots from the field ... she also tied her career standard with two blocked shots ... Jerome drew the start, and ran the Falcon offense from the point-guard spot for much of the night ... she scored six points, including a pair of key second-half baskets ... Jerome also had four assists to tie for game honors, and grabbed four rebounds ... she played 38 minutes in the game, 10 minutes more than her previous career high.
"SENIOR NIGHT"
Tuesday night marked "Senior Night" at Anderson Arena, as the Falcon women's basketball program recognized six student-athletes for their contributions to the program over the past few years ... seniors Kim Griech, Megan Jerome, Francine Miller and Karen Stocz were recognized ... additionally, senior Giani Bowles, who was forced to end her career due to a series of knee injuries, as well as fourth-year Falcon Pam Brown, who has missed most of this season due to injury, were honored ... Bowles, a transfer from St. John's University, never saw action for the Falcons, but the other five players have combined for 3,437 points, 1,493 rebounds and 381 three-point field goals at BG.
FRANCINE THE SCORING MACHINE
Senior Francine Miller has certainly had a solid career at Bowling Green ... but, Miller has stepped her game up another notch over the past few weeks ... she has scored a total of 155 points (19.4 ppg) over the last eight contests ... she has hit double digits in 78 of her 109 career games, including 28 outings of 20-plus points ... Miller has now started 100 career games.
FRANCINE THE SCORING MACHINE II: THE CAREER TOTALS
Senior Francine Miller now has 1,553 points in her storied BGSU career, and ranks third on the school's career scoring list ... in mid-February, she went from eighth place to third place on that list in a two-game span ... Miller passed Lori Albers (1989-94), Charlotta Jones (1994-98) and Talita Scott (1990-94) in the Buffalo game on Feb. 12 ... 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 14.25 points per game through her first 109 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 nine of the last 10 games, and has surpassed 20 points in six of those contests.
HOME COOKIN'
Senior Francine Miller has enjoyed success, no matter the venue, this season ... but, Miller seemed to enjoy the Falcons' home games, in particular ... she averaged 18.8 points per game in BGSU's 12 contests at Anderson Arena, and also led the team in rebounding (6.7 rpg), steals (2.3 spg) and blocked shots (0.8 bpg) at home this season ... Miller had seven games of 20 or more points at home this year, and led BG in scoring in nine of those 12 games, including the last six ... in the Falcons' eight home MAC games, Miller averaged 20.3 points and 6.6 boards.
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 Saturday's game, Griech now has tried 489 long-range shots in her career ... she passed Sara Puthoff (453 from 1994-98) ... Francine Miller is third on that list, with 431 triple tries in her Falcon tenure.
MORE 3-POINT RECORDS COULD FALL
Seniors Francine Miller and senior Kim Griech each continue to move ever closer to the BGSU career record for three-point field goals made ... Miller's two treys on Saturday (March 1) at Kent State give her 169 for her career ... Griech had a game-high four triples at KSU, and added one more vs. EMU, to move her total to 168 ... they are just four and five treys, respectively, behind the school's career leader ... Sara Puthoff (1994-98) made 173 three-point field goals in her Falcon tenure.
WENZEL MOVING UP, TOO
Junior Stefanie Wenzel made three three-pointers at Kent State, moving her past Jenny Kulics into sole possession of ninth place on the BG career list ... Kulics, now an assistant academic counselor in the KSU athletics department, was in attendance at that KSU game ... with one more triple vs. EMU, Wenzel now has made 77 treys in 71 career games.
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, and both Griech and senior Francine Miller are within sight of the BGSU record for triples made in a career ... Miller has connected on 169 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 four ... Griech has also passed Farmer to move into third, with 168 successful treys ... Miller is third on the all-time school list for career three-point percentage (.392, 169-of-431) ... junior Stefanie Wenzel (.355; 77-of-217) has moved into eighth on that list, with Griech (.344; 168-of-489) now ranked 11th ... senior Megan Jerome (.315, 40-of-127) is threatening to add her name as well ... Wenzel is now ninth all-time in three-pointers made, and she is tied for ninth in treys attempted ... Jerome is now 12th on the latter list.
GRIECH MOVES UP THE SINGLE-SEASON LIST
Senior Kim Griech now has 53 successful three-pointers this season, tying her for the second-highest total in school history ... she has matched Sara Puthoff's total from the 1994-95 season ... Angie Farmer holds the school record, having drained 78 three-pointers in the 1999-2000 campaign.
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 ... entering the MAC Tournament, BGSU has an overall record of 12-15 ... last year's team posted an overall mark of 9-19 ... this year's record is the best for a Falcon club since the 1997-98 season.
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 169 treys in her career, ranking her 17th in conference history, while senior Kim Griech has made 168 triples to move into sole possession of 18th in MAC annals ... Sara Puthoff, BGSU's all-time leader, ranks 16th on the MAC list.
FALCONS ON THE ROAD
BGSU is now 5-8 in true road games this season, after going 3-10 during all of 2001-02 ... BG is 6-9 in all 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.
