Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Finish Season At 21-10
March 14, 2004 | Women's Basketball
March 14, 2004
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team suffered a disappointing loss Saturday (March 13), falling to Eastern Michigan in the championship game of the Kraft Mid-American Conference Tournament. On Sunday evening (March 14), the Falcons were disappointed again, as the team was not awarded a bid to the WNIT.
The Falcons of third-year head coach Curt Miller finish the 2003-04 season with an overall record of 21-10, improving upon last year's victory total by nine games. BGSU had two seniors, co-captains Lindsay Austin and Stefanie Wenzel, on the 15-woman roster.
"I am certainly heartbroken for my two seniors," said Miller. "I wanted Stef and Lindsay to experience the wonderful atmosphere surrounding post-season play. They were centerpieces for our breakthrough season, and their names will be forever etched in the BGSU record books.
"At the start of this season, I don't believe many people would have thought that we would be waiting by the phone on selection Sunday for a possible post-season berth. It was a magical season, and we all look forward to building upon our success."
BGSU currently has a Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) of 104, according to www.CollegeRPI.com. The Falcons' ranking is a vast improvement from last season's final RPI of 246th. BGSU was ranked 272nd in the final RPI listings in 2001-02, 202nd in 2000-01 and 199th in 1999-2000.
"I truly believe we were one win short of obtaining a WNIT bid," said Miller. "We finished the second half of the season strong, going 17-6 after Christmas. The WNIT committee confirmed we were on the bubble to the bitter end, but our overall non-conference strength of schedule was the determining factor to be left out of the tournament. Scheduling remains difficult for many mid-major programs, but we are committed to upgrading our schedule in the upcoming years."
BGSU's total of 21 wins this year matched the victory totals from Miller's first two seasons combined. The Falcons were 12-16 last year after finishing 9-19 in 2001-02, Miller's initial season in Bowling Green.
The Falcons finished 11-5 in MAC play this season, reversing last year's 5-11 league record. BGSU downed Central Michigan, 66-54, in the first round of the Kraft MAC Tournament, then headed to Cleveland's Gund Arena and pulled out two last-second wins. The Falcons got buzzer-beating shots from Austin to top Western Michigan in the quarterfinal round (63-62) and Miami in the semifinals (75-74). Eastern Michigan ended the Falcons' run with a 65-56 victory over the Falcons in the final.
Both Austin and Wenzel leave their mark on the BGSU record books. Wenzel finishes her career with 1,099 points, ranking her 14th on the school list, and is among the all-time top-five Falcons in three-point field goals made and attempted.
Austin is the BGSU career steals leader, and ranks fourth in school history with 508 assists. She is the only player in school history to amass 1,000 points and 500 assists in a career, and started 110 games (second on that BG list) in her career.
