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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Lindsay Austin Named Women's Basketball P-O-Y
May 03, 2004 | Women's Basketball
May 3, 2004
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Senior co-captain Lindsay Austin was named the Bowling Green State University women's basketball Player of the Year for the 2003-04 season. The team was honored at the annual BGSU Women's Basketball Banquet, held at the Bowen-Thompson Student Union on the BGSU campus Sunday afternoon (May 2).
Austin, who earned the award in a vote of team members, also was named the team's Playmaker of the Year for the third consecutive season. The Falcons' other senior co-captain, Stefanie Wenzel, also picked up two awards at the banquet, earning the team's Impact Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete honors.
A pair of freshmen, Ali Mann and Carin Horne, also were honored. Mann was named the Power Player of the Year, while Horne took home the Most Improved Player award.
Austin finished her senior season with averages of 10.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.8 steals per game, leading the Falcons in each of the last two categories. She finished fourth on the team in scoring and third in rebounding, and had five double-doubles on the season. Austin finished her career with exactly 1,000 points, and is the school's career steals leader (244) while ranking fourth in assists.
Of course, Austin will probably be best remembered for her remarkable performance at Cleveland's Gund Arena during the Kraft Mid-American Conference Tournament. Austin hit buzzer-beating shots in both the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds to give the Falcons wins over Western Michigan and Miami, respectively. Austin, who was named the MAC's Defensive Player of the Year, also was an honorable-mention all-league selection and was named to the MAC's All-Tournament Team.
 Senior Lindsay Austin was named the Falcons' Player of the Year and Playmaker of the Year...  |
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 ...while fellow senior co-captain Stefanie Wenzel also picked up two awards, earning the Scholar-Athlete and Impact Player of the Year awards |
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Wenzel also picked up the Impact Player of the Year award, presented to the player who made significant contributions throughout the season. on the court, Wenzel led the Falcons with 14.7 points per game in 2003-04, and also averaged 4.4 rebounds per game. The lone Falcon to average double digits in scoring in each of the last three years, she made a team-high 65 three-point field goals this season, the second-highest total in BGSU history. Wenzel, who is ranked on all of the school's three-point records lists, ended her career with 1,099 points, the 14th-highest total in BGSU history.
Mann garnered the Power Player of the Year honor, given to the top post player. Mann, the MAC's Freshman of the Year, finished with 12.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest, leading BG in rebounding and ranking second in scoring. She had a team-high seven double-doubles on the year, and set a BGSU freshman rebounding record, with a total of 245 points. Mann's total of 400 points is the second-highest point total by a freshman in school history.
Horne was named the Falcons' Most Improved Player after averaging 7.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest. An explosive scorer, Horne had the top-two scoring games by a MAC freshman this year, scoring 34 points in the first meeting with Ball State and 28 in the second Northern Illinois encounter (Mann also had a 28-point game this year). Horne scored a team-high 17 points in the MAC Tournament's championship game vs. Eastern Michigan. She averaged 9.7 points and 4.6 boards in league games this season.
Junior Sakima Smith earned the Falcon Award, presented to the player who exemplifies commitment, dedication and loyalty to the women's basketball program. Smith saw action in nine games off the bench, averaging 0.3 points and 0.9 rebounds per contest.
Additionally, Ron Thompson was named the Booster of the Year.
The Falcons of third-year head coach Curt Miller and assistants Jennifer Roos, Brandi Poole and Kevin Eckert finished with an overall record of 21-10, a nine-win improvement from the previous season, and advanced all the way to the championship game of the MAC Tournament. One of the most improved teams in the nation, BGSU had an 11-5 conference mark. The Falcons, picked to finish sixth in the West Division, finished in a second-place tie, just a game out of first. Miller and his staff had just two seniors, Austin and Wenzel, on the 15-player roster.
BGSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS:
