Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Meet Miami Wednesday
January 18, 2005 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2005
BGSU Game Notes (19 pages) in PDF Format
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
GAME #16
BGSU vs. MIAMI
Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2005
7:00 p.m.
Anderson Arena (4,700)
Bowling Green, Ohio
RADIO: WBGU-FM (88.1)
TELEVISION: BCSN (tape delay)
SERIES: BGSU leads, 30-23
LAST MEETING: BGSU 75, Miami 74 (March 12, 2004)
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, currently tied for first place in the Mid-American Conference's West Division, begins a two-game homestand against the team predicted to win the East ... the Falcons (10-5, 3-1 MAC) of fourth-year head coach Curt Miller host Miami University in Wednesday (Jan. 19) action, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at venerable Anderson Arena (4,700) ... the game begins a stretch which will see the Falcons play four-of-five games at home ... then, BG will host Western Michigan University Saturday afternoon (Jan. 22) ... the game, the first half of a basketball doubleheader at Anderson, will begin at 3:00 p.m.
SATURDAY'S GAME A SELLOUT
Saturday's (Jan. 22) game vs. Western Michigan, scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. start, is the first half of a twinbill at Anderson Arena, with the Falcon men's team hosting Toledo at 6:00 p.m. ... that doubleheader is sold out ... at least 1,400 student tickets for the event will be available at the BGSU Athletics Ticket Office in Anderson Arena, beginning Tuesday (Jan. 18) at 9:00 a.m. ... students with a valid BGSU ID can pick up one ticket for the DH ... on game day, students must show their ticket and their ID at the gate ... women's basketball season ticket holders will be admitted to the women's game without a men's game ticket ... all others must have a ticket to the BGSU-UT men's game in order to be admitted to the women's game.
BIG COMEBACK
The Falcons rallied from a 14-point deficit (26-12) in Saturday's (Jan. 15) 69-66 overtime win at Toledo ... the game marked BG's biggest deficit overcome in an eventual win since last March 12 ... the Falcons rallied from a 15-point hole to post a last-second win over Miami in the MAC Tournament semifinals.
QUITE A TURNAROUND
After winning 32 games over a span of three seasons, the Falcons have nearly matched that total in half the time ... over the last year-and-a-half, BGSU has a record of 31-15 ... the Falcons were 32-53 in the three seasons prior to 2003-04.
FALCONS START NEW WINNING STREAK
The Falcons have won seven of the last eight games, and are 8-2 in the last 10 games ... for the second time in less than a year, the Falcons saw a six-game winning streak snapped by Eastern Michigan ... but, BG rebounded with an overtime win at Toledo ... since late February of 2004, the Falcons have had two six-game winning streaks, and both have been stopped by EMU ... last year's streak came to an end in the championship game of the Kraft MAC Tournament ... Wednesday's (Jan. 12) Eagle win marked the Falcons' first loss in over a month.
DEJA VU? ALL OVER AGAIN?
The Falcons went 21-10 overall last season, and finished 11-5 in MAC regular-season play before advancing all the way to the championship game of the league tournament ... in mid-January of 2004, after 15 games, the Falcons were 10-5 overall and 3-1 in MAC action ... this year, once again, the Brown and Orange sits at 10-5 and 3-1.
BACK-TO-BACK WINS AT TOLEDO
The Falcons posted a three-point win at Toledo for the second consecutive year, winning Saturday's contest by a 69-66 score ... BG has won back-to-back road games over the Rockets for the first time in 16 years, since Fran Voll's Falcon teams picked up five consecutive wins at UT from 1986-89.
ROAD SWEET ROAD
The Falcons are currently a perfect 3-0 in Mid-American Conference road games this season ... since the beginning of last season, BGSU is 9-2 on the road vs. league foes ... the Brown and Orange had had a total of eight league road victories in the previous four seasons combined ... as of last week, the Falcons were tied for 10th in the nation in road wins, with a total of five at the time (neutral-site games not included) ... BGSU now has six road wins, of course, after beating Toledo.
FALCONS HOPE THIS TREND CONTINUES
BGSU is 3-1 in the MAC, with a perfect 3-0 mark in conference road games ... heading into Tuesday's games, MAC West Division schools have combined to go 11-4 on the road in league play.
KOMEBACK KIDS
In the span of less than a month, the Falcons have won three games by rallying from second-half deficits on the road ... Saturday (Jan. 15) at Toledo, the Falcons trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half, and BG was down by 11 early in the second half ... BG rallied from second-half deficits in back-to-back road games just before Christmas, winning at Saint Francis (trailed by nine, Dec. 18) and Robert Morris (trailed by 11, Dec. 20) ... in the Curt Miller Era, the Falcons are 12-35 after trailing at the half ... but, BGSU has won three of the last four such games.
A RETURN TO FORM FOR HONEGGER AND MANN
Sophomores Liz Honegger and Ali Mann both were held to single digits in the scoring column vs. Eastern Michigan last Wednesday (Jan. 12) ... Honegger was held to a season-low four points in that game, snapping a career-long streak of 10 consecutive double-digit scoring games ... Mann had nine points in that game, breaking her double-digit streak at six games ... but, the two combined for 41 points in the win at Toledo (Jan. 15) ... Mann had 22 points vs. the Rockets, including 19 in the second half ... Honegger's 19 points included a key three-pointer in overtime ... Honegger has scored in double digits a team-high 12 times in this season's 15 games ... she has reached the double-figure mark 26 times in her 46 career contests, and has surpassed the 20-point mark four times ... Mann has now scored in double figures in a total of 10 games this year ... she has scored 20 or more points eight times in her career, the most of any current Falcon, and has hit double digits 29 times in her 46 career games.
KAPFERER IS THIRD TO JOIN 500-POINT CLUB
With four points in the win at Toledo, senior Kelly Kapferer is the latest Falcon to reach 500 career points ... the co-captain has exactly 500 points in her BG tenure ... Kapferer is the third Falcon to reach the 500-point mark this season ... sophomore Ali Mann reached that plateau in the Falcons' win at Saint Francis (Dec. 18) ... Mann, BGSU's active career scoring leader, currently has a total of 593 points in 46 career games ... another soph, Liz Honegger, surpassed the 500-point mark for her career in the win at Western Michigan (Jan. 8) ... Honegger now has 540 career points in 46 games ... a total of 44 players in BGSU history have scored at least 500 points.
FALCONS IN THE RPI
Bowling Green is currently ranked either 96th or 97th in each of four Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) related polls, as of Tuesday morning, Jan. 18 ... among MAC schools, only Eastern Michigan is ranked higher in each of the four polls.
TIME CHANGES FOR WESTERN MICHIGAN, OHIO GAMES
The starting times for two BGSU home games have been changed since the start of the season ... Saturday's (Jan. 22) game vs. Western Michigan has been moved to a 3:00 p.m. start at Anderson Arena ... the Falcon hoops doubleheader that day (the BGSU men will host Toledo at 6:00 p.m.) is sold out ... the Feb. 5 game vs. Ohio University will be televised as part of the MAC's package on Fox Sports Net Ohio ... the game will begin at 2:00 p.m. ... Comcast Local will also air the game, with additional clearances possibly announced at a later date.
MERRY CHRISTMAS, INDEED
The Falcons have gone 4-1 since Christmas ... since Christmas of 2003, BGSU has posted a record of 27-11, including a 17-7 mark vs. MAC schools ... Eastern Michigan has dealt the Falcons three of the seven losses during that time, however.
STRONG OPPOSITION
The Falcons have played 12 of the season's first 15 games away from home, and have a record of 10-5 ... the losses have come to some strong opposition, as the teams that have beaten BGSU have a combined record of 58-20 (.743) through Monday (Jan. 17) ... three of those teams have been ranked or received votes in the national polls, including Ohio State, rated third by the Associated Press and fourth in the ESPN/USA Today coaches rankings.
SMART ... VERY SMART
The Falcons had a successful start to the 2004-05 season, both on the court and in the classroom ... nine of the 13 student-athletes on the roster had a grade-point average above 3.00 for the fall semester ... additionally, nine student-athletes currently maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.97 or higher through the fall.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
The Falcons take an overall record of 10-5 into Wednesday's game vs. Miami, and BGSU is 3-1 in MAC play after splitting a pair of three-point games last week ... the Falcons suffered a 51-48 loss to visiting Eastern Michigan (Jan. 12) in a rematch of last year's MAC Tournament championship ... the loss snapped a six-game winning streak which had included pair of double-digit league wins on the road to open league play ... but, BG bounced back for a 69-66 overtime win at Toledo Saturday (Jan. 15) ... the Falcons' other MAC victories came at Buffalo (70-45; Jan. 5) and Western Michigan (80-67; Jan. 8) ... BGSU finished the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 7-4 mark for the third consecutive season.
The Falcons, averaging 70.7 points per game, currently have four players - three sophomores and a freshman - with double-digit scoring averages ... soph Liz Honegger paces the Brown and Orange in scoring (14.9 ppg), and also leads the team in rebounding (8.2), steals (2.3) and blocks (2.0) ... classmate Ali Mann has 12.9 points and 7.3 boards per game to rank second on the team in each category, while another soph, Carin Horne, has 10.6 points per outing ... freshman Kate Achter is averaging 10.0 points and a team-high 4.2 assists per game, and is third on the team with 4.7 rebounds ... redshirt junior Casey McDowell has 6.1 points per contest, while sophomore Megan Thorburn averages 5.9 points ... Honegger and Mann are the only players to have started all 15 games this year, while McDowell has made 14 starts and Thorburn 10 ... eight of the 12 healthy Falcons have started at least one game this season ... Achter has started eight games this winter, and she, Horne and McDowell joined Honegger and Mann in the starting lineup at Toledo.
BGSU ended the 2003-04 season with a record of 21-10, and the Falcons finished the MAC campaign with an 11-5 slate ... BG tied for second in the West Division, then posted a pair of buzzer-beating wins in the league tourney to advance to the championship game ... head coach Curt Miller welcomed back 11 letterwinners, including three starters, from that team ... the returning starters, all sophomores, are Honegger, Mann and Thorburn ... Miller's team includes three seniors in Kelly Kapferer, Tene Lewis and Sakima Smith ... a pair of juniors, Jill Lause and McDowell, also return ... in addition to the three returning starters, the sophomore class consists of Amber Flynn, Julie Gompers and Horne ... Gompers has yet to see action this season due to injury ... two freshmen, guards Achter and Whitney Taylor, round out the Falcon squad.
SCOUTING MIAMI
Miami enters Wednesday's game with an overall record of 8-6, and the RedHawks have a 2-1 record in MAC play ... MU has been idle since suffering an 80-61 loss at Buffalo last Wednesday (Jan. 12) ... sophomore guard Amanda Jackson, the team's second-leading scorer, missed that game due to injury ... Jackson also had missed the team's previous game, a 75-71 win over Ohio (Jan. 5) ... the RedHawks' other win in league play came at Marshall, 68-65 ... junior guard Cindi Merrill leads the team with 16.5 points per game, and also has 6.1 rebounds ... Jackson is averaging 12.4 points per game, while senior guard Nicki Motto has 10.1 points and a team-high 4.0 assists per contest ... junior center Amber Miller and freshman F/C Laura Markwood each have 6.8 points per game, with Markwood averaging a team-high 6.3 rebounds ... Merrill, Motto and Miller each have started all 14 games this year, with Jackson and senior forward Kim Smith having made 12 starts apiece ... senior guard Hillary Beck (3.3 ppg) replaced Jackson in the starting five for the last two games ... a year ago, the RedHawks finished 22-9 overall and won the MAC's East Division with a 14-2 league record ... head coach Maria Fantanarosa's team advanced to the second round of the WNIT ... Fantanarosa has a record of 111-76 in her seventh year in Oxford ... she is 118-96 in her eighth year as a collegiate head coach ... the school's athletics web site is www.MURedHawks.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Miami, 30-23, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU captured the most recent meeting ... that win, by a 75-74 score, came in the semifinal round of last year's Kraft MAC Tournament at Cleveland's Gund Arena ... Lindsay Austin hit a shot at the buzzer to break a RedHawk five-game series winning streak ... that streak included a 92-81 MU win in last year's lone regular-season meeting, in Oxford (Feb. 3, 2004) ... the Falcons are 14-10 in home games vs. the Redskins/RedHawks, but Miami has won the last two meetings in Anderson Arena, including a 75-65 decision in the last meeting in Bowling Green (Feb. 15, 2003) ... just two of the last 10 meetings have been decided by single digits.
THE FALCONS VS. THE MAC
The Falcons lead the all-time series with 11 MAC opponents ... BGSU trails only one MAC school, as Northern Illinois holds a 12-10 series lead over the Brown and Orange.
187 GAMES AND COUNTING
The Falcons have made at least one three-point field goal in every game during the past six-plus years ... in fact, BGSU has drained a triple in each of the last 187 games, a school record by far ... the last time the Falcons were held without a trey was on March 1, 1998 ... the previous school record had been 29-straight games on two occasions - most recently, in the 1993-94 (last five games) and 1994-95 (first 24 games) seasons.
LAST TIME OUT
Trailing by four points with under two minutes left in overtime, the Falcons rallied for a 69-66 win over host Toledo Saturday night (Jan. 15) ... sophomore Ali Mann, held to three first-half points after picking up three early fouls, finished with 22 points on the night, while classmate Liz Honegger had 19 points, including a big three-point field goal with 1:17 left in OT ... that shot, off a drive-and-dish by freshman Kate Achter, cut the Rockets' four-point lead to one, at 66-65 ... seconds after Honegger's triple, senior Tene Lewis came up with a steal and drove in for the layup with gave the Falcons the lead for good with 1:01 left in the OT ... Achter hit a big basket with 13 seconds left, and senior Kelly Kapferer got her fingertips on Crystal Young's three-point try at the final horn ... Karin Hoogendam had game highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets, while Danielle Bishop added 17 points.
AS LONG AS YOU'RE LEADING AT THE END
The Falcons led for less than one-fourth of the Toledo game ... of the 45 total minutes, BGSU held the lead for just 10:43, including just over four minutes of the second half and overtime combined ... the Rockets led for 29:29, and the game was tied for 4:48.
TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS (AND WORKIN' OVERTIME)
The Toledo game was the Falcons' second overtime contest this season ... BGSU is 2-0 in OT games, and the Falcons have won three consecutive overtime games after losing the previous four ... the Brown and Orange went 1-1 in overtime games last season, with a four-OT loss against Northern Illinois (97-102; Feb. 18, 2004), and a win at Ball State (84-79; Feb. 29, 2004) ... prior to the BSU game, the Falcons' last OT triumph came on Feb. 20, 1999, against Eastern Michigan (98-93).
IT STANDS TO REASON
Not surprisingly, the Falcons have enjoyed success in games in which they have shot and rebounded well ... BGSU is 10-0 this season, and 42-6 in the Curt Miller Era, when the Falcons have a higher field-goal percentage than the opponent ... BG is 0-5 when the opposition has a higher FG pct. in 2004-05 ... this year, the Falcons have a record of 8-0 when outrebounding the opponent ... BGSU is 28-7 in such games in Miller's tenure.
A TALE OF TWO HALVES
In the first half of the Toledo game, the Falcons went through a prolonged scoring slump ... BGSU shot 34.6 percent from the field in that half, but the Falcons were 0-of-10 from three-point land and went 7:16 without scoring a point ... BG shot a combined 53.1% after halftime, however, going 13-of-25 (52.0%) in the second half and 4-of-7 (57.1%) in overtime.
BLOCK PARTY
In her first season on campus, Liz Honegger tied the school record with 50 blocked shots ... so, it is no surprise that the sophomore again leads the team in that category this season ... but, Honegger is blocking shots at an even more prolific pace this year ... she had 1.61 blocks per contest last winter, and - with 30 rejections through 15 games this season - currently averages 2.00 per game ... she already has 80 blocks in her Falcon tenure, ranking her fourth on that list ... she moved past both Michelle Terry (62 from 1994-97) and Sue Pokelsek (63 from 1979-83) earlier this season ... Honegger's next target is third-place Joelyn Shoup, who had 83 blocks from 1982-86.
KAPFERER KONNECTS
Senior Kelly Kapferer had her finest game of the season in the Falcons' win at Western Michigan (Jan. 8), and followed that performance with another solid effort vs. Eastern Michigan (Jan. 12) ... at WMU, Kapferer came off the bench to score 11 points in 18 minutes of action ... she hit her first two three-point field goals of the year, and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field in the 100th game of her Falcon career ... Kapferer's previous season bests had been five points and 11 minutes played ... against Eastern, Kapferer went 2-of-3 from the floor, hitting her only long-distance attempt, en route to five markers in 11 minutes ... with four more points at Toledo, Kapferer has scored 24 points in the four MAC contests to date, after totalling 17 points during the entire non-conference slate.
FALCONS IN THE MAC
A number of Falcons are represented in the latest Mid-American Conference individual statistics, as of Tuesday (Jan. 18) ...
CROWDED AT THE TOP OF THE REBOUNDING LIST
Over the last few weeks, sophomores Liz Honegger and Ali Mann have traded places at the top of the BGSU active career rebounding list ... currently, the two are separated by just three boards, as Honegger has 357 and Mann 354 ... senior Kelly Kapferer has 323 rebounds in her career.
