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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Fly to Florida
December 08, 2005 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 8, 2005
Complete Game Notes (18 pages) in PDF Format
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
GAME #7
BGSU at FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL
Sat., December 10, 2005
7:00 p.m.
Pharmed Arena (5,000)
Miami, Fla.
RADIO: WBGU-FM (88.1) - Chris Schieman and Paul Braverman
SERIES: First Meeting
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team has tied the school record for best start to a season ... the Falcons of head coach Curt Miller now face another difficult non-conference test, however, heading to Miami, Fla., to meet Florida International University Saturday night (Dec. 10) ... tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Pharmed Arena (5,000).
SIX-AND-OH FALCONS
The Falcons are off to a 6-0 start this season, tying the best start in school history ... the 1974-75 team set the record with six wins to begin the year, en route to a final mark of 15-5 ... the 1988-89 squad also went 6-0 at the start of the season ... that Falcon team finished with a 27-4 record, winning the Mid-American Conference regular-season and tournament titles for a third-straight year.
SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE
The Falcons, as mentioned, have yet to lose this season ... BG is 3-0 away from home this year, but now will face a team that has won over 82 percent of its home games over the years ... FIU has an all-time record of 247-53 (82.3%) at Pharmed Arena, including a 2-0 mark there this year ... the Golden Panthers have won 10 or more home games in all but one season since the arena opened.
FALCON FLORIDA FACTS
The Falcons have made three previous trips to the state of Florida, all in the last decade ... BGSU has posted an overall record of 4-3 in the Sunshine State, participating in tournaments hosted by UCF (Nov. 28-30, 1997), Miami (Dec. 27-28, 2001) and Florida Atlantic (Dec. 6-7, 2002).
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
BGSU's win against Duquesne ensured the Falcons a winning record in non-conference play for the fourth consecutive year ... BG is the only Mid-American Conference school to have turned that trick ... since the start of the 2002-03 season, BGSU is 27-12 in regular-season, non-league games, for the most wins and highest winning percentage (69.2%) of any MAC school during that time.
A FEW MORE NON-CONFERENCE FALCON FACTS
In 2004-05, BGSU completed the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 7-4 record for the third consecutive season ... the Falcons had not had three consecutive winning non-league campaigns in over a decade (1991-92 to 1993-94) ... additionally, the Falcons' 21 non-league victories tied the school record for a three-year period ... BGSU also had 21 non-conference wins from the 1986-87 through 1988-89 seasons.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
Bowling Green enters the FIU game with a 6-0 record on the young season ... the Falcons opened the year with a 78-50 win over IPFW (Nov. 18), and followed that with a 77-55 victory against Saint Francis (Pa.) three days later (Nov. 21) ... then, BG went to Bloomington, Ind., and won the Hampton Inn Classic with wins over IUPUI (66-55; Nov. 25) and host Indiana (68-50; Nov. 26) ... the Falcons ended November with a 78-67 win at Detroit (Nov. 30), then began December with a home win over Duquesne, 76-51 (Dec. 6) ... head coach Curt Miller and his staff returned nine letterwinners, including all five starters, from last year's MAC Championship team ... junior Liz Honegger is averaging a team-best 15.2 points per game, and also leads the Falcons with nine blocked shots and 11 three-point field goals made ... she has 5.2 rebounds per contest ... classmate Ali Mann is averaging 13.2 points and a BG-best 9.0 rebounds, while sophomore Kate Achter and junior Carin Horne have 12.0 and 10.7 points per game, respectively ... Horne has a team-high 2.8 steals per game, while Achter leads the team with 6.2 assists per outing ... junior Amber Flynn is averaging 7.0 points and 5.3 boards off the bench ... the Falcons are shooting 45.1 percent from the field, while holding opponents to just a 36.2% success rate to date ... the 2004-05 Falcons finished 23-8 overall and 13-3 in league play, winning the West Division title and earning the number-one seed for the Kraft MAC Tournament ... then, Miller's team picked up three wins to earn the league tourney title ... Achter, Honegger, Horne, Mann and senior Casey McDowell are the returning starters ... each of the five earned some sort of MAC honor in '04-05 ... Honegger and Mann each were named to the All-MAC Second Team, while Horne earned honorable mention and Achter was named to the MAC's All-Freshman Team ... Achter was named the MAC Tournament MVP, with Honegger and McDowell joining her on the all-tournament team ... other returning letterwinners include senior Jill Lause, juniors Flynn and Megan Thorburn and sophomore Whitney Taylor.
SCOUTING FIU
Florida International enters Saturday's BGSU game with an overall record of 4-2 ... the Golden Panthers are coming off a tough road loss to Miami (Fla.), 75-63 on Tuesday (Dec. 6) ... that came on the heels of a 71-56 setback at Kentucky to begin the month (Dec. 1) ... FIU won four consecutive games to start the season, including a 66-65 win over the MAC's Western Michigan on Nov. 25 ... the Golden Panthers are 2-0 at home this year, with wins over WMU and Seton Hall (61-39; Nov. 26) at Pharmed Arena ... senior guard Faeza Bouderra leads a balanced scoring attack with 12.7 points per game, and also paces FIU with 5.0 assists and 2.3 steals per contest ... junior center Lasma Jekabsone is averaging a double-double, with 12.3 points and a team-best 10.7 rebounds per game, while junior guard Eva Makela has 11.0 points per outing ... sophomore guard LaQuetta Ferguson (7.7 ppg) and junior forward Liene Bernsone (4.2 ppg) round out the probable starting lineup for head coach Cindy Russo ... six of the 12 members of the roster, including four of the probable starters, hail from overseas ... Russo welcomed back four starters from last year's team that went 18-11 overall and 7-7 in Sun Belt Conference play ... Russo, in her 27th year at FIU, has a record of 538-219 ... she is 578-241 in her 29th season overall ... the school's athletics web site is www. fiusports.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons and Florida International have never met in women's basketball.
LAST TIME OUT
The Falcons used a 14-0 run early in the second half to break the game open, en route to a 76-51 win over visiting Duquesne Tuesday (Dec. 6) ... the victory moved the Falcons to 6-0 on the season, tying the best start in school history ... junior Ali Mann had her first double-double of year, posting game-high totals of 14 points and 11 rebounds ... ten different Falcons scored at least four points in the win, with juniors Liz Honegger (13) and Carin Horne (10) and sophomore Kate Achter (10) joining Mann in double figures in the scoring column ... Jocelyn Chandler led the visitors with 11 points off the bench ... BGSU shot 50 percent or better in each half, finishing the night with a 29-for-57 (50.9%) performance from the floor ... the Falcons held DU to just eight successful field goals in the second half, including only one in a span of nearly 14 minutes, en route to a 31.0% success rate from the field ... the game was tied, 17-17, after a Chandler three-point field goal with 8:25 left in the first half ... freshman Lindsey Goldsberry's three-point play, however, sparked a 7-0 run that gave the hosts the lead for good ... that play also began a 21-8 run to finish the half ... in the second half, after a Chandler hoop began the scoring, the Falcons scored the next 14 points to take a commanding 52-27 lead with just over five minutes elapsed ... by the time DU's Nicole Sinclair hit a layup at the 11:01 mark, the BG lead was over 30 points ... the margin got as large as 34 points on several occasions, before DU ended the game on a 13-4 run.
NOT BAD, NOT BAD AT ALL
The Falcons have won 12 of the last 13 games, dating to Feb. 19 ... the only loss in that time was to Kansas State in the NCAA Championships.
THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS
BGSU has held five of the season's first six opponents, including each of the first four foes ... despite allowing 67 points to Detroit, the Falcons have limited opponents to a combined field-goal percentage of 36.2 percent and an average of just 54.7 points per game.
50-50 PROPOSITION
The Falcons shot 50 percent or better vs. both Detroit and Duquesne ... BGSU has shot at least 50.0% in each of the last four halves of play ... the Brown and Orange went 12-for-24 from the floor in each half vs. the Titans, and shot a combined 50.9% vs. the Dukes ... the Falcons are a perfect 12-0 when shooting at least 50% in the Curt Miller Era.
MILLER MAKES HIS MARK IN THE MAC
BGSU head coach Curt Miller picked up the 70th victory of his career at Detroit on Nov. 30 ... his career record currently stands at 71-53, in his fifth year ... over the last two-plus seasons, however, Miller and the Falcons have a record of 50-18 ... BGSU has gone 24-8 in MAC regular-season play over the last two seasons, and 30-9 in all games vs. conference foes during that span (6-1 in league tournament play).
PACK THOSE BAGS (AND KEEP 'EM PACKED)
The Falcons are in a stretch which will see the team play eight of nine contests away from home ... Tuesday's (Dec. 6) win over Duquesne marked the Falcons' lone home action of the month of December ... the Falcons are now away from the friendly confines of venerable Anderson Arena for over a month, until the MAC opener vs. Akron on Jan. 7, 2006.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Falcons' win over Duquesne moved the team's record to 3-0 at Anderson Arena this winter, and continued the team's recent success at home ... last season, BGSU posted a record of 9-1 at Anderson Arena ... the Falcons have won 14 of the last 15 home games, dating to late in the 2003-04 campaign ... BG outscored the opponents by 15.9 points per game at Anderson last season ... this year, BG has outscored foes by an average of 25.0 points through the first three home games.
ROAD SWEET ROAD?
With a win at Indiana, the Falcons opened the road portion of the schedule on a successful note ... BGSU is 2-0 in road games this year, after the victory at Detroit ... last year, BG went 6-2 in MAC road games for the second-straight winter ... since the start of the 2003-04 season, the Falcons are 12-4 on the road in conference play, and 19-10 overall ... that comes on the heels of a four-year span in which BG was 15-39 on the road and 8-24 in MAC road games ... overall last season, BGSU went 9-5 in away games, the team's highest road win total since the 1993-94 team went 11-2.
GAME-WINNING GOLDSBERRY
In each of the last two games, freshman Lindsey Goldsberry has hit a key basket to spark a run that has given the Falcons the lead for good ... at Detroit, her lone shot attempt of the game was a three-point field goal with 7:21 left, that lifted the Brown and Orange into a 57-57 tie ... that kick-started a 10-0 BG run, and BGSU never trailed again ... in the Duquesne game, her steal and layup led to a three-point play that broke a 17-all tie late in the first half ... that began a 7-0 run, and BG never trailed again.
A RARE SECOND-HALF DEFICIT
The Detroit game marks the only time that BGSU has trailed in the second half of a game this season ... the Falcons never trailed vs. Saint Francis (Pa.) or IUPUI ... BG fell behind, 2-0, at Indiana, but scored the next nine points and never trailed the rest of the way ... the Falcons trailed by as many as four points in the first half of the season opener vs. IPFW, but led for the entire second half of that game ... on Tuesday, the Falcons were not behind in the final 36-and-a-half minutes vs. Duquesne.
MANN, HONEGGER APPROACHING MILLENNIUM MARK
Juniors Ali Mann and Liz Honegger, in just over two seasons, already have added their names to the Falcon career scoring chart ... Mann surpassed the 900-point mark for her BGSU career in the win over Duquesne, and enters the FIU game with a total of 908 points ... she is 23 points away from moving into the BGSU top-20 ... Honegger currently stands at 858 points ... a total of 18 players have scored 1,000 points at BG, with only five (Jackie Motycka, Sara Puthoff, Francine Miller, Lori Albers and Chris Tuttle) reaching that plateau in their junior season ... both Mann (fifth) and Honegger (ninth) currently rank among BGSU's top 10 in career points per game ...
BGSU CAREER SCORING
Player Games Pts. PPG
1. Jackie Motycka (1985-89) 117 2,122 18.1
...
20. Kim Griech (1999-2003) 112 931 8.3
21. Ali Mann (2003-SA) 68 908 13.4
22. Sue Pokelsek (1979-83) 102 903 8.9
23. Tecca Thompson (1986-90) 109 902 8.3
24. Sherry Kahle (1996-2000) 112 886 7.9
25. Deanne Knoblauch (1979-83) 107 885 8.3
26. Traci Gorman (1987-91) 120 870 7.3
27. Liz Honegger (2003-SA) 68 858 12.6
VOTE(S) OF CONFIDENCE
The Falcons have received votes in each of this year's four Associated Press Top 25 polls to date ... BGSU garnered one vote in each of the first two polls, and received two votes each of the last two, including the latest poll, released Monday (Dec. 5).
GET A STOP
The Falcons have played some solid defense in the early portion of the season, as evidenced by opponents' 54.7 points-per-game average through six games ... BG has shown the ability to shut the opposing offense down for long stretches ... in fact, the Falcons have held the opponent to a scoreless stretch of at least four minutes in five of the six games (and, in the other game, held Saint Francis without a point for 3:48 during one segment) ... against Duquesne, the Falcons had several lengthy streaks ... BGSU held the Dukes pointless for a span of nearly five minutes in the first half ... in the second half, the Falcons held DU without a field goal for a span of 8:33 ... then, after allowing a basket, the Brown and Orange went over five more minutes without allowing a basket ... vs. IUPUI (Nov. 25), the Falcons held the Jaguars scoreless for 5:23 in the first half ... the following night vs. Indiana, BG's defense went 5:17 without allowing a point and 7:09 without surrendering a field goal ... during that time, the Falcons increased their lead from two points (30-28) to double digits (40-29).
THE FALCON 500
The Falcons' win over IPFW (Nov. 18) was the 500th victory in the history of the program ... BGSU enters the FIU game with an all-time record of 505-338 (.599) ... among current league schools, the Falcons became just the second to reach the 500-victory plateau (according to the MAC media guide) ... Northern Illinois picked up win number 508 on the same night BG got victory number 500, while Toledo earned the 500th win in that program's history two days after BG ... NIU currently has 509 wins and UT 502 ... the 2005-06 season marks the Falcons' 33rd as a varsity program.
HONEGGER, MANN HAVE DOUBLE VISION
Juniors Liz Honegger and Ali Mann have been in double digits in the scoring column much more often than not over their careers ... Honegger scored at least 10 points in 25 of last year's 31 games, while Mann had 24 double-figure games of her own ... each player has been at it again in 2005-06, as both players have hit double digits in scoring in five of the season's first six games ... Mann now has scored 10 points or more 48 times in her 68 career games, while Honegger - who has also played 68 games - has had 44 games of at least 10 points at BG.
MANN HAS DOUBLE-DOUBLE VISION
Junior Ali Mann came close to posting a double-double in three of the season's first five games, before turning the trick in the Duquesne game ... Mann had game-high totals of 14 points and 11 rebounds, for her 13th career double-double, the most among active Falcons ... she had fallen a single rebound shy of a double-double in each of the Falcons' first two games of the season, vs. IPFW (14 points, 9 rebounds) and Saint Francis (21p-9r) ... Mann had 13 points and eight caroms at Detroit ... classmate Liz Honegger has 12 career double-doubles, while another junior, Amber Flynn, very nearly had the first double-double of her BGSU career in the win at Indiana ... Flynn had nine points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds vs. the Hoosiers.
FALCONS ON THE RADIO
All of the Falcons' regular-season games, plus any postseason action, are scheduled to be on the air again in 2005-06 ... student station WBGU-FM (88.1), the flagship station for the women's basketball Falcons, is scheduled to air every regular-season contest (schedule subject to change) ... the 2005-06 academic year marks the fourth season of an agreement between the BGSU department of athletics and the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO) to have WBGU serve as the flagship station for both hockey and women's basketball ... games produced by BGRSO can be heard on the web, both at bgrso.org and via BGSU Falcons All-Access package available through BGSUFalcons.com.
