Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Head to Akron for Saturday Matinee'
February 11, 2005 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 11, 2005
BGSU Game Notes (20 pages) in PDF Format
2004-05 Boxscores (11 pages) in PDF Format
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
GAME #22
BGSU
at
AKRON
Saturday, Feb. 12, 2005
2:00 p.m.
James A. Rhodes Arena (5,500)
Akron, Ohio
RADIO: WBGU-FM (88.1)
SERIES: BGSU leads, 32-2
LAST MEETING: at BGSU 85, Akron 48 (Jan. 14, 2004)
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, after beginning the month of February with three Mid-American Conference wins by an average of 27.7 points, concludes a two-game road swing with a Saturday (Feb. 12) afternoon contest in Northeast Ohio ... the Falcons (15-6, 8-2 MAC) of fourth-year head coach Curt Miller, with a one-game lead in the MAC West Division race, play a cross-divisional game against the University of Akron ... tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at UA's James A. Rhodes Arena (5,500) ... then, the Falcons will play three of the next four games at home, beginning with a Tuesday (Feb. 15) game vs. Central Michigan University, starting at 7:00 p.m. at venerable Anderson Arena (4,700).
GREAT START
For the second consecutive year, the Falcons are off to a solid start ... BGSU is 15-6 this season, after going 14-7 through the first 21 games last winter ... the Falcons are 8-2 in MAC play, a game ahead of last year's pace through 10 conference contests (7-3) ... BG's 2004-05 overall record is the team's best since the 1997-98 squad was 17-4 after 21 games ... the Falcons' MAC record is the best since that '97-98 team went 9-1 to start league play.
HONEGGER HOT IN HOOSIER HOMECOMING
Sophomore Liz Honegger, a native of Lafayette, Ind., matched her career high with 27 points in the Falcons' 69-49 win at Ball State Tuesday (Feb. 8) ... her other 27-point game came on BGSU's other trip to her home state this season, in a 115-84 win over IPFW on Nov. 19 ... at BSU, Honegger hit a three-point field goal with 14:27 left in the game, capping a 15-0 run to start the second half and giving BG a 51-23 lead ... at that point, Honegger had 25 points, two more than the entire Ball State team.
POINTS OF PRIDE
DEFENSE FUELS THE OFFENSE
The Falcons have averaged 78.3 points over the last three games, a 36-point win over Northern Illinois (80-44; Feb. 2), a 27-point triumph over Ohio (86-59; Feb. 5) and Tuesday's win at Ball State ... much of the offensive success has been created by the play of the Falcon defense ... BGSU has allowed just 50.7 points per game in that time, allowing the three opponents to shoot a collective 29.5 percent from the field in the two games and forcing a total of 67 turnovers ... the Brown and Orange have blocked 13 shots and had 34 steals in the three wins ... on the season, BG is allowing foes to shoot 37.7%, and the Falcons have 10.3 steals per game ... in MAC games, the Falcons have a field-goal percentage defense of 35.8% and are averaging 11.4 steals per contest.
FALCONS IN THE RPI
Bowling Green is currently ranked anywhere from 91st to 101st in the various Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) related polls ... BGSU is the top-ranked team among MAC schools on two of the lists, trailing only Eastern Michigan in the other two.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
The Falcons take an overall record of 15-6 into Saturday's game, and BGSU is 8-2 in MAC play, atop the MAC's West Division ... the Falcons have won three consecutive games to begin the month of February, with home wins over Northern Illinois (80-44, Feb. 2) and Ohio (86-59; Feb. 5) and a road win vs. Ball State (69-49; Feb. 8) ... the Falcons' last loss came in Northeast Ohio, as BG saw a three-game win streak come to an end with a nine-point setback at Kent State, 62-53, on Jan. 26 ... BG's other MAC loss came against Eastern Michigan, 51-48 on Jan. 12, in a rematch of last year's MAC Tournament championship ... that loss snapped a six-game winning streak which had included pair of double-digit league wins on the road to open league play ... BGSU finished the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 7-4 mark for the third consecutive season.
BGSU is averaging 71.3 points per game, ranking second in the MAC and 35th in the country ... the Falcons currently have four players - three sophomores and a freshman - with double-digit scoring averages ... soph Liz Honegger paces the Brown and Orange in scoring (14.8 ppg), and also leads the team in rebounding (8.1), steals (2.1) and blocks (2.0) ... classmate Ali Mann has 13.1 points and 7.5 boards per game to rank second on the team in each category, while another soph, Carin Horne, has 11.3 points per outing ... freshman Kate Achter is averaging 10.0 points and a team-high 3.9 assists per game, and is third on the team with 4.3 rebounds ... redshirt junior Casey McDowell has 5.8 points per contest, while sophomore Megan Thorburn averages 4.6 points ... Honegger and Mann are the only players to have started all 21 games this year, while McDowell has made 20 starts and Achter 14 ... Horne has started 11 games and Thorburn 10 ... Achter, Horne and McDowell have joined Honegger and Mann in the starting lineup for each of the last seven games.
BGSU is shooting 42.3 percent from the field and 69.5% from the free-throw line ... the Falcons have allowed opponents to shoot just 37.7% from the floor, and the foes have a 69.7% success rate from the stripe.
In MAC play, Honegger has 14.7 points and 7.4 boards per game, while Mann has 13.7 points and a team-best 7.7 rebounds per outing ... Horne and Achter average 12.1 and 9.9 points per game, respectively ... BGSU has 70.3 points per game and a scoring margin of +14.3 in league action to date ... BG is shooting 42.0% in conference games, while allowing MAC opponents to shoot just 35.8% from the floor.
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 AKRON
Akron enters the weekend with an overall record of 3-19, and the Zips bring a MAC record of 3-8 into Saturday's game ... after losing the first 15 games of the season, UA won three of the next four, all in MAC play, with home wins over Buffalo and Miami and a road victory against Western Michigan ... the Zips are looking to snap a three-game losing streak ... UA's balanced scoring attack is led by sophomore forward Jessie Crooks, who averages 9.5 points per game ... Crooks also has 4.5 rebounds per contest ... a pair of senior guards, Jae Conn and Lori Krezeczowski, average 8.1 and 5.9 points, respectively, with junior guard Courtney Stewart scoring 5.5 points off the bench ... freshman forward Jessica Deville and senior guard Lindsay Hemmelgarn have 5.3 and 5.1 points, respectively, while junior forward Angie Hutchinson has 4.9 points and a team-high 5.0 rebounds per outing ... Conn, Crooks, Deville, Hutchinson and Krezeczowski comprised the starting lineup for coach Kelly Kennedy in the Miami game Wednesday ... a year ago, the Zips had an overall record of 7-21, and finished with a 2-14 MAC mark ... Kennedy has a record of 12-66 in her third year as a collegiate head coach, all in the Rubber City ... the school's athletics web site is www.GoZips.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Akron, 32-2, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU is 14-2 in road games vs. the Zips ... overall, the Falcons won the first 26 series meetings, before UA's initial win, in the 1999 MAC Tournament ... the Zips' other win was an 88-63 decision at the JAR, on Feb. 10, 2001 ... the teams have met only once in each of the last three seasons ... a year ago, the host Falcons picked up an 85-48 win at Anderson Arena (Jan. 14, 2004) ... BG's three-game series winning streak includes a narrow, 65-62 victory in the teams' last meeting at UA, on Feb. 22, 2003.
LAST TIME OUT
Leading by 13 at halftime, the Falcons scored the first 15 points of the second half en route to a 69-49 win at Ball State ... the game was a battle of the first- and second-place teams in the MAC's West Division, as BG entered the evening one-half game ahead of the Cardinals ... sophomore Liz Honegger had a game-high 27 points, tying her career best ... she scored 17 of her points in the first half as the Falcons opened up a 36-23 lead at the break ... in the second half, the Brown and Orange held BSU scoreless over the first 5:50, opening up a 51-23 advantage ... Honegger scored eight points during that 15-0 run ... BG led by a 62-32 margin before Ball State outscored the Falcons, 17-7, over the game's final eight minutes ... sophomore Ali Mann joined Honegger in double digits, with 14 points, while classmate Carin Horne added nine ... both Honegger and Mann had nine rebounds as the Falcons held a 43-39 advantage in that department, including 30-14 in the first half ... Kate Endress had 17 points to lead the Cardinals ... the Falcons shot 47.6 percent from the field for the game, while holding the Cards to a 26.6% success rate, a season low for a BG opponent ... BG enjoyed point margins of 30-14 in the paint, including 20-4 in the first half, and 22-8 off turnovers.
ROAD SWEET ROAD?
The Falcons have one of the top Mid-American Conference road records, with a 4-1 league record away from home this year ... since the start of last season, the Falcons are 10-3 on the road in conference play, and 15-9 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 this season, BGSU is 7-4 in away games ... the Falcons' loss at Kent State (Jan. 26) was the first road setback in a month and a half, since a Dec. 10 loss at New Mexico ... BG bounced back, however, with a 20-point win at Ball State.
HOME SWEET HOME!
The Falcons' win over Ohio (Feb. 5) moved BGSU's record to 6-1 at home this season ... BG has outscored the opponents by 21 points per game (75.0 to 56.0) at Anderson Arena this season, and by almost 23 points per outing (79.5 to 56.8) in the six wins ... the lone home loss was by three points to defending champion Eastern Michigan.
MILESTONES FOR MILLER...
Falcon head coach Curt Miller's career record stands at 57-51 heading into the Akron game, marking the first time in his tenure that he has been as many as six games over .500 ... the win over Ohio put the Falcons' MAC record over .500 for the first time since Miller arrived ... Miller, in his fourth year at the BGSU helm, currently has a mark of 30-28 in league play ... overall, the Falcons' win at Buffalo (Jan. 5) was the 50th of his career, and moved his record over the .500 mark for the first time since his head-coaching debut.
...AND FOR THE PROGRAM
Curt Miller is in the process of restoring the Falcons' place among the perennial MAC contenders ... BG has been one of the most successful teams in league history over the years, a statement exemplified by the fact that the victory at Buffalo (Jan. 5) was the 250th conference win in program history ... entering the Akron game, BGSU's all-time record in conference games is 257-134 (.657) ... only Toledo (265) has more MAC wins than the Falcons over the years.
FREE THROWS (OR LACK THEREOF)
As an avid reader of BGSU game notes, you are undoubtedly saying, "Game-Notes-Writing Person, we are already deep into these game notes, and I still haven't found out how long it has been since BGSU went an entire game without making a free throw" ... and, your point is well taken ... the answer is: we don't exactly know ... the Falcons were 0-for-2 at the free-throw line in the win at Ball State ... BGSU's previous season lows in free throws made and attempted came at New Mexico (Dec. 10), when BG was 5-for-8 ... single-game records are not readily available for all BGSU seasons, but the Falcons had made at least one free throw in every game as far back as 1987-88 ... BG was held to a 1-for-2 free-throw performance four years ago at Western Michigan (Jan. 31, 2001) ... two seasons later, the Falcons went back-to-back halves without a free-throw attempt, in the second half at Ball State (Jan. 22, 2003) and the first half at WMU (Jan. 29, 2003).
HONEGGER HOLDS THE CARDS
Sophomore Liz Honegger, as mentioned earlier, tied her career high with 27 points in the Falcons' win at Ball State Tuesday (Feb. 8) ... Honegger also tied her career high with four assists in that game ... she set new career standards in field goals made (11) and attempted (21) and three-point field goals made (five).
SECOND-HALF SUCCESS
The Falcons have held double-digit leads at halftime of each of the last three games, but really have flexed their muscles in the second half ... BG outscored Northern Illinois (Feb. 2) and Ohio (Feb. 5) by a combined 95-54 after halftime ... then, at Ball State (Feb. 8), the Falcons scored the first 15 points of the second half to take a 28-point lead, and never let the Cardinals get any closer than the game's final 20-point margin ... in the last three games, BG has held the opponents to a field-goal percentage of 27.3% (24-for-88) in the second half, while shooting 49.4% (44-for-89) from the floor themselves.
THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS
The Falcons forced 24 Ohio turnovers Saturday (Feb. 5), and BGSU had a total of 12 steals in the win ... then, the Falcons had 10 more steals at Ball State three days later ... BG has had double-digit steal totals in each of the last eight games, the longest such streak in over a decade ... the 1993-94 Falcons put together streaks of 17 and nine games with double-digit steals, and had 27 such games en route to a 26-4 record and a trip to the NCAAs.
MORE ON THE FALCON DEFENSE
FALCONS IN THE MAC
The Falcons are well-represented in the latest Mid-American Conference statistics, as of Saturday morning (Feb. 12) ...
20-20 VISION
The Falcons have won 10 games this season by at least 20 points, including five in MAC play ... to put that in perspective, only five of BG's 21 wins last season, and two league victories, came by over 20 points ... so, simple math shows that the Falcons have had 15 20-point wins since the start of the 2003-04 season, including seven in the MAC ... over the eight previous years (since the start of the 1996-97 campaign), BG teams totalled 10 wins by 20 or more points, including seven in MAC action.
BLOCK PARTY: HONEGGER MOVING UP THE LISTS
Liz Honegger, just a sophomore, is rapidly moving up the BGSU lists for blocked shots ... she is currently third on the career chart, with 93, and is threatening to break the single-season record ... Honegger already owns a piece of the latter mark, having tied the BG record with 50 blocks in her first season on campus ... but, she is blocking shots at an even more prolific pace this year ... Honegger had 1.61 blocks per contest last winter, and - with 43 rejections through 21 games this season - currently averages 2.05 per game ... Honegger has moved past Joelyn Shoup on the career list, and her next target is second-place Megan McGuire, who had 98 blocks from 1985-89 ... Honegger is on pace to obliterate the BGSU career record for blocks per game.
ANOTHER BLOCK PARTY
As mentioned, Liz Honegger is on a pace to break the BGSU single-season record for blocked shots ... Honegger tied that record, originally set by Angie Bonner, with 50 rejections last year ... this season, Honegger has 43 blocks through 21 games, including 21 blocks through 10 MAC games this year ... Honegger owns the seasonal record for blocks in conference games, with 27 a year ago.
THE FALCON 500
With four points in the win at Toledo on Jan. 15, senior Kelly Kapferer became the latest Falcon to reach 500 career points ... the co-captain currently has 527 points in her BG tenure ... Kapferer was the third Falcon to reach the 500-point mark this season ... sophomore Ali Mann reached that plateau in the win at Saint Francis (Dec. 18) ... Mann, BGSU's active career scoring leader, has surpassed 600 points, and currently has a total of 675 points in 52 career games ... another soph, Liz Honegger, surpassed the 500-point mark for her career in the win at Western Michigan (Jan. 8), and ended the Ball State game with 627 career points through 52 games ... a total of 44 players in BGSU history have scored at least 500 points.
HONEGGER, MANN IN DOUBLE DIGITS, AGAIN
Sophomores Liz Honegger and Ali Mann have been in double digits more often than not over their careers ... Honegger had a game-high 27 points at Ball State, and has hit double figures a team-high 17 times in this year's 21 games ... Mann scored 14 points vs. the Cardinals, and has had 15 double-figure games this winter to date ... Mann has hit double digits in scoring 34 times in her 52 career games, while Honegger - who has also played 52 career games - has had 31 games of 10 points or more in a Falcon uniform.
STANDS FOR TENACIOUS
The Akron game will be the 100th in a BGSU uniform for senior co-captain Tene Lewis, who has had some of the finest games of her career over the past few weeks ... Lewis did not attempt a shot from the field in the win at Ball State (Feb. 8), but had a game-high seven assists, five rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot in 28 minutes ... three days earlier, in the win over Ohio, Lewis had six points, six rebounds (including four at the offensive end), seven assists, three steals and the first two-block game of her career ... Lewis, who had tied her career high with 28 minutes played in the Northern Illinois game (Feb. 2), set a new standard by playing 29 minutes vs. OU ... Lewis, BGSU's active career steals leader, now has 106 career thefts ... in the last three games, Lewis has shot 60.0% (6-for-10) and averaged 5.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.0 block.
193 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 193 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.
