Bowling Green State University Athletics
MAC West Leaders Meet in Muncie
February 07, 2005 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2005
Game Notes (20 pages) in PDF Format
2004-05 Boxscores (10 pages) in PDF Format
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
GAME #21
BGSU
at
BALL STATE
Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2005
7:00 p.m.
John E. Worthen Arena (11,500)
Muncie, Indiana
RADIO: WBGU-FM (88.1) - Brian George and Shawn Dunagan
SERIES: BGSU leads, 34-12
LAST MEETING: BGSU 84, at Ball State 79 (OT) (Feb. 29, 2004)
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, after opening the February schedule with a pair of lopsided home wins, hits the road for a showdown between the top-two teams in the Mid-American Conference's West Division ... the Falcons (14-6, 7-2 MAC) of fourth-year head coach Curt Miller, one-half game ahead of second-place Ball State University, head to Muncie for a Tuesday (Feb. 8) tilt, with tipoff set for 7:00 p.m. at Worthen Arena (11,500) ... then, the Falcons will conclude a two-game road set with a Saturday (Feb. 12) game at the University of Akron, beginning at 2:00 p.m. at James A. Rhodes Arena (5,500).
GREAT START
For the second consecutive year, the Falcons are off to a solid start ... BGSU is 14-6 this season, after going 13-7 through the first 20 games last winter ... the Falcons are 7-2 in MAC play, a game ahead of last year's pace through nine conference contests (6-3) ... BG's 2004-05 overall record is the team's best since the 1997-98 squad was 16-4 after 20 games ... the Falcons' MAC record is the best since that '97-98 team went 8-1 to start league play.
DEFENSE FUELS THE OFFENSE
The Falcons averaged 83.0 points in last week's two victories, a 36-point win over Northern Illinois (80-44; Feb. 2) and a 27-point triumph over Ohio (86-59; Feb. 5) ... much of the offensive success was started by the play of the Falcon defense ... BGSU allowed just 51.5 points per game last week, allowing the two opponents to shoot a collective 31.3 percent from the field in the two games and forcing a total of 47 turnovers ... the Brown and Orange blocked eight shots and had 24 steals in the two wins ... on the season, BG is allowing foes to shoot 38.3%, and the Falcons have 10.3 steals per game.
POINTS OF PRIDE
FALCONS IN THE RPI
Bowling Green is currently ranked anywhere from 100th to 102nd in the various Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) related polls ... among MAC schools, only Eastern Michigan is ranked higher.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
The Falcons take an overall record of 14-6 into Tuesday's game, and BGSU is 7-2 in MAC play, atop the MAC's West Division ... BG opened February with a 36-point win, 80-44, over visiting Northern Illinois on Wednesday (Feb. 2), then downed Ohio by 27 (86-59) in the MAC TV Game of the Week three days later ... prior to the current two-game winning streak, the Falcons saw a three-game win streak come to an end with a nine-point loss 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.
The Falcons, averaging 71.4 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 (14.2 ppg), and also leads the team in rebounding (8.1), steals (2.2) and blocks (2.0) ... classmate Ali Mann has 13.1 points and 7.4 boards per game to rank second on the team in each category, while another soph, Carin Horne, has 11.5 points per outing ... freshman Kate Achter is averaging 10.4 points and a team-high 3.8 assists per game, and is third on the team with 4.4 rebounds ... redshirt junior Casey McDowell has 5.9 points per contest, while sophomore Megan Thorburn averages 4.9 points ... Honegger and Mann are the only players to have started all 20 games this year, while McDowell has made 19 starts and Achter 13 ... Horne and Thorburn have started 10 games apiece ... Achter, Horne and McDowell have joined Honegger and Mann in the starting lineup for each of the last six games.
In MAC play, Mann has team-best averages of 13.7 points and 7.6 rebounds, and is closely followed by Honegger in each category ... Honegger averages 13.3 points and 7.2 boards in conference play, with Horne and Achter averaging 12.4 and 10.6 points per game, respectively ... BGSU has 70.4 points per game and a scoring margin of +13.7 in league action to date.
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 BALL STATE
Ball State enters the week with an overall record of 11-10, and the Cardinals enter Tuesday's game with a MAC record of 7-3, just one-half game behind the West Division-leading Falcons ... BSU is one of the hottest teams in the league, having won six of the last seven games since starting conference play at 1-2 ... last week, the Cards saw a five-game winning streak come to an end with Wednesday's (Feb. 2) 76-63 loss at Eastern Michigan ... but, three days later, the team bounced back with a 70-64 win at Northern Illinois ... head coach Tracy Roller's team is 5-4 at home this year, but 4-1 at Worthen Arena in league action ... individually, senior G/F Kate Endress leads the entire MAC in scoring, with 18.0 points per game ... she also has 7.0 rebounds, a team-best 1.6 steals and a whopping total of 50 three-point field goals made ... sophomore guards Tina Bolte and Kelsey Corbin have 11.0 and 8.8 points, respectively, and Corbin has a team-best 3.7 assists ... freshman guard Julie DeMuth has 7.6 points and a BSU-leading 7.1 rebounds, while sophomore center Becca Bajorek has 6.9 points and 5.1 boards ... the aforementioned five players were in the starting lineup for Saturday's win at NIU ... a year ago, the Cards had an overall record of 13-16, and finished with a 7-9 MAC mark ... Roller has a record of 69-44 in her fourth year as a collegiate head coach, all in Muncie ... the school's athletics web site is www.ballstatessports.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Ball State, 34-12, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU is 13-9 in road games vs. the Cardinals ... last year, the teams split their two meetings, with the road team coming out on top each time ... BSU won a 72-70 thriller at Anderson Arena (Jan. 7, 2004), but the Falcons went to Muncie the following month and pulled out an 84-79 overtime victory (Feb. 29, 2004) ... that win snapped Ball State's two-game home winning streak (by an average of 27 points) and four-game overall victory streak against the Brown and Orange ... prior to those four wins, the Falcons had won 17 of 18 meetings against the Cards ... the last three times the teams have met, the margin of victory has been no greater than five points.
THE FALCONS VS. THE MAC
The Falcons lead the all-time series with 11 MAC opponents, and are narrowing the gap with that 12th team ... after Wednesday's (Feb. 2) 80-44 win over Northern Illinois, BGSU trails that series by a slim 12-11 margin.
LAST TIME OUT
A 15-1 second-half run broke open a close game and lifted the Falcons to an 86-59 victory over Ohio Saturday afternoon (Feb. 5), in the MAC TV Game of the Week ... a pair of sophomores had double-doubles for the Falcons, as Ali Mann had a game-high 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Liz Honegger had 15 points and paced all players with 12 boards ... freshman Kate Achter had 17 points and sophomore Carin Horne scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds ... the Bobcats' Andrea Johnson led three double-figure scorers with 14 points ... a 9-0 run gave the Falcons a 23-10 lead midway through the first half ... with the hosts ahead by 14, a 9-0 Ohio run cut BG's lead to 26-21 ... but, Horne scored the last four points of the half to give the Falcons a 41-29 lead at the intermission ... the second half featured a total of 29 fouls and 43 free-throw attempts ... with the Falcons ahead, 51-44, BGSU began the game-clinching 15-1 run to go ahead by 21 points ... BG held a commanding 55-37 rebounding advantage, and forced the Bobcats into 24 turnovers.
EIGHTY-SIXING THE BOBCATS
The Falcons' total of 86 points in the win over Ohio was BG's highest in a regulation MAC game in the Curt Miller Era ... in fact, the Falcons had not reached that mark in a league game in almost four years, since a 90-73 win over Marshall on Feb. 17, 2001 ... BGSU did score 97 points in last season's four-overtime game vs. Northern Illinois (Feb. 18, 2004) ... Saturday's point total was BG's highest vs. Ohio since Jan. 20, 1999 (a 97-89 home win).
20-20 VISION
The Falcons have won nine games this season by at least 20 points, including four 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, the Falcons have had 14 20-point wins since the start of the 2003-04 season, including six 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.
SECOND-HALF SUCCESS
The Falcons have held double-digit leads at halftime of each of the last two 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 in last week's games ... BG held the opponents to a field-goal percentage of 27.1% in the second half, while shooting 50.0% from the floor themselves.
HONEGGER, MANN IN DOUBLE DIGITS
Sophomores Liz Honegger and Ali Mann have been in double digits more often than not over their careers ... Honegger had 15 points vs. Ohio, and has hit double figures a team-high 16 times in this year's 20 games ... Mann scored a game-high 19 points vs. the Bobcats, and has had 14 double-figure games this winter to date ... Mann has hit double digits in scoring 33 times in her 51 career games, while Honegger - who has also played 51 career games - has had 30 games of 10 points or more in a Falcon uniform.
MANN, HONEGGER ARE DOUBLE TROUBLE
Sophomores Liz Honegger and Ali Mann each recorded a double-double in the win over Ohio ... Honegger's 15-point, 12-rebound game marked her first double-double in MAC play this season, but her fifth of the year ... Mann had 19 points and 10 boards for her fourth double-double of the season ... Mann now has 11 career double-doubles, the most among active Falcons, while Honegger has nine.
ROAD SWEET ROAD?
The Falcons have one of the top Mid-American Conference road records, with a 3-1 league record away from home this year ... since the start of last season, the Falcons are 9-3 on the road in conference play, and 14-9 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 6-4 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.
HOME SWEET HOME!
The Falcons' win over Ohio 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 Falcons' lone home loss was a three-point setback to defending champion Eastern Michigan.
STANDS FOR TENACIOUS
Senior co-captain Tene Lewis had a solid all-around game in the win over Ohio Saturday (Feb. 5) ... in that game, 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 Wednesday's (Feb. 2) game vs. Northern Illinois, set a new standard by playing 29 minutes vs. OU ... Lewis, BGSU's active career steals leader, went over the 100 mark, and now has 103 career thefts ... in last week's two games, Lewis shot 60.0% (6-for-10) and averaged 7.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists.
FINDING THEIR SHOOTING TOUCH
The Falcons misfired on the first nine field-goal attempts vs. Northern Illinois, and trailed by a 13-6 count ... after going 0-for-9, however, BG went 27-for-47 (57.4%) over the final 33-plus minutes ... BGSU outscored the Huskies by a 74-31 margin after that early seven-point deficit ... vs. Ohio, the Falcons started the game 2-for-2, then missed the next eight FG attempts ... but, BG recovered to go 27-for-58 (46.6%) and outscore OU by a 79-51 count the rest of the way.
MILESTONES FOR MILLER...
Falcon head coach Curt Miller's career record stands at 56-51 heading into the Ball State game, marking the first time he has been as many as five 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 29-28 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 Ball State game, BGSU's all-time record in conference games is 256-134 (.656) ... only Toledo (264) has more MAC wins than the Falcons over the years.
192 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 192 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.
HORNE HEATS UP
Sophomore Carin Horne has put up some big numbers over the past few games ... Horne made only one of her first eight shots in the NIU game, but drained her final five shots of the night - including four from three-point range - to finish with a game-high 18 points ... she was 5-for-8 from long distance, tying her career best for three-point field goals made, and was a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point land in the second half ... defensively, Horne, who had set a career standard with six steals in the previous game (Jan. 26 at Kent State), matched that total with a game-high six thefts vs. the Huskies ... then, vs. Ohio, Horne had 12 points and eight rebounds, including five offensive boards ... she is averaging 16.7 points in the last three contests, and has a total of 23 steals over the past six games.
THE LEADERSHIP YEARS
Several hundred former athletes returned to BG last weekend ... on Friday (Feb. 4), the athletes were honored at a banquet and awards ceremony, and were awarded varsity letters by the BGSU Athletics Department ... the group was recognized at Saturday's Ohio game as well.
IT STANDS TO REASON
Not surprisingly, the Falcons have enjoyed success in games in which they have shot and rebounded well ... BGSU is 14-0 this season, and 46-6 in the Curt Miller Era, when the Falcons have a higher field-goal percentage than the opponent ... BG is 0-6 when the opposition has a higher FG pct. in 2004-05 ... this year, the Falcons have a record of 11-0 when outrebounding the opponent ... BGSU is now 31-7 in such games in Miller's tenure ... the Brown and Orange also have gone 11-0 when leading at the half this season to date.
FALCONS IN THE MAC
A number of Falcons are represented in the latest Mid-American Conference individual statistics, as of Monday morning (Feb. 7) ...
LIGHTS, CAMERA, MAC-TION
Every remaining home regular-season game is scheduled to be televised ... Saturday's (Feb. 5) win over Ohio, the MAC Game of the Week, was aired by Fox Sports Net Ohio, Comcast Local in Michigan and Comcast SportsNet in the Chicago area ... the remaining home games all will be shown locally by BCSN.
PAINT BY NUMBERS
For the most part, the Falcons have enjoyed success inside this year ... BGSU has outscored the opponents in the paint in 14 of 20 games ... BGSU's four highest point totals in the paint have come in home games, vs. Youngstown State (48), Ohio (46), Western Michigan (44) and Bucknell (40) ... the Falcons have outscored the opponents, 249-160, in the paint in the seven home games to date.
THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS
The Falcons forced 24 Ohio turnovers Saturday (Feb. 5), and BGSU had a total of 12 steals in the win ... the Falcons have had double-digit steal totals in each of the last seven 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.
THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS II
The Falcons held Northern Illinois scoreless for long periods of time in each half Wednesday ... trailing by a 13-6 margin in the first half, BGSU scored the game's next 19 points, holding the Huskies without a point for a total of 8:10 and without a field goal for a 12:27 span ... in the second half, another 19-0 run put the game away ... this time, Northern went 7:45 without a point and 11:08 without a field goal ... three days later, the Falcons held Ohio without a basket for a stretch of 4:29 during a game-changing 15-1 run in the second half.
THREE IS A MAGIC NUMBER
The Falcons made a season-high 11 three-pointers and shot 50.0% from long distance in the win over Northern Illinois ... BGSU went 9-of-14 (64.3%) from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes, including 5-for-7 during the Falcons' 19-0 run in the second half ... the nine triples in that half matched BGSU's previous 2004-05 best for an entire game.
WE'RE GLAD YOU'RE HERE
The Northern Illinois game marked the 50th BGSU contest since the current sophomore class arrived on campus ... that class includes Amber Flynn, Julie Gompers, Liz Honegger, Carin Horne, Ali Mann and Megan Thorburn ... after going 21-35 in the two years before their arrival, the Falcons have posted a record of 35-16 since.
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 90, 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 40 rejections through 20 games this season - currently averages 2.00 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.
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 40 blocks through 20 games, including 18 blocks through nine 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 521 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 661 points in 51 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 Ohio game with exactly 600 career points through 51 games ... a total of 44 players in BGSU history have scored at least 500 points.
