Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Meet Eastern in Friday's Semifinal Round
March 11, 2005 | Women's Basketball
March 11, 2005
Listen Live
Follow the Falcons through the MAC Tournament. Click the above link to subscribe to College Sports Pass!
BGSU Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
CLEVELAND, Ohio -
GAME #29
BGSU
vs.
EASTERN MICHIGAN
Kraft MAC Tournament Semifinal
Friday, March 11, 2005
12:00 p.m.
Gund Arena (11,000 - lower bowl)
Cleveland, Ohio
RADIO: WBGU-FM (88.1) - Brian George and Greg Gania
TELEVISION: MAC TV - Dave Weekley and Debbie Leonard
Fox Sports Net Ohio, Comcast Local (Mich.), Comcast SportsNet (Chicago)
SERIES: BGSU leads, 37-14
LAST MEETING: at Eastern Michigan 57, BGSU 52 (Feb. 19, 2005)
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, after winning the Mid-American Conference regular-season championship, has advanced to the semifinal round of the 2005 Kraft MAC Tournament ... the top-seeded Falcons (21-7 [13-3 MAC]) of fourth-year head coach Curt Miller, after an 84-68 win over eighth-seeded Miami University, now meet #4 seed Eastern Michigan University on Friday (March 11) at Gund Arena (11,000) in downtown Cleveland ... the game is scheduled to begin at noon ... the BGSU-EMU winner will play the survivor of Friday's second semifinal, which pits second-seeded Kent State University against #3 Marshall University ... the championship game is scheduled for Saturday (March 12) at 1:00 p.m.
BGSU'S MAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Falcons are participating in the MAC Tournament for the 21st time in its 24-year history ... after beating Miami, BG has posted a 25-14 record since the MAC Tournament was instituted in 1982 ... BGSU's win total ranks the Falcons third among league teams, and the .641 winning percentage is also the third-best of any school (Toledo is 35-14 [.714], Kent State 27-14 [.659]) ... the Falcons' total of six tournament titles trails only UT (seven) ... the Falcons earned a first-round bye for the first time since the league adopted the current 13-team tourney format prior to the 1999-2000 season, and BG is the #1 seed for the first time since the 1993-94 Falcons won both the regular-season and tournament titles.
BGSU'S MAC TOURNAMENT FACTS
BGSU-EMU STORYLINES
POINTS OF PRIDE
MILLER NAMED MAC COACH OF THE YEAR
Fourth-year Falcon head coach Curt Miller has been named the MAC Coach of the Year for 2004-05 ... the announcement was made at the MAC Tournament banquet Tuesday night (March 8) in Cleveland ... the award is the result of balloting by members of the MAC News Media Association ... Miller guided the Falcons, picked to finish third in the West Division, to the league's best overall record, a MAC regular-season championship and the top seed for the Kraft MAC Tournament ... the Falcons finished 13-3 in MAC play, and BG enters Friday's EMU game with an overall mark of 21-7 ... Miller has an overall head-coaching mark of 63-52 and a MAC record of 35-29 ... BGSU is 42-17 overall and 24-8 in conference play over the last two seasons ... the 2004-05 season marks the fourth time in school history that a BGSU coach has earned the league's coach-of-the-year award, and the first time in 12 years ... Fran Voll picked up the award in both the 1986-87 and 1988-89 seasons, while Jaci Clark earned MAC C-O-Y honors in 1992-93.
HONEGGER, MANN, HORNE ON ALL-MAC TEAMS
Sophomores Liz Honegger, Ali Mann and Carin Horne were named to the All-MAC Team, the league office announced Monday morning (March 7) ... Honegger and Mann each were named to the second team, while Horne earned honorable mention ... Mann earned all-league honors for the second time, after being honorable mention as a freshman, while Honegger and Horne received the honor for the first time in their respective BGSU careers ... the 2004-05 season marks the second time in as many years that BG has had three all-league selections.
ACHTER ON ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
On Monday (March 7), Kate Achter was selected to the MAC's All-Freshman Team ... the team, as is the case with the All-MAC Team, is the result of voting by the league's 13 head coaches ... Achter is the ninth player in school history, and the second in as many years, to be named to the MAC's All-Freshman Team ... she was the runner-up for MAC Freshman of the Year.
ANYTHING BUT A REGULAR SEASON
The Falcons, obviously, have had a successful season to date ... BGSU is 21-7 overall, and finished MAC regular-season play with a 13-3 record, two games ahead of last year's pace in each case ... last winter, BGSU went 19-9 through the first 28 games, and the Falcons posted an 11-5 conference record ... BG's 2004-05 overall record is the team's best since the 1997-98 squad was also 21-7 after 28 games ... the Falcons' MAC record is the best since that '97-98 team went 15-3 in league play.
FALCONS IN THE RPI
Bowling Green is currently ranked 62nd in one of the latest Rating Percentage Index (RPI) related polls, and the Falcons are 77th or better on each of three other lists ... BGSU is the top-ranked team among MAC schools on all four of the lists consulted, the collegerpi.com, Collegiate Basketball News, WBCA/Summerville and RealTime RPI lists.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
The Falcons take an overall record of 21-7 into Tuesday's game, and BGSU finished with a record of 13-3 in MAC play ... the Falcons won the league's West Division, finished with the MAC's top record and earned the number-one seed for the Kraft MAC Tournament ... BG went 7-1 in the month of February, and the Falcons started March with a come-from-behind win at Northern Illinois (75-72, March 1) to clinch the league titles, before beating Miami, 84-68, in the league tourney's quarterfinal round Wednesday (March 9) ... the Falcons' only February loss came at Eastern Michigan, 57-52 (Feb. 19), snapping a streak of five consecutive wins to begin the month ... but, BG bounced back with home wins over East Division-leading Marshall (73-62, Feb. 23) and arch-rival Toledo (72-71, Feb. 26) ... BG has won 12 of the last 14 games and 18 of 21 contests ... the team's other MAC losses came at Kent State, 62-53 on Jan. 26, and in the first EMU meeting, 51-48 on Jan. 12 ... BGSU finished the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 7-4 mark for the third consecutive season.
BGSU is averaging 70.9 points per game, leading the MAC and ranking 33rd in the country ... the Falcons are 51st in the nation in scoring margin, and currently have four players - three sophomores and a freshman - with double-digit scoring averages ... soph Liz Honegger paces the Brown and Orange in scoring (14.3 ppg), and also leads the team in rebounding (8.1), steals (2.0) and blocks (1.8) ... classmate Ali Mann has 14.0 points and 7.6 boards per game to rank second on the team in each category, while another soph, Carin Horne, has 11.4 points per outing ... freshman Kate Achter is averaging 10.5 points and a team-high 4.0 assists per game, and is fourth on the team with 4.1 rebounds ... redshirt junior Casey McDowell, after exploding for 31 points vs. Miami, has 6.6 points per contest, while sophomore Megan Thorburn and senior Kelly Kapferer average 3.6 and 3.3 points, respectively ... Honegger is the only player to have started all 28 games this year, while Mann and McDowell have made 27 starts apiece and Achter 21 ... Horne has started 18 games and Thorburn 10 ... Achter, Horne and McDowell joined Honegger and Mann in the starting lineup for 12 consecutive games, before Kapferer replaced the injured Mann in the starting five at NIU ... Mann was back in the lineup vs. Miami.
BGSU is shooting 42.2 percent from the field and 70.8% from the free-throw line ... the Falcons have allowed opponents to shoot just 38.6% from the floor, and the foes have a 69.5% success rate from the stripe.
In MAC play, Mann led the Falcons with 15.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, while Honegger finished close behind, with 14.3 points and 7.4 boards ... Horne and Achter averaged 12.3 and 10.3 points per game, respectively ... BGSU had 69.2 points per game and a scoring margin of +11.0 in league action this winter ... BG shot 41.6% in conference games, while allowing MAC opponents to shoot just 37.8% 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 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 EASTERN MICHIGAN
Eastern Michigan currently has an overall record of 23-6, and the Eagles finished the regular season with a MAC record of 11-5 ... EMU set a school record for victories with Wednesday's 72-64 tourney quarterfinal win over Ball State ... individually, senior guard Ryan Coleman leads the Eagles in scoring and rebounding, with 17.6 points and 6.8 boards per game ... she also paces the team with 2.7 steals, and is second with 3.9 assists ... junior forward Nikki Knapp has 13.8 points and a team-leading 7.4 rebounds, while sophomore forward Sarah VanMetre has 7.6 points per outing ... senior guard Erika Ford has 6.3 points, 2.1 steals and a team-high 6.0 assists per game ... she has set a school record with 174 helpers this year ... junior centers Kristen Kilgore and Melis Ulker have scored 5.7 and 5.3 points, respectively ... Ulker joins Coleman, Ford, Knapp and VanMetre in the probable starting lineup for head coach Suzy Merchant ... a year ago, the Eagles had an overall record of 22-8 and won the West Division with a league mark of 12-4 ... Eastern went on to win the Kraft MAC Tournament, defeating BGSU in the championship game ... Merchant has a record of 122-80 in her seventh year in Ypsilanti, and is 176-109 in her ninth season overall ... the school's athletics web site is www.emich.edu/goeagles.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Eastern Michigan, 37-14, in the all-time series between the teams, but the Eagles have won five-straight contests ... Eastern took each of last year's two meetings, with the latter game coming in the Kraft MAC Tournament championship, a 65-56 win at Gund Arena (March 13, 2004) ... this year's two regular-season meetings both went to the Eagles, 51-48 at Anderson Arena (Jan. 12, 2005) and 57-52 in Ypsilanti (Feb. 19, 2005) ... the championship game last year was the lone previous neutral-site game in series history ... overall, Eastern has won eight of the last 11 series meetings, after the Falcons took 33-of-34 contests vs. the Hurons/Eagles from 1983 to 1998.
THE FALCONS VS. THE MAC
The Falcons lead the all-time series with 11 of the 12 MAC opponents, and BGSU has evened the series with that 12th team, as the Falcons' win at Northern Illinois (75-72, March 1) squared that series at 12-12 ... BG is the only team in the league with at least a .500 mark against every other MAC school.
BGSU VS. EMU IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT
The Falcons are meeting Eastern Michigan for the fifth time in the MAC Tournament, and the first time in the semifinal round ... the teams are deadlocked, 2-2, in previous tourney matchups ... the Falcons won home quarterfinal games in back-to-back years, with a 77-71 win at Anderson Arena in the 1990 tournament, and a 97-75 victory in the 1991 tourney ... two years ago, in a first-round game, the Eagles picked up a 66-54 win over the visiting Falcons ... last year, of course, the championship game went to EMU, by nine points.
LAST TIME OUT
Junior Casey McDowell shattered her career high with 31 points and tied a BGSU record with seven three-point field goals, leading the Falcons to an 84-68 win over Miami Wednesday afternoon (March 9) ... the game, a quarterfinal-round contest in the Kraft MAC Tournament, was held at Gund Arena ... McDowell's 7-for-11 shooting day included seven successful treys in nine attempts, and she was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line ... she hit five of her treys in the first half, and the Falcons led for most of that period, taking a nine-point lead at the intermission ... after committing just three turnovers in the entire first half, Miami had five miscues in the first 4:14 of the second stanza ... BG led by 11, 53-42, with 11:52 left, but MU's Cindi Merrill proceeded to score the game's next six points ... freshman Kate Achter drew a foul and hit both free throws, but Merrill responded with another jumper, McDowell's record-tying seventh trey, at the 8:30 mark, to snap a BG skid of 7:31 without a field goal and put the Falcons up by eight, 58-50 ... Merrill hit a jumper, and Kim Smith's rebound and layup cut the margin to four points at the 7:43 mark ... but, an Achter jumper in the paint kick-started a 7-0 Falcon run, and Miami never drew closer than seven points the rest of the way ... Achter and soph Ali Mann joined McDowell in double digits, with 16 and 15 points, respectively ... Achter had game-high totals of six assists and five steals.
BGSU AT THE GUND
The Falcons have a 3-2 record at Gund Arena ... prior to last season, BGSU had played just one game there, in 2001 ... after posting an upset win at Western Michigan in the first round of that year's MAC Tournament, BG headed to Cleveland to face top-seeded Toledo (March 6, 2001) ... the ninth-seeded Falcons held a 41-38 lead at the half, before the Rockets rallied to post an 81-63 win ... one member of the current Falcon squad was on the roster at that time, as then-freshman Kelly Kapferer scored four points in 13 minutes off the bench ... that was the Falcons' final game before the Curt Miller Era began ... last year, of course, the Brown and Orange picked up two one-point, last-second wins at Gund Arena, beating Western Michigan (63-62) and Miami (75-74) on buzzer-beating jumpers by Lindsay Austin, before falling to Eastern Michigan, 65-56, in the championship game.
McDEADLY
Prior to Wednesday's game, redshirt junior Casey McDowell's season scoring high was 12 points, and her career high was four three-point field goals made ... in the quarterfinal round vs. Miami, McDowell tied a BGSU single-game mark with seven successful treys, and shattered her career high with 31 points ... she had scored in double digits twice previously in 2004-05 ... her three-point total also tied a MAC Tournament record.
MORE ON McDOWELL
Casey McDowell's seven three-pointers, as mentioned, tied the school record, which was held by Angie Farmer and Kim Griech . . . Farmer set the record against Ohio (Jan. 20, 1999), and tied her own mark less than a year later against Mississippi (Nov. 26, 1999) . . . Griech hit seven triples in a game vs. UNC-Wilmington (Dec. 7, 2002) . . . Griech and her family were in attendance at Gund Arena on Wednesday.
A FEW MORE NOTES AFTER THE MIAMI GAME
