Bowling Green State University Athletics
MAC's Two Remaining Unbeatens Meet at Anderson
January 31, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 31, 2006
BGSU Notes & Statistics (26 pages) in PDF Format
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
GAME #19
BGSU vs. EASTERN MICHIGAN
Wed., February 1, 2006
7:00 p.m.
Anderson Arena (4,700)
Bowling Green, Ohio
RECORDS: BGSU 16-2, 7-0 MAC // Eastern Michigan 13-5, 7-0 MAC
RADIO: WBGU-FM (88.1) - Rob Trautman and Mike Castellano
SERIES: BGSU leads, 38-14
LAST MEETING: BGSU 77, Eastern Michigan 57 (March 11, 2005)
Seven games into the Mid-American Conference schedule, there are just two undefeated teams in league play ... only one will still be unbeaten after Wednesday evening (Feb. 1) ... the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, atop the MAC's East Division, concludes a two-game homestand with a contest vs. West-leading Eastern Michigan University ... the Falcons of head coach Curt Miller will meet the Eagles in a 7:00 p.m. tipoff at venerable Anderson Arena (4,700).
THOSE PESKY EAGLES
Bowling Green has amassed several impressive streaks over the last year or so ... the Falcons have won 14 consecutive home matches, and BGSU has won 13 consecutive games (both regular-season and tournament) over MAC foes ... Wednesday's opponent, Eastern Michigan, is the last team to have beaten the Falcons in each case ... the Eagles swept the teams' two regular-season meetings last year, beating BGSU, 51-48, at Anderson Arena on Jan. 12, 2005 (the Falcons' last home loss), while topping the Brown and Orange by a 57-52 count in the rematch in Ypsilanti on Feb. 19, 2005 (BG's last loss to a MAC opponent) ... the Brown and Orange exacted a measure of revenge with a 77-57 win in the 2005 league tournament semifinals.
HONEGGER HITS 1,000
Junior Liz Honegger is the latest BGSU women's basketball player to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career ... Honegger hit the millennium plateau early in Saturday's (Jan. 28) win over Western Michigan ... she is the 20th player in school history to score 1,000 points, and only the seventh to reach that mark prior to her senior year ... classmate Ali Mann achieved the same feat on Jan. 7.
THIS JUST IN ...
(If you're only going to read one note this week, why not make it this one?)
HONEGGER IN A CLASS BY HERSELF
Liz Honegger is making her mark as one of the top players in school history ... less than three years into her career, however, Honegger is in a class by herself in at least one area ... Honegger is the only player in Mid-American Conference history to block at least 125 shots and make at least 125 three-point field goals in her career ... she enters the Eastern Michigan game with totals of 126 treys and 129 rejections ... only two other players in MAC annals reached 100 in both categories (Stephanie Smiley [Eastern Michigan, 1998-2002], 174 three-pointers, 103 blocks; Tamara Bowie [Ball State, 2000-03], 100 three-pointers, 152 blocks).
 Jennifer Roos calls out instructions during the Falcons' win over Ohio. Roos was inducted into the Davidson Athletics Hall of Fame on Sunday night (photo by Brad Phalin)  |
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On Sunday (Jan. 29), BGSU associate head coach Jennifer Roos was officially inducted into the Davidson College Athletics Hall of Fame ... Roos, a 1993 Davidson graduate, was honored at halftime of her alma mater's men's basketball game vs. Princeton Sunday night ... a three-sport athlete at Davidson, Roos excelled in field hockey and women's basketball, and was also a member of the lacrosse club team that was elevated to varsity status the year after she graduated ... Roos earned the Stimson Award as Davidson's top female athlete to cap her career ... after graduation, she spent eight years on the women's basketball staff at Davidson, before moving to BGSU, where she is now in her fifth season.
SAY YES TO MICHIGAN
For the Falcons, Wednesday's game concludes a three-game stretch against the MAC's three schools from the state of Michigan ... BGSU picked up a 57-52 win at Central Michigan last Wednesday (Jan. 25), before returning home to post a 77-69 win over Western Michigan Saturday (Jan. 28) ... the Brown and Orange is currently 4-0 vs. Michigan schools this year, having won at Detroit and Oakland in non-conference play.
HOT START
BGSU's 16-2 record ties the school record for best start through 18 games ... only one other Falcon team has begun a season with that mark ... the 1986-87 BG squad also had 16 wins in the first 18 games ... that Falcon team won 21 consecutive games to enter the NCAA Tournament with a 27-2 record.
HOT START II
BGSU's 7-0 start in conference play is the Falcons' best in 17 years ... this year's team is the third in school history to begin MAC action with seven victories ... the other two teams, the 1986-87 and 1988-89 squads, ran the table, going a perfect 16-0 in MAC action.
HOT STREAK
Dating to last season, the Falcons have won 13 consecutive games against MAC opposition ... BGSU suffered a loss at Eastern Michigan last Feb. 19, then won three consecutive games to close the regular season ... the Falcons went 3-0 in the Kraft MAC Tournament to win the tourney title and advance to the NCAA Championships ... this year, the Brown and Orange have reeled off seven consecutive victories to begin conference play.
NOT BAD, NOT BAD AT ALL
Despite this year's losses to Delaware (by four points) and Kentucky (in overtime), the Falcons have won 22 of the last 25 games, dating to Feb. 19, 2005 ... the only other loss in that time was to Kansas State in the NCAA Championships in March ... Delaware is 15-3 on the year, despite playing without a key starter for the last eight-plus games, while Kentucky is 15-4 after a win over #1/3 Tennessee on Thursday (Jan. 26).
BACK IN THE POLLS
The Falcons are once again receiving votes in the national polls ... BGSU received a season-high five votes in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, released Monday (Jan. 30) ... the Falcons got votes in each of the first seven polls of the 2005-06 season, and made a return in the Jan. 23 poll ... in the latest USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches' poll (released Jan. 24), the Falcons earned a season-most six votes.
HEAD COACH CURT MILLER
BGSU head coach Curt Miller picked up the 75th victory of his career vs. Akron on Jan. 7, and garnered win number 80 last Wednesday (Jan. 25) at Central Michigan ... his career record currently stands at 81-55, in his fifth year ... over the last two-plus seasons, however, Miller and the Falcons have a record of 60-20 ... BGSU has gone 31-8 in MAC regular-season play over the last two-plus seasons, and 37-9 in all games vs. conference foes during that span (6-1 in league tournament play).
FALCONS SEVEN-AND-OH AT ANDERSON
BGSU's win over Western Michigan Saturday (Jan. 28) moved the Falcons to 7-0 in home games this season, and the Falcons have won 14 consecutive games at Anderson Arena, the sixth-longest current homecourt winning streak in the nation ... the 7-0 start is the best for BG at home in eight years ... the 1997-98 team started the year with an 8-0 home record ... BGSU's best-ever home start was in 1992-93, when the Falcons won the first 13 games of the year at 'The House That Roars' ... the 1974-75 (7-0) and 1975-76 (6-0) teams are the only BG squads to complete the season with an unblemished home record ... both the 1992-93 (13-1) and '93-94 (12-1) squads were undefeated through the regular season at Anderson, before losing an NCAA Tournament game at home.
MILLENNIUM FALCONS: MANN IS ONE ...
On January 7, junior Ali Mann added another accomplishment to her already-impressive list ... in the Akron game, Mann became just the 19th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career ... the Chelsea, Mich., native became only the sixth BGSU player to reach the millennium mark in her junior season ... heading into the Eastern Michigan game, Mann has a career total of 1,102 points.
... AND SO IS HONEGGER
On Saturday (Jan. 28), junior Liz Honegger became just the 20th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career ... Honegger now has 1,003 points to rank 19th on the BG list ... her classmate, Ali Mann, moved past former teammate Stefanie Wenzel on Saturday, and now is 14th on the career list ... only seven players (Mann, Honegger, Jackie Motycka, Sara Puthoff, Francine Miller, Lori Albers and Chris Tuttle) have reached the 1,000-point plateau prior to their senior seasons ... both Mann (fourth) and Honegger (ninth) rank among BGSU's top 10 in career points per game ... and, junior Carin Horne is rapidly moving up the list as well ... Horne currently has 794 points, good for 29th on the BGSU career scoring list ... the complete list can be found in the pdf version of this release, located at the top of the page.
THEY'RE FAST, TOO
Junior Ali Mann reached the 1,000-point plateau on Jan. 7, and classmate Liz Honegger joined her three weeks later ... Mann was the fourth-fastest Falcon to amass 1,000 points, and Honegger tied for sixth on that list, which also can be found in the pdf version o' this release.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
SCOUTING EMU
Eastern Michigan enters the BGSU game with an overall record of 13-5 on the season, and the Eagles are a perfect 7-0 in MAC play to date, leading the West Division by three games ... Eastern will come to BGSU riding a school-record nine-game winning streak ... most recently, the Eagles posted a 56-41 win at Buffalo on Saturday (Jan. 28) ... that came after Eastern opened cross-divisional play with last Wednesday's (Jan. 25) 65-55 home win over Kent State ... the Eagles are a perfect 4-0 on the road in away games this year, including 3-0 in MAC gyms ... individually, senior guard Ryan Coleman is averaging 17.2 points per game to lead the team ... Coleman missed the first five games of the season for a violation of team policy, but the Eagles are 11-2 in the 13 games since her return ... Coleman leads the team with 4.2 assists and 2.4 steals per game ... senior forward Nikki Knapp has 14.1 points and 6.2 rebounds, while junior G/F Sarah VanMetre has 9.8 points and 6.8 boards per contest ... redshirt sophomore guard Patrice McKinney, a transfer from Michigan State, has 7.7 points and a team-leading 7.4 rebounds ... McKinney is averaging a double-double in MAC games, with 12.9 points and an even 10.0 rebounds ... freshman guard Kendra Gallert (1.9 ppg) joins the aforementioned four players in the probable starting lineup for head coach Suzy Merchant ... the Eagles returned nine letterwinners, including four starters, from last year's team that went 23-8 overall and 11-5 in MAC play and advanced to the WNIT ... Merchant has a record of 135-88 in her eighth season in Ypsilanti ... she is 189-116 in her 12th year as a collegiate head coach ... the school's athletics web site is www.emueagles.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Eastern Michigan, 38-14, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU captured the most recent meeting ... that Falcon win came in the semifinal round of last year's MAC Tournament, a 77-57 BG triumph at Cleveland's Gund (now Quicken Loans) Arena on March 11, 2005 ... that victory snapped a five-game EMU series winning streak ... the Eagles handed the Falcons two of last season's three MAC losses, with a 51-48 win at Anderson Arena (Jan. 12, 2005) and a 57-52 triumph in Ypsilanti the next month (Feb. 19, 2005) ... the Falcons are 20-4 in home games against Eastern ... overall, Eastern has won eight of the last 12 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 have a proud history in the MAC ... BGSU leads the all-time series with 10 of the 11 MAC opponents, and the Falcons evened the series with that 11th team, with a win at Northern Illinois in the teams' last meeting (March 1, 2005) ... BG is the only team in the league with at least a .500 mark against every other MAC school.
FALCONS VS. THE MAC II
BGSU is the lone Mid-American Conference team to currently hold a winning streak against each of the other 11 league schools ... the Falcons went 13-3 in MAC regular season play last year, with the only losses coming to Eastern Michigan (two) and Kent State ... but, BGSU avenged those setbacks by beating EMU in the Kraft MAC Tournament's semifinal round and KSU in the championship game ... and, BG has wins over all seven league foes this year to date.
LAST TIME OUT
The Falcons, trailing by eight points, used a late first-half run to take the lead for good, then held off a spirited Western Michigan squad in the second half for a 77-69 win Saturday afternoon (Jan. 28) at Anderson Arena ... in the game, junior Liz Honegger became the 20th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career ... classmate Ali Mann, who went over the 1,100-point plateau in the win, led the Falcons with 22 points, while sophomore Kate Achter had 19 points and a game-high nine rebounds ... junior Carin Horne had 16 points, including a key three-pointer late in the game ... Carrie Moore made her first eight shots on the day for Western, finishing with a game-high 28 points on 12-for-15 shooting ... Casey Rost added 17 and Lindsey Brown 11 for the visitors ... Honegger entered the game needing three points to reach the millennium mark, and wasted little time in doing so ... she converted a pair of free throws and a putback of a teammate's miss to go over the 1,000-point mark prior to the first media timeout ... the opening 10:24 featured seven ties, with WMU never trailing during that span ... trailing, 28-20, the Falcons went on a 17-4 run over the first half's final six minutes ... BG scored on the first five possessions of the second stanza, taking a double-digit lead ... the Falcons led by as many as 12 points, but saw that lead cut to just two, 68-66, with 3:07 left ... but, a moment later, Horne hit a big three-point shot to give the Falcons a 73-67 lead, and the hosts made four tree throws in the final minute to preserve the win.
A RARE DEFICIT
When Western Michigan took an eight-point lead in the first half of Saturday's game (Jan. 28), it matched the Falcons' largest deficit of the season ... BGSU trailed Delaware and Iona by eight points on back-to-back days during the team's post-Christmas trip to Philadelphia ... Delaware had an eight-point advantage late in the second half, en route to a four-point win over the Falcons (Dec. 28) ... the next day, the Brown and Orange trailed Iona by eight late in the first half, before rallying for a double-digit win.
THE FALCON 500 (PLUS 15)
The Falcons' win over IPFW in the season opener (Nov. 18) was the 500th victory in the history of the program ... BGSU enters the Eastern Michigan game with an all-time record of 515-340 (.602) ... 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 514 wins and UT 507, while Kent State recently went over the 500-win mark ... the 2005-06 season marks the Falcons' 33rd as a varsity program.
HOME SWEET HOME
As mentioned, the Falcons' win over Western Michigan moved the team's record to 7-0 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 ... the Falcons have won 14 in a row at home, and have captured 17 of the last 18 at 'The House That Roars,' dating to late in the 2003-04 campaign ... BG has outscored the opponents by an average of 19.4 points in the six home games this season, after posting a +15.9 scoring margin at Anderson last winter.
ROAD SWEET ROAD?
With a win at Indiana, the Falcons opened the road portion of the schedule on a successful note ... BGSU is now 6-1 in road games this year, with the only blemish being an overtime loss to Kentucky ... 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 15-4 on the road in conference play, and 24-10 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.
SHE BLOCKS SHOTS, TOO
With arms long enough to change the radio station from the second row of a van, it is no surprise that Liz Honegger, in less than two-and-a-half seasons, has placed her name all over the BGSU lists for blocked shots ... this season, Honegger has 29 blocks through 18 games to lead the Falcons ... she tied two of her own single-season marks in 2004-05, and is moving up the career list ... Honegger, who matched the BG record with 50 blocks as a freshman, had 50 more rejections last season ... she set a school mark with 27 blocks in MAC games as a frosh, and matched that record in league games last winter ... Honegger is in second place on the career list, and is on pace to obliterate the BGSU career record for blocks per game.
MANN, HONEGGER HAVE DOUBLE VISION
Juniors Ali Mann and Liz Honegger have been in double digits in the scoring column much more often than not over their careers ... this season, Mann has scored at least 10 points in 16 of the 18 games, including a span of 13-straight double-figure games ... she had 24 double-figure games last year, and has 59 in her 80 career games ... Honegger has 11 double-digit games this winter to date, after 25 such games last season ... she has hit twin figures in 50 of her 80 career contests.
HONEGGER, MANN HAVE DOUBLE-DOUBLE VISION
Junior Liz Honegger recorded a double-double at Buffalo (Jan. 10), her third of the season and the 15th of her BGSU career ... classmate Ali Mann is right behind, with two double-doubles on the year and 14 as a Falcon ... they are the top-two active Falcons in both categories ... Honegger recorded her first double-double of the season at Oakland (19p-16r), and was at it again in the Iona game, exploding for 24 points and adding 12 boards ... Mann came close to posting a double-double in three of the season's first five games, before turning the trick in the Duquesne (14p-11r) and Kentucky (24p-11r) games ... Mann has been a single rebound shy of a double-double in five additional games this season.
HAND IT OVER
The Falcons forced Miami into a total of 33 turnovers in BGSU's Jan. 21 win ... that turnover total was the highest by a BGSU opponent in almost 12 years, since the Brown and Orange forced Eastern Michigan to commit 36 in a game at Anderson Arena on Feb. 2, 1994 ... the BG defense has forced 150 turnovers (21.4 per game) in the seven MAC games to date, hounding opponents into 26 or more miscues in four of those seven conference contests.
TURNOVERS TELL THE TALE
The Falcons have forced a total of 150 turnovers in the first seven MAC games, an average of 21.4 per contest ... BGSU hounded Ohio into 27 turnovers on Jan. 18, then forced a whopping 33 Miami turnovers last Saturday (Jan. 21) ... that came after Akron had 27 turnovers and Buffalo 26 in back-to-back games to start league action ... a few related notes ...
THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS
FALCONS WIN AT KSU FOR FIRST TIME IN 12 YEARS
BGSU posted a 61-58 win over Kent State (Jan. 14) at KSU's M.A.C. Center ... the victory was the Falcons' first road win over the Golden Flashes in almost 12 years, since the foes were still going by 'Kent' ... BG had lost 10 road games, by an average of 20.0 points, vs. Kent/Kent State since a 102-92 Falcon victory back on Feb. 5, 1994.
BACK TO THE EAST
The Falcons' game vs. Akron on Jan. 7 was BGSU's first conference contest as a member of the MAC's East Division in four years ... BG spent five seasons in the East after the MAC instituted divisional play prior to the 1997-98 academic year ... in 2002, BG was moved to the West ... the Falcons spent three seasons in the West, winning the divisional title in 2004-05 ... in early February, 2005, the MAC Council of Presidents approved the return of Bowling Green to the league's East Division in all sports, effective in 2005-06.
LAUSE, MANN, McDOWELL NAMED CAPTAINS
Seniors Jill Lause and Casey McDowell and junior Ali Mann are the tri-captains of the 2005-06 Falcons ... the three were selected in a vote of team members as well as coaching staff ... in the last three seasons, since Lause began her collegiate career and McDowell transferred from Indiana State, the Falcons averaged almost 19 wins per year ... over the last two-plus seasons, since the start of Mann's freshman year, BG has gone 60-20 and twice advanced to the MAC Tournament's championship game.
