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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Mix in a Home Game, Face Akron Saturday
January 05, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2006
BGSU Game Notes & Statistics (24 pages) in PDF Format
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
GAME #12
BGSU vs. AKRON
Sat., January 7, 2006
1:00 p.m.
Anderson Arena (4,700)
Bowling Green, Ohio
RECORDS: BGSU 9-2, 0-0 MAC // Akron 3-8, 0-0 MAC
RADIO: WBGU-FM (88.1) - Chris Schieman
SERIES: BGSU leads, 33-2
LAST MEETING: BGSU 61, at Akron 52 (Feb. 12, 2005)
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team posted a 9-2 non-conference record, the best among Mid-American Conference schools ... but, the Falcons of head coach Curt Miller, like the 11 other league institutions, are 0-0 in the most important standings, as the MAC schedule begins this weekend ... BGSU will play a home game for the first time in over a month, facing the University of Akron in a Saturday (Jan. 7) matinee ... tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at venerable Anderson Arena (4,700).
BACK TO THE EAST
The Falcons' game vs. Akron will be 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 Division ... the Falcons spent three seasons in the West, winning the divisional title in 2004-05 ... in early February of 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.
MANN NEARS MILLENNIUM MARK
Junior Ali Mann is fast approaching a milestone ... the Chelsea, Mich., native needs just 11 points to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career ... Mann had a game-best 24 points Monday at Kentucky (Jan. 2), giving her 989 as a Falcon ... Mann would be the 19th Falcon to score 1,000 career points, but only the sixth to do so as a junior.
CAN WE UNPACK?
The Falcons' Monday (Jan. 2) game at Kentucky ended a five-game road stretch ... BGSU, as mentioned, has gone a month without a home game, since the Dec. 6 win over Duquesne ... the Falcons still, however, are in the midst of a stretch which sees the team play eight of nine contests away from the friendly confines of venerable Anderson Arena ... after the Akron game, BGSU will grab the suitcases once again, hitting the road to face Buffalo (Jan. 10) and Kent State (Jan. 14).
EAST-WEST-EAST
With the departure of Marshall University, the MAC is down to a 12-team league for women's basketball ... the 2005-06 season is the first utilizing a new wrinkle in the MAC schedule ... each team will still play 16 league games, as has been the case in each of the last seven years ... but, each school will open league play with five intra-divisional games, followed by six cross-divisional contests, and five more intra-divisional games to close the regular season ... so, BGSU will play five games vs. East Division schools to begin and end the season, with six games vs. the West Division teams in the middle of the schedule.
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS
DEFENSE DOES IT AGAIN
The Falcons have greatly improved defensively during the Curt Miller Era ... in the 2003-04 season, Miller, 'defensive coordinator' Jennifer Roos and the rest of the Falcons allowed opponents to shoot just 38.8% from the field ... that marked the third-lowest opponent FG pct. in school history, and the lowest since 1977-78 ... the 2004-05 squad nearly matched that success, allowing foes to shoot just 39.1% from the floor ... the 1976-77 team owns the school record, allowing opponents to shoot only 34.8% ... that '76-77 season is the first year that such statistics are available ... since Miller and Roos arrived, the Falcons have posted three of the top-six totals in that category in school history ... this year, through 11 games, the BGSU defense has allowed opponents to shoot just 36.4% from the floor.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
SCOUTING AKRON
Akron will enter Anderson Arena with an overall record of 3-8 ... Saturday's game marks the MAC opener for the Zips as well as the Falcons ... UA has won two of the last three games, including a 53-52 win over Lafayette in the team's last action (Dec. 30) ... the Zips' other wins came against Montana State and Jacksonville State ... a total of nine different players have started at least one game for head coach Kelly Kennedy this season to date ... junior forward Jessie Crooks leads the team in scoring with 11.5 points per game ... senior guard Courtney Stewart and freshman guard Niki McCoy also are in double digits, averaging 10.5 and 10.2 points, respectively ... McCoy also leads the team in rebounds (5.4 rpg) and assists (3.6), while Stewart has a UA-high 3.4 steals per outing ... Stewart has hit 20 three-point field goals and Crooks 17 ... sophomore forward Jessica Deville (5.0 ppg), senior forward Angie Hutchinson (3.2 ppg) and senior forward Krissy Marco (3.0 ppg) joined Crooks and Stewart in the lineup for the Lafayette game ... McCoy, who has started nine games this year to date, missed the Lafayette contest due to a knee injury suffered in the prior game ... a total of six letterwinners, including three starters, returned from last year's team that went 3-25 overall and 3-13 in SEC play ... Kennedy has a head-coaching record of 15-80 in her fourth season, all in the Rubber City ... the school's athletics web site is www.GoZips.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons hold the series advantage with 10 of the 11 MAC foes, and are tied in the 11th series (Northern Illinois) ... the Falcons lead Akron, 33-2, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU is a perfect 17-0 in home games vs. the Zips ... in last year's lone meeting, the Falcons pulled out a 61-52 win in the Rubber City (Feb. 12, 2005), despite going 0-for-13 from three-point range ... 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 four seasons, but will play a pair of games in 2005-06 ... BGSU's four-game series winning streak includes an 85-48 win in the last meeting at Anderson Arena, two years ago (Jan. 14, 2004) ... the boxscore from last year's game can be found in the pdf version of these notes.
LAST TIME OUT
The University of Kentucky made six free throws in the overtime period, lifting the host Wildcats to a 66-62 victory over the Falcons Monday night (Jan. 2) in Lexington ... junior Ali Mann had a game-high 24 points for the Brown and Orange, and had a team-best 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season ... junior Carin Horne joined Mann in double figures in scoring, with 16 points, while classmate Liz Honegger had nine points, all after halftime ... for the hosts, Samantha Mahoney had 17 points to pace three players in double figures ... Mahoney, like Honegger, was held scoreless in the first half before erupting in the second ... Horne's three-point field goal with 1:28 left in regulation tied the score at 56-56, and was the last scoring of the second half ... BG forced a UK turnover on the next possession and a Wildcat missed shot on the following one, but the Falcons could not score on either of their final two tries at the other end ... in overtime, the hosts were 6-of-10 from the foul line ... with 16 seconds remaining and BGSU trailing by three, the Falcons were forced to foul on purpose ... Mahoney made her first free throw, but missed the second ... UK's Jennifer Humphrey, however, grabbed the rebound and laid the ball in for a five-point lead ... Horne hit a three-ball with nine seconds left, but two more Wildcat free throws sealed the deal ... the taller hosts held a slim 44-41 rebounding advantage.
THE STREAK IS OVER ... LONG LIVE THE STREAK
In BGSU's last meeting vs. Akron, BGSU saw a lengthy streak come to an end ... the Falcons had made at least one three-point field goal in 193 consecutive games before going 0-for-13 in last season's game at UA (Feb. 12, 2005) ... but, BGSU wasted little time in starting a new streak, as sophomore Liz Honegger hit a triple with just 11 seconds elapsed in the next game, vs. Central Michigan (Feb. 15, 2005) ... prior to the UA game, the last time the Falcons had been held without a trey was on March 1, 1998, in a loss to Toledo in the semifinal round of the MAC Tournament ... the last time BG had won a game without making a triple came on Dec. 21, 1996, in a 66-64 win over Detroit ... prior to the 193-game streak, the previous school record had been 29-straight games ... the Falcons' current three-point streak now stands at 20 games.
ANOTHER KIND OF STREAK
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.
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.
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 Akron game with a total of 989 points ... in Monday's (Jan. 2) game at Kentucky, Mann passed Rhonda Moore (1982-86) to move into 19th place on the BGSU career list ... Honegger currently stands at 927 points, in 22nd place ... 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) rank among BGSU's top 10 in career points per game.
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 Mann has hit double digits in scoring in 10 of the season's first 11 games, while Honegger has scored at least 10 points eight times this year ... Mann now has scored 10 points or more 53 times in her 73 career games, while Honegger - who has also played 73 games - has had 47 games of at least 10 points at BG.
HONEGGER, MANN HAVE DOUBLE-DOUBLE VISION
Junior Ali Mann recorded a double-double at Kentucky (Jan. 2), with a game-high 24 points and a BG-best 11 rebounds ... that was Mann's second double-double of the season and the 14th of her BGSU career, tying her with classmate Liz Honegger for the lead among active Falcons in both categories ... Honegger recorded her first double-double of the season at Oakland (Dec. 22), with game-high totals of 19 points and 16 rebounds ... she 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 game (Dec. 6) ... Mann had game-high totals of 14 points and 11 rebounds vs. the Dukes.
HONEGGER HAS A WHOLE LOTTA REBOUNDS
Junior Liz Honegger has been a top rebounder for the Falcons during her entire career ... but, she has been even more prolific over the last four games, averaging a double-double during that time ... in that span, Honegger has averaged 10.8 boards, including a BG season-best 16 in the Falcons' win at Oakland (Dec. 22) ... she pulled down nine caroms in the Delaware game, and had 12 more boards vs. Iona ... Honegger also has averaged 16.0 points per game during the last four contests.
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 21 blocks through 11 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.
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 74-55, in his fifth year ... over the last two-plus seasons, however, Miller and the Falcons have a record of 53-20 ... 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).
A RARE DEFICIT
Iona's eight-point lead late in the first half of that game (Dec. 29) matched BGSU's largest deficit of the season to date ... Delaware also had an eight-point advantage over the Falcons, late in the second half of the teams' contest the day before.
THE FALCON 500
The Falcons' win over IPFW in the season opener (Nov. 18) was the 500th victory in the history of the program ... BGSU enters the Akron game with an all-time record of 508-340 (.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 510 wins and UT 504 ... the 2005-06 season marks the Falcons' 33rd as a varsity program.
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 in the 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 now 4-1 in road games this year, with wins at Detroit, FIU and Oakland and a 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 12-4 on the road in conference play, and 21-10 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.
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 11 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 10 of the 11 games (and, in the other game, held Saint Francis without a point for 3:48 during one segment) ... through those 11 games this season, BGSU has ...
ABOUT THOSE POLLS...
For the first time this season, the Falcons are not listed in either the Associated Press Top 25 poll or the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll ... BGSU received votes in each of this year's first seven AP polls ... the Falcons garnered one vote in each of the first two polls, received two votes in each of the next two, and the Falcons picked up three votes in each of the next three weeks ... BGSU did not receive any votes, however, in the Jan. 2 poll ... on Dec. 13, BG was mentioned in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll for the first time this year, getting two votes ... the Falcons received five votes in that poll on Dec. 20 and four votes on Dec. 27, but BG was not listed in Tuesday's (Jan. 3) poll.
FALCONS IN THE MAC
As the conference schedule begins, the Falcons are ranked among the top-four teams in no fewer than 13 statistical categories ... BGSU leads the league in scoring defense, scoring margin, field-goal percentage defense, blocked shots and turnover margin ... the Falcons are second in scoring offense, three-point FG pct. defense and assist/turnover ratio, and BG is third in free-throw pct., steals and three-point field goals made ... the Falcons rank fourth among MAC teams in FG pct. and rebounding margin.
HONEGGER MAKING A HABIT OF IT
Liz Honegger was named to the all-tournament team at the Hawk Classic in Philadelphia, Pa. (Dec. 28-29) ... for the Falcon junior, the honor was just another in a long list of tournament accolades ... Honegger has been on the all-tournament team in five consecutive tourneys over the last two seasons ... earlier this season, she was named MVP of the Hampton Inn Classic in Bloomington, Ind. ... during the 2004-05 campaign, Honegger was BGSU's lone all-tournament team representative at both of the Falcons' regular-season tourneys, the Brown Classic (Providence, R.I.) and the Lobo Shootout (Albuquerque, N.M.) ... at the end of the '04-05 campaign, she also was named to the MAC All-Tournament Team as BGSU won the league tourney crown.
NO LONGER UNBEATEN, BUT STILL A SCHOOL-RECORD START
The Falcons' unbeaten streak to start the season ended at eight games, as Delaware dealt BGSU a 48-44 setback on Dec. 28 ... BG bounced back with a 62-45 win over Iona the next day (Dec. 29) ... despite the losses to UD and Kentucky (Jan. 2), the Falcons' 9-2 record matches the best 11-game start in school history ... five previous teams - the 1973-74, '74-75, '75-76, '86-87 and '91-92 squads - also posted 9-2 records through 11 games.
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.
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 53-20 and twice advanced to the MAC Tournament's championship game.
