Bowling Green State University Athletics
2006-07 Season is Fast Approaching
October 27, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Oct. 27, 2006
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, believe it or not, is less than a week away from taking the Anderson Arena court ... the Falcons of head coach Curt Miller will take on Findlay in an exhibition game on Wednesday (Nov. 1), beginning at 7:00 p.m. ... earlier this week, as you undoubtedly noticed, the 2006-07 BGSU women's hoops media guide was made available on the women's basketball page here at BGSUFalcons.com ... to follow are a few notes and numbers as the Falcons continue to prepare for the season ...
THE FIVE-YEAR PLAN
It has been well documented that, when Curt Miller was named head women's basketball coach at Bowling Green State University in May of 2001, he had a five-year plan to return the Falcons to prominence in the Mid-American Conference.
Well, it's been five years, so let's review some of BGSU's accomplishments since Miller arrived:
* A 93-56 overall record and a 51-29 MAC mark;
* A 72-21 record, including a league ledger of 40-8, over the last three seasons;
* Two MAC regular-season championships and two conference tournament titles;
* A school- and MAC-record 28 wins last season, and a perfect 16-0 regular-season conference mark.
Miller, associate head coach Jennifer Roos and assistant coaches Brandi Poole and Kevin Eckert welcome back nine letterwinners, including all five starters, from that 28-win team.
EXPECTATIONS?
With so many key contributors back from such a successful team, it is no surprise that folks have placed some lofty expectations on the 2006-07 Falcons. BGSU received national rankings in a trio of preseason polls (20th in the nation by Athlon Sports, 21st in the Lindy's poll and 25th by CSTV.com), and the Falcons probably will be predicted to win the MAC by many so-called `experts.'
"Obviously, there are some heightened expectations, along with a great deal of anticipation for this season surrounding our program," said Miller. "But, the expectations haven't changed for us.
"Our goals are to try to win every time out, to try to compete for a MAC regular-season championship, and to be playing our best basketball come conference tournament time. Our success last year came because we did not get ahead of ourselves; we went out there and took it game-by-game. That's the approach that this team seems to have in the preseason, and I hope it continues."
WHO'S GONE?
The Falcons saw a pair of players, Jill Lause and Casey McDowell, complete their eligibility last season. Bowling Green's turnaround began with those two players. Lause was the first student-athlete to commit to the program after Miller became head coach. In Lause's freshman season of 2002-03, McDowell was part of the program, but sat out the year after transferring from Indiana State. The Falcons posted a 9-19 record in the year before Lause and McDowell arrived, but BGSU averaged 21.0 wins per season during their tenures. Starting with the 2003-04 season - the first year McDowell suited up for the Brown and Orange - BGSU posted a record of 72-21, including a mark of 49-9 against MAC opponents.
Jessica McKenzie, a freshman on last year's team, also will not return in 2006-07. McKenzie played in 21 contests off the bench last season.
WHO'S BACK?
Miller and Company return a total of nine players, including all five starters from the lineup that BGSU used down the stretch. That group combined for 92.9 percent of the team's scoring and 90.7% of the Falcons' rebounding total last winter.
THE SENIORS
BGSU's senior class is one of the finest in school history. The group includes four returning starters in Liz Honegger, Carin Horne, Ali Mann and Megan Thorburn. Additionally, Amber Flynn was perhaps the team's most improved player last season. A sixth senior, Julie Gompers, missed each of the last two seasons due to injury. The class has been an integral part of the Falcons' 72-21 overall mark in the last three years, and BG has advanced to the championship game of the MAC Tournament every year since they arrived.
THE JUNIORS
The Falcons' two juniors, Kate Achter and Whitney Taylor, have helped BGSU win MAC regular-season and tournament titles in each of their two seasons. BG has an overall record of 51-11 since the two arrived on campus, and the Falcons are 48-7 when Achter is in the starting lineup.
THE SOPHOMORES
Lindsey Goldsberry and Jasmine McCall have seen their team win over 90 percent of its games, and the two players have never been a part of a loss to a MAC opponent. McCall played in every game last year, while Goldsberry saw action in 30 of the 31 games, making two starts.
BGSU RANKED IN PRESEASON POLLS
At media guide press time, the Falcons had been listed in three preseason polls. BGSU was ranked 20th in the nation in the Athlon Sports poll, and the Brown and Orange were 21st by Lindy's and 25th in the CSTV.com poll.
ACHTER, HONEGGER, MANN ON PRESEASON ALL-MAC TEAM
The Falcons had three players selected to the Preseason All-MAC Team, which is a result of voting by the MAC News Media Association members. Seniors Liz Honegger and Ali Mann and junior Kate Achter all were chosen to the team.
The preseason all-league team consists of five members from each of the MAC's two divisions. Mann was selected to the team for the third-straight year, while Honegger earned her second consecutive trip to Cleveland for the MAC's media gathering. Achter was named to the team for the first time.
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE TO TEST FALCONS
BGSU plays a very difficult non-conference schedule, perhaps the most difficult in school history. The challenging non-league slate features six games against opponents that advanced to national postseason play last year, as well as two extended trips to exotic locales.
The Falcons also will play a total of five games in venerable Anderson Arena before MAC action begins. BGSU will meet 2006 national runner-up Duke as part of a trip to Cancun, Mexico, and the Falcons will face, among others, Indiana, Notre Dame and Temple.
In addition to the Cancun trip, the Brown and Orange also will head to Orlando, Fla., for the UCF Tournament. A few more notes about the non-league schedule...
* The Falcons play a total of five home non-conference games, the most in 16 years
* BGSU will meet four teams -- Duke, Notre Dame, Oakland, Temple -- that advanced to the NCAA Championships last year, and two more -- Delaware and Indiana -- that participated in the WNIT
* Two more non-league opponents, Robert Morris and Texas-Arlington, won 20 games a year ago
* All five home games are against teams that won 20 games last year and/or advanced to national postseason play
* The Caribbean Classic in Cancun, Mexico, will mark the first games played out of the United States in program history
* The Chicago State game (Jan. 30) will mark the first non-conference matchup in the middle of the MAC schedule since January of 1995
MILLER ON THE NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
"This is an outstanding schedule, arguably the toughest non-conference schedule in school history. This will certainly prepare us to meet the challenges that will await us throughout MAC play in January and February.
"The two tournaments are a reward for our outstanding senior class. They are a special group, and it is important to us to send them out in style. We will enjoy our trips to Orlando and Cancun while at the same time playing some of the best competition in the country.
"It is not inconceivable that we could be just as good or better than last season, but could have three or more losses in non-conference play after having three losses during all of last year.
"But, I have the backing of the players. Several of the returnees have said that they will remember this type of schedule, and they are very excited about the opportunity to test themselves against some of the top teams in the region and the nation."
MOST. WINS. EVER.
The Falcons' 64-39 victory over Kent State in the 2006 Kraft MAC Tournament championship gave BGSU a total of 28 wins on the season. The Falcons set a new school -- and Mid-American Conference -- single-season record for victories. A total of four teams had posted 27 wins in conference annals. That group included the 1986-87 and 1988-89 Falcon teams, as well as the 1983-84 Central Michigan squad and the 1996-97 Toledo club.
PERFECT IN THE MAC
The 2005-06 Falcons became just the fifth team in MAC history, and the first in eight years, to complete the league regular-season schedule without a loss. Curt Miller's club was the third BGSU team to go 16-0 in league play. The two prior BG teams to turn the trick were coached by Fran Voll, as his 1986-87 and 1988-89 squads each went 16-0 in league regular-season action. Central Michigan was the first-ever MAC team to go undefeated in conference action, with a mark of 18-0 in 1983-84. Prior to '05-06, the most recent league team to do so was the 18-0 Kent State squad in 1997-98 (see list at left).
BACK TO THE BIG DANCE
In 2005-06, BGSU qualified for the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive season and the eighth time in school history. BG's 2004-05 appearance in the national tourney was the Falcons' first since 1994. That year, BGSU was the #13 seed in the Kansas City Regional, and dropped a 70-60 decision to fourth-seeded and nationally-ranked Kansas State in the first round (March 19, 2005), at Bank of America Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, Wash. Last year, BGSU was a #12 seed, and fell to fifth-seeded UCLA in a matchup of nationally-ranked teams at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.
MILLER AGREES TO CONTRACT EXTENSION
BGSU agreed in principle with Curt Miller on a two-year contract extension, it was announced in early May of 2006. His contract now runs through June 30, 2011. Miller has an overall mark of 93-56 through five seasons at BGSU, along with a MAC ledger of 51-29. Over the last three seasons, Miller and the Falcons are 72-21 overall and 40-8 in conference regular-season play.
BACK TO BACK IN THE MAC
As mentioned earlier (and it might be mentioned again), BGSU won both the Mid-American Conference regular-season and tournament titles for the second consecutive year. This marks only the fourth time that such an event has occurred, and the first time in over a decade. Bowling Green teams have pulled off the feat on three of those four occasions. The list ...
BACK-TO-BACK MAC REGULAR-SEASON AND TOURNEY TITLES
School -- Years
Bowling Green -- 1986-87, 1987-88 and 1988-89
Toledo -- 1990-91 and 1991-92
Bowling Green -- 1992-93 and 1993-94
Bowling Green -- 2004-05 and 2005-06
BACK TO BACK IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT
BGSU's achievement of back-to-back Kraft MAC Tournament titles marks just the sixth time in league history that the same school has put together a tourney title streak. The Falcons' 2005 and 2006 crowns make BG the first team since Toledo in the mid-1990s to win the league tournament in consecutive years. The Fran Voll-coached Falcon teams from 1987-90 hold the record with four-straight conference tourney titles ...
BACK-TO-BACK MAC TOURNAMENT TITLES
School -- Years
Central Michigan -- 1983 and 1984
Bowling Green -- 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990
Toledo -- 1991 and 1992
Bowling Green -- 1993 and 1994
Toledo -- 1995, 1996 and 1997
Bowling Green -- 2005 and 2006
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
With four starters averaging in double digits in scoring, the Falcons enjoyed great balance offensively en route to a 28-3 record last year. But, a storyline just as important was BGSU's defense, with the Kraft MAC Tournament providing a prime example. In the three games in the tournament, the Brown and Orange allowed an average of just 48.7 points per game. BGSU surrendered just 42.5 ppg in the final two games, wins over Toledo (68-46) and Kent State (64-39). Those two teams shot a combined 29.8 percent, going 34-for-114 from the field against the BGSU defense.
MANN NAMED BGSU PLAYER OF YEAR
Ali Mann was named the BGSU Player of the Year for the 2005-06 season. Mann, who was a co-POY honoree in 2004-05, earned the '05-06 award in a vote of team members. Liz Honegger was named the team's Power Player of the Year, while Carin Horne was honored as the Impact Player of the Year. Both players earned those respective awards for the second consecutive season. Amber Flynn picked up the team's Most Improved Player award, while Horne and Kate Achter were co-recipients of the Playmaker-of-the-Year award. Jill Lause garnered the team's Falcon Award, while Whitney Taylor was named BG's Student-Athlete of the Year and Casey McDowell received the inaugural Fran & Marty Voll Award.
FALCONS IN THE NCAA
In March of 2006, BGSU qualified for the NCAA Championships for the second-straight season, and for the eighth time in school history. The Falcons are now 1-8 in tourney appearances, with a 1-2 mark at home and a record of 0-4 on the road. The Kansas State game in 2005 was the first NCAA neutral-site game in school history, and BG is now 0-2 in neutral-site national-tourney affairs ...
Year (BGSU's seed) Opponent Score
1987 (#9 Mideast) at #8 Illinois L, 64-80
1988 (#10 Mideast) at #7 St. Joseph's L, 66-68
1989 (#9 West) #8 CINCINNATI W, 69-59
at #1 Maryland L, 65-78
1990 (#12 West) at #5 South Carolina L, 50-93
1993 (#10 East) #7 FLORIDA L, 67-69
1994 (#7 Midwest) #10 CREIGHTON L, 73-84
2005 (#13 Kansas City) vs. #4 Kansas St. ^ L, 60-70
2006 (#12 Cleveland) vs. #5 UCLA % L, 61-74
^ at Seattle, Wash.
% at West Lafayette, Ind.
IT'S AN EAST-WEST THING
In the last two seasons, the Falcons accomplished a rare double, one so rare that it has never happened in the history of MAC women's basketball, and likely will never happen again. BGSU won the East Division title last season, after winning the previous year's West Division crown. BG was moved from the West to the East prior to the 2005-06 campaign, after Marshall's departure from the conference.
FALCONS AMONG NATION'S ELITE
BGSU finished the season ranked third in the nation in winning percentage in 2005-06. The Falcons' pct. of .903 trailed only North Carolina (33-2, .943) and Ohio State (29-3, .906). BG's total of three losses on the season tied for the second-fewest in the country, tied with OSU and behind only UNC. The Falcons also ranked in the top-10 in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (13.2, eighth).
MILLER REPEATS AS MAC COACH OF YEAR
BGSU coach Curt Miller was named the MAC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. Miller became the fourth coach in league history to win the league honor in back-to-back seasons. He guided the Falcons to just the fifth undefeated record in MAC history, and concluded his fifth season at BGSU with an overall head-coaching record of 93-56. Miller and the Falcons are 72-21 overall and 40-8 in conference play over the last three seasons.
MILLER NAMED REGION COACH OF YEAR
The honors kept rolling in for Curt Miller, as he was named the Region 4 Coach of the Year for 2005-06, announced by the WBCA. As such, he was one of eight finalists for the WBCA's national-coach-of-the-year award. Miller was joined on the national C-O-Y ballot by C. Vivian Stringer (Rutgers), Sylvia Hatchell (North Carolina), Pat Summitt (Tennessee), Sherri Coale (Oklahoma), Jim Wiedie (Indiana State), Don Flanagan (New Mexico) and Charli Thorne (Arizona State).
FOUR FALCONS EARN ALL-MAC HONORS
For the first time in 12 years, the Falcons had four players named to the All-MAC Team in 2005-06. The team was the result of voting by the league's 12 head coaches. Ali Mann became the school's first All-MAC First-Team honoree in six years, while Liz Honegger and Kate Achter each were named to the second team and Carin Horne picked up third-team accolades. BGSU's total of four all-league honorees tied for the most in school history.
MANN NAMED TOURNAMENT MVP
Ali Mann was named the Kraft MAC Tournament's Most Valuable Player, while Liz Honegger and Kate Achter joined her on the all-tournament team. Mann averaged a double-double, with 13.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game in the three tourney contests. Mann also had 3.3 assists per game and shot 55.6 percent from the field. Achter had 10.0 points, 5.3 boards and 6.0 assists in the three games, while Honegger had a team-high 16.0 points per game, along with 5.0 boards per contest. Honegger shot 60.0% in the league tourney.
TOP NOTCH
BGSU's 2005-06 record of 28-3 was the best in school history. Like the '05-06 team, the 1986-87 BG squad had 27 wins in the first 29 games. That Falcon team won a school-record 21 consecutive games to enter the NCAA Tournament with a 27-2 record, before losing at Illinois in the first round of the national tourney. The `05-06 group had a 19-game winning streak and won a 28th game, in the MAC Tournament final, to advance to the NCAAs ...
BGSU'S BEST RECORDS
Year Record // Notes 2005-06 28-3 // BGSU set a school record with 28 wins 1986-87 27-3 // Won 21 straight before losing at Illinois in NCAAs
TOP NOTCH, TAKE II
BGSU's 16-0 record in conference play was the Falcons' first in 17 years. The 2005-06 team was the third in school history to run the table. The other two teams, the 1986-87 and 1988-89 squads, also went a perfect 16-0 in MAC action.
STREAKY FALCONS
Through the 2005-06 season, BGSU compiled several lengthy streaks. Heading into the '06-07 campaign, BG has won 25 games in a row (regular-season and tournament) vs. MAC opponents. Additionally, the Falcons finished '05-06 with a perfect 11-0 home record, and have won 18-straight games at Anderson Arena, one of the longest homecourt streaks in the nation. And, the Falcons closed the regular-season schedule with wins in eight consecutive road games.
DOUBLE-DIGIT WINNING STREAK
The Falcons' 19-game winning streak came to an end in the NCAA Championships vs. UCLA in March of 2006. That streak, however, was the team's longest in nearly 12 years, since a 20-game streak in the 1993-94 season. The run by the '05-06 team was the fifth double-digit winning streak in school history. That streak -- as was the case in each of the previous four double-figure streaks in BG annals -- took the Falcons all the way to the NCAA Tournament.
BGSU'S LONGEST WINNING STREAKS
Year Streak // Notes 1986-87 21 // Falcons, at 6-2, did not lose again until NCAA Tourney 1988-89 20 // Final win came vs. Cincinnati in NCAA first round 1993-94 20 // Falcons lost MAC opener, then won out until NCAAs 2005-06 19 // BG lost final non-conf. game, did not lose again until UCLA 1992-93 17 // BG, 8-4, won final 14 MAC games, 3 league tourney games
HOT STREAK
Dating to the 2004-05 season, the Falcons have won 25 consecutive games against MAC opposition. BGSU suffered a loss at Eastern Michigan on Feb. 19, 2005, then won three consecutive games to close the regular season. The Falcons went 3-0 in the 2005 Kraft MAC Tournament to win the tourney title and advance to the NCAA Championships. Then, the `05-06 edition of the Brown and Orange reeled off 16 consecutive victories in conference play, and captured three more wins vs. league foes in the MAC Tournament.
HOT STREAK II (AND III)
The Falcons increased several other streaks over 2005-06 season's late going. Entering the NCAA Tournament, BGSU had won 19-straight games overall. According to the NCAA statistics, that streak was tied for third in the country. Of course, 63 NCAA Tournament participants all saw their winning streaks come to an end. The Falcons' Feb. 22 win over Kent State means the Falcons have won 18 consecutive games at Anderson Arena, heading into 2006-07. BG's homecourt winning streak is the fourth longest in the nation. The lists follow ...
NCAA DIVISION I HOMECOURT WINNING STREAKS
(through end of 2005-06 season)
Rank Team Next Opponent (Date) Streak 1 LSU vs. West Virginia (Nov. 12) 31 2 Louisiana Tech vs. Western Kentucky (Nov. 11) 21 3 Hartford vs. Dartmouth (Nov. 10) 19 4 Bowling Green vs. Temple (Nov. 24) 18 5 Western Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt (Nov. 16) 16
NCAA DIVISION I OVERALL WINNING STREAKS
(through end of 2005-06 regular season - all streaks ended in NCAA Ty.)
Rank Team Streak
1 Chattanooga 26
2 Coppin State 21
3 Bowling Green 19
Ohio State 19
5 Oklahoma 17
BGSU BREAKS INTO NATIONAL RANKINGS ...
It isn't every day that a MAC school breaks into the top-25 of the national polls. On Feb. 14, though, BGSU did just that. The Falcons were ranked 25th in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll, marking BG's first time in a national poll in 12 years, and the first for a MAC team in over four years. BGSU was ranked in the USA Today/ESPN poll in five consecutive weeks, the longest-ever run by a league institution. The Falcons again had a ranking of 25th on Feb. 21, before moving up a spot to #24 the next week (Feb. 28) and two more notches to 22nd in the March 7 poll. On March 13, prior to the NCAA Tournament, BGSU was 21st in the country in the USA Today/ESPN poll ... the Falcons received 36 votes in the season's final poll.
... IN BOTH POLLS
On March 6, 2006, the Falcons cracked the Associated Press poll as well. BGSU picked up a ranking of 24th in that poll, and BGSU moved up to 23rd on March 13. The Falcons had received votes in each of the first seven AP polls of the 2005-06 season, and made a return in the Jan. 23 poll, receiving votes in the next six weeks before breaking into the top 25.
BGSU AND THE POLLS: A COMPLETE HISTORY
* BGSU's '05-06 run in the USA Today/ESPN poll marked the first time in MAC history that a team has spent five consecutive weeks in the rankings
* The Falcons' highest-ever ranking was 19th, in the final Associated Press poll of the 1992-93 season (March 16, 1993). That capped a run of four-straight weeks in that poll, the longest previous such run.
* The March 13 USA Today/ESPN poll marked only the 12th week in MAC history that a league institution has been listed in the USA Today poll, and BGSU has been that team in nine of the 12 weeks.
* Similarly, a MAC school has been ranked in the Associated Press poll in a total of 12 weeks, and BGSU has been the team in eight of those 12 weeks.
HONEGGER IN A CLASS BY HERSELF
Liz Honegger is making her mark as one of the top players in school history, and as one of the most versatile players in the history of the MAC. Three years into her career, Honegger has accomplished something that no other MAC player has ever done. Honegger is the only player in MAC history to block at least 125 shots and make at least 125 three-point field goals in her career. She enters the 2006-07 season with totals of 151 treys and 152 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).
FALCONS HAVE WON 34 OF 38
Despite the 2005-06 losses to Delaware (by four points), Kentucky (in overtime) and UCLA (NCAA Championships), the Falcons have won 34 of the last 38 games, dating to Feb. 19, 2005. BGSU's only other loss in that time was to Kansas State in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Championships.
HERE'S YOUR SIGN
Earning a national ranking is one sign that a team is having a successful season. Here's another: through the first 30 games of the 2005-06 season, the Falcons did not allow a single opponent to score 70 points. Meanwhile, BGSU averaged nearly 70 points per game (69.4 ppg) during that time. UCLA scored 74 points vs. the Falcons in the NCAA Championships to snap that streak.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
A few random notes and statistics ...
* The Falcons are 46-0 over the last two seasons when leading with 10 minutes left in the second half, and 47-0 during that time when holding the lead with five minutes remaining
* BGSU was 19-0 last season and is 35-0 over the last two years when outrebounding the opponent
* BG is a perfect 14-0 in the Miller Era when shooting 50.0 percent or better from the field.
