Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Prepare for Fourth-Ranked Duke
December 15, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 15, 2006
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
#21 BGSU vs. #4/4 DUKE
Tue., December 19, 2006 - 7:00 p.m. EST
Caribbean Classic - Moon Palace Resort - Cancun, Mexico
RECORDS: BGSU 7-1 (28-3 in 2005-06) // Duke 9-0 (31-4 in 2005-06)
RADIO: WBGU-FM (88.1) - Brian Scullin and Paul Braverman
SERIES: First Meeting
BGSU-Duke Game Notes (28 pages) in PDF Format
THE GAME
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, riding a six-game win streak, faces one of the toughest tests in program history ... the Falcons of head coach Curt Miller, currently ranked 21st in the nation, travel to Cancun, Mexico, for the Caribbean Classic ... BGSU will play two games there, beginning with a Tuesday (Dec. 19) contest vs. #4/4 Duke University, the defending national runner-up ... then, the Brown and Orange will meet the University of Texas at Arlington on Wednesday (Dec. 20) ... both games begin at 6:00 p.m. CST (7:00 p.m. Eastern) at the Moon Palace Resort ... the Caribbean Classic marks the Falcons' first-ever games outside the United States ... BGSU, the two-time defending Mid-American Conference regular-season and tournament champions, has won 41 of the last 46 overall contests.
HIGHEST RANKED OPPONENT EVER
It is believed that Duke is tied for the highest-ranked opponent in the history of the BGSU women's basketball program ... the Blue Devils are currently ranked fourth in the polls ... Maryland was also ranked fourth in the nation when the Brown and Orange headed to College Park for a 1989 NCAA Tournament game, a 78-65 win by the Terps ... more recently, the Falcons have played several ranked teams over the past few years, including Ohio State (#9/10 at the time of the meeting), Kansas State (#16/16) and UCLA (#21/23) ... but, it is believed that BG has never played an opponent higher than fourth in the rankings at the time of the game.
BOTH ENDS OF THE SPECTRUM
On back-to-back days, the Falcons will face the teams that led the nation in scoring offense and scoring defense last year ... Duke scored an NCAA-best 86.0 points per game in 2005-06, while Texas-Arlington allowed opponents to score just 51.6 ppg a season ago.
FORMIDABLE FOE
If you hadn't already guessed, Tuesday's opponent, Duke, may very well be the best team the Falcons have ever faced ... consider that the Blue Devils are 9-0 with a scoring margin of +36.8 ... Duke is second in the entire nation in no fewer than four categories - scoring defense, scoring margin, field-goal percentage defense and blocked shots ... DU's Alison Bales leads the nation in blocks, and has swatted more shots than all but 27 entire teams ... last year, the Blue Devils advanced all the way to the national championship game before losing in overtime.
Moon Palace - Cancun, Mexico - December 19-21
all times p.m. and Central Standard (CST)
Tuesday, December 19 Liberty vs. Texas-Arlington, 1:00 East Carolina vs. Pittsburgh, 3:30 Bowling Green vs. Duke, 6:00 Detroit vs. SMU, 8:30Wednesday, December 20 Pittsburgh vs. Liberty, 1:00 Duke vs. SMU, 3:30 Texas-Arlington vs. Bowling Green, 6:00 Detroit vs. East Carolina, 8:30
Thursday, December 21 Pittsburgh vs. Duke, Noon second team listed is designated as the home team
MILLER REACHES MILESTONE
BGSU's win at St. Bonaventure (Dec. 9) gave gave Falcon head coach Curt Miller his 100th career victory ... Miller is now 100-57 in his sixth year, and has become only the third BGSU women's basketball coach to reach the century mark ... Fran Voll had a 144-60 mark in seven years at BGSU (1984-91), while Jaci Clark had a 135-65 mark in her seven years at the Falcon helm (1991-98).
HONEGGER NEARS BGSU CAREER 3-POINT RECORD
Senior Liz Honegger already holds the BGSU career record for blocked shots ... now, she is nearing the school record for three-point field goals made ... Honegger enters the Duke game with a career total of 171 successful treys, tying her for second place on the BG career list ... she is just two triples shy of tying Sara Puthoff (1994-98) for the record ... Honegger is second on the list of 3-point field goals attempted.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
ââ,¬Â¢ The Falcons enter the Duke contest with a 7-1 record on the season, and BGSU has won six consecutive games ... five of BG's wins have come by over 30 points, including an 82-47 victory over Indiana at Anderson Arena on Dec. 6 ... after posting a 68-37 win at Detroit (Nov. 10) to open the season, head coach Curt Miller's squad suffered a narrow overtime loss at Notre Dame (85-81, Nov. 13) in a matchup of two NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago ... then, however, BGSU picked up victories over Albany (76-40) and Fairleigh Dickinson (87-56) in the UCF Tournament (Nov. 17-18), before opening the home slate with an 86-67 win over Temple (Nov. 24) ... then, the Falcons posted wins over Oakland (89-58, Nov. 29), IU and St. Bonaventure (71-46, Dec. 9).
ââ,¬Â¢ Through eight games, no fewer than six BG players are averaging over seven points per game, with four scoring in double digits ... senior Ali Mann has 15.5 points to lead the way, while seniors Carin Horne (13.4) and Liz Honegger (11.0) and junior Kate Achter (10.3) round out the double-figure scorers ... Horne paces the Falcons in rebounding, with 5.5 per game, while Achter has a team-high 5.5 assists per contest ... Horne (1.9 spg) and Achter (1.8 spg) rank 1-2 on the team in steals ... Honegger leads BG with 1.1 blocked shots per outing, and also has a team-high 20 three-point field goals made (in 33 attempts) this year.
ââ,¬Â¢ Senior Amber Flynn is averaging 9.3 points per game off the bench, and is tied with Honegger for second in rebounding (4.8 rpg apiece) ... senior Megan Thorburn has 7.1 ppg, and has 14 three-pointers made and a 48.3 percent 3-point field-goal rate ... she ranks third on the team in 3s made (behind Honegger and Horne [15]) and second in three-point pct.
ââ,¬Â¢ In addition to Flynn, junior Whitney Taylor and sophomore Jasmine McCall each have seen action in all eight games off the bench ... McCall has 4.3 ppg and is second on the Falcons in assists (2.5 apg), while Taylor has 3.5 ppg.
ââ,¬Â¢ Through eight games, BGSU is averaging a whopping 80.0 points per game, while allowing just 54.5 ... the Falcons are shooting 49.6 percent from the field, and have made 66 three-point field goals - 8.25 per game - in 153 tries (43.1%) ... BG has limited the foes to just a 35.1% field-goal rate and a 27.0% effort from long range (37-for-137 from beyond the arc) ... BGSU has made nearly as many free throws (122) as the opponents have attempted (130) ... the Falcons have a 69.7% success rate from the free-throw line, while the opposition is shooting 71.5% from the stripe.
ââ,¬Â¢ Miller and Company returned all five starters, and nine total letterwinners, from last year's team that finished 28-3 overall and won the MAC with a perfect 16-0 league ledger ... sophomore Lindsey Goldsberry and freshmen Tara Breske, Laura Bugher and Sarah Clapper round out the active roster ... Goldsberry has played in seven games, and is averaging 2.6 ppg, while the three frosh each have seen action in six contests.
ââ,¬Â¢ Last year's 28-win total set school and conference records for victories in a season ... BGSU, after winning the league's regular-season title for the second year in a row, went on to win the Kraft MAC Tournament for the second-straight March ... the returning players combined for 92.9 percent of the team's scoring and 90.7% of the Falcons' rebounding total.
HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE
BGSU went a perfect 11-0 in home games last season ... after downing Indiana by 35 points (Dec. 6), the Falcons have won 21 consecutive games at Anderson Arena ... BGSU's homecourt winning streak is the second longest in the nation, trailing only LSU's 37-game streak.
LAST TIME OUT
Curt Miller prides his Falcons on being a blue-collar team ... perhaps it is only fitting, then, that Miller's club used a workmanlike effort to get him his 100th career win ... seniors Ali Mann and Carin Horne scores 19 points apiece at BG posted a 71-46 win at St. Bonaventure (Dec. 9) ... Dana Mitchell led the hosts with 11 points off the bench, while Katelyn Murray had nine ... the Falcons held Audrey Latendresse, the Bonnies' leading scorer, to just two points on 1-for-10 shooting on the night ... BG shot 48.4 percent from the field for the game, going an identical 15-for-31 in each half, while holding the Bonnies for 33.3% success rate ... Mann did most of her scoring damage in the first half, with 15 points before intermission, while Horne scored 12 second-half points, including 10 in a span of 2:42 midway through the period ... Mann had the first six points of the game, all on layups down low as the Falcons pounded the ball inside ... BG put together a double-digit run late in the first half, to put the Falcons ahead by a 30-13 margin ... the Falcons had runs of 9-0 and 10-0 in the second half, with Horne scoring seven of the nine points in the first run ... the latter run gave the Falcons a 67-35 lead with just over five minutes left ... all 12 active Falcons saw at least five minutes of action in the game, with 11 finding the scoresheet ... senior Amber Flynn joined Horne and Mann in double figures with 11 points ... the Bonnies held a 41-31 rebounding advantage, but committed 26 turnovers on the night ... BG had just 10 turnovers, and totaled 17 assists and 18 steals in the win.
SCOUTING DUKE
Duke heads to Cancun with a record of 9-0 on the season ... there are not enough superlatives to describe the Blue Devils, who are ranked #4 in the nation in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls ... most recently, the team played three games against ranked opponents in a seven-day span, winning them all by an average of 29.7 points ... Duke's lowest margin of victory has been 21 points, against both Marist (71-50, Nov. 17) and then-#11 Vanderbilt (69-48, Dec. 7) ... the Blue Devils' last win was an 80-52 triumph over Texas (Dec. 10) ... individually, sophomore guard Abby Waner leads the team in scoring, with 15.3 points per game, and she also has 3.7 steals per game to pace the Devils ... senior guard Lindsay Harding and senior center Alison Bales are averaging 12.4 and 11.8 ppg, respectively ... both players are among the 50 players named as preseason candidates for the Naismith Trophy ... Harding also averages 3.8 assists per game, while Bales has team-high averages of 7.1 rebounds and 5.0 blocks per contest ... she is three blocks away from becoming the ACC's all-time leader, and is 22nd in NCAA history in that category ... sophomore forward Carrem Gay (9.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and junior guard Wanisha Smith (8.3 ppg, a team-high 4.3 assists) join the aforementioned three players in the starting lineup for head coach Gail Goestenkors ... Goestenkors welcomed back nine letterwinners, including three starters, from last year's team that went 31-4 and advanced to the national championship game ... Goestenkors, in her 15th year at the helm of the Blue Devils, has a record of 373-97 ... the school's athletics web site is www.GoDuke.com.
A QUICK LOOK AT TEXAS-ARLINGTON
Texas-Arlington has a record of 3-6 ... the Mavericks will face Liberty in Cancun before meeting the Falcons the following day ... senior guard Terra Wallace has 15.6 points per game, while senior Ashley Bobb averages 9.3 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds per contest ... juniors Maryann Abanobi, Tiffeny Riles and Tojjinay Thompson join Wallace and Bobb in the probable starting lineup for head coach Donna Capps ... last year, UT Arlington went 20-9 and finished second in the Southland Conference with a 13-3 league mark ... the Mavs led the nation in scoring defense in '05-06 ... Capps welcomed back nine letterwinners, including four starters, from that team ... she has a record of 98-86 in her seventh year ... the school's athletics web site is www.utamavs.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons have never met either Duke or UT Arlington in women's basketball ... BGSU is 1-2 all-time against teams from the ACC, with a win over Boston College and losses to Maryland and North Carolina ... the Falcons are 0-1 against current Southland Conference teams, with a loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi three years ago.
HORNE REACHES 1,000-POINT MARK ...
Senior Carin Horne surpassed the 1,000-point plateau for her career in the Oakland game (Nov. 29) ... Horne, needing 21 points to reach the millennium mark entering the game, had a game-high 25 ... she scored 19 in the first half, and hit a three-pointer with 16:28 left in the second half to reach the milestone ... Horne became just the 21st player to add her name to the 1,000-point list ... entering the Duke game, she now ranks 19th in school history with 1,031 career points.
... JOINING MANN AND HONEGGER ON THAT LIST
Carin Horne joined an exclusive group that currently includes only 21 players in the history of Falcon women's basketball ... that group - the list of 1,000-point scorers - includes three members of the current team ... in January of 2006, Ali Mann became just the 19th player in school history to reach the millennium mark for her career, and only the sixth to do so prior to her senior year ... Mann now has a career total of 1,407 points ... she currently ranks ninth in school history, but is only 25 points out of fourth place ... three weeks after Mann reached 1,000 points, Liz Honegger became the 20th BGSU player (seventh prior to her senior year) to do so ... Honegger currently ranks 11th on the school list, with 1,267 career points ... and, don't look now, but Kate Achter - after just over two seasons - already has 761 points during her BGSU career.
SHE CAN DISH IT OUT AND TAKE IT
Junior Kate Achter, as mentioned, has 761 career points, ranking her 33rd in school history ... the point guard has moved onto the BGSU assists list as well as the scoring chart ... she enters the Duke game with a career total of 318 assists, good for seventh in BG annals.
BGSU MOVES UP TO 21ST IN THE RANKINGS
The Falcons have moved up a spot in the national rankings ... BGSU is ranked 21st in the nation according to the latest (Tuesday, Dec. 12) USA Today/ESPN Division I Women's Basketball Coaches poll ... the Falcons are ranked for the third consecutive week ... BG broke into the top-25 on Nov. 28, with a national ranking of 24th, and the team was tied for 22nd in the Dec. 5 poll ... BGSU had received votes in the first few USA Today/ESPN polls, and the Falcons have earned votes in every Associated Press poll this season to date ... a few more facts about BGSU, the MAC and the polls ...
ââ,¬Â¢ The Falcons' current run marks only the fourth time in MAC history that a league school has had a run of three consecutive weeks in the top 25 ... three of those instances have been in the USA Today poll, with the other in the Associated Press poll ... in all four cases, however, that team has been Bowling Green.
ââ,¬Â¢ The Falcons spent five consecutive weeks in the USA Today poll late last season, the longest-ever run by a league institution.
ââ,¬Â¢ The Dec. 12 USA Today/ESPN poll marked only the 15th week in MAC history that a league institution has been listed in that poll, and BGSU has been that team in 12 of the 15 weeks.
ââ,¬Â¢ 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.
ââ,¬Â¢ 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.
MANN NAMED MAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK, AGAIN
Senior Ali Mann was named MAC Player of the Week, the league office announced on Dec. 11 ... Mann earned the honor for the second time this season and the seventh time in her storied Falcon career ... Mann averaged a team-best 16.5 points along with five rebounds per game as the Falcons posted a pair of wins by an average of 30 points ... she had 14 points and six rebounds in BG's 82-47 win over Indiana (Dec. 6), then had 19 points in a 71-46 victory at St. Bonaventure (Dec. 9) ... Mann's award marked the third time in a four-week span that BGSU had a MAC P-O-W selection ... the senior also earned the honor on Nov. 22, while junior Kate Achter was recognized on Nov. 28.
HONEGGER HAS HABIT OF HITTING HUGE HOOPS VS. HOOSIERS
Senior Liz Honegger, a native of Lafayette, Ind., has been instrumental in the Falcons' wins over Indiana in each of the last two seasons ... in both games, she has displayed the ability to score a great many points in a short time ... in last season's 68-50 win over the Hoosiers in Bloomington (Nov. 26, 2005), Honegger was held scoreless in the first half ... but, in the second half, she scored 12 consecutive BGSU points - on four three-pointers - in a four-minute span to give the Brown and Orange a 15-point lead ... that win came in IU's Hampton Inn Classic, and Honegger was named the tourney's MVP ... in this year's meeting (Dec. 6), Honegger had 17 points in the first half, and scored the Falcons' last nine points - again, all on shots from beyond the arc - to give the Falcons a 43-19 halftime lead.
HEAD COACH Curt Miller
BGSU head coach Curt Miller has turned the Falcon program around, to say the least, during his time in Northwest Ohio ... Miller has been named the MAC Coach of the Year in each of the last two seasons, and was the 2006 Russell Athletic/WBCA Region Four Coach of the Year as well ... his career record currently stands at 100-57, in his sixth year ... over the last three-plus seasons, Miller and the Falcons are 79-22 ... BGSU has gone 40-8 in MAC regular-season play in that time, and 49-9 in all games vs. league foes during that span (9-1 in league tourney play).
CENTURY MARK FOR FALCON SENIORS
The Indiana game marked the 100th contest since the Falcons' current senior class arrived on campus ... now, through three years plus eight games, that group - tri-captains Amber Flynn, Liz Honegger and Ali Mann along with Julie Gompers, Carin Horne and Megan Thorburn - has helped the Brown and Orange to a record of 79-22 ... BGSU also has won a pair of MAC regular-season titles and made three-straight appearances in the MAC Tournament's championship game, winning the last two.
THE FALCONS ARE ...
ââ,¬Â¢ 100-57 in the five years (plus eight games) since Curt Miller took the BG helm in May of 2001;
ââ,¬Â¢ 51-29 in MAC games in that time;
ââ,¬Â¢ 79-22 overall and 40-8 in the MAC over the last three-plus seasons, since the current senior class arrived on campus in the fall of 2003;
ââ,¬Â¢ 41-5 in the last 46 overall games since February of 2005 (with the losses coming to Kansas State [2005 NCAA Tournament], Delaware, Kentucky, UCLA [2006 NCAA Tournament] and Notre Dame);
ââ,¬Â¢ 5-0 in games after a loss during that time;
ââ,¬Â¢ 9-1 in the MAC Tournament in the last three seasons;
ââ,¬Â¢ 25-0 in the last 25 games against MAC opponents, since a loss at Eastern Michigan on Feb. 19, 2005 (the Falcons won the final three regular-season games of 2004-05, then won three-straight games in the MAC Tournament, before going 16-0 in league regular-season play and winning three more conference tourney contests in '05-06);
ââ,¬Â¢ 10-1 in the last 11 road games (with the overtime loss at Notre Dame snapping a nine-game road winning streak since an OT setback at Kentucky last Jan. 2);
ââ,¬Â¢ 41-0 when outrebounding the opponent since the start of the 2004-05 season;
ââ,¬Â¢ 35-2 when holding the opponent fewer than 70 points since the start of the 2005-06 season (BGSU has only allowed two teams - UCLA and Notre Dame - to top the 70-point mark in the last 39 games);
ââ,¬Â¢ 2-2 in games played on Dec. 19 (but 0-0 at neutral sites and 0-0 in the Curt Miller Era on that date); and
ââ,¬Â¢ 4-1 in games played on Dec. 20 (with a 4-0 record in games away from home on that date, a 2-0 mark in double-overtime games - including a 105-103 win over Marquette in a neutral-site game in 1992 - and a 1-0 record since Miller took the helm [66-51 win at Robert Morris in 2004]).
LEADERS OF THE MAC
The Falcons are at the top of numerous team categories in the latest Mid-American Conference statistics (as of Friday morning, Dec. 15) ... BGSU leads all league schools in scoring offense (80.0 ppg), scoring defense (54.5), scoring margin (+25.5), field-goal percentage (49.6), three-point FG pct. (43.1), assists (17.38), turnover margin (+7.00) and assist/turnover ratio (1.26) ... the Falcons are second in the league in FG pct. defense (35.1), blocked shots (3.62) and three-point field goals made (8.25) ... individually, senior Ali Mann leads the league in field-goal pct. (60.0), while classmate Liz Honegger (60.6) ranks first in three-point FG pct. and second in three-pointers made (2.50) ... senior Megan Thorburn (48.3) is tied for second in the conference in three-point pct.
A VETERAN STARTING LINEUP
BGSU's starting lineup features four seniors - Liz Honegger, Carin Horne, Ali Mann and Megan Thorburn - as well as a junior, Kate Achter ... entering the Duke game, that group has combined to make no fewer than 389 starts in their respective Falcon careers to date ... each of the five has started at least 60 games.
MORE ON THE START CHART
As mentioned, the five BGSU starters have combined to make a total of 389 starts in the Brown and Orange ... two members of that group, seniors Liz Honegger and Ali Mann, have moved onto the individual career list for games started ... Honegger has made 100 career starts, while Mann has started 99 games ... Honegger is ranked sixth and Mann seventh on that list ... Jackie Motycka (1985-89) holds the school record with 115 starts, a record that both Honegger and Mann have a chance to break before the year is out.
FALCONS BY CLASS
THE SENIORS
BGSU's senior class is one of the finest in school history ... that group includes four returning starters in Liz Honegger, Carin Horne, Ali Mann and Megan Thorburn ... additionally, Amber Flynn was one of the most improved players in the MAC last season ... a sixth senior, Julie Gompers, missed each of the last two seasons due to injury and will again be sidelined in 2006-07 ... the class has been an integral part of the Falcons' 79-22 overall mark in the last three-plus 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 first two seasons ... BG has an overall record of 58-12 since the two arrived on campus, and the Falcons are 55-8 when Achter is in the starting lineup.
THE SOPHOMORES
Lindsey Goldsberry and Jasmine McCall have seen their team win nearly 90 percent of its games (35-4 to date), and the two players have never been a part of a loss to a MAC opponent ... McCall has played in all 39 of BGSU's games in her career to date, while Goldsberry has action in 37 contests, making two starts.
THE FRESHMEN
Tara Breske (Temperance, Mich.), Laura Bugher (Greenwood, Ind.) and Sarah Clapper (Newark, Ohio) join the Falcons for the 2006-07 season ... each player has seen action in six of BGSU's eight games to date.
TOUGH CROWD
The Falcons' non-conference schedule is one of the toughest in school history ... the Temple game began a stretch in which seven of eight games are against teams that won 20 games last year and/or advanced to national postseason play ... that includes all five of BGSU's home non-league games ... of the three opponents on the last homestand, Temple is the defending Atlantic 10 champion, while Oakland advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year and Indiana made it to the quarterfinal round of the WNIT ... BG went 3-0 on that homestand.
30-POINT WINS HAVE BEEN MORE PLENTIFUL
In the season's first seven games, the Falcons posted five wins by 30 points or more ... that total ties the 2006-07 team for second in school history ... the 1974-75 team had seven wins of at least 30 points, while the 1981-82, 1987-88 and 1991-92 clubs had five apiece ... prior to winning five of the first seven games by more than 30 points this year, BGSU had six such wins in the last eight seasons and only 10 victories of 30-or-more points in 12 seasons ... in the last 10 years, BG has won six games by at least 35 points - a 50-point win over Savannah State in 2001-02, a 37-point victory over Akron in '03-04, two 36-point victories against Northern Illinois (1999-2000 and 2004-05) and the wins over Albany and Indiana this season.
A MODEL OF CONSISTENCY
Senior Ali Mann had 15 first-half points en route to 19 for the game at St. Bonaventure ... Mann, who has played in 101 games as a Falcon, now has scored in double digits 78 times ... Mann, the lone Falcon to score 10 points or more in all eight games this season, has hit double figures in 15-straight games dating to last year.
RUNNING WITH THE FALCONS
The Falcons had a 10-0 run in each half in the win at St. Bonaventure ... BGSU has had at least one run of 10 points or more during each of the season's first eight games ... BGSU reeled off 16-straight points in the season opener at Detroit, a run that was larger than any the Falcons had during all of the 2005-06 season ... the Falcons have had 14 double-digit scoring runs in the eight contests this year, after having a total of 15 during all of last season.
FLYNN-TASTIC
Senior Amber Flynn has become a force off the bench for the Falcons ... Flynn scored 12 points off the bench in each of three-straight games, vs. Albany, Fairleigh Dickinson and Temple ... Flynn had entered that three-game stretch with a career total of five double-digit scoring games ... she then scored eight points in both the Oakland and Indiana games before scoring 11 at St. Bonaventure ... Flynn was a combined 12-of-14 from the field in those three games ... on the year, Flynn is averaging 9.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game ... she has 10.5 ppg over the last six contests.
FLYNN-TASTIC FROM BEYOND THE ARC, TOO
Senior Amber Flynn entered the Temple game with a total of one three-point field goal made, but hit a pair of triples in the first half vs. the Owls ... her lone prior three-ball had come in last year's win over Eastern Michigan (Feb. 1, 2006) ... vs. Indiana, Flynn was successful on her only shot attempt from beyond the arc.
TREY BIEN!
The Falcons have shot the ball well from behind the three-point line this season to date, to say the least ... through eight games, BGSU has made 8.25 treys per game and shot 43.1 percent (66-of-153) from long range ... BG made 7-of-8 three-point tries to end the first half vs. Indiana.
CAN'T LOSE IF YOU NEVER TRAIL
The Falcons have not trailed in a span of 149:53, or nearly four full games ... the last time BGSU was behind on the scoreboard was midway through the first half of the home opener vs. Temple ... BGSU never trailed vs. Oakland or St. Bonaventure, and the score was tied twice in the early moments of the Indiana game.
CAN'T LOSE IF YOU NEVER TRAIL, PART DEUX
The Falcons have played a total of 325 minutes this season to date, and BGSU has trailed for only 19:52 - just over six percent of the time - during the first eight games ... over the last six contests, BGSU has trailed for only 4:56 out of the 240 minutes (just two percent of the time) ... the Falcons have played five games - Albany, Fairleigh Dickinson, Oakland, Indiana and St. Bonaventure - in which the team was never behind on the scoreboard ... BGSU's biggest deficit this season was a 6-0 hole to start the Notre Dame game.
CLAMPING DOWN ON D
The Falcons have held the opponent without a field goal for at least four minutes on 17 occasions through the first eight games, and BG has kept the opposition without a point for a four-minute span nine times this year to date ... the longest such stretches have been 6:50 without a point and 9:02 without a field goal, both in the win over Albany.
MORE POSSIBLE MILESTONES FOR LIZ ...
Senior Liz Honegger likely will leave BGSU as the school's all-time leader in both blocked shots and three-point field goals made ... Honegger already has broken the career blocks record ... and, as mentioned, she is just two triples shy of tying Sara Puthoff (1994-98) for that BGSU mark ... Honegger currently is tied for second with 171 successful 3-balls.
... AND ALI
Senior Ali Mann has moved into third place on the BGSU career list for free throws made ... entering the Duke game, Mann has made 386 career charity tosses, 44 shy of Jackie Motycka's (1985-89) school record ... Mann ranks fourth on the BGSU list for career FTs attempted.
A FEW MORE NOTES FROM THE ST. BONAVENTURE GAME
The Falcons now have won 15 of the last 17 true road games, with the only losses during that time being four-point overtime setbacks at Kentucky and Notre Dame ... the last time BG lost a road game in regulation was a 57-52 setback at Eastern Michigan on Feb. 19, 2005 ââ,¬Â¢ BGSU has held the opponent under 50 points in four of eight games this season ... meanwhile, the Falcons have scored over 70 points in seven games, and have totaled at least 68 points in all eight ââ,¬Â¢ SBU's Audrey Latendresse entered the game averaging a team-high 16.9 ppg ... but, the BG defense held Latendresse scoreless in the first half en route to just two points on 1-of-10 shooting for the night.
MORE ON THE INDIANA GAME
Senior Carin Horne had four assists in the win over IU, tying her career best for the second consecutive game ââ,¬Â¢ sophomore Jasmine McCall scored nine points off the bench, a season high and just one point off of her career best ââ,¬Â¢ Indiana had entered the game with a 7-1 record, with road wins over Kentucky and Notre Dame and a neutral-site victory over Wake Forest ... the Hoosiers had been averaging 74.0 points per game and shooting 46.6 percent from the field, but the Falcons limited IU to 47 points and a 29.6% field-goal rate.
HONEGGER SETS A(NOTHER) RECORD
It was only a matter of time before senior Liz Honegger became the Falcons' all-time record-holder in blocked shots .... and, for the Lafayette, Ind., native, the record came in her home state ... Honegger blocked four Notre Dame shot attempts (Nov. 13), moving her past Angie Bonner (155) into first place on the BG list ... Honegger now has 161 career blocks, and owns all of the BGSU records ... she set the single-game record as a freshman, and has tied or broken the school season marks - both overall and in MAC games - in each of her first three seasons ... not surprisingly, she is on pace to shatter the BG career mark for blocks per game.
FALCONS SIGN EIGHT
BGSU coach Curt Miller announced the signing of eight student-athletes to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period ... Chelsea Albert (Brighton, Mich./Brighton), Bianca Hooten (North Canton, Ohio/Canton McKinley), Liana (Lee) Jennings (Stow, Ohio/Stow), Crystal Murdaugh (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Scioto), Tracy Pontius (Morton, Ill./Morton), Lauren Prochaska (Plain City, Ohio/Jonathan Alder), Jen Uhl (Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth) and Kelly Zuercher (Orrville, Ohio/Apple Creek Waynedale) will join the Falcon program for the 2007-08 academic year.
HONEGGER IN A CLASS BY HERSELF
Liz Honegger is making her mark as one of the top players in school history, and one of the most versatile ... she has accomplished something that no other BGSU - or 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 Duke game with totals of 171 treys and 161 rejections ... only two other players in MAC annals reached as many as 100 in both categories (Stephanie Smiley [Eastern Michigan, 1998-2002], 174 3's, 103 blocks; Tamara Bowie [Ball State, 2000-03], 100 3's, 152 blocks).
FLYNN, HONEGGER AND MANN TO CAPTAIN FALCONS
A trio of seniors - Amber Flynn, Liz Honegger and Ali Mann - have been named tri-captains of the 2006-07 Falcons ... the three were selected in a vote of team members as well as coaching staff ... Mann is a second-year captain, having been a unanimous selection last year as a junior.
UP NEXT
The Falcons take a break for the holidsys, then return home for the next two games ... BGSU will host Delaware - one of just two teams to beat the Falcons during the 2005-06 regular season - on Dec. 29, then will face Robert Morris in a Dec. 31 game at Anderson Arena.
