Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Host Bulls to Begin Saturday DH at Anderson
February 17, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2006
BGSU Notes & Stats (30 pages) in PDF Format
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
GAME #24
#25 BGSU vs. BUFFALO
Sat., February 18, 2006
1:00 p.m.
Anderson Arena (4,700)
Bowling Green, Ohio
RECORDS: BGSU 21-2, 12-0 MAC // Buffalo 8-15, 3-9 MAC
RADIO: WBGU-FM (88.1) - Paul Braverman and Brian Scullin
TELEVISION: BCSN (live)
SERIES: BGSU leads, 7-5
LAST MEETING: BGSU 75, at Buffalo 48 (Jan. 10, 2006)
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team returns home for the next two games, beginning with the lone hoops doubleheader of the season ... the Falcons of head coach Curt Miller, ranked 25th in the nation, play host to the University at Buffalo in a Saturday (Feb. 18) afternoon contest ... tipoff for the women's game is set for 1:00 p.m. at venerable Anderson Arena (4,700), with the Falcon men taking on Wright State University at approximately 3:30 p.m.
BGSU BREAKS INTO NATIONAL RANKINGS
For the first time in nearly 12 years, BGSU has broken into a national poll ... the Falcons are ranked 25th in this week's USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll, released Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 14) ... BGSU's appearance in the poll is the Falcons' first since March 15, 1994 ... the Falcons appeared in the USA Today poll in three consecutive weeks in March of 1993, peaking at #20, and the lone poll appearance in March of 1994 saw the Falcons ranked 24th ... this week's ranking marks only the eighth week in MAC history that a league institution has been listed in the USA Today poll, and BG has been that team in five of those eight weeks.
HERE'S YOUR SIGN
Earning a national ranking is one sign that a team is having a successful season to date ... here's another ... this season, through 23 games, the Falcons have not allowed a single opponent to score 70 points ... meanwhile, BGSU is averaging over 70 points per game (70.1 ppg).
FALCONS HEADED TO CLEVELAND
The Falcons' trip to Akron Wednesday (Feb. 15) was not the team's final foray to Northeast Ohio this season ... BGSU's win over Ball State Saturday (Feb. 11) clinched a first-round bye and a trip to Cleveland for the quarterfinal round of the Kraft MAC Tournament ... the top-two teams in each division earn byes.
STELLAR SECOND-HALF SHOOTING
The Falcons shot 40.0 percent from the field in the first half of Wednesday night's (Feb. 15) win at Akron ... that snapped a three-game stretch in which BG shot no higher than 33.3% in the first half of any game ... the second half, however, has been a different story ... over the last four games, BGSU has shot 60.4% in the second half, making 64-of-106 shots in that span.
STREAKS ON THE LINE
When the Falcons meet Buffalo Saturday, BGSU will be putting several lengthy streaks on the line ... BG has won 12 consecutive games overall and 18 games in a row (regular-season and tournament) vs. MAC opponents ... additionally, the Falcons have won 16-straight games at Anderson Arena, one of the longest homecourt winning streaks in the nation.
HONEGGER NAMED MAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior Liz Honegger was named the MAC's Player of the Week for the East Division, the league office announced on Monday (Feb. 13) ... Honegger, a native of Lafayette, Ind. (Jefferson H.S.), earned the honor for the second time this season and the sixth time in her Falcon career ... she averaged a team-high 16.0 points in BGSU's wins over Northern Illinois (66-58, Feb. 8) and Ball State (72-60, Feb. 11), and also averaged 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 blocked shots and 2.5 steals, leading the Falcons in each of the latter two categories ... Honegger's honor marks the second-straight week, and the fifth time this season, that a Falcon has been named the league's player of the week ... sophomore Kate Achter earned last week's award for the East Division.
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 ... less than 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 Buffalo game with totals of 136 treys and 143 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).
HONEGGER ALSO THE ONLY MEMBER OF THIS CLASS
Liz Honegger is the only player in BGSU history to make more than 40 three-point field goals and block 40 shots in the same season ... and, the junior has joined that 40-40 club for the second consecutive year ... Honegger made 59 triples and blocked 50 shots last year, and has 42 treys and 43 blocks this season to date.
DOUBLE-DIGIT WINNING STREAK
The Falcons' 12-game winning streak is the team's longest in nearly 12 years, since a 20-game streak in the 1993-94 season ... the current run by the 2005-06 team is the fifth double-digit winning streak in school history ... each of the first four double-figure streaks in BG annals took those Falcon teams all the way to the NCAA Tournament.
HOT START
BGSU's 21-2 record ties the school record for best start through 23 games ... only one other Falcon team has begun a season with that mark ... the 1986-87 BG squad also had 21 wins in the first 23 games ... that Falcon team, as mentioned above, won a school-record 21 consecutive games to enter the NCAA Tournament with a 27-2 record.
HOT START II
BGSU's 12-0 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 12 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 18 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 12 consecutive victories to begin conference play.
HOT STREAK II (AND III)
The Falcons have increased several other streaks over the last few games ... after the 66-58 win over Northern Illinois on Wednesday (Feb. 8), BGSU has now won 16 consecutive games at Anderson Arena ... the win at Akron means that the Falcons also have won the last 12 overall games ... BG's homecourt winning streak is the third longest in the nation, while the overall win streak is tied for fifth in the country.
MORE STREAKS
As mentioned, the Falcons' win over Akron increased BG's overall winning streak to 12 games ... the Falcons have now had two winning streaks of at least eight games this year ... BG opened the year with a school-record 8-0 start.
BACK IN THE POLLS
The Falcons, as mentioned, broke into the national polls for the first time in 12 years, with a 25th-place ranking in this week's (Feb. 14) USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches poll ... BGSU received a season-high 33 points in that poll this week ... the Falcons also had a season-high total in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, released Monday (Feb. 13), garnering 13 votes ... 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.
NOT BAD, NOT BAD AT ALL
Despite this year's losses to Delaware (by four points) and Kentucky (in overtime), the Falcons have won 27 of the last 30 games, dating to Feb. 19, 2005 ... the only other loss in that time was to Kansas State in the NCAA Championships in March.
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 at Central Michigan on Jan. 25 ... Miller got his 85th win Saturday (Feb. 11) at Ball State, and his career record currently stands at 86-55, in his fifth year ... over the last two-plus seasons, however, Miller and the Falcons have a record of 65-20 ... BGSU has gone 36-8 in MAC regular-season play in that time, and 42-9 in all games vs. conference foes during that span (6-1 in league tournament play).
TWENTY AGAIN
The Falcons' win at Ball State (Feb. 11) enabled BGSU to reach 20 victories for the third consecutive season ... BGSU has now posted a total of 11 seasons of at least 20 wins, the second-highest total in MAC annals ... Toledo has had 12 20-win seasons ... additionally, BGSU has posted three consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time since Jaci Clark's first three teams, the 1991-92 through 1993-94 squads, turned the trick.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
SCOUTING BUFFALO
Buffalo enters the BGSU game with an overall record of 8-15 on the season, and the Bulls are 3-9 in MAC play to date ... UB snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 62-61 victory over Miami on Tuesday (Feb. 14) ... the Bulls have a better record on the road than at home this season ... UB is 5-5 in road games, including a 2-4 mark in MAC away contests ... individually, sophomore forward Heather Turner leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, with 13.8 points and 8.0 boards per contest ... she is shooting 61.9 percent from the field on the year ... senior guard Brooke Meunier has 12.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists, while sophomore guard Stephanie Bennett has 8.5 points and a team-high 4.5 helpers per outing ... Bennett leads the Bulls with 39 three-point field goals made, while Meunier has 36 ... junior guard Belinda Gibb (4.3 ppg) and sophomore G/F Flynn Pyykkonen joined Bennett, Meunier and Turner in the starting lineup vs. Miami for head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald ... the Bulls returned eight letterwinners, including four starters, from last year's team that went 4-24 overall and 2-14 in MAC play ... Hill-MacDonald, in her first season with the Bulls, has a record of 240-271 in her 17th year as a collegiate head coach ... the school's athletics web site is www.buffalobulls.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Buffalo, 7-5, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU has won the last three meetings ... Saturday's game marks the first time the teams have met at Anderson Arena in over two years, since a one-point BGSU win, 64-63, on Jan. 31, 2004 ... the teams have split the previous four series meetings at 'The House That Roars,' with none of the four games decided by more than four points ... in fact, in those four games in Ohio, the Bulls have outscored the Falcons by an aggregate 294-290 ... BGSU won this year's first meeting, 75-48, in New York (Jan. 10, 2006) ... the Falcons have won the last two home games vs. the Bulls ... overall, seven of the last 10 series meetings have been decided by 10 points or less, including six by four points or fewer.
THE FALCONS VS. THE MAC
The Falcons have a proud history in the MAC ... BGSU now leads the all-time series with all 11 MAC opponents ... this season's win over Northern Illinois (Feb. 8) gave the Brown and Orange a 13-12 lead in that series ... BG is the only team in the league with a winning series 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 in all 12 games vs. league foes this year to date.
LAST TIME OUT
Playing as a ranked team for the first time in 12 years, the Falcons raced out to a 13-0 lead and were never headed in an 80-48 win at Akron Wednesday night (Feb. 15) ... BGSU, ranked #25 in the nation in the latest USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches poll, improved to 21-2 and 12-0 in MAC play ... the Falcons hit four three-point field goals in the game's first six minutes in taking that 13-0 lead ... by contrast, UA had a total of only five field goals over the entire first half as BG built a 35-17 lead at the intermission ... the Falcons shot 61.5 percent from the field in the second half and an even 50.0% for the game ... junior Carin Horne scored a game-high 20 points, while classmates Amber Flynn and Liz Honegger had 14 and 13, respectively ... Flynn's point total set a career high, while Horne's 20-point effort was a season best ... a total of 11 of BG's 12 players saw at least 10 minutes of action, with 10 finding the scoresheet ... BG's bench scored half of the team's 80 points in the win, with Flynn leading the way ... senior Jill Lause had a season-high eight points while sophomore Whitney Taylor and freshman Lindsey Goldsberry scored six points apiece ... Niki McCoy was the Zips' lone double-digit scorer with 13 points ... the Falcons forced UA into 27 turnovers, including 18 in the first half.
A FEW MORE NOTES FROM THE AKRON GAME
BGSU's total of 80 points vs. the Zips matched the Falcons' season high ... the Brown and Orange also hit 80 points in last month's win over Miami (Jan. 21) ... the 32-point margin of victory was a season high as well ... the Falcons' total of 40 points from the bench players was the highest of the season ... BGSU got 29 points from the bench in the season-opening win over IPFW (Nov. 18).
SETTING NEW STANDARDS
A number of Falcons set season and career highs in the win at Akron Wednesday (Feb. 15) ... junior Amber Flynn had a career-high 14 points, and tied her career bests in both field goals made (five) and free throws made (four) ... Flynn was a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor in the win ... junior Carin Horne set season bests with 20 points and eight FGM, while senior Jill Lause set season standards for points (eight), FGM (three) and minutes played (13) ... in fact, Lause had scored a total of eight points on the season, prior to matching that total vs. the Zips ... sophomore Whitney Taylor tied her career highs with two three-point field goals made, two assists and a steal, and also had the first block of her career ... and, freshman Lindsey Goldsberry tied her season bests with six points, two three-pointers and two steals.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
A few random statistics as the Falcons prepare for the Buffalo game ...
MANN EARNS ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS
Junior Ali Mann has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team, it was announced on Feb. 9 ... Mann was chosen to the third team ... the District IV team is made up of student-athletes from Division I schools in the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee ... to be nominated, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore, a starter or important reserve, and must carry a cumulative grade point average or higher ... Mann, a native of Chelsea, Mich., maintains a 3.39 cumulative GPA as an accounting major.
HONEGGER AT HOME IN HOOSIER STATE
Junior Liz Honegger has experienced a great deal of success in the Falcons' last four trips to her home state ... Honegger, a native of Lafayette, Ind., has posted the three highest-scoring totals of her career in BG visits to the state of Indiana ... last season, she scored a career-high 27 points at IPFW (Nov. 19, 2004), then matched that total in a win at Ball State (Feb. 8, 2005) ... her 25-point game vs. IUPUI this year (Nov. 25) marked the third time in her career - all in Indiana - that she had scored at least 25 points in a game ... last Saturday (Feb. 11) at BSU, Honegger had 'only' 14 points, but also had five blocks, four steals and was 3-for-3 from three-point land.
FALCONS NINE-AND-OH AT ANDERSON
BGSU's win over Northern Illinois (Feb. 8) moved the Falcons to 9-0 in home games this season, and the Falcons have won 16 consecutive games at Anderson Arena, the third-longest current homecourt winning streak in the nation ... the 9-0 start is the best for BG at home in 12 years, since the 1993-94 team started the year with an 12-0 home mark ... 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 '92-93 (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 Jan. 7, junior Ali Mann added another accomplishment to her already-impressive list ... in the MAC opener vs. Akron, 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 Buffalo game, Mann has a career total of 1,164 points.
... AND SO IS HONEGGER
On Jan. 28, junior Liz Honegger became only the 20th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career ... Honegger now has 1,076 points to rank 18th on the BG list ... she moved past former Falcon Megan McGuire in the win at Ball State ... her classmate, Ali Mann, is tied for 13th 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 853 points, good for a 28th-place standing on the BGSU career scoring list ... and, don't look now, but Kate Achter - just a sophomore - has an even 600 points during her BGSU career.
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.
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 20 of the 23 games, including a span of 13-straight double-figure games at one point ... she had 24 double-figure games last year, and has 63 in her 85 career games ... Honegger has 15 double-digit games this winter to date, after 25 such games last season ... she has hit twin figures in 54 of her 85 career contests ... junior Carin Horne now has 39 career double-digit games, while sophomore Kate Achter has hit double digits in 32 of her 54 games as a Falcon.
HONEGGER, MANN HAVE DOUBLE-DOUBLE VISION
Junior Liz Honegger recorded a double-double at Toledo (Feb. 5), her fourth of the season and the 16th of her BGSU career ... classmate Ali Mann has 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 ... she also recorded a double-double at Buffalo on Jan. 10 ... 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 six additional games this season.
FALCON 500 (PLUS 20): BG IS THE MAC'S WINNINGEST PROGRAM
BGSU's' win over IPFW in the season opener (Nov. 18) was the 500th victory in the history of the program ... the Falcons enter the Akron game with an all-time record of 520-340 (.605) ... among current league schools, BG became just the second to reach the 500-victory plateau ... 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 ... the Falcons have since passed Northern to assume first place on the all-time victories list ... NIU currently has 516 wins and UT 508, while Kent State recently went over the 500-win mark ... the 2005-06 season marks the Falcons' 33rd as a varsity program.
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 41 blocks through 22 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 has 20 blocks in MAC games this year to date ... she is in second place on the career list, and is on pace to obliterate the BGSU career record for blocks per game.
HOME SWEET HOME
As mentioned, the Falcons' win over Northern Illinois moved the team's record to 9-0 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 16 in a row at home, and have captured 19 of the last 20 at 'The House That Roars,' dating to late in the 2003-04 campaign ... BG has outscored the opponents by an average of 16.8 points in the nine home games this season, after posting a +15.9 scoring margin at home last winter.
ROAD SWEET ROAD?
BGSU is 10-1 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 18-4 on the road in conference play, and 27-10 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 this season, as evidenced by opponents' 56.7 points-per-game average through 23 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 18 of the 23 games ... so far this year, BGSU has ...
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 ... since Miller and Roos arrived, the Falcons have posted three of the top-six totals in that category in school history ... this year, through 23 games, the BG defense has allowed foes to shoot just 38.3% from the floor.
THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS
BGSU has held 17 of this season's 23 opponents to 60 points or fewer ... the Brown and Orange limited a 17th foe, Kentucky, to just 56 points in regulation, before the Wildcats surpassed the 60-point mark in the overtime period ... dating to last season, BGSU has limited the opponent to fewer than 70 points in 39 of the last 41 regular-season games, including all 23 this year ... the Falcons went 16 consecutive games last year, including the first 14 MAC contests, without surrendering 70 points ... the Falcons held 15 teams to 60 points or fewer last season.
FALCONS IN THE MAC
Heading into the UB game, the Falcons are ranked among the top-three MAC teams in no fewer than 13 statistical categories ... according to the latest MAC stats, BGSU leads the league in a whopping six team categories - scoring margin, blocked shots, assists, turnover margin, assist/turnover ratio and three-point field goals made ... the Falcons are second in scoring offense, field-goal percentage, three-point FG pct. defense and steals, and BG ranks third in scoring defense, FT pct, and FG pct. defense ... in MAC games only, BGSU ranks first in scoring offense, assists, TO margin, asst./TO ratio and three-point FG made.
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-plus seasons, since Lause began her collegiate career and McDowell transferred from Indiana State, the Falcons have averaged over 19 wins per year ... over the last two-plus seasons, since the start of Mann's freshman year, BG has gone 65-20 and twice advanced to the MAC Tournament's championship game.
