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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Host Kent State on 'Senior Night' Wednesday
February 21, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 21, 2006
BGSU Notes & Statistics (30 pages) in PDF Format
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
GAME #25
#25 BGSU vs. KENT STATE
Wed., February 22, 2006
7:00 p.m.
Anderson Arena (4,700)
Bowling Green, Ohio
RECORDS: BGSU 22-2, 13-0 MAC // Kent State 17-7, 10-3 MAC
RADIO: WBGU-FM (88.1) - Chris Schieman and Ryan Gasser
TELEVISION: BCSN (live)
SERIES: BGSU leads, 33-27
LAST MEETING: BGSU 61, at Kent State 58 (Jan. 14, 2006)
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, leading the Mid-American Conference's East Division by three games with three to go, hosts the division's second-place team ... the Falcons of head coach Curt Miller close the home schedule with Wednesday's (Feb. 22) contest vs. Kent State University ... tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at venerable Anderson Arena (4,700), with 'Senior Night' festivities taking place prior to the game.
SENIOR NIGHT
Wednesday night is 'Senior Night' for the Falcon women's basketball program ... the team's two seniors, Jill Lause and Casey McDowell, will be recognized in ceremonies prior to the game.
TURNAROUND BEGAN WITH THE SENIORS
Senior Jill Lause was the first student-athlete to commit to the Bowling Green women's basketball program after Curt Miller became head coach ... in Lause's freshman season of 2002-03, Casey 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 has averaged 19.5 wins per year since ... starting with the 2003-04 season - the first year McDowell suited up for the Brown and Orange - BG has posted a record of 66-20, including a mark of 43-9 against MAC opponents.
AN EAST-WEST THING
The Falcons have clinched a tie for the MAC's East Division title, and BG can clinch the title outright with one win, or with one Kent State loss, over the regular season's last three games ... BGSU is looking to pull off a rare double, one so rare that it has never happened in the history of MAC women's basketball ... the Falcons are looking to win the East Division, one year after capturing the West Division crown ... due to the departure of Marshall from the conference, BGSU was moved from the West to the East prior to the 2005-06 academic year.
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 the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll, released last Tuesday (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.
FALCONS KNOCKING ON THE DOOR IN THE OTHER POLL
The Falcons, as mentioned, broke into the national polls for the first time in 12 years, with a 25th-place ranking in last week's (Feb. 14) USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches poll ... the Falcons also had a season-high total in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, released Monday (Feb. 20) ... in that poll, BGSU moved up three spots to rank 26th (first team listed among 'also receiving votes') this week ... the Falcons' 69 votes was up from the team's 13-point total in last week's poll, and was more than in the entire season to that time ... the Falcons got votes in each of the first seven AP polls of the 2005-06 season, and made a return in the Jan. 23 poll.
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 24 games, the Falcons have not allowed a single opponent to score 70 points ... meanwhile, BGSU is averaging nearly 70 points per game (69.9 ppg).
FALCONS HEADED TO CLEVELAND
The Falcons' win over Ball State on 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 for the tournament, which begins with first-round matches on Saturday, March 4 ... the quarterfinals will be held at Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday, March 8.
STREAKS ON THE LINE
When the Falcons meet Kent State Wednesday, BGSU will be putting several lengthy streaks on the line ... BG has won 13 consecutive games overall and 19 games in a row (regular-season and tournament) vs. MAC opponents ... additionally, the Falcons have won 17-straight games at Anderson Arena, one of the longest homecourt winning streaks in the nation.
NOT BAD, NOT BAD AT ALL
Despite this year's losses to Delaware (by four points) and Kentucky (in overtime), the Falcons have won 28 of the last 31 games, dating to Feb. 19, 2005 ... the only other loss in that time was to Kansas State in the NCAA Championships in March.
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 Kent State game with totals of 139 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).
SHE'S THE ONLY MEMBER OF THIS CLASS, TOO
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 45 treys and 43 blocks this season to date.
IN LIKE FLYNN
Junior Amber Flynn has stepped up her production off the bench over the last several weeks ... the Cincinnati native is averaging 4.6 points per game off the bench this season, and 4.8 ppg in MAC games ... in the last four contests, Flynn has averaged 9.0 points per game and shot a team-best 65.2 percent from the field ... that four-game span includes the win at Akron (Feb. 15), in which she was a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor en route to a career-high 14 points.
DOUBLE-DIGIT WINNING STREAK
The Falcons' 13-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 22-2 record ties the school record for best start through 24 games ... only one other Falcon team has begun a season with that mark ... the 1986-87 BG squad also had 22 wins in the first 24 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 13-0 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 13 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 19 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 13 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 65-51 win over Buffalo on Saturday (Feb. 18), BGSU has now won 13 overall games and 17 consecutive games at Anderson Arena ... BG's homecourt winning streak is the third longest in the nation, while the overall win streak is tied for fifth in the country ... the lists, as always, can be found in the pdf attachment.
MORE STREAKS
As mentioned, the Falcons' win over Buffalo increased BG's overall winning streak to 13 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.
HEAD COACH Curt Miller
BGSU head coach Curt Miller picked up the 75th victory of his career vs. Akron on Jan. 7, garnered win number 80 at Central Michigan on Jan. 25 and recorded win number 85 on Feb. 11 at Ball State ... Miller's career record currently stands at 87-55, in his fifth year ... over the last two-plus seasons, Miller and the Falcons are 66-20 ... BGSU has gone 37-8 in MAC regular-season play in that time, and 43-9 in all games vs. league foes during that span (6-1 in league tournament play).
STELLAR SECOND-HALF SHOOTING
The Falcons shot 40.0 percent from the field in the first half of last Wednesday's (Feb. 15) win at Akron ... that is BG's lone game in the last five in which the Falcons shot higher than 33.3% in the first half ... the second half, however, has been a different story ... over the last five games, BGSU has shot 57.5% in the second half, making 77-of-134 shots in that span.
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 KENT STATE
Kent State enters the BGSU game with an overall record of 17-7 on the season, and the Golden Flashes are 10-3 in MAC play to date ... KSU is three games behind the Falcons in the MAC's East Division race, and the teams have clinched the division's two first-round byes for the league tournament ... the Flashes have won four consecutive games and six of the last seven, with the most recent win being a 52-33 decision at Akron on Saturday (Feb. 18) ... KSU is 5-5 in road games this year, including a 4-2 mark in MAC road contests ... individually, senior forward Lindsay Shearer leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, with 20.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per outing ... junior guard Sarah Burgess has 10.4 points per game, while four other Flashes are averaging over 5.6 points ... junior G/F La'kia Stewart has 8.2 points and 5.9 boards per game, while freshman guard Rachel Bennett has 6.4 points and senior guard Malika Willoughby 6.3 ... Willoughby paces the team in both assists (5.2 apg) and steals (3.1 spg) ... Bennett, Shearer, Stewart, Willoughby and junior guard Kerrie James (5.6 ppg) were in the starting lineup at Akron for head coach Bob Lindsay ... a total of eight letterwinners, including four starters, returned from last year's team that went 21-9 overall and tied for the MAC's East Division title with a 12-4 league record ... Lindsay, the winningest coach in league history, has a record of 325-168 in his 17th season as a collegiate head coach, all in Kent ... the school's athletics web site is www.kentstatesports.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Kent State, 33-27, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU has won the last two meetings, including this year's initial contest ... the Falcons posted a 61-58 road victory in Kent last month (Jan. 14, 2006) ... the teams met in last year's Kraft MAC Tournament championship game in Cleveland, with BG picking up an 81-75 win (March 12, 2005) ... that game snapped a 12-game series winning streak for KSU ... despite the Falcons' two consecutive victories, the Flashes have captured 17 of the last 20 meetings ... BGSU holds a 15-10 advantage in home games vs. Kent/Kent State, but the Flashes have won five consecutive games at Anderson Arena ... BG's last home win over the Flashes came over nine years ago, an 87-77 win on Feb. 12, 1997 ... the boxscore from the most recent meeting can be found in the pdf.
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 13 games vs. league foes this year to date.
OBI-WAN HAS TAUGHT YOU WELL
Wednesday's game matches head coach Curt Miller against the man he credits for giving him his start in the coaching profession ... Miller spent a year at Kent State as a graduate assistant, and was a volunteer coach on Bob Lindsay's staff during the 1990-91 season ... the Flashes finished 17-12 that year, and enjoyed the second-best turnaround in thte nation.
LAST TIME OUT
The Falcons used a run early in the second half to surge past a pesky Buffalo squad, 65-51, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 18) at Anderson Arena ... with the victory, BGSU (22-2, 13-0 MAC) clinched no worse than a tie for the MAC's East Division title ... the Falcons, ranked 25th in the nation in the latest USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches poll, got 11 points from each of three starters - juniors Liz Honegger and Carin Horne and sophomore Kate Achter ... Achter had the first double-double of her career, with a game- and career-high 11 rebounds ... Stephanie Bennett had a game-high 15 points to pace three double-figure scorers for the Bulls ... Achter led the Falcons in the first half, while Honegger led the way in the second ... Achter fell just shy of amassing a double-double in the first half alone, with nine points and 10 boards before intermission ... Honegger played just four first-half minutes, going without a point or a rebound, but led the BG charge after the break ... she had four steals in the first 5:44 of the second half, and scored all 11 of her points in a span of just over six minutes later in the half ... Honegger was 4-for-5 from the field, including a 3-for-4 effort from three-point range, and added four boards, three assists and a game-high five steals in just 16 minutes of action ... BG had a 7-0 run late in the first half, and a 16-2 run early in the second, and the hosts built a 61-36 lead with 7:38 left in the game.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
A few random statistics as the Falcons prepare for the Kent State game ...
CLOSE CALLS AT HOME VS. THE BULLS
After Saturday's win over Buffalo, BGSU now leads the Bulls, 8-5, in the all-time series ... the Falcons now hold a 3-2 edge in home games vs. UB, and Saturday's game was the first home contest to be decided by more than four points.
MAC TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The MAC Women's Basketball Tournament has taken on a new format this year ... there will be no overall number-one seed ... rather, the teams are seeded by division ... one more BGSU win would give the Falcons the top seed in the East ... the league tournament format is as follows ...
First Round - Sat., March 4 Campus Sites West Division #5 at East Division #4 East Division #6 at West Division #3 East Division #5 at West Division #4 West Division #6 at East Division #3 Quarterfinals - Wed., March 8 Quicken Loans Arena; Cleveland, Ohio West #5/East #4 winner vs. West #1, 1:00 p.m. East #6/West #3 winner vs. East #2, 3:00 p.m. East #5/West #4 winner vs. East #1, 5:30 p.m. West #6/East #3 winner vs. West #2, 7:30 p.m.
Semifinals - Fri., March 10 Quicken Loans Arena West #5/East #4/West #1 vs. East #6/West #3/East #2, Noon East #5/West #4/East #1 vs. West #6/East #3/West #2, 2:30 p.m.
Championship - Sat., March 11 Quicken Loans Arena Semifinal winners, 1:00 p.m.
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.
FALCONS TEN-AND-OH AT ANDERSON
BGSU's win over Buffalo Saturday (Feb. 18) moved the Falcons to 10-0 in home games this season, and the Falcons have won 17 consecutive games at Anderson Arena, the third-longest current homecourt winning streak in the nation ... the 10-0 start is the best for BG at home in 12 years, since the 1993-94 team started the year 12-0 at home... BGSU's best-ever home start was in 1992-93, a 13-0 start 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.
