Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Head to Miami to Close Regular Season
February 27, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2006
BGSU Notes & Statistics in PDF Format
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
GAME #27
#25 BGSU at MIAMI
Tue., February 28, 2006
7:00 p.m.
Millett Hall (6,400)
Oxford, Ohio
RECORDS: BGSU 24-2, 15-0 MAC // Miami 8-18, 3-12 MAC
RADIO: WBGU-FM (88.1) - Paul Braverman and Rob Trautman
SERIES: BGSU leads, 33-23
LAST MEETING: at BGSU 80, Miami 58 (Jan. 21, 2006)
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, after a narrow Mid-American Conference road win on Saturday, closes the regular season with another road game ... the Falcons of head coach Curt Miller, having already clinched the MAC's East Division title, head to Oxford, Ohio, to face Miami University in Tuesday (Feb. 28) action ... tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at Millett Hall (6,400) ... following the MU game, the Brown and Orange will have over a week off before heading to Cleveland for the Kraft MAC Tournament ... the Falcons have earned a first-round bye for the tourney, and will play in the quarterfinal round on March 8 at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland ... BGSU, as the East's top seed, will play in the 5:30 p.m. game against an opponent to be determined.
FALCONS LOOKING TO JOIN EXCLUSIVE CLUB
OK, we've avoided this subject for a long time, because you're never allowed to look past your next game ... but, it is no secret that the 2005-06 Falcons are unbeaten in MAC play ... and, there's only one regular-season game left ... so, if BGSU is able to win at Miami Tuesday, the Falcons would be just the fifth team in MAC history, and the first in eight years, to complete the league regular-season schedule without a loss ... two prior BGSU teams turned the trick, as Fran Voll's 1986-87 and 1988-89 clubs went 16-0 in conference action ... Central Michigan was the first-ever MAC team to go undefeated in conference action, with a mark of 18-0 in 1983-84 ... the most recent league team to do so was the 18-0 Kent State squad in 1997-98.
THAT'S A LOT OF WINS
The Falcons' 65-61 victory at Ohio Saturday (Feb. 25) gives BGSU a total of 24 wins this season to date ... BG is three wins shy of matching the school - and the Mid-American Conference - single-season record for victories ... a total of four teams have 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.
IT'S AN EAST-WEST THING
The Falcons' 62-50 win over Kent State Wednesday (Feb. 22) gave BGSU the MAC's East Division title outright ... BG has 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 ... the Falcons have won the East Division title this season, after winning last year's West Division crown ... BGSU was moved from the West to the East prior to the 2005-06 campaign, after Marshall's departure from the conference.
FALCONS HEADED TO CLEVELAND
The Falcons' win over Ball State (Feb. 11) clinched a first-round bye and a trip to Cleveland for the quarterfinal round of the Kraft MAC Tournament ... the win over KSU Wednesday (Feb. 22) clinched the East Division's #1 seed for the tourney ... 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, with the Falcons playing in the 5:30 p.m. game.
STREAKS ON THE LINE
When the Falcons meet Miami Tuesday, BGSU will be putting several lengthy streaks on the line ... BG has won 15 consecutive games overall and 21 games in a row (regular-season and tournament) vs. MAC opponents ... additionally, the Falcons have won each of the last seven road games ... BG finished the home portion of the schedule at 11-0, and the Falcons now have won 18-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 30 of the last 33 games, dating to Feb. 19, 2005 ... the only other loss in that time was to Kansas State in the NCAA Championships in March.
DOUBLE-DIGIT WINNING STREAK
The Falcons' 15-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 24-2 record ties the school record for best start through 26 games ... only one other Falcon team has begun a season with that mark ... the 1986-87 BG squad also had 24 wins in the first 26 games ... that Falcon team, as mentioned earlier, won a school-record 21 consecutive games to enter the NCAA Tournament with a 27-2 record.
HOT START II
BGSU's 15-0 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 15 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 21 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 15 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 65-61 win at Ohio on Saturday (Feb. 25), BGSU has now won 15-straight games overall ... Wednesday's (Feb. 22) 62-50 win over Kent State means the Falcons have won 18 consecutive games at Anderson Arena ... according to the latest NCAA statistics, BG's homecourt winning streak is the third longest in the nation, while the overall win streak is fifth in the country.
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 89-55, in his fifth year ... over the last two-plus seasons, Miller and the Falcons are 68-20 ... BGSU has gone 39-8 in MAC regular-season play in that time, and 45-9 in all games vs. league foes during that span (6-1 in league tourney play).
BGSU BREAKS INTO NATIONAL RANKINGS
On Feb. 14, for the first time in nearly 12 years, BGSU broke into a national poll ... the Falcons were ranked 25th in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll, and BG was 25th again in last week's poll (Feb. 21) ... 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 ... the most recent ranking marks only the ninth week in MAC history that a league institution has been listed in the USA Today poll, and BG has been that team in six of those nine weeks ... the poll is released each Tuesday afternoon.
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 the Feb. 14 USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches poll ... the Falcons also had a season-high total in last week's Associated Press Top 25 poll, released 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 26 games, the Falcons have not allowed a single opponent to score 70 points ... meanwhile, BGSU is averaging nearly 70 points per game (69.4 ppg).
SENIOR NIGHT A SUCCESS, AGAIN
The Kent State game (Feb. 22) marked 'Senior Night' for the Falcon women's basketball program, with the team's two seniors, Jill Lause and Casey McDowell, were recognized in ceremonies prior to the game ... BGSU's win over Kent State gives the Falcons a perfect 5-0 record in 'Senior Day/Night' games at Anderson Arena in the Curt Miller Era.
TURNAROUND BEGAN WITH THESE 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 20.0 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 68-20, including a mark of 45-9 against MAC opponents.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
SCOUTING MIAMI
Miami enters the BGSU game with an overall record of 8-18 on the season, and the RedHawks are 3-12 in MAC play to date ... the 'Hawks are looking to snap a two-game losing streak, with the most recent game being a 63-48 road setback to Kent State on Saturday (Feb. 25) ... MU has dropped eight of the last nine games, with three of those being by five points or fewer ... the RedHawks are 4-6 at home, including a 2-5 mark in MAC games at Millett Hall ... individually, senior guard Cindi Merrill leads the team in scoring, with 14.8 points per game, and she is second in rebounding, with 4.7 boards per outing ... no other RedHawk player is scoring in double digits, but no fewer than eight teammates are averaging between 4.4 and 8.3 points per game ... that list includes freshman guard Jenna Schone, who has 8.3 ppg and a team-high 4.3 assists per contest, and redshirt sophomore guard Sarah Hull, with 7.7 ppg ... sophomore G/F Jaclyn Leininger and freshman forward Eve Pyle have 6.9 and 6.4 ppg, respectively, and Pyle leads the team with 5.8 rebounds ... Hull, Schone and senior center Amber Miller (4.4 ppg, 5.3 apg) each have started all 26 games this year ... they are joined by Merrill and sophomore F/C Laura Markwood (4.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg) in the probable starting lineup for head coach Maria Fantanarosa ... the team has been hit hard by injuries this season, as junior Amanda Jackson, an honorable-mention All-MAC pick a year ago, suffered a season-ending injury in the season opener, and several other key players have missed stretches of time as well ... a total of six letterwinners (not counting Jackson), including one starter, returned from last year's team that went 15-14 overall and 8-8 in MAC play ... Fantanarosa has a record of 126-102 in her eighth season at her alma mater ... she is 133-122 in her ninth season as a collegiate head coach ... the school's athletics web site is www.MURedHawks.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Miami, 33-23, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU has won each of the last four meetings ... that streak includes an 80-58 victory in the teams' first 2005-06 matchup, at Anderson Arena last month (Jan. 21, 2006) ... the teams are deadlocked, 12-12, in games played at Millett Hall, but Miami has a four-game home winning streak vs. the Brown and Orange, including a 92-81 victory in the teams' last meeting in Oxford, two years ago (Feb. 3, 2004) ... BG's last road win over the RedHawks came on Jan. 23, 1999, a 94-84 decision ... prior to the Falcons' four-game winning streak in the overall series, MU had won five consecutive games and six of seven from BG ... the boxscore from the most recent meeting can be found in the pdf version of these notes.
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 ... the win over Northern Illinois on 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 15 games vs. league foes this year to date.
LAST TIME OUT
The Falcons overcame a flu bug, a less-than-stellar day at the free-throw line and a scrappy Ohio University club to post a 65-61 win over the Bobcats Saturday afternoon (Feb. 25) at 'The Convo' ... junior Ali Mann led the Brown and Orange with a game-high 20 points, while classmate Liz Honegger had 14 points and 12 rebounds ... Honegger also had four blocked shots and three steals to lead all players in those categories, in addition to rebounding ... senior Casey McDowell had a season-high 14 points, going 5-for-7 from the field, including a 3-for-5 effort from the three-point arc ... McDowell made her first start since the conference opener on Jan. 7, replacing junior Carin Horne ... Horne missed the OU game due to the flu ... junior Amber Flynn provided a spark off the bench, scoring eight points and tying her career best with 10 rebounds ... Flynn's point total included a critical three-point play in the late going ... Quintana Ward had 14 points to pace three double-digit scorers for the Bobcats ... trailing by a 7-2 count, the Falcons scored the next 15 points, including three McDowell three-pointers ... Mann hit a trey at the first-half buzzer for a five-point lead ... in the second half, the hosts rallied from a 12-point deficit to tie the game with 7:48 left, but the Falcons answered the challenge ... Flynn's three-point play with 2:36 left gave BG a 60-53 lead, and BG made just enough free throws down the stretch to hang on for the win.
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 Miami game with totals of 142 treys and 148 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-straight year ... Honegger made 59 triples and blocked 50 shots last year, and has 48 treys and 48 blocks this winter to date.
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.
IN LIKE FLYNN
Junior Amber Flynn has stepped up her production off the bench over the last several weeks ... the Cincinnati native is averaging 4.8 points per game off the bench this season, and 5.1 ppg in MAC games ... in the last six contests, Flynn has averaged 8.2 points per game and shot a team-best 62.5 percent (20-of-32) from the field ... that six-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.
STELLAR SECOND-HALF SHOOTING
The Falcons shot 34.5 percent from the field in the first half of the win at Ohio ... that marks just the second time in the last seven games in which the Falcons have shot better than 33.3% in the first half ... the second half, however, has been a different story ... over the last seven games, BGSU has shot 54.4% in the second half, making 99-of-182 shots in that span.
DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLES
In the win over Kent State (Feb. 22), BGSU saw two players post double-doubles in the same game for the first time this season ... the last time such an event occurred was almost exactly one year prior, with the same two Falcon players turning the trick ... juniors Ali Mann (19 points-16 rebounds) and Liz Honegger (17p-11r) had posted double-doubles in a home win over Marshall on Feb. 23, 2005.
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 ... BGSU's win over Kent State clinched the top seed in the East for the Falcons, and BG will play in the 5:30 p.m. game in the quarterfinal round on March 8 ... 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 vs. Eastern Michigan (West #1), 1:00 p.m. East #6/West #3 vs. Kent State (East #2), 3:00 p.m. East #5/West #4 vs. Bowling Green (East #1), 5:30 p.m. West #6/East #3 vs. Western Michigan (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.
'HOUSE THAT ROARS' INDEED: BG ELEVEN-AND-OH AT ANDERSON
BGSU's win over Kent State Wednesday (Feb. 22) moved the Falcons to 11-0 in home games this season, and the Falcons have won 18 consecutive games at Anderson Arena, the third-longest current homecourt winning streak in the nation ... as mentioned earlier, the 2005-06 team is likely going to be the third in school history to finish with an unbeaten home record (barring any national postseason home games), and this year's club is the fifth in BG annals to go unbeaten at Anderson through regular-season play ... the 1974-75 (7-0) and 1975-76 (6-0) teams completed their seasons 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 ... the '93-94 team started the year 12-0 at home, but fell to Creighton in the national tourney ... BGSU's best-ever home start was in 1992-93, a 13-0 start at 'The House That Roars,' before an NCAA loss to Florida.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
A few random statistics as the Falcons prepare for the Miami game ...
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 22 of the 26 games ... she had 24 double-figure games last year, and has 65 in her 88 career games ... Honegger has 18 double-digit games this winter to date, after 25 such games last season ... she has hit twin figures in 57 of her 88 career contests ... junior Carin Horne now has 41 career double-digit games, while sophomore Kate Achter has hit double digits in 33 of her 55 games as a Falcon.
HONEGGER, MANN HAVE DOUBLE-DOUBLE VISION
Juniors Liz Honegger and Ali Mann each recorded double-doubles in Wednesday's (Feb. 22) win over Kent State ... Mann had 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Honegger scored 13 points and grabbed 10 boards ... Honegger had another double-double in Saturday's (Feb. 25) win at Ohio, with 14 points and 12 caroms, and she now has six double-doubles this season and 18 in her BGSU career ... Mann has three double-doubles on the year and 15 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 double-doubles at Buffalo (14p-10r) and Toledo (19p-10r) ... 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 year ... with 11 points and 11 rebounds, soph Kate Achter had her first-ever double-double in the home game vs. UB (Feb. 18).
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 20 wins per year ... over the last two-plus seasons, since the start of Mann's freshman year, BG has gone 68-20 and twice advanced to the MAC Tournament's championship game.
FALCONS IN THE MAC
Heading into the Miami 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, free-throw percentage, three-point field-goal pct. defense and steals, and BG ranks third in scoring defense, FG 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.
