Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Head to Toledo for Sunday Showdown
February 03, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 3, 2006
BGSU Game Notes & Stats (30 pages) in PDF Format
2005-06 Recaps & Boxscores (10 pages) in PDF Format
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
GAME #20
BGSU at TOLEDO
Sun., February 5, 2006
4:00 p.m.
John F. Savage Hall (9,000)
Toledo, Ohio
RECORDS: BGSU 17-2, 8-0 MAC // Toledo 8-10, 3-5 MAC
RADIO: WBGU-FM (88.1) - Chris Schieman & Paul Braverman
TELEVISION: MAC Game of the Week - Jeff Phelps & Debbie Leonard
(Fox Sports Ohio, Comcast [Mich., Chicago], Adelphia 13 [Buffalo])
SERIES: BGSU leads, 33-25
LAST MEETING: at BGSU 72, Toledo 71 (Feb. 26, 2005)
Halfway through the Mid-American Conference schedule, the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team is the lone remaining unbeaten ... for the Falcons of head coach Curt Miller, however, the tough tests are far from over ... BGSU will make a short trip north to face the University of Toledo in Sunday (Feb. 5) action ... tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m. at John F. Savage Hall (9,000).
LIGHTS, CAMERA, MAC-TION
Sunday's BGSU-Toledo game is the MAC Game of the Week, and is scheduled to be televised on Fox Sports Net Ohio ... Jeff Phelps and Debbie Leonard will provide play-by-play and color analysis, respectively ... the game is also scheduled to be aired by Comcast Local (Michigan), Comcast Sports Net (Chicago) and Adelphia 13 (Buffalo).
A MATCHUP MADE FOR TV
If Sunday's BGSU-Toledo game is anything like last year's two meetings, fans in Savage Hall and in front of their televisions are in for quite a treat ... last year, the Falcons swept the Rockets in the two games, but outscored UT by just a point in regulation ... in the game at UT (Jan. 15, 2005), the Falcons trailed by four points with under two minutes left in overtime, but scored the last seven points for a 69-66 victory ... in the return match (Feb. 26, 2005), the Brown and Orange trailed by six points with 1:22 left in the game ... but, senior Kelly Kapferer's three-point play with 9.1 seconds left lifted the Falcons to a 72-71 win on 'Senior Day' ... each of the last six meetings between the arch-rivals has been decided by single digits.
HONEGGER IN A CLASS BY HERSELF
Liz Honegger is making her mark as one of the top players in school history ... less than three years into her career, however, Honegger has accomplished something that no one else in Mid-American Conference annals 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 Toledo game with totals of 126 treys and 133 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).
HOT START
BGSU's 17-2 record ties the school record for best start through 19 games ... only one other Falcon team has begun a season with that mark ... the 1986-87 BG squad also had 17 wins in the first 19 games ... that Falcon team won 21 consecutive games to enter the NCAA Tournament with a 27-2 record.
HOT START II
BGSU's 8-0 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 eight 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 14 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 eight consecutive victories to begin conference play.
HOT STREAK II (AND III)
The Falcons increased several other streaks in Wednesday night's (Feb. 1) 76-69 win over Eastern Michigan ... BGSU has now won 15 consecutive games at Anderson Arena, and has won the last eight overall games, the team's second eight-game win streak of the season ... BG's homecourt winning streak is the sixth longest in the nation, while the overall win streak is tied for ninth in the country.
MORE STREAKS
As mentioned, the Falcons' win over Eastern Michigan increased BG's overall winning streak to eight games ... the Falcons also had an eight-game win streak to begin the season ... Wednesday's game snapped EMU's nine-game win streak, a school record.
NOT BAD, NOT BAD AT ALL
Despite this year's losses to Delaware (by four points) and Kentucky (in overtime), the Falcons have won 23 of the last 26 games, dating to Feb. 19, 2005 ... the only other loss in that time was to Kansas State in the NCAA Championships in March ... Delaware is 15-3 on the year (heading into a Friday game), despite playing without a key starter for the last eight-plus games, while nationally-ranked Kentucky is 15-5 and posted a win over #1/3 Tennessee on Jan. 26.
BACK IN THE POLLS
The Falcons are once again receiving votes in the national polls ... BGSU received a season-high five votes in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, released Monday (Jan. 30) ... 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 ... in the latest USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches' poll, released Tuesday (Jan. 31), the Falcons earned a season-most 13 votes.
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 ... his career record currently stands at 82-55, in his fifth year ... over the last two-plus seasons, however, Miller and the Falcons have a record of 61-20 ... BGSU has gone 32-8 in MAC regular-season play in that time, and 38-9 in all games vs. conference foes during that span (6-1 in league tournament play).
Curt Miller - YEAR BY YEAR AT BGSU
Season Overall MAC 2001-02 9-19 (.321) 6-10 (.375) 2002-03 12-16 (.429) 5-11 (.313) 2003-04 21-10 (.677) 11-5 (.688) 2004-05 23-8 (.742) 13-3 (.813) 2005-06 17-2 (.895) 8-0 (1.000) TOTALS 82-55 (.599) 43-29 (.597)
FALCONS EIGHT-AND-OH AT ANDERSON
BGSU's win over Eastern Michigan Wednesday (Feb. 1) moved the Falcons to 8-0 in home games this season, and the Falcons have won 15 consecutive games at Anderson Arena, the sixth-longest current homecourt winning streak in the nation ... the 8-0 start is the best for BG at home in eight years ... the 1997-98 team also started the year with an 8-0 home record ... 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 1992-93 (13-1) and '93-94 (12-1) squads were undefeated through the regular season at Anderson, before losing an NCAA Tournament game at home.
Jennifer Roos: HALL-OF-FAMER
Last Sunday (Jan. 29), BGSU associate head coach Jennifer Roos was officially inducted into the Davidson College Athletics Hall of Fame ... Roos, a 1993 Davidson graduate, was honored at halftime of her alma mater's men's basketball game vs. Princeton Sunday night ... a three-sport athlete at Davidson, Roos excelled in field hockey and women's basketball, and was also a member of the lacrosse club team that was elevated to varsity status the year after she graduated ... Roos earned the Stimson Award as Davidson's top female athlete to cap her career ... after graduation, she spent eight years on the women's basketball staff at Davidson, before moving to BGSU, where she is now in her fifth season.
CLASH OF THE TITANS
On Wednesday (Feb. 1), the Falcons faced Eastern Michigan in a battle of the MAC's two remaining unbeatens ... the game, won by BGSU, marked the first-ever meeting between a pair of 7-0 teams in conference history ... in fact, according to research by the MAC office, league teams with 3-0 or better records had met on only four prior occasions.
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 Toledo game, Mann has a career total of 1,119 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 1,012 points to rank 19th on the BG list ... her classmate, Ali Mann, moved past former teammate Stefanie Wenzel in that game, and now is 14th 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 803 points, good for a 28th-place tie on the BGSU career scoring list.
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.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
SCOUTING TOLEDO
Toledo enters the BGSU game with an overall record of 8-10 on the season, and the Rockets are currently 3-5 in MAC play to date ... UT saw a two-game winning streak snapped with a Wednesday (Feb. 1) loss at Kent State, 85-57 ... the Rockets are 5-2 in home games this year to date, including a 2-2 mark in MAC games at Savage Hall ... individually, juniors Danielle Bishop and Savannah Werner rank 1-2 on the team in scoring ... Bishop is averaging 13.7 points per game and Werner 10.3 ... Werner paces the Rockets with 5.5 rebounds per contest ... sophomore Jasmine House started the first 10 games of the season, averaging 8.8 points and 5.5 boards, but is out for the season with a torn ACL ... redshirt freshman forward Diana Reindl has 7.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, while senior guard Crystal Young averages 6.7 points and a UT-leading 4.1 assists per outing ... Bishop, Werner and Young each have started all 18 games this season, and are joined in the probable starting lineup by Reindl and sophomore guard Kristi Zeller (4.8 ppg) ... the Rockets returned 10 letterwinners, including four starters, from last year's team that went 14-15 overall and finished 9-7 in MAC play ... head coach Mark Ehlen has a record of 212-106 in his 11th season in the Glass City ... he is 334-236 in his 20th year as a collegiate head coach ... the school's athletics web site is www.utrockets.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Toledo, 33-25, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU has captured five consecutive meetings ... the Rockets hold a 15-11 lead in games played in Savage Hall, but the Falcons have won the last two games there ... last season, the Brown and Orange swept the two meetings, by the slimmest of margins ... the visiting Falcons scored the last seven points of overtime for a 69-66 victory at Savage (Jan. 15, 2005), then rallied from a late deficit for a 72-71 home win over the Rockets (Feb. 26, 2005) ... prior to BGSU's current five-game winning streak, Toledo had won three-straight meetings, and seven of eight games, over the Falcons ... seven of the last nine series contests, including each of the last six games, have been decided by single digits ... 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 leads the all-time series with 10 of the 11 MAC opponents, and the Falcons evened the series with that 11th team, with a win at Northern Illinois in the teams' last meeting (March 1, 2005) ... BG is the only team in the league with at least a .500 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 over all eight league foes this year to date.
LAST TIME OUT
In a battle of the MAC's two remaining unbeatens, the Falcons rode an early lead and a raucous home crowd to a 76-69 victory over Eastern Michigan Wednesday night (Feb. 1) ... sophomore Kate Achter led the Falcons with 20 points, while junior Ali Mann scored 17 and added eight rebounds ... junior Amber Flynn stepped up with 12 points in 13 minutes off the bench, making four of her five shots on the night, including the first three-point field goal of her career ... juniors Liz Honegger and Carin Horne each had nine points, with Honegger blocking four shots and ripping down a game-high 15 rebounds ... Ryan Coleman led four EMU players in double figures, scoring 25 points and grabbing 11 boards ... the game marked the first time in MAC history that a pair of 7-0 conference teams had squared off ... BGSU went to the free-throw line a whopping 42 times on the night, just two shy of the school record for a league game ... the Falcons made 29 of those tosses for a 20-point margin in that category ... Eastern was 9-of-13 from the stripe ... after a pair of EMU free throws began the game's scoring, the Falcons would score the next nine points to take the lead for good ... the hosts scored the last six points of the first half to take a 35-27 lead to the lockerroom ... a Horne three-pointer opened up a 17-point BG lead, 53-36, with 12:24 remaining in the game ... the Eagles chipped away, getting within six points in the final minute, but it was too late ... the Falcons had slim advantages in both field-goal percentage (40.7-38.9%) and rebounding (43-42) on the night.
A RARE DEFICIT
When Western Michigan took an eight-point lead in the first half of last Saturday's game (Jan. 28), it matched the Falcons' largest deficit of the season ... BGSU trailed Delaware and Iona by eight points on back-to-back days during the team's post-Christmas trip to Philadelphia ... Delaware had an eight-point advantage late in the second half, en route to a four-point win over the Falcons (Dec. 28) ... the next day, the Brown and Orange trailed Iona by eight late in the first half, before rallying for a double-digit win.
RARE DEFICIT II
The Ohio game (Jan. 18) marked the first time the Falcons had trailed at halftime of a home game since last Jan. 12 ... that date marked BGSU's last home loss, to Eastern Michigan ... in the interim, the Falcons had been tied at the half once at home, in last year's Toledo game (Feb. 26, 2005).
SAY 'YES' TO MICHIGAN
For the Falcons, Wednesday's game concluded a three-game stretch against the MAC's three schools from the state of Michigan ... BGSU picked up a 57-52 win at Central Michigan (Jan. 25), before returning home to post wins over Western Michigan (77-69; Jan. 28) and Eastern Michigan (76-69; Feb. 1) by nearly identical scores ... the Brown and Orange has gone 5-0 vs. Michigan schools this year, having won at Detroit and Oakland in non-conference play.
SAY 'CLOSE GAMES VS. MICHIGAN'
The Falcons' first 14 wins of the season included 13 by double digits ... each of BGSU's last three games, however, have been victories by eight points or less, with all coming vs. MAC foes from the state of Michigan ... the Brown and Orange downed Central Michigan by five points, Western Michigan by eight and Eastern Michigan by seven.
THEY'RE FREE, YOU KNOW
BGSU attempted a total of 42 free throws vs. Eastern Michigan Wednesday (Feb. 1), just two shy of matching the school record for a MAC game ... the Falcons had 44 free-throw attempts in a win over Akron on Feb. 12, 1997 ... the overall school record is 53 FTA, vs. Youngstown State on Feb. 18, 1990 ... BGSU's total of 29 free throws made vs. EMU was a season-high ... the school record for single-game FTM is 36, vs. EMU (March 6, 1990) and Kent (Jan. 12, 1997).
THE FALCON 500 (PLUS 16)
The Falcons' win over IPFW in the season opener (Nov. 18) was the 500th victory in the history of the program ... BGSU enters the Toledo game with an all-time record of 516-340 (.603) ... among current league schools, the Falcons became just the second to reach the 500-victory plateau (according to the MAC media guide) ... 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 515 wins and UT 507, while Kent State recently went over the 500-win mark ... the 2005-06 season marks the Falcons' 33rd as a varsity program.
HOME SWEET HOME
As mentioned, the Falcons' win over Eastern Michigan moved the team's record to 8-0 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 15 in a row at home, and have captured 18 of the last 19 at 'The House That Roars,' dating to late in the 2003-04 campaign ... BG has outscored the opponents by an average of 17.9 points in the eight home games this season, after posting a +15.9 scoring margin at Anderson last winter.
ROAD SWEET ROAD?
With a win at Indiana, the Falcons opened the road portion of the schedule on a successful note ... BGSU is now 6-1 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 15-4 on the road in conference play, and 24-10 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.
THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS
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 seasons, since Lause began her collegiate career and McDowell transferred from Indiana State, the Falcons averaged almost 19 wins per year ... over the last two-plus seasons, since the start of Mann's freshman year, BG has gone 61-20 and twice advanced to the MAC Tournament's championship game.
FALCONS IN THE MAC
Heading into this weekend's action, 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 defense, scoring margin, blocked shots, turnover margin, assist/turnover ratio and three-point field goals made ... the Falcons are second in scoring offense and three-point FG pct. defense, and BG ranks third in free-throw pct., FG pct. defense, rebounding margin, assists and steals ... in MAC games only, BGSU ranks first in scoring offense, scoring margin, TO margin, asst./TO ratio and three-point FG made (tied for first in the latter).
