Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Host Northern Illinois Wednesday
February 07, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2006
BGSU Game Notes & Statistics (30 freakin' pages) in PDF Format
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
GAME #21
BGSU vs. NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Wed., February 8, 2006
7:00 p.m.
Anderson Arena (4,700)
Bowling Green, Ohio
RECORDS: BGSU 18-2, 9-0 MAC // Northern Illinois 9-11, 5-4 MAC
RADIO: WBGU-FM (88.1) - Shawn Dunagan and TBA
TELEVISION: BCSN (live)
SERIES: Tied, 12-12
LAST MEETING: BGSU 75, at Northern Illinois 72 (March 1, 2005)
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team enters the final week of Mid-American Conference cross-divisional play ... the Falcons of head coach Curt Miller, having posted four consecutive single-digit wins against West Division foes, return home to face Northern Illinois University in Wednesday action (Feb. 8) ... tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at venerable Anderson Arena (4,700).
ACHTER NAMED MAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Kate Achter was named the MAC's Player of the Week for the East Division, the league office announced on Monday (Feb. 6) ... Achter, a native of Oregon, Ohio (Clay H.S.), earned the honor for the first time in her Falcon career ... she posted team-best averages of 17.0 points and 4.5 assists per game as BG picked up a pair of wins, over Eastern Michigan (76-69; Feb. 1) and Toledo (71-65; Feb. 5).
UNFAMILIAR POSITION
BGSU's win at Toledo was the first time this season that the Falcons had rallied from a double-digit deficit to win ... in fact, Sunday's game marked the first time this season that the Brown and Orange had trailed by double figures at all ... BGSU had played over 784 minutes this season without trailing by more than eight points ... the Falcons had fallen behind by eight on three prior occasions this winter - vs. Delaware (Dec. 28), Iona (Dec. 29) and Western Michigan (Jan. 28) - before UT took a nine-point lead in the last minute of the first half ... the Rockets went ahead by as many as 15 points early in the second half, before BG rallied for the 71-65 win.
MIGHTY FINE SHOOTIN'
The Falcons shot 68.0 percent from the field in the second half of Sunday's (Feb. 5) game at Toledo, a 71-65 come-from-behind win ... that 17-for-25 effort was BGSU's highest field-goal percentage in a half in the Curt Miller Era ... BG had not shot over 60 percent in a half in over two years, since another trip to Savage Hall ... the last such occasion came two seasons ago in the Glass City, when BGSU was 14-of-23 from the floor (60.9%) in the second half of a 57-54 win over UT (Jan. 21, 2004).
STREAKS ON THE LINE
When the Falcons meet Northern Illinois Wednesday, BGSU will be putting several lengthy streaks on the line ... BG has won nine consecutive games overall, 15-straight home games, and 15 games in a row (regular-season and tournament) vs. MAC opponents ... more on these streaks can be found below.
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 Northern Illinois game with totals of 128 treys and 134 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 18-2 record ties the school record for best start through 20 games ... only one other Falcon team has begun a season with that mark ... the 1986-87 BG squad also had 18 wins in the first 20 games ... that Falcon team won 21 consecutive games to enter the NCAA Tournament with a 27-2 record.
HOT START II
BGSU's 9-0 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 nine 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 15 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 nine consecutive victories to begin conference play.
HOT STREAK II (AND III)
The Falcons increased several other streaks last week ... after last Wednesday night's (Feb. 1) 76-69 win over Eastern Michigan, BGSU has now won 15 consecutive games at Anderson Arena ... following Sunday's (Feb. 5) 71-65 win at Toledo, the Falcons have won the last nine overall games ... BG's homecourt winning streak is the sixth longest in the nation, while the overall win streak is tied for eighth in the country.
MORE STREAKS
As mentioned, the Falcons' win over Toledo increased BG's overall winning streak to nine 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.
NOT BAD, NOT BAD AT ALL
Despite this year's losses to Delaware (by four points) and Kentucky (in overtime), the Falcons have won 24 of the last 27 games, dating to Feb. 19, 2005 ... the only other loss in that time was to Kansas State in the NCAA Championships in March.
COMEBACK KIDS
The Falcons have trailed at the half only four times in 20 games this season ... BGSU is now a perfect 4-0 in those games.
BACK IN THE POLLS
The Falcons are once again receiving votes in the national polls ... BGSU received a season-high seven votes in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, released Monday (Feb. 6) ... 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 last Tuesday (Jan. 31), the Falcons earned a season-most 13 votes ... the AP poll is released on Monday evenings, with the USA Today/ESPN poll coming out sometime on Tuesday afternoon each week.
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 83-55, in his fifth year ... over the last two-plus seasons, however, Miller and the Falcons have a record of 62-20 ... BGSU has gone 33-8 in MAC regular-season play in that time, and 39-9 in all games vs. conference foes during that span (6-1 in league tournament play).
FALCONS EIGHT-AND-OH AT ANDERSON
BGSU's win over Eastern Michigan last 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 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 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.
WINNING THE BATTLE OF I-75
The Falcons' win over Toledo Sunday (Feb. 5) was BGSU's sixth-straight victory over the arch-rival Rockets ... that current series winning streak is the Falcons' longest in the BG-UT series since a nine-game BG win streak from 1986-89 ... BGSU has won three consective road games over the Rockets, the most since a five-game BG road winning streak during that same '86-89 span.
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 Northern Illinois game, Mann has a career total of 1,130 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 1,031 points to rank 18th on the BG list ... she moved past former Falcon (and current MAC official) Cary McGehee in the win over Toledo ... her classmate, Ali Mann, 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 817 points, good for a 28th-place standing 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.
CLASH OF THE TITANS
Last 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.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
SCOUTING NIU
Northern Illinois enters the BGSU game with an overall record of 9-11 on the season, and the Huskies are currently 4-5 in MAC play to date ... Northern is riding a two-game winning streak, and the Huskies have gone 7-4 since a 2-7 start to the season ... on the road this year, NIU is 3-8 overall, but 3-2 in league play ... the most recent win was a 51-49 triumph at Miami Saturday (Feb. 4) ... that came after a triple-overtime home win over Buffalo, 81-72 ... individually, junior guard Stephanie Raymond leads the team in scoring, with 16.3 points per game ... Raymond also leads the Huskies in assists (4.2 apg), steals (1.9 spg) and three-point field goals made (35) this year ... she left the UB game late in the first half, and missed the entire Miami game, due to a contusion to her lower back ... junior F/C Kristin Wiener is averaging 11.1 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds per contest, while junior guard Mary Basic has 6.7 points and 4.6 boards per contest ... no fewer than four additional players are averaging from 4.9 to 5.3 ppg ... Basic and Wiener each have started all 20 games this year to date, while senior center Jennifer Uptmor (5.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg), senior guard Keishonda Williamson (3.9 ppg) and freshman guard Jessie Wilcox (5.0 ppg) joined that duo in the starting lineup at Miami ... the Huskies returned eight letterwinners, including four starters, from last year's team that went 7-21 overall and finished 4-12 in MAC play ... Carol Owens is in her first season as a collegiate head coach ... the school's athletics web site is www.niuhuskies.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons and Northern Illinois are tied, 12-12, in the all-time series between the teams ... BGSU has captured each of the last two meetings ... the series is deadlocked, 6-6, since the Huskies returned to the MAC prior to the 1997-98 season ... last season, the Falcons swept the season series, posting an 80-44 victory at Anderson Arena (Feb. 2, 2005) and a come-from-behind, 75-72 win in DeKalb to close the regular season (March 1, 2005) ... the Falcons are 8-5 in home games vs. the Huskies, but NIU had won three consecutive games at Anderson Arena prior to BGSU's win last season ... overall, five of the last seven meetings have been decided by single digits.
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 ... Wednesday's opponent, NIU, is that 11th team, and the Falcons evened the series with the Huskies with a road win 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 nine league foes this year to date.
LAST TIME OUT
Trailing by double digits for the first time all season, the Falcons used a blistering second-half shooting performance to rally past Toledo, 71-65, on Sunday (Feb. 5) ... BG has now won six consecutive games vs. the arch-rivals ... junior Liz Honegger had a double-double, with a BG-high 19 points and a game-best 10 rebounds, while junior Carin Horne and sophomore Kate Achter each had 14 points ... Horne scored all of her points in the second half as BG outscored the Rockets, 46-28, after halftime ... junior Ali Mann also hit double digits, with 11 points ... for the hosts, Savannah Werner had 20 points to pace three double-figure scorers ... the Falcons trailed by 12 points, 37-25, at the half, and a Danielle Bishop three-point play opened the second-half scoring to give the Rockets a 15-point lead ... the Falcons, however, shot 68.0 percent in that second stanza, and held a 15-8 rebounding advantage in the final 20 minutes ... for the game, the Brown and Orange held a 34-26 margin on the glass ... additionally, BG shot a perfect 8-for-8 at the free-throw line in the second half ... a 10-0 run in that second half cut UT's lead to 44-41 with 12 minutes left, and a Mann triple gave the visitors a 48-46 lead with 8:07 on the clock ... the Rockets would battle the Falcons down to the wire, as the game was tied several more times ... with 1:16 left, a Casey McDowell three-point field goal gave the Falcons a six-point lead ... a UT three-point play cut the lead in half with 54.4 seconds left, but Horne hit a back-breaking triple with 26.7 seconds on the clock to all but seal the deal.
CLOSE GAMES IN THE WEST
The Falcons' first 14 wins of the season included 13 by double digits ... each of BGSU's last four games, however, have been victories by eight points or less, with all coming vs. MAC West Division foes ... the Brown and Orange downed Central Michigan by five points, Western Michigan by eight, Eastern Michigan by seven and Toledo by six.
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 18 of the 20 games, including a span of 13-straight double-figure games ... she had 24 double-figure games last year, and has 61 in her 82 career games ... Honegger has 12 double-digit games this winter to date, after 25 such games last season ... she has hit twin figures in 51 of her 82 career contests ... junior Carin Horne now has 38 career double-digit games, while sophomore Kate Achter has hit double digits in 30 of her 51 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 five additional games this season.
FALCONS IN THE MAC
Heading into this week'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 seven team categories - scoring defense, scoring margin, blocked shots, assists, turnover margin, assist/turnover ratio and three-point field goals made ... the Falcons are second in field-goal percentage and three-point FG pct. defense, and BG ranks third in scoring defense, free-throw pct., rebounding margin and steals ... in MAC games only, BGSU ranks first in scoring offense, assists, TO margin, asst./TO ratio and three-point FG made.
