Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Near End of Non-Conference Season
December 27, 2007 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 27, 2007
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Curt Miller's Falcons will see Iowa State, Hampton and Tennessee-Martin as guaranteed opponents in Ames, Iowa as the road portion of their non-conference schedule closes ... BG's young squad will be tested as they compete on back-to-back-to-back days ... the Orange and Brown will face Iowa State, the hosts of the Cyclone Shootout, on Dec. 28 at 8:30 p.m. ... each day the team will have less time to prepare for their opponent as they compete with Hampton (Dec. 29) at 6:00 p.m. and Tennessee-Martin (Dec. 30) 2:00 p.m. on the following afternoon.
Iowa State Cyclone Shootout
Dec. 28 - Dec.30 , 2007
Hilton Coliseum (14,356) • Ames, Iowa
Iowa State (Dec. 28), Bowling Green, Hampton (Dec. 29), Tennessee-Martin (Dec. 30)
RADIO: WBGU 88.1 - Ryan Gasser and Everett Fitzhugh
Complete Release in PDF Format (35 pages) 
Cheering from the Cheap Seats, Couch or Virtual Highway
Falcon women's basketball can once again be heard on the airwaves and on the internet thanks to 88.1 WBGU FM ... internet broadcasts can be accessed via www.bgsufalcons.com ... Ryan Gasser and Everett Fitzhugh will call the three-day Holiday Tournament action.
Frequent Flier Wins
As the Falcons take to the road for a month long hiatus from playing in Anderson Arena they can rest assured history is on their side ... on three prior occasions in which the Orange and Brown have seen a multiple-week six-game road-stand, BGSU is 13-5 and has never lost more than two games over that span ... in its first happening, the 1981-82 Falcons went 5-1 over the span of 19 days between home games on Nov. 24 and Dec. 14 ... in head coach Curt Miller's second season at BGSU, the Falcons posted a 4-2 record during a 25 day travel session - Dec. 4 and Dec. 30, 2002 ... in its last occurrence, BG went 4-2 between home games on Nov. 30 and Dec. 30, 2004 (29 days) ... after their Dec. 5 OT loss at home at the hands of Notre Dame and their loss to Indiana at Assembly Hall, the Falcons fought back to record a pair of wins at Mount St. Mary's (62-59) and Delaware (64-54) before Christmas ... with three of their six road games under their belts, BGSU is 2-1 ... they will close the second month of play with three contests in the Iowa State Cyclone Shootout ... beginning Dec. 28, BGSU will play back-to-back-to-back opponents in host Iowa State, Hampton and Tennessee-Martin ... Miller and Co. will open the New Year with their final scheduled non-conference opponent, Chicago State, at home on Jan. 5.
More Airtime for Falcons
Bowling Green's home game versus Chicago State will be broadcast live on the Buckeye Cable Sports Network on Jan. 5 ... the men's game vs. Ohio on the same day (4:00 p.m.) will be broadcast on tape delay ... later than night Falcon hockey will host national powerhouse Miami (OH) at 7:05 p.m. ... the next day national eyes will turn to the Falcons as the football team will take on Tulsa at the GMAC Bowl (8:00 p.m., ESPN)
Pack Your Shoes, Uniform ... and Game
After completing three of their six straight road-games, the Falcons are 2-1 and have yet to test the uncharted waters of the Iowa State Cyclone Shootout ... freshman Lauren Prochaska leads the Falcons from the floor scoring 15.0 ppg, while sophomore Tara Breske is not far behind accounting for 12.7 ppg during the latest five day run ... junior Lindsey Goldsberry ranks third with her 11.7 ppg ... the Falcons are not just scoring though, Prochaska and Breske are averaging 6.7 rpg while freshmen posts Jennifer Uhl and Crystal Murdaugh are bringing in an average of 4.7 boards each night ... Goldsberry once again ranks third, snatching 4.3 rebounds ... even more noteworthy are the ages and positions of the leaders ... before the 2007 season, Goldsberry was the only "regular" in the line-up, often as the sixth or seventh man on the successful Falcons' squad ... Goldsberry and Prochaska, two of the top rebounders are also guards ... also to be noted, senior Kate Achter, while scoring a modest 9. 7 ppg, has added 23 of her 62 seasonal helpers to her resume over the past three games (avg. of 7.67 per game).
Falcons in Tournament Play Under Miller
The Falcons are 16-10 (.615) in non-conference tournament play under head coach Curt Miller ... with the exception of the 2004-05 season, BGSU has posted at least one perfect 2-0 record in tournament play every year since 2003 ... Bowling Green is 10-3 when having less than 24 hours to prepare for a day-two opponent and has won the second game of a tournament in their past eight tries ... BGSU averages 64.15 ppg in tournament play under Miller while their opponents average 60.07 ... the Falcons are 4-4 when facing the hosts of a tournament and most recently beat Cornell at their own tournament in December ... the Falcons earned membership on an all-tournament team on 14 occasions under Miller (including the 2006-07 season where no all-tournament teams were awarded) ... eight players have comprised those 14 awards ... former Falcon Liz Honegger is the only Falcon upperclassman to be named MVP; she took the honor at the Hampton Inn Classic (Bloomington, Ind.) in 2005 ... freshman Lauren Prochaska is the only rookie to be named MVP under Miller; she took the honors at the Cornell Classic (Ithaca, NY) earlier this season.
First Time's A Charm (And Most Likely a Win)
Nine of the Falcons' 14 non-conference opponents are first-time challengers to the Orange and Brown program or are fresh opponents for Miller and his coaching staff ... prior to the 2007-08 season, BGSU had never faced Lipscomb, Florida Gulf Coast, Cornell or Tennessee-Martin ... with the Iowa State Cyclone Shootout still looming on the horizon, BGSU has taken victories over three of their four first-time opponents and will face UT-Martin on their final day (Dec. 30) in Ames, Iowa ... Miller's 2007-08 Falcons beat the three teams by an average of 14 points ... BGSU scored an average of 66 points in that trio of games ... Miller has also beat Valparaiso, Belmont, and Mount St. Mary's for the first time in his head coaching career ... Iowa State (Dec. 28) and Hampton (Dec. 29) still await the Falcons.
Tara-Tara Breske-Breske's Double-Double
Sophomore forward Tara Breske recorded her first career double-double in the Falcons' 62-59 win over Mount St. Mary's ... her career-high 11 rebounds was her first ever double-digit rebounding effort as a Falcon ... Breske also added 12 points that night for her fourth double-digit scoring night this season (and in her career) ... she also had an assist and a block in the win ... in 25 minutes of play, Breske was .500 from both the floor and the and foul line going 4-8 from each spot.
Polishing the Gold[sberry]
Though she is not the leading scorer, Lindsey Goldsberry has made the most of her shot selection ... in the midst of their current time away from home, Goldsberry is a team best 11-of-19 (.579) from the field including a high .533 (8-of-15) from behind the arc ... she has also stole control of the ball seven times while dishing eight assists ... in her 110 minutes played, she has committed just five turnovers.
Old Fashioned Points: New Fashion Records
Its no secret senior point guard Kate Achter knows how to attack a defense and draw fouls ... since playing in her first collegiate game in 2004, Achter has made 442 free throws and is on her way to setting a new program record for FT's made over her career ... entering the season she ranked fourth on the FTM list (388) while finding herself fifth all-time in the FTA (510) category ... as of Dec. 21, Achter has made 445 of her 581 chances ... she now ranks second and third in the respective categories ... 2006 graduate Ali Mann owns the records for both attempts (677) and makes (482) over a four-year span ... to tie the FTM record, Achter needs to net 37 free throws ... this season she has accounted for 57 made single point shots ... she has been good for an average of 5.7 made free throws to this point in her final season ... twice, she has made 15-of-17 tries ... her .803 accuracy from the stripe is the best single season percentage she has posted since becoming a Falcon.
Moving On Up ...
Though the Falcons may be "young" one may argue they have some of the top players in the MAC to learn under ... senior Kate Achter and junior Lindsey Goldsberry are on track to finish among the elite players in BGSU women's basketball history ... Achter is already among the top four in the assist category (513) and the top five in the games started group (107) ... as noted (See: Old Fashioned Points: New Fashion Records) she is the second best free throw shooter in Falcon history and while taking the third most attempts ... recently, in sinking her 52 three-point field-goal Goldsberry makes an appearance on the three-point FG made list at 17 ... throughout the season, she has fluctuated her positioning on the three-point field goal percentage list (See: Golden Arches).
Kate Achter - Point Doctor
After starting the season ranking 18th on the all-time scoring list, Kate Achter has moved her way to 13th overall with her 1,238 career points ... she sits 103 points away from former teammate Carin Horne who currently occupies spot number 12 ... to date, she is 174 points shy of reaching the top ten ... seven of the Top 22 players in the 1,000-Point Club have played under head coach Curt Miller ... Achter's 32 points versus St. Bonaventure also set a new personal best for the senior; previously her highest scoring game (29 pts.) was a 77-66 win at Belmont - just six days before ... the total is one of the most productive offensive nights in the MAC this season ... in fact, the last time a Falcon scored 30-plus points was Casey McDowell's 31 point showing in the MAC Tournament on March 9, 2005 ... for those keeping track, Achter was just three points shy of tying the program record of 35 points in one game ... former Falcon Francine Miller was the last player to reach the plateau on Feb. 17, 2001; she is one of three players to hold the record and is the only player to account for 35 points in two separate contests ... Achter has scored 20+ points three times this season and has reached double-digit nights on six occasions.
20 on the Jersey - At Least 20 in the Box Score
Since turning in her first 20 point night, a 23 pt. effort against Youngstown State in her freshman season, senior Kate Achter has notched 20-plus point nights on 12 occasions with her last coming against Notre Dame on Wednesday (Dec. 5) ... historically, when Achter scores 20 or more points the Falcons are 10-2 ... both losses are OT defeats at the hands of Notre Dame ... in her best night out, Achter threw down 32 points vs. St. Bonaventure ... of her 20+ nights, an even six have come in front of a home crowd while another six have been on the road or at a neutral site.
Lending a Helping Hand
While Kate Achter is known for her scoring ability, few realize just how many points she accounts for each game ... Achter currently holds the second best assist per game average in the MAC with her 5.9 apg ... the figure also ranks her 26th in the nation ... her newest national ranking will not be available until Jan. 4 ... in her career, she has 513 helpers - good enough for fourth all-time ... recently she eclipsed Lindsay Austin's career total of 508 ... Achter has had at least five assists on seven occasions this season ... she has posted 10 or more in four games in a BG uniform including two this season ... her career-high 11 were recorded versus Florida Gulf Coast ... recently she added 10 in the Falcons' win over Delaware ... in every season the point guard has picked-up at least 120 assists with her best complete year coming in 2006-07 where she was responsible for 177.
Golden Arches
Lindsey Goldsberry entered the 2007-08 season 10th on the all-time BGSU career three-point field-goal percentage list making 35-of-97 (.361) shots from behind the arc in her first two seasons ... to open the season, Goldsberry posted a career high making 5-of-6 against Valparaiso ... since then, she has made at least one long ball in six of eight Falcon games this season ... at both Belmont and Indiana she was a perfect 1-1 and 3-3 when shooting from 19''9' ... she has had 10 total perfect outings in her career with the Falcons ... currently she has a .472 (17-36) percent accuracy from `downtown' ... she and Lauren Prochaska lead the Falcons with their 1.7 respective made three's per game ... for the second consecutive week she ranks atop the MAC in the three point field goal percentage category ... historically she is 52-133 (.3909) and currently ranks fifth on the all-time three point percentage list.
#2 + #3 = 27 [From the Deep End]
Rookie guard Lauren Prochaska and junior guard Lindsey Goldsberry have combined for 34 made three's this season ... the pair account for 61 percent of the BGSU three-point output this season ... each has seen perfect nights from `downtown' on two separate occasions ... currently Goldsbery ranks as the best three point shooter in the MAC with her .472 accuracy while Prochaska is sixth ... together the two are .607 (34-56) from dead-eye range ... either one or both has made a long shot in every game this season.
Rookie Card Worth Buying ...
Freshman Lauren Prochaska is on the fast track to making her name known amongst some of the best freshmen in Falcon history ... her 149 points in ten games make her 63 shy of matching the 12th best freshman season total ... she is 93 shy of making it to the top ten ... currently she is averaging 14.9 ppg - second only to Falcon great Jackie Motycka's rookie average ... Motycka also owns the record with 472 points in her first season ... Prochaska would be considered in good company on that list as each of BGSU's MAC Freshmen of the Year are ranked in the top 10 on the all-time frosh scoring list ... three of the top five are former FOY's (Motycka - '86, Ali Mann - '04, Sara Puthoff - '95) ... three of the top 10 are in the BGSU Hall of Fame (Motycka, Lori Albers, Chris Tuttle) ... two graduates are not yet eligible for the BGSU HOF (Mann and Liz Honegger) ... a student-athlete must be out at least 10 years before they are eligible for HOF consideration ... one is still playing (senior guard, Kate Achter).
... Keeping In Plastic ...
Prochaska is not only an offensive threat; she currently ranks as the only underclassman in the top five of the Mid-American Conference in steals (Prochaska is third overall) ... with her 24 steals this season, Prochaska is the team leader in the category ... she needs an additional six to break into the top 12 on the all-time rookie list and nine to tie the 10th best rookie, Ali Mann, at 33 ... she is averaging 2.40 steals per game ... if she maintains this average she will be projected to shatter the current record ... former coach Dee Knoblauch holds the record with 66 steals as a freshman ... teammate Kate Achter ranks second at 49 ... Prochaska's seven steals at Lipscomb were not only a career-high but were also the most any frosh has tallied under head coach Curt Miller in one game.
... And Not Folding the Corners
From the field Prochaska has shot .455 this season ... currently only eight Falcon frosh have ended their inaugural season averaging 10 or more points per game - Prochaska has been good for an average of 14.9 ... additionally her 5.3 rebounds per game places her amongst the 10 best rebounding average set by freshman Pam Brown in the 2000-01 season ... if Prochaska maintains this average through the remaining 20 games she will be projected to finish the season in the top five.
Crystal in the Rough
In her first season with the Falcons, post player Crystal Murdaugh has become a constant in the BGSU stats in the rebound category ... each night, Murdaugh can be counted on for at least 4.0 boards and has grabbed a then-season high five on four occasions while bringing down four twice ... in her last outing, Murdaugh grabbed six rebounds at Delaware ... in the past four games, she has snatched at least three defensive boards per game ... speaking of her defense, she leads her position group with seven steals ... in her past eight attempts from the free throw line, she has swished seven ... intimidation was no factor for the freshman as she enjoyed a career night against Notre Dame with a career high 14 points and five made field goals.
[Bres]Keys to Avoiding the Sophomore Slump
With more than two-thirds of the non-conference season complete, sophomore post Tara Breske has already surpassed her freshman seasonal totals in several statistical categories ... Breske has connected on 30 FG's in 2007 after taking just 19 in all of 2006 ... she has also surpassed her seasonal totals in offensive rebounds (16), assists (8), blocks (7) and steals (2) ... she has also outscored herself 78-33 ... classmate, and fellow post player, Laura Bugher is also meeting her previous totals ... Bugher has posted 20 points in the nine games this season - a total she accumulated over 23 games last season ... she has also seen a total of 103 minutes of game action in 2007 after seeing just 95 totals minutes as a rookie ... to date she has nearly doubled her made field goals (5-9) and is just three rebounds shy of her 2007 mark (19-16) ... Sarah Clapper is also on her way to improving her statistical numbers ... in comparisons, Clapper has posted totals of 5-14 (FG-FGA), 3-10 (3FG-3FGA), and 1.9 ppg in 2007 whereas she was 12-29 (FG-FGA), 4-13 (3FG-3FGA) and 2.2 ppg last season.
Uhl Tide
Rookie Jennifer Uhl has lead the charge for the Falcon non-starters leading the bench in points (54), points per game (5.4), minutes (151), minutes averaged (15.1), rebounds (35) and rebounds per game (3.5) ... she has dominated the defensive boards with her 17 rebounds on the opponents end of the court averaging 2.125 defensive rpg ... on two occasions she has scored in the double-digits (Belmont, 17 and Indiana, 11).
Ever Think of Spelling it "Trey-See" Pontius?
Freshman point guard Tracy Pontius leads the reserves with her six made three's to date ... twice she has gone 2-3 (.667) from behind the arc ... in the opening night of the season, Pontius was 3-4 from the floor including two long-range baskets in 14 minutes played ... against Notre Dame, she saw another big night making twin three-pointers while also sinking 3-of-4 free throws ... additionally, the line-conscious Pontius also leads the bench with her .765 effort from the FT line ... the guard has produced two nights at 75 percent and three prefect 2-for-2 nights ... she has missed just four FT all season (13-17).
Your Bench is Made of Wood - Ours is Made Heart and Steel
It is well known that every player on a team plays an important role; especially in the BGSU system ... the Falcons' bench has outscored the opposition on six of ten occasions ... against Florida Gulf Coast, the Falcon reserves scored 43 of the Falcons 70 points ... the FGCU bench accounted for 19 ... the 43 points were a season high for the Orange and Brown ... the Bowling Green bench has averaged 22.4 ppg ... they have allowed their foes' non-starters to average 21.8 ppg ... Tara Breske and Jennifer Uhl lead the charge with their respective 6.0 and 5.4 ppg while Tracy Pontius is a close third with 3.9 ppg ... Pontius is also shooting above .750 from the free throw line ... Uhl also has a commanding presence under the basket with her 35 rebounds this season ... the Falcon bench is connecting on 40.7 percent of their shots from the field this season ... Uhl and Pontius have seen time in every game this season as reserve players while Whitney Taylor and Laura Bugher has played in nine of ten games.
Best Keep Getting Better
Of the six returnees from the 2006-07 season, every veteran has set at least one new personal record this season ... while each of the six has seen their high-minutes increase, five of those six have set new point records with senior Kate Achter breaking it on consecutive occasions ... four of the six have also new totals in field goals made while the fifth tied her career high ... sophomore Laura Bugher leads the way with eight new personal bests in 2007 while classmate Tara Breske has seen seven new career totals ... Bugher, Breske and classmate Sara Clapper all set or matched their career best point totals against FGCU ... Achter and fellow captain Lindsey Goldsberry each saw their latest career nights at home vs. St. Bonaventure and Valparaiso, respectively ... the Falcons are 4-0 when a veteran boasts a career shooting night.
Too Close For Comfort[able Losses]
Including the Falcons' 86-84 OT loss versus #13 Notre Dame on Dec. 5 and its 75-67 loss at Indiana on Dec. 16, BG has lost by single-digits in 10 in-season only games and are 68-10 dating back to their 51-48 loss to Eastern Michigan at home on Jan. 12, 2005 ... seven of the aforementioned losses were by five-or-less points, while the Orange and Brown were defeated by three-or-less points on three occasions throughout that span ... prior to the loss to the Irish, Bowling Green had not been defeated in a non-conference game in Anderson Arena since December 13, 2003 when the Oakland Grizzlies beat the host by seven points, 70-63 ... BG had won 13-straight non-conference games on campus post-Oakland ... BG went on to drop their next game at IUPUI, 89-74, eight days later and also dropped a pair of MAC losses for their last set of back-to-back losses ... the ND and IU losses signify the first time any member of the current squad has ever been apart of a more than one game losing streak in their career with the Orange and Brown.
Losing is a Foreign Concept
Including the Dec. 5 loss to #16 Notre Dame, and the loss at Indiana 11-days later, seniors Kate Achter and Whitney Taylor have experienced just 17 losses in Falcon uniforms ... three of those losses have come in the NCAA tournament ... they are the only two members of the Class of 2008 throughout the MAC to have a win in the post-season NCAA tournament while representing the league ... dating back to their freshman season (2004-05) Bowling Green has posted an 90-17 (.841) overall record ... they are the only pair of MAC seniors to have less than 20 defeats in their collegiate careers ... the back-to-back losses to Indiana's finest (Notre Dame and Indiana) mark the first time any current Falcon has lost two consecutive games in their careers with the Orange and Brown.
Falconstock - Rockin' thru the 60's
In seven of their eight wins, and in both losses, the Falcons have met or surpassed a `groovy' 60 points ... in fact, BG is averaging 70.1 ppg, good enough for the second best scoring offense in the Mid-American Conference ... the Falcons are also allowing the second fewest points (61.3) amongst its peers in the league ... BG saw its two highest scoring games at home ... on the opening night of the season as they sunk 81 points over the Valparaiso defense while also posting 84 on Notre Dame.
More on the Falcon Scoring Machine
Kate Achter, the leading BGSU scorer, is the sixth ranking player in the MAC averaging 15.2 ppg ... Lauren Prochaska is also a top ten scorer with her 14.9 points per game (ranked eighth) ... Bowling Green and Miami remain as the only two schools to have two players in the top ten scorers in the league ... Lindsey Goldsberry's 9.1 ppg rank as the 27th best total in the conference while Tara Breske (8.7) ranks 30th.
Roll Along You Road Warriors ...
In their six-plus seasons with head coach Curt Miller as the Falcons' leader, BG is 78-41 (.655) when playing any road or neutral site game ... after posting losing road/neutral records in his first two seasons, Miller's Falcons have more than doubled their ratio of wins to losses ... in 2003 BG won 12 while losing six and the next season improved to 14 wins with seven losses ... since then, the Falcons have lost a combined five games (including two in the NCAA tournament) when playing at a site that is not Anderson Arena ... throughout that time frame, the Falcons have posted a total of 40 wins ... in non-conference only road games, BGSU is 35-18 under Miller and 19-6 since 2005 ... the Falcons have posted just one losing non-conference road/neutral site record (2001) since Miller took over ... in 2007, BG averages 68.4 ppg away from Anderson Arena ... their opposition has been allotted an average of 59.4 ppg ... the Falcons have won by a +9.0 margin on the road ... Indiana's 75 points versus BG are the most scored by a home program ... Lipscomb's 42 are the least ... Bowling Green has posted at least 65 points in every road/neutral match this season with the exception of Lipscomb ... every Falcon has seen game action on the road while nine players have spent time on the floor in every game ... Lauren Prochaska and Kate Achter lead all Falcons with their 15.1 and 13.4 respective points on the road ... Achter has a team-high 50 assists ... Prochaska sits a top the rebound category with 35 and leads the team with her 17 steals ... she and classmate Crystal Murdaugh, along with sophomore Tara Breske, lead the squad with four blocks a piece.
Three Wins to Tie - Four to Move Ahead
In his seventh season with the Orange and Brown, head coach Curt Miller is making strides through the programs' all-time coaching ranks ... Miller's club's eight wins in 2007 are helping to propel the leader upward and with the win at Delaware, he is now just three W's shy of tying former Falcon head coach Jaci Clark's 135-65 seven year career record (132-62) ... Clark, the second winningest coach in Falcon women's basketball history, stood at the helm of the Orange and Brown program during the 1991-98 seasons ... current Board of Trustees member, Fran Voll, leads all women's basketball coaches with a 144-60 overall record ... Miller trails Voll by 12 wins.
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