Bowling Green State University Athletics
Fighting Irish Pay Visit to Anderson Arena Wednesday
December 04, 2007 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2007
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - On Wednesday evening Curt Miller's Falcons will look to rectify an 85-81 overtime loss at the Joyce Center that occurred 390 days ago ... Bowling Green, who enters the match at 6-0, has yet to beat Notre Dame in three tries dating back to 1995 ... in their past two meetings, ND has given BGSU their first schedule blemish of the year with losses at home and on the road ... this will be the second time in which the Fighting Irish has played at Anderson Arena ... in their last trip to Bowling Green (1996), Notre Dame brought a 25th overall USA Today ranking and a 20th overall ranking by the Associated Press ... Wednesday's tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ... the Falcons are 1-0 when playing during the work week in 2007.
BGSU vs. Notre Dame
Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2007 • 7:00 p.m.
Anderson Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio
RECORDS: BGSU 6-0 (0-0 MAC) // ND 6-1 (0-0 Big East)
RADIO: WBGU 88.1 - Ryan Gasser and Kevin Zilch
SERIES: ND leads, 3-0 // STREAK: ND 3-0
LAST MEETING: BGSU 81 at Notre Dame 85 (OT) (Nov. 13, 2006)
Complete Release in PDF Format (28 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.BGSRO.com ... Ryan Gasser and Kevin Zilch will be on the microphones for Wednesday's game ... live stats via gametracker will also be accessible on the internet ... the Falcon/Fighting Irish match-up can also be seen LIVE on BSCN.
A November to Remember
The women's basketball Falcons were a perfect 5-0 in the 11th month of 2007 ... they were not the only BGSU athletic team to rack up the wins during the month ... when combining the four revenue sports, women's basketball (5-0), men's basketball (4-2), football (4-0) and hockey (6-2) - BG was 19-4 in November ... also, on Nov. 12 each of the four sports claimed a Player of the Week honor from their respective conference ... under head coach Curt Miller, the Falcons are 23-10 in the opening month of play ... additionally, for the first time since December of 2004, each of the revenue sports are above .500 while seeing their seasons overlap ... football ended their regular season at 8-4 and has a second trip planned to the GMAC Bowl (Jan. 6) ... hockey is 8-4 ... men's basketball is 4-3 ... women's basketball is 6-0 ... back in December of 2004, the BG football team was fresh off a season-ending win in the GMAC Bowl to finish the season 9-3, hockey was 8-7-3 at the end of December, while men's basketball sat at 6-2 and the women's basketball team sat at 7-4.
Falcons Sizzle Through Six
Currently, the Falcons (6-0) are experiencing their second most successful start under head coach Curt Miller since going a perfect 8-0 to begin the 2005 season ... they are also the only remaining undefeated team in the MAC and just one of 17 undefeated teams in NCAA Division I women's basketball ... during that stretch in 2005, BGSU went 8-1 to close the year (Nov. and Dec.); after opening 2006 with a loss to Kentucky in overtime, that Falcon squad won 19 straight before falling to UCLA in the NCAA Tournament ... last season, BG was five points short of repeating the 8-0 start ... after winning their season opener, the Orange and Brown lost to Notre Dame in overtime, 85-81, in South Bend, Ind., but went on to win their next six contests ... since the 1974 season, BGSU has seen five starts in which they won three or more consecutive games to begin the season ... 1974 (six wins), 1988 (six wins), 1991 (five wins), 1997 (three wins), 2005 (eight wins), 2007 (four wins) ... historically, BG is 23-10 in the eleventh month of the year (Nov.) under Miller, but are 16-1 dating back to the 2005-06 season.
We Must Protect This House
The Falcons have not lost in Anderson Arena since losing to Ohio University on Feb. 24, 2007, 70-67 ... in non-conference only games, BG has not been outscored by their opponent in Anderson Arena since the 2003-04 season when Oakland bested the Falcons 70-63 on Dec. 13, 2003 ... since that seven-point loss, BG has won 13 consecutive non-conference games at home ... in 2006-07, the Orange and Brown won five before a home crowd.
Roll Along You Road Warriors ...
In their six-plus seasons with head coach Curt Miller as the Falcons' leader, BG is 78-40 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 33-18 under Miller and 17-6 since 2005 ... the Falcons have posted just one losing non-conference road/neutral site record (2001) since Miller took over ... in 2007, BG averages 68.75 ppg away rom Anderson Arena ... thier opposition has been allotted an average of 55.5 ppg ... the Falcons have won by a +13.25 margin on the road ... Belmont's 66 points versus BG are the most scored by a home program ... Lipscomb's 42 are the least.
Five Wins to Tie - Six 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 six wins in 2007 are helping to propel the leader upward and with the win at Cornell, the 130th of his career, he is now just five W's shy of tying former Falcon head coach Jaci Clark's 135-65 seven year career record ... 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 14 wins.
Six Minutes Or More - Opponents Don't Need to Score
From Valparaiso to Cornell, every opponent has fallen victim to the suffocating BGSU defense ... through 240:00 of total play, BGSU has rendered their opponent without a field goal for nearly six minutes of consecutive combined play at least once a game ... during that time span, 20 points have been accumulated by the Falcons opposition from the free throw line ... had BGSU kept Valpo from scoring for five extra seconds, they would have the ability to boast a challenger was kept without a FG for a solid 6:00 per game ... recently, Cornell was held for 14:05 without a field goal ... in another road game, BG held host Lipscomb without a field goal for 11:13 ... twice the Falcon defense has held a squad without a score from the field or the free throw line (St. Bonaventure and Florida Gulf Coast).
Valparaiso 5:55 (7:03 - 1:08, first half, 2 FT)
Lipscomb 11:13 (20:00 - 8:47, second half, 5 FT)
Belmont 6:22 (6:24 - 00:02, first half, 5 FT)
ST. Bonaventure 6:05 (12:18-6:13, second half, 0 FT)
Florida Gulf Coast 6:43 (20:00 - 13:17, second half, 0 FT)
Cornell 14:05 (14:05 - 00:00, second half, 8 FT)
Total time: 50:22 - 13:07 of that time has come in the first half
*Times do not reflect carry over from previous half.
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 ... to date, the Falcons' bench has outscored the opposing benches 145-113 (+32) ... they have also outscored the opposition on five of six 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 24.17 ppg ... they have allowed their foes' non-starters to average 18.3 ppg ... Tara Breske and Jennifer Uhl lead the charge with their 6.0 ppg while Whitney Taylor is a close second with 4.2 ppg.
Reservations Always Expected
After an opponent prepares their scouting report for the Orange and Brown starters, they might find themselves questioning which of the reserves to also worry about ... the answer is each of them can cause damage on any given day ... to date, three different Falcon reserves have made an impact coming off the bench ... against Valparaiso, Tracy Pontius was 2-of-3 from three point range and finished the game with 10 points while classmate Jen Uhl was responsible for 17 points at Belmont ... in their most recent game, BGSU saw Tara Breske play a defensive role in stopping St. Bonaventure's leading scorer, Dana Mitchell, while also creating offensive opportunities during each of BG's two late come-from-behind rallies ... Breske also makde an impact against Florida Gulf Coast leading the Falcons with 16 points - prior to that contest, her career high was nine points.
C3 - Cornell Classic Champions
With wins over Florida Gulf Coast and Cornell, Bowling Green pushed their streak of at least one perfect 2-0 outing in in-season tournament play alive for the third consecutive year and fourth time in five seasons ... to date, Bowling Green is 10-3 when having less than 24 hours to prepare for a day-two opponent under head coach Curt Miller and has won the second game of an in-season tournament in their past eight tries ... with the win over Cornell, BGSU is 4-4 when facing the host of a tournament on their home court ... in Ithaca, NY, the Falcons won both games by an average of 15 points and out rebounded their opponents by a + 7 margin ... Kate Achter's All-Tournament team selection is the 14th for the Falcons while Lauren Prochaska's MVP nod is the second for a Falcon in the past six-plus seasons.
MVP ... Most Valuable Prochaska?!
With her nomination to Most Valuable Player status at the Cornell Classic, freshman Lauren Prochaska became the first rookie to earn high honors under head coach Curt Miller ... Prochaska averaged 15.5 points through the two wins over Florida Gulf Coast and Cornell ... she also led the Falcons with her 27.0 minutes per game ... from the floor, she was 12-16 (.750) ... more impressively, she was 6-7 from three-point range ... she also picked-up a game-high four steals against host Cornell in the championship game.
Falconstock - Rockin' thru the 60's
In five of their six wins, the Falcons have met or surpassed a `groovy' 60 points ... in fact, BG is averaging 70.7 ppg, good enough to tie for second highest scoring offense in the Mid-American Conference ... the Falcons are also allowing the second fewest points (56.5) amongst its peer in the league and is one of only two teams to win by a double-digit scoring margin (the Falcons lead that category with their +14.2 scoring margin)... to date, BG saw its highest scoring game on opening night of the season as they sunk 81 points over the Valparaiso defense.
More on the Falcon Scoring Machine
Kate Achter, the leading BGSU scorer, is tied as the third ranking player in the MAC averaging 17.2 ppg ... Lauren Prochaska is also a top ten scorer with her 14.3 buckets per game ... Bowling Green and Miami remain as the only two schools to have two players in the top ten scorers in the league.
A Century of Wins
As the Falcons proved against St. Bonaventure a lead at the intermission, no matter how large or small, is nothing to play around with ... under head coach Curt Miller, BGSU is 105-20 and counting when taking the lead into the locker room ... in five games this season, including their comeback win over St. Bonaventure, BGSU has had at least a point on the competition ... in their largest lead, the Falcons had a +22 margin over the Valparaiso Crusaders at halftime ... more importantly, the Falcons have not only built leads; they have kept them ... in each game this season, BGSU has won by more points than they were ahead at the half.
What is This Tie You Speak Of?
At the intermission of the Cornell contest, Bowling Green found themselves with a clean slate, 33-33, for the first time in more than forty games, dating beyond last season ... In fact the count dated back to the 2004-05 season (78 games) ... the BGSU/Cornell tie marked just the second time in the six-plus seasons in which a Miller-led team was neither winning nor losing after 20 minutes of play ... in the only other occasion in which the Falcons were tied, BG found themselves evenly keeled with the University of Toledo [35-35] in Anderson Arena on Feb. 26, 2005 ... the Falcons went on to beat the Rockets, 72-71 and the Big Red, 70-54 ... BG is 2-0 when even at the half under Miller.
Free Points? We'll Take `Em!
As a unit the Falcons are shooting 74 percent from the foul line and have taken 120 free throws six games into the season ... Bowling Green has converted 89-of-120 tries from the charity stripe and is the third ranking FT shooting team in the MAC... their opponents, on the other hand, have taken 107 FT's and have converted 83 into points ... Kate Achter leads all Falcons in made (39) and attempts (48) ... she also has the seventh best made percentage in the MAC ... four other Falcons join Achter at an 80 or better percentage on the year ... in three-of-four games this season, BGSU has been sent to the line at least 20 times and has shot at, or above, 74 percent ... in their best outing, the Falcons sank 27-of-31 (.871) at Belmont ... to date, St. Bonaventure is the only squad to outshoot BG from the free throw line (.741 -.821) ... against Valparaiso, the Falcons held the Crusaders to a low nine attempts.
Possession of the Ball? We'll Take That Too!
While the Orange and Brown has committed 87 turnovers this season, they have forced the opposition into giving possession back on 143 separate occasions ... five of the Falcons' opponents have committed 20 or more rule infractions this season while the sixth topped out at 18 ... Valparaiso was responsible for 29 TO's while Lipscomb saw 28; Cornell (24) Florida Gulf Coast (23), and St. Bona (21) also picked-up more than 20 against the BG defense ... BG leads the MAC with the top turnover margin (+9.33) ... their closest MAC affiliate, Eastern Michigan, forces an average of 3.86 TO's per game ... the Falcons also own the best assist to turnover ratio in the league (.84) ... the Falcons also have the second highest total in blocks per game with 3.67 ... Lauren Prochaska is second in the league in steals thus far averaging 2.67 per game.
Kate Achter - Point Doctor
Prior to last Saturday's contest against St. Bonaventure, Kate Achter, needed to net 29 points to tie Andrea Nordmann's (89-93) 1,164 career point total and join her at the 16th overall spot on the all-time scorers list ... that night she not only met the total, but went on to surpass it (32 points) ... after a busy weekend at the Cornell Classic where she scored 22 points in two games, Achter now needs 21 additional points to move into the top fifteen on the all-time scorers list ... she is currently responsible for 1,189 career points with the with the Falcons ... seven of the Top 22 players in the 1,000-Point Club have played under head coach Curt Miller ... Achter's 32 points 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 ... 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.
Golden Arches
Lindsey Goldsberry entered the 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 ... she has made at least one long ball in five of six Falcon games this season ... currently she has a 45.0 percent accuracy from `downtown' ... she, and Lauren Porchaska, is averaging a team high 1.5 per game and has the best percentage on the team amongst those who have five or more attempts in 2007 ... she ranks fifth in the MAC in the three point field goal percentage category ... historically she is 44-117 (.376) and currently ranks ninth on the all-time three point percentage list.
Ranking The Opponent - Notre Dame
The 6-1 Fighting Irish of Muffet McGraw will enter Anderson Arena carrying a 16 ranking via the latest AP Poll ... they will be the first ranked opponent to visit the `House that Roars" since their last visit to Ohio in the 1996-97 season ... in the 90's, three programs challenged the Falcons at home ... Purdue (then 10th in both polls) met the Falcons on Nov. 23, 1991 ... BGSU won that game 75-72 ... the win was the first of six straight Falcon wins ... on Dec. 19, 1994 Georgia stepped on to the court ranking 14th in both the AP and USA Today polls ... UGA beat BG 82-63 ... on Nov. 23, 1996 ND defeated the Falcons 85-70 in the home and season opener ... as a result of the Purdue win, BGSU is 1-2 against ranked opponents at home.
The Opponent - Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame is currently enjoying a season in which they are outscoring teams by an average of 30.1 points and have won six-of-seven games ... the Irish are 1-1 on the road thus far ... in their best outing, ND beat Canisius by 53 points ... to date, only one team has come within 20 points of the Irish in their loss - Western Kentucky fell to ND 78-59 (+19) ... Boston College was the next closest opponent with the 30 point loss to the Irish (88-58) ... in their single loss, ND was beat by Maryland in College Park, Md. on Nov. 16, 75-59 (-16) ... against the MAC, Notre Dame has average 96 points while beating the Mid-Western opponents by an average of 50.5 points ... no MAC team has scored more than 50 points against the ND defense ... in the first half, Notre Dame is out scoring their opponent 306-173 ... the Irish have allowed 376 opponents points this season - just 70 more than their own first half efforts ... four separate players have recorded a high-score for Notre Dame through six games this season ... the team is more than balancing itself committing 12.1 turnovers per game but is negating those mistakes by forcing 24.3 per game ... three players will enter BGSU averaging double-digit point results ... six players have seen an average of more than 20 minutes per game but no player is on the floor for an average of more than 26 minutes each game ... Ashley Barlow will be the clutch player to look to down the stretch, the sophomore has missed just two free throws this season (23-25, .920).
The Series - ND Leads 3-0
Nov. 26, 1995 BGSU 67 at Notre Dame 92
Nov. 23, 1996 BGSU 70 vs. Notre Dame 85
Nov. 13, 2006 BGSU 81 at Notre Dame 85 (OT)
The Last Time Out ...
• Then-senior Liz Honegger forced the OT session at the Joyce Center with a three-pointer at the second-half buzzer, as the Falcons made 11 three-point field goals in the game. All five BGSU starters hit double digits in scoring.
• Kate Achter led the Brown and Orange with 20 points, and the then-junior also posted game-high totals of nine assists and five steals. Then-senior Megan Thorburn's 17 points included a career-high five three-pointers, as she went 5-for-6 from behind the arc. Then-seniors Carin Horne and Ali Mann scored 16 and 14 points, respectively, while Honegger's 12 points came on four 3s in six attempts.
• For the Irish, Tulyah Gaines (25) and Charel Allen (21) combined for 46 points, while Ashley Barlow had a double-double off the bench, with 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
• The Falcons had steals on three of Notre Dame's first four possessions, but could not convert at the other end of the court.
• The Falcons shot 43.9% from the field for the game, while the Irish had a field-goal percentage of 43.3%. BGSU went 11-for-23 from three-point land (47.8%), while the home team had four triples in 14 tries.
• Each team had 19 turnovers, and each team had 28 free-throw attempts, with Notre Dame making 23 to BG's 20. The Irish had a 32-17 rebounding advantage after halftime for a game margin of 45-33 on the boards. Achter was 12-of-14 from the free-throw line on the night.
##BGSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL##
