Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Look To Bounce Back and Tame Broncos
January 29, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 29, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Wednesday evening the Bowling Green State University women's basketball Falcons (15-5, 4-2) will close the month of January as they welcome the Western Michigan Broncos (8-12, 5-1) to Anderson Arena ... BGSU has won the past 10 matches in which a MAC West team has visited the Bowling Green, Ohio campus ... tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
Game 21
Jan. 30, 2008
Anderson Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio
BSGU vs. Western Michigan University, 7:00 p.m.
RADIO: WBGU 88.1 - Alex Mikos & Brian Fisher
TV: BCSN
Complete Release in PDF Format (38 pages) 
Cheering From the Cheap Seats, Couch or Virtual Highway
Falcon women's basketball can once again be heard over the airwaves and on the internet thanks to 88.1 WBGU FM ... internet broadcasts can be accessed via www.bgsufalcons.com ... tune in to Alex Mikos & Brian Fisher for the sounds of the Wednesday night broadcast ... gametracker can also be followed to chart the progress throughout the home match.
East Meets West
After one cycle of East/West games, the western division took claim of five of six wins ... after Ohio beat Central Michigan, 71-64, in the first game of the day every other game was won by the program with the western ties ... Western Michigan has won five of their last five games while Ohio is 4-0 dating back as many contests.
Prochaska Frontrunner in MAC Freshman Scoring Race
Rookie Lauren Prochaska not only ranks sixth overall in the Mid-American Conference with her 14.4 ppg, but she also the leads the league's freshman class in the scoring category ... Prochaska is one of two freshmen in the top ten ... Akron's Keyla Snowden ranks eighth overall in the MAC and second amongst diaper dandies with her 13.3 ppg ... fellow Zip Kara Murphy just misses the cut at 11th overall with her 12.6 ppg ... the three are the only youngsters listed on the top 30 scoring list ... in head-to-head competition both Prochaska and Murphy recorded 18 respective points while Snowden chipped in seven for the Zips ... Prochaska also lead the trio with her six rebounds and one block ... the Falcons went on to win the home contest 88-56.
Rookie Also Competing in National Scoring Race
Guard Lauren Prochaska also ranks amongst the top freshman in the country with her 14.4 ppg ... she is ninth on the national list ... Boston College's Stephanie Murphy leads the pack with her 17.4 ppg and ranks in a tie for 53rd when compared to all DI players ... four of the top freshman rank among the top 100 average scoring efforts in the NCAA while only nine have made it to the top 200 ... to break down the current list, Prochaska ranks second with her 43 made trey's - Alabama State's Erica Lumpkin is the leader of the pack with 46 ... five have recorded 300-plus points to date; Prochaska narrowly misses the list with her 288 points ... she is the fifth ranking player in free throws made (49) and tied for sixth in field-goals made (98) ... Prochaska is just one of three players to see time in 20 games this season ... the list is comprised of six guards, two centers and one forward ... eight conferences are represented on the list ... the ACC is mentioned twice.
Top Rookie Scoring List
1. Stefanie Murphy, Boston College (t-53 overall) 17.4 ppg
2. Tamara Abalde, Lamar (63 overall) 17.2 ppg
3. Jantel Lavender, Ohio State (78 overall) 16.7 ppg
4. Maya Moore, UConn (82 overall) 16.7 ppg
5. Andrea Barbour, Va. Tech (114 overall) 15.9 ppg
6. Megan Mahoney, Fordham (136 overall) 15.2 ppg
7. Sheylani Peddy, Wrigth State (142 overall) 15.1 ppg
8. Erica Lumpkin, Alabama State (177 overall) 14.4 ppg
9. Lauren Prochaska, Bowling Green (178 overall) 14.4 ppg
Champions Among Champions
Over the past three seasons, the Bowling Green State University women's basketball program has positioned itself as one of two programs to win both its' regular season and tournament scoring crowns ... Chattanooga is the other ... in 2007 the Mocs shared the regular season honors with Western Carolina ... North Carolina (ACC), Old Dominion (Colonial), Marist (Metro-Atlantic), Coppin State (Mid-Eastern) and Stanford (Pac-10) came close to the triple-double championship honors ... each won five of six honors over the past three seasons ... currently the Mocs are 18-3 on the season and a prefect 10-0 in the Southern Conference.
Don't Hit the Panic Button Just Yet ...
Although the Falcons have suffered a pair of losses in the MAC, there is no need to assume their dominant reign over the league is ending anytime soon ... the Falcons are still:
• One of two teams to see four players on the top 30 scoring list ... Ball State is the other ... BGSU is also the only team to place one member of each class on that list - senior Kate Achter (7, 13.8 ppg), junior Lindsey Goldsberry (29, 8.9), sophomore Tara Breske (24, 9.8) and freshman Lauren Prochaska (6, 14.4).
• 34-3 in a road/neutral setting in MAC games since the start of the 2004-05 season ... through regular-season only road games they are 25-3 ... Kent State ('05), eastern Michigan ('05) and Ball State ('07) are the only three programs to beat BGSU in their home arena's during that time ... in the past 20 regular-season road games the Falcons are 19-1.
• 15-5 overall holding the most wins and the least losses in the MAC ... the only squad to hold a + double-figure scoring margin on the their opponents (+11.0) and only one of five league teams to average a positive scoring margin throughout the season.
• 97-20 over the past 117 games ... in the MAC alone they are 48-6 in the regular season since the start of the 2004-05 season ... with the inclusion of MAC Tournament games, BGSU is 57-6 in the same time span.
Vets of the MAC Sidelines
Of the 12 current MAC head coaches only six, including Curt Miller, have coached in 100 league games ... of those six, Bob Lindsay's 220-86 record in going on 19 seasons with Kent State tops the winning chart with his 71.8 percent winning streak in the conference ... drawing a close second is Miller's 70-32 (.686) winning ways ... following suit are Toledo's Mark Ehlen (138-64; .683; 13th season), Western Michigan's Ron Stewart (107-77; .582; 11th season) and Miami's Maria Fantanarosa (87-75; .537; 10th season) ... Ball State's Tracy Roller would have been included on the list this season, but has sat out a majority of the games due to illness.
Looking Good in Paper and in Person
Statistically speaking Bowling Green ranks in the top three in 12 of 19 categories referenced by the Mid-American Conference weekly release ... in fact, they are the top ranking program in seven areas including scoring offense and defense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, turnover margin and assist to turnover ratio ... in MAC only games, Bowling Green is a top three program in nine categories.
View From the Top
As of the games through Jan. 27, the Falcons are ranked in the top 25 of three team NCAA statistical categories and have two top ten spots on an individual basis ... as a team, BGSU ranks 20th in assist to turnover ratio (1.02), 23rd in three-point field goal percentage (37.5) and 24th in turnovers/game (14.9) ... the Falcons are in the top 50 of seven categories ... Kate Achter's 6.2 assists per game are the 10th best effort in the country while Lauren Prochaska's 45.3 accuracy from the three-point line in the 6th best total in NCAA DI women's basketball
Fabulous Freshmen
Freshman Lauren Prochaska has sketched her name into the Falcon freshman record books with her 288 points this season ... the Plain City, Ohio native surpassed former Falcons Carin Horne (220) and Megan Thorburn (212) and is eighth on the all-time rookie scoring list ... Prochaska is the leading scorer for the Falcons this season averaging 14.4 points per game, also good enough for the second best rookie effort ... she also ranks 9th in the all-time frosh category in steals (35) and 8th with her 11 blocks ... also, with her 14 blocks this season, Crystal Murdaugh has placed herself on the rookie blocked shot short list and currently sits in the top ten at 4th overall ... Murdaugh is averaging one per conference game ... with the addition of Prochaska and Murdaugh to the lists, eight of Miller's freshman have made their way to at least one of the all-time rookie lists.
MAC - Miller's Accomplished Conference
Since becoming a head coach in the Mid-American Conference, Curt Miller has won three regular season titles, three tournament titles and another three C-O-Y awards ... he is 70-32 all-time and has lost just six league games in the past three years ... through those three-plus seasons, beginning with the current seniors' rookie season, he and the Falcons are 57-6 ... through that same timeline, only Eastern Michigan (44), Kent State (40) and Ball State (41) have won more than 40 league games [including post-season tournament contests] ... BG's 57 wins doubles almost every remaining program in that same period (Western Michigan, 30; Ohio, 30; Toledo, 26; Northern Illinois, 25; Miami, 21; Buffalo, 15; Central Michigan, 14; Akron, 9) ... in the past 39 regular season MAC contests, the Falcons are 36-3 dating back to a win over then MAC contender, Marshall on Feb. 23, 2005 ... Miller's biggest turn around came in 2003-04 when he took a 5-11 record from the previous season (2002-03) and rearranged it into an 11-5 MAC record ... in the past four seasons he has won 11 or more MAC games ... entering the 2007-08 season, Lindsay was the only current league coach to boast a better win percentage (1990-pres.; 219-81) ... Roller trailed Miller by a win and a loss (65-31; .677) at the conclusion of the 2006-07 season.
Bowling Green vs. Western Michigan "Quick Facts"
The Western Michigan Broncos sit at 5-1 in the MAC West and 8-12 overall ... in the all-time series, BGSU holds a 30-20 lead on WMU and has beat the Broncos on seven consecutive occasions ... head coach Curt Miller is 7-2 vs. WMU ... Western Michigan has beat BGSU just once in Anderson Arena ... Feb. 14, 2002; 67-58 ... after scoring 8 pts. in her first outing vs. WMU, senior Kate Achter has averaged 16.3 points against the Broncos and has raked in 19 points in her last two tries ... she averages 3.5 assists ... in her last outing versus WMU, Lindsey Goldsberry had four assists and three steals without a turnover ... in fact she has never turned the ball over in a contest with Western Michigan ... the last time Whitney Taylor saw action versus WMU, she was a freshman ... Taylor scored twice and pulled in two defensive rebounds ... Tara Breske set her career high of two blocks against the Broncos last season ... Western Michigan has not won on BGSU's campus this season ... the men's and women's soccer teams as well as the hockey program have all registered wins at home versus the Broncos this year ... the only team to suffer a defeat by WMU was the volleyball team who lost on the road.
Miller vs. Western Michigan
Feb. 14, 2002 W. MICH L 67-58
Jan. 29, 2003 at W. Mich L 75-51
Feb. 7, 2004 W. MICH W 69-67
Mar. 10, 2004 vs. W. Mich@ W 63-62
Jan. 8, 2005 at W. Mich W 80-67
Jan. 22, 2005 W. MICH W 80-58
Jan. 28, 2006 W. MICH W 77-69
Jan. 24, 2007 at W. Mich W 90-62
@ denotes MAC Tournament
