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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Zip into MAC Play on Wednesday
January 08, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 8, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Akron's (5-9; 0-0 MAC) arrival at Anderson Arena on Wednesday night (Jan. 9) will signify the opening of the Mid-American Conference season ... Bowling Green will test their 11-3 record (0-0 MAC) as the Zips challenge BG for the ninth time in the Curt Miller-era ... over the past two seasons, BG has opened the season with Akron en route to kicking off league play with a win ... tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
Game 15, MAC Opener
Jan. 9, 2008
Anderson Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio
BSGU vs. Akron, 7:00 p.m.
RADIO: WBGU 88.1 - Kevin Zilch and Brian Fisher
Complete Release in PDF Format (37 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 ... live stats via gametracker can also be viewed as the Falcons battle the Zips.
Non-Conference Quick Bites
After 14 non-conference games, Bowling Green will carry an 11-3 overall record into the Mid-American Conference ... it is the second time in as many seasons the Falcons have won 11 non-conference games in pre-league play ... they are the only league program to win more than 10-games entering the MAC season ... Bowling Green was 3-1 at home; just missing that perfect home record by 0.8 when Charel Allen hit nearly a buzzer beater to give the Falcons the overtime loss (86-84; Dec. 5) ... on the road, BGSU was 5-2 ... despite losing to Indiana and Iowa State, the Falcons carried a +3.9 scoring average when playing an opponent in their own territory ... five of their seven away games were played over a 27 day span with the last three taking place over a nine day span ... when playing at a neutral site, BGSU was 3-0 and won by an average of 21.7 points ... in three neutral site games the Falcons averaged 77 points and never scored less than 74 ... for full non-conference STATS turn to page 14.
Opening the MAC
Curt Miller and Co. have opened the home-portion of the league season with Akron in each of the last two seasons winning both games ... in the last six seasons, BGSU has opened MAC play at home on five occasions and is 3-2 ... in their only road opener under Miller, BG beat Buffalo 70-45 on January 5, 2005 ... the Falcons average 67.5 points in the MAC opener ... in each of their championship seasons, BG has won the MAC opener by 17 or more points ... most recently they had a 29 point edge to start the league season with a 61-32 win over Akron in the 'Double A'.
Spreading the Wealth
In the past three wins, BGSU has seen three or more players in double-digit figures ... in fact, three or more Falcons have sunk 10-plus points nine times this season ... they are 7-2 when accomplishing the feat ... Lauren Prochaska has posted double-digits in a team-high 13 games this season and the Falcons are 10-3 when she does so ... BG is 5-3 when she scores 15 or more ... the St. Bonaventure win is the only time in which only one Falcon was in the DD figures (Kate Achter, 32).
Pre-Season Refresher
Members of the MAC News Media Association selected BGSU to finish behind the Ohio University Bobcats in the Mid-American Conference East Division in their preseason poll in mid-October - just six points separated the divisional foes ... Miami, Kent State and Buffalo were expected to follow suit as three, four and five, respectively ... in the West, Ball State was the clear favorite earning 36-of-41 first place votes and 240 total points in the balloting ... the Cardinals, who were defeated by the Falcons in the tournament final just a year ago, are not only expected to return to the championship game but the pollsters are looking for BSU to be the team to beat in the post-season ... Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Toledo and Central Michigan round out the remaining western division contenders ... no Falcon squad containing a current member of the active roster has been selected to finish lower than third in a preseason voting poll ... in 2004, Kate Achter and fellow senior Whitney Taylor's freshman season, BGSU was predicted to finish third in the Western Division ... in the subsequent seasons (`05-'06) the Falcons were selected as the preseason favorite for top finishes in the division, regular season and tournament title races.
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 66-30 all-time and has lost just four league games in the past three years ... 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 season, Kent State's Bob Lindsay is the only current league coach to boast a better win percentage (1990-pres.; 219-81) ... Ball State's Tracey Roller, who began her time at BSU in 2001 trailed Miller by a win and a loss (65-31; .677) at the conclusion of the 2006-07 season.
Eight Is Great!
In her eight starts, Tara Breske has averaged 11.8 ppg and 5.5 rpg ... her numbers are third and second highest on the team since the Dec. 5 Notre Dame game ... she is also tied for a team-high five blocks ... she is shooting .500 or better from the floor (.538), three-point line (.571) and free throw line (.690) while averaging 26.8 minutes per game ... five of those eight starts have led to double-digit point nights with three in the 20-plus range ... her 94 points in the past eight games very nearly triples her output from all of last season (33 points; 23 games).
History in the Making
With Saturday's (Jan. 5) win over Chicago State University, BGSU head coach Curt Miller (2001-pres; 134-63) tied Jaci Clark's (1991-98; 135-65) record of 135 wins in seven years with the Falcons ... if Miller and Co. beat Akron on Wednesday, he will not only beat Clark, but he will also have 15 remaining games on the regular season schedule to earn the nine needed wins to surpass Fran Voll (1984-91; 144-60) as the winningest coach in BGSU wbb history ... to say he is in good company is an understatement ... as head coach Voll posted four 20+ win seasons, four MAC Tournament titles and three regular-season league championships ... in 1989 Voll's Falcons won BGSU's first ever NCAA Tournament game, a 69-59 decision over the Cincinnati Bearcats in Anderson Arena ... Clark, an assistant under Voll, also boasts four 20+ win seasons on her seven-year resume with her alma mater ... in consecutive seasons her squads won both the MAC regular-season and tournament championships while making appearances in the NCAA tournament ... she also led one team to the WNIT in her final season with the Orange and Brown ... currently, Miller's .681 win percentage is the second best in BGSU basketball history when comparing both the men's and women's programs ... Voll (wbb, .706) is the leader followed by Miller (wbb; .681), Clark (wbb; .675), Harold Anderson (mbb, 1942-63, .655, 367-193) and Jim Larranaga (mbb, 1986-1997, .541, 170-144) ... most will remember Larranaga's recent success with the George Mason Patriot's as they advanced to the 2006 men's Final Four ... he is the only coach on the aforementioned roster to advance further in the NCAA tournament than Miller, but obviously did not do it with a BGSU squad ... when comparing Miller with his MAC peers, the HC's 135 wins rank in the top ten in the league's history ... he is one of five active head coaches on the top ten list and has been in leadership his position for the shortest period of time by a minimum of two seasons ... Miami's Maria Fantananrosa, the next closest coach to compare to Miller's experience, has two-seasons of seniority over Miller in the league ... she also has nine wins on Miller (146).
Ladies and Falcons Start Your Engines
Three of the five starters are shooting at .500 or better from the floor ... Tara Breske leads the team with her .516 accuracy while Lindsey Goldsberry is shooting a .513 ... guard Kate Achter is third at .508 ... Lauren Prochaska boasts a 46.5 percentage while Crystal Murdaugh is shooting at 34.1 percent ... each of the starters are also shooting between .895-.667 from the foul line ... the guards lead the way shooting a team-best 89.5 (Prochaska), 82.9 (Achter) and 77.4 percent (Goldsberry) ... while in Iowa, Achter was good 71-percent of the time from the floor going 17-24 ... Breske was also on target earning a precise .647 from the field ... Goldsberry, Achter and Prochaska were good for 20 of the Falcons 27 three-balls made inside of ISU's Hilton Coliseum ... most recently, Breske, Prochaska and Achter combined for all five BGSU three balls against Chicago State ... the five also accumulated 14 of the Falcons 19 assists vs. CSU.
Six Minutes or More - Opponents Don't Need to Score
From Valparaiso to Cornell and on to UT-Martin and Chicago State, 8-of-14 opponents have fallen victim to the suffocating BGSU defense thus far ... entering the Notre Dame game through 240:00 of total play, BGSU had rendered each of their opponents without a field goal for nearly six minutes of consecutive combined play at least once per game ... during that time span, 20 points were 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 ... 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 ... four times the Falcon defense has held a squad without a score from the field or the free throw line (St. Bonaventure, Florida Gulf Coast, UT-Martin and Chicago State) in holding UT-Martin without a score for just over 9-minutes, BGSU marked the second longest cumulative span for a team to be held without a field goal this season ... BG is now 8-0 when holding an opponent scoreless for nearly six minutes.
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)
UT-Martin - 9:23 (15:24 - 6:01, first half, 0 FT)
Chicago State - 7:47 (20:00 - 12:13, first half, 0 FT)
Total time: - 67:34 - 30:17 of that time has come in the first half
*Times do not reflect carry over from previous half.
BGSU vs. Akron Quick Facts
Curt Miller has never been beaten by the Zips ... Akron is the only squad to not have a win over the seventh year head coach ... he is 8-0 against the squad ... Kate Achter averages 6.8 pts. against the squad ... she is 14 of 16 when given a chance to shoot free throws versus the team ... she has dished out between three and seven assists in her five games versus the Zips; good for a total of 21 helpers ... Whitney Taylor was a perfect 2-2 from the three point line at Akron in Feb., 2006 ... Lindsey Goldsberry has had two steals in three games versus the Zips ... prior to the season, Tara Breske's career-high 9 pts. were scored against Akron in Feb., 2007 ... in fact, she set five career-highs in that game ... Laura Bugher also set five of her rookie-highs on that night in February ... in her one game at Akron, Sarah Clapper was a perfect 1-1 from the floor ... BGSU has beat Akron by 30+ points on eight occasions including a 50-point win in 1994 ... Miller's squads can claim three of those wins ... BGSU's most recent big win was on Feb. 14, 2007 when BGSU won in a 91-46 (+45 pts.) decision ... the last time the Falcons dropped a contest to Akron was Feb. 10, 2001 ... Akron has never won in Anderson Arena ... BGSU set a team record for made three-point attempts (16) vs. the Zips in Jan., 2000 ... the school record for assists in a game was also set against the Zips (37; Mar., 1993) ... BGSU has never scored less than 60 points versus the team in the Miller-era and averages 74.875 ppg ... Miller's teams have also won by an average of 23 points ... BGSU leads the all-time series 37-2.
Miller vs. Akron (8-0)
Jan. 14, 2002 W 85-73 (+12)
Feb. 22, 2003* W 65-62 (+3)
Jan. 14, 2004 W 85-48 (+37)
Feb. 12, 2005* W 61-52 (+9)
Jan. 7, 2006* W 71-54 (+17)
Feb. 15, 2006* W 80-48 (+32)
Jan. 3, 2007 W 61-32 (+29)
Feb. 14, 2007 W 91-46 (+45)
* denotes game was played on the road
##BGSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL##
