Bowling Green State University Athletics
2008-09 Women's Basketball Outlook
October 17, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Oct. 17, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team has had one of the most successful runs in Mid-American Conference history. In the last four years, the Falcons have won 108 games, an average of 27 per season. BGSU has won four consecutive regular-season titles, and three MAC Tournament titles, before seeing the latter streak snapped with a double-overtime loss in the 2008 semifinals.
BGSU lost only two starters from last year's team, which went 26-8, posted the MAC's best regular-season record and advanced to national postseason play for the fourth-straight year.
One of those losses was a big one, however, as Kate Achter had been the point guard for each of the last four years. Achter, the 2008 MAC Player of the Year, made up one-half of a senior class that included three-point sharpshooter Whitney Taylor, and the loss of that duo will be felt in numerous ways.
"We are cautiously optimistic going into this season," said four-time reigning MAC Coach of the Year Curt Miller. "The obvious question mark within the program is the point-guard position. How do you replace arguably the best point guard ever to play at BGSU?
"After our NCAA Sweet Sixteen run in 2007, we graduated five of our top seven players. But, we felt we still had a chance to have a very good year in 2007-08, because our engine was still there. Kate Achter was someone that you could build the program around. She made everyone around her better, and her incredible will to win led us to a fantastic 2008 season.
"Now, when you look back to that Sweet Sixteen team, only one of our top eight players from that team remains. And, our engine is gone.
"But, we have several options as we head into 2008-09, and we are excited about our three returning starters and the depth we have."
The youthful Falcons have eight freshmen or sophomores on the 13-player active roster, and just one senior. So, over half of the team has one year or less of collegiate playing experience.
That senior, however, is Lindsey Goldsberry, and Miller is excited about the experience and leadership she brings to his young team.
"Lindsey Goldsberry is the consummate dependable player," said her head coach. "You know exactly what you're going to get. She is a hard worker, a tremendous defensive player, and a timely and opportunistic scorer.
"We are excited about the senior leadership Lindsey gives us. She is a fantastic defender, and is a great leader by example. Now, we will ask her to increase her role offensively, and we also will ask her to be more of a vocal leader as well."
Lauren Prochaska and Tara Breske are the other returning starters. Prochaska led the team in scoring, becoming the first Falcon freshman to score more than 500 points, and she also paced the club in assists. Prochaska had 14.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game en route to earning MAC Freshman-of-the-Year honors.
Breske joined Prochaska and Achter in double digits with 10.9 points per outing, and added 5.5 rebounds per contest. She also had a team-high 25 blocked shots and shot nearly 52 percent from the field.
"Lauren is as talented a scorer as I have ever worked with," said Miller. "She had an unbelievable year, leading a 26-win team in scoring as a freshman. We will look to use the momentum of her freshman-of-the-year campaign, and ask even more of her.
"Tara Breske was a big addition to the starting lineup last year. She had a great year, an All-MAC caliber year in my opinion, and she has established herself as one of the better post players in the league."
A player who is new to the active roster, but is no stranger to MAC basketball, is Niki McCoy. McCoy sat out last season after transferring from Akron, and has two years of eligibility remaining. A native of nearby Sylvania, she ranked fifth in the MAC in scoring in 2006-07, averaging 16.1 ppg.
"Niki is going to impact the program," said Miller. "Her biggest strength is her versatility. She has the ability to be the heir apparent at the 4 position, to step right in and give us a really tough matchup for our opponents. She can hit the three, and she can drive by most post players from the perimeter, because she has natural guard instincts.
"It is very exciting to coach a player like Niki, and to find all the ways we can put her in position to be successful. She has the versatility to play anywhere from the 1 to the 4 positions. Niki gives us quality depth at the wings, and she gives us a unique look at the point-guard position if we decide to go with an unconventional lineup, but I would not be surprised to see her starting the year as our power forward."
Should Miller go with a more conventional lineup, sophomore Tracy Pontius and freshman Victoria McGowan look to be the candidates for the point-guard spot. Pontius has a year of experience in the program, and showed glimpses of her ability in the Falcons' MAC Tournament semifinal game vs. Ohio. McGowan, a native of Inkster, Mich., is one of three freshmen on the BGSU roster this year.
"Tracy has a year of valuable experience behind Kate Achter," said Miller. "She understands the system, and we all saw how successful she can be in the Ohio game. She singlehandedly kept us in that game, and gave us an opportunity to win. Tracy is a tremendous shooting point guard, and really can help to stretch the defense.
"Victoria may be the best ballhandling point guard I have ever worked with, and she has a lot of raw talent. Her adjustment to the speed of the college game and to the day-in, day-out grind will tell us how successful she will be this year. But, she undoubtedly has a lot of untapped potential, and we look forward to getting her more and more familiar with our system."
Sophomores Jen Uhl and Chelsea Albert return after successful seasons in their first year on campus. Albert played in all 34 games in the post, starting six, while Uhl was one of the top `sixth men' in the league. Uhl averaged 6.6 points and nearly four rebounds.
"Chelsea backed up Tara at center last year, and did a nice job," said Miller. "I believe she will be even more confident and more improved in her sophomore year.
"By the end of last season, I felt Jen Uhl was arguably one of the top sixth men in the conference. She will have the opportunity to fight for that starting position at the 4, but we know that if she comes off the bench, she is a great sixth man and an instant offensive threat."
Juniors Laura Bugher and Sarah Clapper, sophomore Kelly Zuercher and freshmen Maribeth Giese and Jessica Slagle round out the active roster. Division-I transfers Tamika Nurse (Univ. of Oregon) and Maggie Hennegan (Saint Louis Univ.) will sit out this season before suiting up in 2009-10.
"Laura Bugher, at the power forward position, is the `steady Eddie' of our team," said her head coach. "You always know what you are getting from Laura. Now that she is entering her third year of college basketball, she really has a good understanding of the system, and she understands what she needs to do to be successful.
"Kelly Zuercher and Maribeth Giese both bring a physical presence and more of a strong-based kind of player, to give us quality depth at that center spot.
"Sarah Clapper is a talented and experienced player, but has essentially missed the bulk of her first two seasons with back-to-back injuries. Jess Slagle is a natural wing, but is a good enough ballhandler - and a good intellectual player - that she could play some point guard and bring some advantages on the floor for us."
Miller notes that Nurse and Hennegan, despite having to wait until 2009-10 to see game action for the Falcons, will aid the program immediately.
"Our two transfers are outstanding, and are going to help us tremendously this year," said Miller. "They are both seasoned Division-I players, and will challenge our 2008-09 team to get better in practice every day.
"Tamika is an outstanding point guard with tremendous athleticism. She is as quick as anyone I've coached in 19 years at the Division-I level. Maggie is an unbelievable pickup for this program. Her leadership has already paid dividends for us, and her versatility to play both the 4 and the 5, and score both inside and outside, will help us immensely."
Miller and his staff have a young team, with some questions to be answered and spots to be filled. But, the eighth-year mentor knows that the team's success over the past half-decade has set the bar very high in Northwest Ohio.
"We are a young team, and we will be a work in progress," said Miller. "But, our goals will not change. We are at a point with this program that we expect to compete for championships. We are striving for a fifth-straight MAC regular-season championship, and we want to be playing our best basketball come MAC Tournament time.
"It was a deflating loss that we suffered in double overtime in last year's MAC Tournament. A 26-win year and another trip to national postseason play was still a little bit overshadowed by the exit in the league tournament. Our goals are to put ourselves in position to compete for the league's regular-season title, and we want to be playing our best when the tournament rolls around."
BGSU begins the 2008-09 season with a Nov. 14 game at Temple. The home opener comes eight days later (Nov. 22) vs. Lipscomb, and BGSU will open the MAC portion of the schedule on Jan. 7, 2009, at Kent State.
