Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons to Head to Dayton Flyer Classic after Holidays
December 23, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 23, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) -
BGSU vs. GARDNER-WEBB
Sunday, December 28, 2008 • 1:00 p.m.UD Arena (13,266) • Dayton, Ohio
Dayton Flyer Classic
RECORDS: BGSU 8-2 // Gardner-Webb 5-4
RADIO: WBGU-FM 88.1 - Mike Castellano and Alex Mikos
SERIES: First Meeting // STREAK: N/A
BGSU Notes, Stats & Player Bios in PDF Format
THE GAME(S)
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, riding an eight-game winning streak, hits the road for the next five games ... the Falcons of head coach Curt Miller, after a perfect 4-0 homestand, will head down Interstate 75 for the Dayton Flyer Classic on Sunday and Monday (Dec. 28-29) ... BGSU's first game in the tourney is against Gardner-Webb University on Sunday afternoon, with tipoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ... Lipscomb University takes on the host University of Dayton in the day's second game ... on Monday, the consolation game begins at 5:00 p.m., with the championship scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start ... all four games will be played at UD Arena (13,266).
DAYTON FLYER CLASSIC
(all games at UD Arena; Dayton, Ohio)
Sunday, December 28
Bowling Green vs. Gardner-Webb, 1:00 p.m.
Lipscomb at Dayton, 3:00 p.m.
Monday, December 29
Consolation, 5:00 p.m.
Championship, 7:00 p.m.
DOING IT WITH DEFENSE
The Falcons are among the Mid-American Conference leaders in numerous offensive categories ... on Sunday (Dec. 21) vs. Hartford, however, BGSU shot just 34.0 percent from the field, with season lows in three-point field goals made, three-point FG percentage and free-throw percentage ... the Falcons still managed to pick up the win, holding a talented Hartford team to just 52 points and 30.5% shooting ... Sunday's win marked the first game decided by single digits in the Falcons' 10 contests this year to date.
LEADERS OF THE MAC
The Falcons are at or near the top of the lists in a number of conference statistical categories ... BGSU leads the MAC in scoring margin (+15.7), blocked shots (4.30 bpg) and assist/turnover ratio (0.97), and the Falcons are second in five categories (scoring defense, field-goal percentage, three-point FG pct., turnover margin and three-pointers made) and third in five others (scoring offense, FT pct., FG pct. defense, assists and steals).
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
Even if you can't make it to the game, there are still a number of ways to follow the women's basketball Falcons ...
• All BGSU women's basketball games are aired on student station WBGU-FM 88.1, the flagship station for Falcon hockey and women's hoops ... Mike Castellano and Alex Mikos will have the call for the two games in Dayton.
• In addition to being aired on the FM dial, the games are also available free of charge on the web at BGSUFalcons.com ... to access the broadcasts online, simply click on the 'Stretch Internet' button on the BGSUFalcons.com main page and choose that day's game.
A TRADITION OF SUCCESS
BGSU's win over Hartford came in a matchup of two of the most successful programs over the last few years ... the Falcons and Hawks each are among the nation's 25 winningest programs over the last five-plus years ... BGSU has a record of 137-35 since the start of the 2003-04 season, ranking 11th in both wins and winning percentage in that time ... the complete list is available in the PDF at the top of this page.
HOME COOKIN'
The Falcons' win over Hartford gives BGSU a seven-game winning streak in non-conference home games ... in fact, the Falcons have won 19 of the last 20 such games, with last year's overtime loss to Notre Dame (86-84; Dec. 5, 2007) the only setback since mid-December of 2003.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons are 8-2 on the season ... after opening the year with road losses against Temple and Valparaiso, BGSU has won eight-straight games heading into Sunday's Gardner-Webb contest ... the Brown and Orange began the home portion of the regular-season schedule with a 19-point win over Lipscomb (71-52; Nov. 22), and BG picked up a 98-74 win at Saint Francis (Pa.) three days later (Nov. 25) ... then, the Falcons went to Greensboro, N.C., and posted two more double-digit victories at the UNCG Marriott Classic, downing Winston-Salem State (80-43; Nov. 28) and host UNC Greensboro (71-53; Nov. 29) ... BGSU returned home and won four-straight, beating Detroit and Youngstown State by a combined 63 points, and also picking up wins over St. Bonaventure (77-59; Dec. 14) and Hartford (56-52; Dec. 21) ... the latter game was BG's first to be decided by single digits this year ... senior Lindsey Goldsberry, juniors Niki McCoy and Tara Breske and sophomores Tracy Pontius and Lauren Prochaska each have started all 10 games to date.
• Prochaska leads the team in both scoring and rebounding ... the Plain City, Ohio, native has 16.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest ... she had a game-high 24 points vs. SBU, en route to her second MAC Player-of-the-Week honor of the young season ... McCoy is second on the team with 13.8 ppg and 5.9 rpg, and has been to the free-throw line a whopping 62 times, making 50 ... Pontius and Breske are averaging 11.6 and 6.4 points, respectively ... Pontius leads the Falcons in assists, with 3.9 per game, while Breske has 4.1 rpg to rank third on the team ... Breske is tied for the team lead in blocks (1.1 bpg) and is second in steals (1.9 spg) ... freshman Jessica Slagle has 5.0 ppg, while Goldsberry and soph Chelsea Albert have 4.2 and 4.1 ppg, respectively ... Albert is shooting an impressive 65.4% from the field, while Goldsberry leads the Falcons in steals (2.1 spg) and is second in assists (2.8 apg).
• The Falcons are shooting 44.9% from the field over the first 10 games ... BG has a three-point FG pct. of 38.1%, with 7.5 triples made per game, and are shooting 75.7% from the free-throw line ... the opponents are shooting just 39.5% from the floor, 35.1% from long range and 66.4% from the stripe ... the Falcons have outrebounded the foes by a per-game average of 34.8 to 34.6 ... BG has turned the ball over 17.0 times per game, but has forced the opponents into 21.1 per outing.
• The Falcons have made almost twice as many free throws (165) as the opponents (91) ... in fact, BGSU has made 28 more FTs than the foes have attempted (137).
• The Falcons returned a total of nine letterwinners, including three starters, from last season's team ... the group of returnees combined for 65.9 percent of the scoring and 75.0% of the rebounding from last year's 26-8 team ... BGSU won the MAC's regular-season title for the fourth-straight year, posting a 13-3 conference record ... the Falcons advanced to the semifinals of the MAC Tournament before falling in double OT ... Goldsberry, the team's lone senior, is one of the three returning starters from the '07-08 club ... Breske and Prochaska are the other two.
• Sophs Albert, Pontius and Jen Uhl each played in all 34 games last year, with Albert making six starts ... the list of returning letterwinners also includes juniors Laura Bugher and Sarah Clapper and sophomore Kelly Zuercher ... McCoy is in her first playing season with the Falcons ... she sat out the 2007-08 season after transferring from Akron.
• Three freshmen joined the Brown and Orange this year ... that group includes Maribeth Giese, Slagle and Victoria McGowan ... two other newcomers have come into the Falcon fold ... transfers Maggie Hennegan (Saint Louis Univ.) and Tamika Nurse (Univ. of Oregon) will sit out this season before joining the active roster in 2009-10 ... Nurse will have one season of eligibility, while Hennegan has two.
SCOUTING GARDNER-WEBB
Gardner-Webb University is located in Boiling Springs, N.C. ... the Runnin' Bulldogs will head to Dayton with a record of 5-4 on the season ... GWU began the year with a 4-1 mark, but have lost three of the last four games, including the last two contests, to East Carolina (54-81; Dec. 16) and Georgetown (52-72; Dec. 19) ... the Bulldogs are 4-0 at home and 1-4 on the road, with the road victory coming over Winston-Salem State (a BGSU opponent in '08-09 as well) ... GWU beat WSSU by a 64-55 count on Dec. 4 ... individually, junior forwards Laura Povilonyte and Margaret Roundtree are tied for the team scoring lead, with 11.6 points per game apiece ... Roundtree leads the Bulldogs with 6.8 rebounds per outing, while Povilonyte has 5.2 rpg ... sophomore guard Dominique Hudson has 10.4 ppg and a team-leading 5.0 assists per game, while another sophomore guard, Courtney Epps, has 8.2 ppg ... sophomore forward LaTroya Pope has 7.2 ppg and is second on the team with 5.8 rpg ... a total of nine different players have started at least one game for the Bulldogs ... freshman G/F Teonika Webb (5.8 ppg) and junior center Sherika Montgomery (3.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg) joined Epps, Hudson and Pope in the starting lineup at Georgetown ... a year ago, the Bulldogs finished 13-18 overall for head coach Rick Reeves ... Reeves welcomed back nine letterwinners, including four starters, from that club ... he has a record of 55-73 in his fifth season at GWU, and is 322-311 overall, including stints at Liberty and Southern Miss ... the school's athletics web site is GWUSports.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons have never met Gardner-Webb in women's basketball ... the Runnin' Bulldogs mark the second consecutive first-time opponent (Hartford) for the Falcons ... no fewer than five teams on BGSU's 13-game non-conference schedule have met or will meet the Brown and Orange for the first time ... that list also includes SIU-Edwardsville, UNC Greensboro and Winston-Salem State.
LAST TIME OUT
The Falcons ended the pre-holiday schedule on a festive note, winning a close battle against Hartford ... three sophomores scored in double digits, as Tracy Pontius led the way with 14 points, while Lauren Prochaska and Jen Uhl each added 11 ... Diana Delva had a game-high 15 points for the visitors, while Erica Beverly scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for UH ... the Falcon defense held the Hawks to a field-goal percentage of just 30.5% for the game, including just a 6-for-29 success rate (20.7%) in the first half ... the Brown and Orange shot 34.0% from the floor for the game, and made a season-low three three-point field goals ... the Hawks had an 11-7 advantage, before the Falcons went on a 12-1 run, holding the visitors without a basket for a span of 7:09 ... the Hawks shot just 4-of-22 from the field to start the game ... the Falcons took a 26-16 lead into the half ... BG led by a game-high 13 points, 45-32, after a layup by junior Niki McCoy with 8:10 remaining ... the Hawks, however, battled back, getting within just three points at 51-48, with 1:54 on the clock ... the Falcons turned the ball right back over to the Hawks, but BG forced a turnover as well, and Prochaska drove and drew a foul and hit both free throws with 1:13 left ... a UH three-point try did not go down, and Pontius made two more tosses for a 55-48 advantage as BG salted away the victory at the line.
THE FALCONS ARE ...
• 158-70 in the seven years (plus 10 games) since Curt Miller took the BGSU helm in May of 2001;
• 79-33 in MAC games in that time;
•149-51 in the six-plus years since Miller's assistant coaches have all been in place (associate head coach Jennifer Roos and assistant coach Brandi Poole have been on Miller's staff since his first year; assistant Kevin Eckert joined the staff one year later);
• 137-35 over the last five-plus years, with at least 20 wins in five-straight seasons;
• a staggering 116-25 in the past four-plus years, with no fewer than 23 wins in each year and a MAC regular-season title in every season;
• 93-17 overall and 44-4 in the MAC in the last three-plus years, since senior Lindsey Goldsberry - a Dayton native - ventured to Northwest Ohio;
• 65-14 in the last two-plus years, including a 28-4 conference ledger;
• 13-2 in the MAC Tournament over the last four years, with three titles (2005, '06 and '07) and a trip to the semifinals in 2008;
• 23-2 in non-conference home games since the start of the 2003-04 season;
• 19-1 against non-league opposition at Anderson Arena since November of 2004;
• 2-3 in games played on December 28 in program history; and
• 1-1 in neutral-site games on that date, including a 2001 win over Lehigh in Curt Miller's first season at the Falcon helm (the neutral-site loss came vs. Delaware three years ago).
GOLDSBERRY, CLARK HEAD HOME
Everyone's favorite Falcon women's basketball senior, Lindsey Goldsberry, is heading to her hometown this weekend ... Goldsberry is a Dayton native, having graduated from Chaminade-Julienne H.S. ... her father, Frank, is the director of operations for the Dayton women's basketball team ... everyone's favorite Falcon women's basketball senior manager, Randall Clark, is also returning to his hometown ... Clark, like Goldsberry, is a Dayton native and a C-J grad.
A FEW MORE NOTES AFTER THE HARTFORD GAME
• BGSU's total of 29 free throws attempted was a season high ... Hartford made 12 FTs in 18 attempts, both season highs for a Falcon opponent.
• Falcon opponents had blocked a total of 26 BG shots over the first nine games of the season ... but, Hartford had 10 blocks, including six by Erica Beverly ... of the 36 blocks by BGSU opponents, 19 came in the Temple and Hartford games, and just 17 came in the eight games in between.
• BGSU earned the win despite posting season-low totals/averages in three-point field goals made (three) and attempted (15), three-point FG pct. (20.0%), free-throw pct. (65.5%) and steals (six).
• Junior Niki McCoy's total of 11 rebounds was a season high for a Falcon player ... McCoy missed her career best by just one board ... she had 12 rebounds on four different occasions while at the University of Akron.
• Sophomore Jen Uhl made her first two three-point field goals of the season ... she matched her career high, having also hit two triples in a pair of 2007-08 games.
• Uhl scored a season-high 11 points, and matched her season best with four field goals made vs. the Hawks.
• Soph Tracy Pontius made a career-high total of seven free throws ... her previous best had been four FTM, on three occasions.
• Another sophomore, Lauren Prochaska, was held without a three-point field goal for the first time this season ... in fact, Prochaska had made at least two treys in each of the year's first nine games.
• Prochaska did make a season-high seven free throws, and she tied her career high with five assists vs. the Hawks ... she also had five helpers last Dec. 29 in a win over Hampton.
• The Falcons have made more free throws than the opponent in every game this season.
TREY BIEN!
As mentioned, sophomore Lauren Prochaska was held without a three-point field goal in the win over Hartford, after making at least two treys in each of this year's first nine games ... her final triple against St. Bonaventure (Dec. 14) was the 100th of her Falcon career ... she is only the 10th player in school history to reach the century mark in that category ... Prochaska has amassed her 100 treys in a total of just 44 games, an average of 2.27 per game ... to put Prochaska's prolific totals in perspective, the current school record for three-pointers made per game is 1.78, by Angie Farmer (minimum 50 3-pt. FG made) ... Liz Honegger, the school record-holder with 216 three-pointers, averaged 1.69 triples per game.
