Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Creighton
Falcons Face Creighton to Open Home Schedule
November 14, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Monday is the final regular-season opener at "The House That Roars"
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, after a road loss to a Missouri Valley Conference opponent in the regular-season opener, returns home to face another MVC program ... the Falcons of coach Curt Miller begin the final season at venerable Anderson Arena (3,500) with a Monday (Nov. 15) game againat Creighton University ... tipoff for the game, the first half of a Falcon hoops doubleheader, is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. ... following the women's game, the BGSU men host Ohio Dominican in a game tentatively scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. at "The House That Roars" ... Miller and his staff returned 10 letterwinners, including three starters, from last year's 27-7 team that won the Mid-American Conference regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Championships.
BGSU NOTES & STATS - PDF | CREIGHTON NOTES & STATS - PDF
RING AND BANNER CEREMONY
Prior to Monday's game, the Falcon players and coaches will participate in a ring ceremony and banner unveiling ... the ceremony will recognize the team's 2010 MAC regular-season and tournament championships ... BGSU has won six-straight regular-season crowns, and the 2009-10 Falcons captured the MAC Tournament for the fourth time in that six-year span ... three of last year's four seniors – Laura Bugher, Sarah Clapper and Tamika Nurse – are expected to be in the building for Monday's festivities.
WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE (THAT ROARS)
BGSU will put an impressive streak on the line in Monday's Creighton game ... the Falcons have won 30 consecutive regular-season home games at "The House That Roars" ... BG's last regular-season loss at Anderson Arena came to Western Michigan on Jan. 30, 2008 ... a few more Anderson Arena-related notes ...
• Overall, BGSU has won 32 of the last 33 home games ... the lone loss in that stretch came to Indiana in the third round of the 2009 WNIT ... 27 of the Falcons' 32 wins in that span have come by double digits.
• In 2009-10, the Falcons posted a 13-0 home regular-season record for the second consecutive year ... BGSU now has gone undefeated at home in the regular season seven times in program history ... in three of those years, including the 2008-09 campaign, the Falcons' lone blemish was a home loss suffered in national tournament play.
• In one of those three seasons, Creighton was the team that dealt the Falcons their lone loss ... the Bluejays downed the Brown and Orange by an 84-73 count in the first round of the 1994 NCAA Championships ... BGSU had been 12-0 at Anderson that season, prior to the March 16, 1994, loss to CU.
PONTIUS SURPASSES 1,000-POINT MARK
With her first basket in Friday's (Nov. 12) Evansville game, senior Tracy Pontius surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career ... Pontius became the 24th player to reach the milestone ... she now resides in 23rd place on the BGSU scoring list, with a total of 1,010 points.
PROCHASKA IS THIRD ON BGSU CAREER SCORING LIST
Senior Lauren Prochaska ranks third on the BGSU career scoring list, and has a total of 1,716 points in 103 games ... she trails only Jackie Motycka (2,122 points from 1985-89) and Ali Mann (1,825 points from 2003-07) ... Prochaska is averaging 16.7 points per game, the second-highest average in BGSU annals, in her storied Falcon career.
FALCON HOME GAMES: A MULTIMEDIA FRENZY
BGSU fans can follow the Falcons all year long in a variety of ways ...
• AUDIO: WBGU-FM 88.1 is scheduled to carry all of this season's games ... the radio broadcasts can be heard online for free by logging on to BGSUFalcons.com ... click on 'Fan Zone' and 'Live Audio' to hear all the action.
• VIDEO: All home games will be available via live video stream for a small fee ... fans can watch the Anderson Arena action on their computers by visiting BGSUFalcons.com and clicking on the America One logo on the right-hand side of the page.
• LIVE STATS: Links are also available at BGSUFalcons.com for live stats for all home games (and all road games in which the host team provides live stats).
LAST TIME OUT
Host Evansville scored the first 16 points of the game, riding that torrid start to a 63-62 win over the Falcons Friday night (Nov. 12) ... the Purple Aces' 16-0 run included four three-point field goals, as the home team went 6-for-6 from long distance to begin the game ... the Falcons battled back to within 32-23 at the half, and BGSU eventually took the lead with 8:11 to go on a layup by senior Maggie Hennegan ... Hennegan's shot made the score 51-50 ... the visitors had a 55-52 advantage with under five minutes on the clock, but back-to-back triples from Staci Gillum and Stephanie Bamberger would give the Aces a 59-55 lead with just under three minutes left ... the Falcons clawed back, as senior Lauren Prochaska threw in a runner, and classmate Tracy Pontius hit a three-pointer with 1:49 left, giving BG a 60-59 lead ... but, Gillum's free throws with 1:24 remaining gave the Aces the lead for good ... BGSU missed a shot on the next possession, but forced a miss at the other end ... but, the Falcons again could not convert, and BG was forced to foul Lewis with 25.2 ticks on the clock ... she hit two tosses for a three-point UE advantage ... in the dying seconds, the Falcons missed a three-point try, and Prochaska's putback with 1.2 seconds left put the visitors within a point ... but, UE successfully inbounded the ball and ran out the clock ... the Aces were 8-of-11 from three-point land in the first half, and 11-of-18 for the game ... BGSU, held without a three-pointer in the opening half, finished 5-for-19 from long range ... Prochaska led the Falcons with 17 points, while Hennegan had a double-double, with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds ... Pontius scored 12 points, hitting four of BGSU's five triples.
PROCHASKA NAMED TO NAISMITH PRESEASON WATCH LIST
Falcon senior Lauren Prochaska received yet another honor last week (Nov. 9), as she was named to the Naismith preseason watch list ... the watch list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, which based its criteria on player performances from the previous year and expectations for the 2010-11 season ... the Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T will be awarded on April 4, 2011 at the NCAA Women's Final Four in Indianapolis ... through text messaging, fan voting will account for 25 percent of all of the final results, more than any other national college basketball award ... in late February, the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors will compile a mid-season team of the top 30 players in the nation ... then in March, the Naismith Trophy voting academy will vote to narrow the list to the four finalists.
PROCHASKA NAMED TO WOODEN AWARD PRESEASON TOP 30 LIST
Senior Lauren Prochaska was named to the Women's Basketball John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 30 list by the Los Angeles Athletic Club ... the list is comprised of 30 student-athletes who, based on last year's individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for college basketball's most prestigious honor ... these 30 players, along with others who excel throughout the season, will be evaluated and considered for December's Midseason list and the official voting ballot released in March ... the Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation's top five players, will be announced the week of the 'Elite Eight' round of the NCAA Tournament.
FALCONS PICKED TO DEFEND MAC TITLES IN 2010-11
The BGSU women's basketball Falcons have been picked to win both the MAC's East Division and the conference tournament titles in 2011, according to the league's preseason poll ... the poll was released on Oct. 27 by the MAC office ... additionally, senior Lauren Prochaska was selected to the Preseason All-MAC Team ... the Falcons received 43 of the 48 votes to win the East ... BGSU was picked ahead of – in order – Kent State, Miami, Akron, Ohio and Buffalo ... BG has won six consecutive MAC regular-season titles outright, and the Falcons have won four of the last six MAC Tournament crowns, including the 2010 title ... Toledo was picked to win the West Division, followed by Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Ball State, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan.
TOP FIVE IN THE LAST FIVE
The NCAA has compiled its annual list of the winningest Division-I teams over the last five years, and Bowling Green ranks fifth on that list ... the Falcons are the top-ranked team among so-called 'Mid-Major' schools ... BGSU has won a total of 141 games, and the Falcons have won nearly 84 percent of the time over the last five seasons.
WINNINGEST TEAMS DURING PAST FIVE YEARS
(sorted by winning pct. – 2005-06 through 2009-10 seasons)
1. Connecticut 178-11 .942
2. Stanford 159-24 .869
3. Tennessee 155-24 .866
4. North Carolina 147-28 .840
5. BOWLING GREEN 141-27 .839
6. Green Bay 135-26 .839
7. Duke 145-28 .838
8. Ohio State 139-27 .837
9. Marist 139-28 .832
10. Maryland 147-32 .821
BGSU TO APPEAR ON STO AT LEAST TWICE IN 2010-11
The Falcons will be featured on SportsTime Ohio (STO) at least twice during the upcoming season ... BGSU's home games against Central Michigan (Jan. 22) and Kent State (Feb. 26) will be aired by the Cleveland-based network, and both of those Saturday games will begin at noon at Anderson Arena ... the latter will be the final weekend regular-season game at "The House That Roars" ... three additional TV games are yet to be determined, as STO will choose a contest 21 days ahead of time ... those dates are three consecutive Saturdays: Feb. 5, Feb. 12 and Feb. 19 ... STO's coverage also will include the MAC Tournament semifinals (March 11) and championship (March 12).
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons will enter the Creighton game with a record of 0-1 ... BGSU suffered a 63-62 loss at Evansville Friday night (Nov. 12), in the regular-season opener ... senior Lauren Prochaska had a team-high 17 points, and added nine rebounds, while classmates Maggie Hennegan and Tracy Pontius had 12 points apiece ... Hennegan had a double-double, with 10 boards vs. the Purple Aces.
• Head coach Curt Miller's starting lineup for the Evansville game included four seniors in Hennegan, Pontius, Prochaska and Jen Uhl ... sophomore Chrissy Steffen rounded out the starting five.
• BGSU returns 10 letterwinners, including three starters, from last year's team that won 27 games, captured MAC regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Championships ... the Falcons finished the 2009-10 season with an overall record of 27-7, and BGSU went 14-2 in MAC play ... BG won an outright MAC regular-season championship for the sixth-straight season, a conference record ... the Falcons earned the league's East Division title for the fifth consecutive year (after winning the West crown in 2005) ... BGSU won three more games in Cleveland to capture the MAC Tournament title for the fourth time in those six seasons ... the Falcons went 13-0 at home, 11-6 on the road and 3-1 in neutral-site games ... the neutral-site games came in the MAC Tournament and in the NCAA Championships.
• The Falcons lose the services of four seniors – Tara Breske, Laura Bugher, Sarah Clapper and Tamika Nurse – from a year ago ... the three fourth-year players were part of 113 wins, the second-highest total in school and MAC annals ... Nurse was in her first playing season in 2009-10 after transferring from the University of Oregon ... Breske, Bugher and Clapper averaged 28.25 wins per season and helped the Falcons go 57-7 in MAC regular-season games after their arrival on campus.
• Miller and his staff have six seniors on the 15-player active roster this year ... that group includes three returning starters in Prochaska, Pontius and Uhl ... Prochaska and Pontius each started all 34 games a year ago, while Uhl made 31 starts ... Prochaska, of course, has been named the MAC Player of the Year in each of the last two seasons, while Pontius earned all-conference second-team honors a year ago.
• Hennegan, a co-captain along with Prochaska, played in all 34 games last season ... post players Chelsea Albert and Kelly Zuercher round out the senior class ... Zuercher played in 30 games off the bench last winter, while Albert appeared in 28 contests.
• The Falcons' lone junior is Jessica Slagle, who played in every game last season ... BG has a pair of redshirt sophomores in Maribeth Giese and Danielle Havel ... Giese played in two games early last season before suffering an injury and sitting out the rest of the season as a redshirt ... Havel sat out the entire campaign after transferring from DePaul University.
• The roster includes three true sophomores in Simone Eli, Allison Papenfuss and Steffen ... Steffen drew the start in the Falcons' exhibition game vs. Findlay as well as the UE contest.
• Four newcomers join the program in 2010-11 ... that list includes a pair of guards in Jillian Halfhill and Noelle Yoder, along with post player Jill Stein ... additionally, Alexis Rogers joins the program, but will sit out this season after transferring from Duke University ... she will retain three seasons of eligibility.
A QUICK LOOK AT CREIGHTON
Creighton is beginning the regular season with three games in a four-day stretch, culminating with Monday's game at BGSU ... the Bluejays split a pair of games at the Sheraton Raleigh Wolfpack Invitational, downing Liberty, 40-35, on Friday (Nov. 12), while falling to host North Carolina State, 84-71, Saturday night (Nov. 13) ... senior guard Kelsey Woodard leads a balanced attack with 10.0 points per game to date, while freshman G/F Carli Tritz has 9.0 ppg off the bench ... senior forward Sam Schuett has 8.0 ppg and a team-leading 8.0 rebounds per contest ... senior center Kellie Nelson (7.5 ppg), sophomore guard Ally Jenson (6.5 ppg) and junior guard DaNae Moore (0.0 ppg) have joined Woodard and Schuett in the starting lineup in each of the first two games for head coach Jim Flanery ... former Western Michigan standout Carrie Moore is a member of Flanery's coaching staff ... CU returned six letterwinners, including three starters, from last year's team which finished 21-11 overall and 13-5 in Missouri Valley Conference play ... the Bluejays were picked to finish third in the league this year in the preseason coaches poll ... Schuett was an all-league first-team selection last year, while Woodard has scored over 1,000 career points ... the school's athletics web site is www.gocreighton.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons trail Creighton, 1-0, in the all-time series between the teams ... the lone meeting was an 84-73 win by the Bluejays at Anderson Arena on March 16, 1994 ... that game came in the first round of the NCAA Championships.
CLASSY. VERY CLASSY.
With 27 wins, the MAC regular-season and tournament titles and a trip to the NCAA Championships, it is obvious that the BGSU women's basketball team had another successful year on the court in 2009-10 ... and, the Falcons of head coach Curt Miller were equally successful in the classroom again last season ... the Falcons were ranked sixth in the entire nation on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)'s 2009-10 Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll ... the announcement marked the second-straight year that the Falcons were ranked among the top 10 ... BGSU was ranked fifth on the '08-09 list ... the women's basketball student-athletes had a combined grade-point average of 3.500 during the 2009-10 academic year, up from 3.470 in the 2008-09 season ... BGSU was the only MAC program on the list for the second consecutive year, and the Falcons were the only program from the state of Ohio in the Division-I Top 25, also for the second-straight season ... a few other notes re: the Falcons and the WBCA Academic Top 25 ...
• In the fall 2009 semester, no fewer than six student-athletes posted a perfect 4.00 GPA ... 15 team members had a GPA of at least 3.00 that semester, with 14 of those 15 earning a GPA of 3.25 or higher.
• In the spring 2010 semester, 15 players again had at least a 3.00 GPA, with 12 earning a GPA of 3.20 or better.
• The Falcons were one of five schools to make an appearance both in the 2010 NCAA Championships and on the WBCA Top 25 Team Honor Roll (South Dakota State - 2nd; Northern Iowa - 7th; DePaul - 8th and Hartford - 23rd).
• BGSU has made the list three times in the last four seasons ... the Falcons made the WBCA Top 25 Team Honor Roll in 2006-07 ... the 'Sweet Sixteen' team ranked 23rd in the nation with a GPA of 3.300.
ADDITIONAL ACADEMIC ACCOLADES
• The Falcons saw a league-high five student athletes named to the 13-member Academic All-MAC Team last year, as Tara Breske, Laura Bugher, Maggie Hennegan, Tamika Nurse and Lauren Prochaska all were voted to the team ... BGSU was the only school with more than one player selected.
• Bugher and Hennegan were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team, earning second-team honors ... they were the only two MAC women's basketball student-athletes named to an ESPN Academic All-District team in 2010.
• Additionally, the women's basketball team earned numerous honors when the BGSU Department of Athletics held its annual Athletics Honors Night in April of 2010 ... Bugher was one of three female finalists for the Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award, while Hennegan made the list of the final three Junior S-A-O-Y candidates ... as a team, the Falcons picked up two honors, earning both the female team Highest GPA Award and the Most Improved Award.
THEY LIKE THE FALCONS
BGSU was listed on several national lists over the summer and early fall ... here are just a few of those mentions ...
• The Athlon Sports College Basketball 2010-11 Preview listed BGSU as the number-17 program in the nation.
• The Falcons were ranked fifth in the country among mid-major women's basketball programs in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25's preseason poll.
• In late August, BGSU was ranked No. 32 on Swish Appeal's list of the Top 100 Programs in Division I Women's College Basketball.
THE FALCONS ARE/WERE ...
• 27-7 last season, after going 29-5 in 2008-09;
• 14-2 in the MAC last winter, winning a sixth-straight league regular-season title;
• 206-81 since Curt Miller took the BGSU helm in May of 2001;
• 108-36 in MAC games in that time:
• 197-62 overall in the eight years (plus one game) 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);
• 185-46 over the last seven-plus years, with 2009-10 marking BG's seventh-straight season of at least 20 wins;
• a staggering 164-36 in the past six-plus years, with no fewer than 23 wins and a MAC regular-season title in each of the last six seasons;
• an eye-popping 141-28 overall and 73-7 in the MAC regular season in the last five-plus years, with at least 26 wins each year;
• 113-25 in the last four-plus years, including a 57-7 conference ledger;
• 82-21 overall, and 42-6 in MAC regular-season games, since seniors Chelsea Albert, Tracy Pontius, Lauren Prochaska, Jen Uhl and Kelly Zuercher began their respective playing careers at BGSU;
• 56-13 since junior Jessica Slagle and redshirt soph Maribeth Giese ventured to NW Ohio;
• 27-8 in the BGSU playing careers of senior Maggie Hennegan and sophomores Simone Eli, Allison Papenfuss and Chrissy Steffen (2009-10 was Hennegan's first playing season at BGSU, after she sat out the prior year as a transfer from Saint Louis Univ.);
• 91-9 in the last 100 games vs. MAC opponents (regular-season and tournament);
• A perfect 49-0 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field in the Miller Era;
• 171-10 when having a better FG pct. than the opposition in Miller's tenure, including a 43-0 mark in the last two seasons;
• 156-26 when making more free throws during Miller's first nine-plus seasons;
• 123-12 when outrebounding the opponent in the Miller Era;
• 44-4 in MAC home games in the last six seasons, including three 8-0 marks;
• 36-4 in MAC road games over the last five years (with the losses coming in 2007-08 at Ball State, in '08-09 at Miami and last year at Toledo and Central Michigan);
• 15-2 in the MAC Tournament over the last six years, with four titles (2005, '06, '07 and 2010), a championship-game appearance last year, and a trip to the semis in 2008;
• 39-16 overall in the MAC Tournament since it was instituted in 1982;
• 27-11 in MAC Tournament contests played at a neutral site;
• 17-4 at Gund/Quicken Loans Arena, the site of the MAC Tournament;
• 18-5 in MAC Tournament games in the Miller Era;
• 17-3 at "The Gund"/"The Q" under Miller;
• 28-3 in all non-conference home games since the start of the 2003-04 season;
• 24-2 against non-league foes at Anderson Arena since November of 2004.
• 5-13 in 13 national postseason appearances (including a 3-10 record in the NCAA Championships and a 2-3 mark in WNIT trips); and
• 4-6 in national postseason action under Miller (including a 2-4 mark in the NCAAs and a 2-2 record in the WNIT).
THE FALCON SENIORS
BGSU has posted a record of 82-21 overall, and the Falcons are 42-6 in MAC regular-season games since Chelsea Albert, Tracy Pontius, Lauren Prochaska, Jen Uhl and Kelly Zuercher set foot on campus ... the team has won an average of 27.3 games per year to date ... the Falcons have made national postseason play in each of those three years, having gone to the NCAA once and the WNIT twice ... Maggie Hennegan joined that group for the 2009-10 season.
THE JUNIOR
The Falcons are 56-13 overall and 29-3 in the MAC since junior Jessica Slagle arrived in Northwest Ohio ... that stretch includes a 25-game winning streak in Slagle's freshman year ... redshirt sophomore Maribeth Giese has been at BGSU for those two seasons, but played in just two games a year ago before missing the rest of the year due to injury ... Giese and Slagle helped the Falcons to a total of 29 wins – the second-highest total in school and MAC history – during their freshman campaign.
THE SOPHOMORES
Three sophomores helped the Falcons to a 27-7 mark a year ago ... that group includes Simone Eli, Allison Papenfuss and Chrissy Steffen ... Danielle Havel is now a member of the sophomore class, having sat out the '09-10 season after transferring from DePaul Univ.
THE FRESHMEN
Three freshmen have joined the Falcons for the 2010-11 season ... that list includes Jillian Halfhill (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield), Jill Stein (Clyde, Ohio/Tiffin Columbian) and Noelle Yoder (Millersburg, Ohio/Berlin Hiland) ... Alexis Rogers also joins the Brown and Orange this year, but will sit out the '10-11 season after transferring from Duke Univ.
CAPTAINS
Seniors Maggie Hennegan and Lauren Prochaska are the captains of the 2010-11 Falcons ... Hennegan is a captain for the second consecutive year ... she was chosen as a captain before ever playing her first game as a Falcon.
