BGSU-Michigan State Notes: Falcons Prepare for Saturday's Game

THE OPENING TIP
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, after winning the Mid-American Conference regular-season and tournament titles, now advances to the NCAA Championships ... the Falcons of head coach Curt Miller have been named a #12 seed in the Kansas City regional, and will face #5 seed Michigan State University in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday (March 20) ... the Falcons and Spartans will meet at Freedom Hall (18,865), with tipoff scheduled for 12:11 p.m. ET ... the game will be televised on ESPN2.

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TEN Q VERY MUCH: FALCONS MAKE 10TH TRIP TO NCAAS
Bowling Green has won the MAC Tournament championship and advances to the NCAA Championships for the 10th time in school history, the most of any conference program ... BGSU earned the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAAs by virtue of picking up three wins in the conference tourney at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena ("The Q") ... the Falcons are 3-9 in NCAA tournament games, with a 1-2 mark in home games and records of 0-4 on the road and 2-3 in neutral-site affairs ... BGSU is 2-3 in NCAA games under head coach Curt Miller ... the complete list of BG's opponents and results in the NCAA Championships can be found in the PDF version of these notes, available at the top of this page.

WE COULD GET USED TO THIS
Just five years ago, the Mid-American Conference record for wins in a season was 27 ... four conference teams, including two BGSU clubs (the 1986-87 and 1988-89 teams), had reached that milestone ... now, however, Curt Miller's Falcons have won at least 27 wins in no fewer than four of the last five seasons (with 26 wins in the other season) ... that streak includes a then MAC-record 28 wins in the 2005-06 campaign, followed by a 31-win season in '06-07 ... that 31-win total remains the conference standard ... Miller's Falcons won 26 games in 2007-08, 29 contests last year and 27 games this season to date ... in the last five seasons, BGSU has AVERAGED 28.2 wins per year ... the list of winningest MAC teams is available in the PDF version of these notes.

NATIONAL POSTSEASON PLAY FOR THE SIXTH-STRAIGHT SEASON
The Falcons, as mentioned, are participating in the NCAA Championships for the 10th time in school history ... BGSU is in the field of 64 for the fourth time in the last six years ... the Falcons have qualified for national postseason play for the sixth-straight season, a school record ... BG made WNIT appearances in both 2008 and 2009 ... the school's previous record for consecutive postseason appearances was four, as Fran Voll guided the Falcons to the NCAA Championships in each year from 1987 through 1990.

HOW THEY GOT HERE
The Falcons earned the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships by winning the conference tournament ... BGSU posted the first back-to-back victories of 30 points or more in MAC Tournament history, with a 91-58 win over Miami in the quarterfinal round and an 81-49 victory against Akron in the semifinals ... BG then downed arch-rival Toledo, 62-53, in the championship game ... Michigan State earned an at-large bid ... the Falcons are the lone MAC team in the NCAA Championships, although a total of five MAC schools (Akron, Eastern Michigan, Kent State and Toledo) have been invited to national postseason play ... the Spartans are one of four Big Ten Conference programs (Iowa, Ohio State and Wisconsin) in the NCAAs.

SIX SHOOTERS: FALCONS WIN SIXTH-STRAIGHT MAC TITLE
BGSU has won six consecutive MAC regular-season titles, a new conference record ... and, the Falcons won all six titles outright ... Kent State won five-straight MAC East Division crowns from 1998 through 2002 ... the Golden Flashes had the league's best overall record in three of those five seasons, tying for the top overall mark in one other year.

SIX-SHOOTING FROM A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
The Falcons, as mentioned, have won six consecutive MAC regular-season titles ... all six of BGSU's crowns have been outright ... BG has won one West Division championship (2005) and five East Division titles (2006-10), but the Falcons had the MAC's best overall record in all six years ... in the history of NCAA Division-I women's basketball, the list of teams to have accomplished this feat is a relatively short one ... and, here it is ...
AT LEAST SIX-STRAIGHT OUTRIGHT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS
(all NCAA Division-I conferences; no ties for the title)
10 - UC Santa Barbara (Big West; 1996-2005)
9 - Liberty (Big South; 1998-2006)
7 - Old Dominion (CAA; 1996-2002)
7 - S.F. Austin (Southland; 1988-94)
7 - Texas (Southwest Conf.; 1983-89)
6 - Bowling Green (Mid-American; 2005-10) – current
6 - FIU (Atlantic Sun; 1993-98)
6 - Marist (MAAC; 2005-10) – current
6 - Missouri State (Missouri Valley; 1991-96) ^*
6 - Montana (Big Sky; 1986-91)
6 - Stanford (Pac-10; 2005-10) – current
6 - Virginia (ACC; 1991-96)
^ formerly SW Missouri State
* first two titles were Gateway Conf.

THE MAC IN THE NCAA
Entering the 2010 NCAA Championships, Mid-American Conference schools have posted a combined record of 8-30 in NCAA tourney play ... BGSU has three of those eight wins, with two coming in 2007 under Curt Miller ... Toledo also has won three NCAA Tournament games, with Kent State and Ball State winning one apiece ... BSU's win came last season against Tennessee.

PROCHASKA NAMED MAC TOURNAMENT MVP
Junior Lauren Prochaska was named the MAC Tournament MVP as the Falcons captured the title in Cleveland ... she averaged 20.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in the wins over Miami, Akron and Toledo ... Prochaska shot .488 from the field, including a 9-for-19 (.474) effort from three-point land ... she had a season-high 29 points in the championship game vs. UT, scoring nearly half of BG's points.

BRESKE EARNS ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Senior Tara Breske joined junior Lauren Prochaska on the MAC's All-Tournament Team ... Breske earned the honor after averaging 13.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 2.0 blocked shots in the three wins ... she had a season-high 20 points in the quarterfinal-round win over Miami ... Breske went 9-of-15 from the field in that game, and was 6-of-11 en route to 13 points in the semifinals against Akron ... she had six points, a team-high nine rebounds and three blocks vs. Toledo in the championship game.

PROCHASKA REPEATS AS MAC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Junior Lauren Prochaska was named the MAC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season ... she also was voted to the all-conference first team for the second successive year, after earning second-team honors in her MAC-Freshman-of-the-Year season of 2007-08 ... Prochaska became only the sixth woman in conference history to be named the MAC P-O-Y on multiple occasions ... her honor marks the fourth time in as many seasons that a BGSU standout was named MAC Player of the Year ... Ali Mann shared that honor in 2006-07, while Kate Achter was named the league's P-O-Y in the '07-08 season ... this is only the second time in league history that players from the same school have won or shared the award in four seasons in a row.

PONTIUS EARNS ALL-MAC HONORS
Junior Tracy Pontius joined classmate Lauren Prochaska on the All-MAC Team ... Pontius earned all-conference honors for the second consecutive season, being named to the second team this year after earning first-team accolades a year ago ... she is in her second season as a starter.

SENIOR PRIDE
The Falcons' three fourth-year seniors, Tara Breske, Laura Bugher and Sarah Clapper, became the fifth group in school history, and the fourth in a row, to be a part of at least 100 career wins at BGSU ... entering the NCAA Championships, the Falcons have a 113-23 record since the trio joined the program, the second-highest win total in school and MAC annals – and are just one win shy of tying the conference record ... last year's one-woman senior class, Lindsey Goldsberry, finished her career with a total of 114 wins, the most by any player (male or female) in MAC basketball history ... BGSU's other senior in 2009-10, Tamika Nurse, is in her first playing season after transferring from the University of Oregon.
100-WIN CLASSES AT BGSU
Wins -- Class of ... -- 4th-Year Seniors
114 -- 2009 -- Lindsey Goldsberry
113 -- 2010 -- Tara Breske, Laura Bugher, Sarah Clapper
108 -- 2008 -- Kate Achter, Whitney Taylor
103 -- 2007 -- A. Flynn, J. Gompers, L. Honegger, C. Horne, A. Mann, M. Thorburn
100 -- 1990 -- Angie Bonner, Tecca Thompson

MORE ON THE SENIORS
BGSU's three fourth-year seniors – Tara Breske, Laura Bugher and Sarah Clapper – have averaged 28.25 wins per season since arriving in Northwest Ohio ... that trio also helped the Falcons go 57-7 in conference regular-season games since their arrival on campus ... the school record for MAC wins in a four-year span is 59, set by the 1986-89 teams and matched by the 2006-09 clubs ... the complete list of BG's best MAC records in a four-year span can be found in the PDF version of these notes.

PROCHASKA MOVES INTO THIRD ON BGSU SCORING LIST
Lauren Prochaska, just a junior, has moved into third place on the BGSU career scoring list, and now has a total of 1,680 points in 101 games at BG ... with her season-high total of 29 points in the MAC Tournament championship-game win over Toledo, Prochaska passed BGSU Hall-of-Famer Sara Puthoff (1,678 points from 1994-98) on the career list ... she now trails only Jackie Motycka (2,122 pts. from 1985-89) and Ali Mann (1,825 pts. from 2003-07) ... Prochaska is averaging 16.6 points per game, the second-highest average in BGSU annals, in her storied Falcon career.

PROCHASKA MOVES TO THE TOP OF THIS THREE-POINT LIST
Junior Lauren Prochaska has displayed a level of three-point consistency unmatched in BGSU history ... Prochaska has broken the school record for three-ponters made in a season ... she enters the Michigan State game with a total of 89 treys this season, topping the old record of 78 (set by Angie Farmer in 1999-2000) ... Prochaska is the only player in BG history to make more than 70 triples in a season three times ... in fact, she has three of the five such seasons in school annals (Farmer and Tracy Pontius have made 70 threes in a season once each) ... the MAC record is 96 three-pointers made, by Toledo's Kelly Savage in 1988-89.

TREY BIEN! PROCHASKA WAS ALREADY AT THE TOP OF THE LIST
Junior Lauren Prochaska has become the most prolific three-point field-goal shooter in BGSU history ... she broke Liz Honegger's record early in the Central Michigan game (Feb. 10) ... entering the NCAA Championships, Prochaska now has a total of 238 three-point field goals made ... Honegger made 216 triples from 2003-07 ... Tracy Pontius, in just her second year as a starter, has moved into eighth place on the list, with 154 threes in her career.

MILLER BECOMES FASTEST MAC COACH TO 200 WINS
BGSU's 66-56 win at Akron on Feb. 20 was Falcon head coach Curt Miller's 200th victory ... Miller, now 206-79 at the BGSU helm, became the fastest coach to 200 wins in MAC women's basketball history ... he is third on the MAC list for overall career wins, trailing only Kent State's Bob Lindsay and former Toledo coach Mark Ehlen ... Miller reached the 200-win mark in his 279th career game... the lists of winningest MAC women's basketball coaches can be found in the PDF version of these notes.

MILLER HOLDS THIS RECORD, TOO
BGSU's Curt Miller is believed to be the fastest basketball coach – in MAC men's or women's basketball annals – to 200 wins ... since the inception of the MAC, a total of six men's coaches have amassed 200 career wins at one or more conference institutions ... that list includes Bob Nichols (Toledo), James Snyder (Ohio), Charlie Coles (Central Michigan and Miami), Darrell Hedric (Miami), Larry Hunter (Ohio) and Stan Joplin (Toledo) ... none of those six coaches are believed to have reached 200 wins faster than Miller.

MILLER ALREADY HAD REACHED 100 MAC WINS ...
BGSU's 83-71 win over Eastern Michigan on Jan. 23 was the 100th MAC victory in Falcon head coach Curt Miller's career ... Miller ended the 2009-10 regular season with a career record of 108-36 (.750) in conference games as a head coach ... he became just the seventh coach in MAC history – and the second fastest – to amass 100 league victories.

... AND HOLDS YET ANOTHER RECORD
Add yet another record to the long list for Falcon head coach Curt Miller ... Miller has the most MAC wins of any BGSU basketball coach, men's or women's ... as mentioned in the previous note, he ends the 2009-10 regular season with 108 conference victories ... Jim Larranaga, who coached the BG men from 1986-97, posted a total of 102 MAC wins ... Larranaga is now the head men's coach at George Mason University (if the name still doesn't sound familiar to you, perhaps the 2006 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament rings a bell).

MILLER. ANDERSON. THAT'S IT; THAT'S THE LIST.
Curt Miller, who became the winningest coach in Falcon women's basketball history two years ago, is only the second basketball coach at Bowling Green (men's or women's) to reach the 200-win mark ... the legendary Harold Anderson had a 367-193 (.655) record in 21 years at the helm of the BGSU men's program.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons are 27-6 on the season, and BGSU finished the regular season with a record of 14-2 in MAC play ... BG won the MAC's East Division title for the fifth consecutive year (after winning the West crown in 2005), and the Falcons won the MAC's overall regular-season championship outright for a sixth-straight season ... BGSU won three more games in Cleveland to capture the MAC Tournament title for the fourth time in those six seasons ... the Falcons, 13-0 at home, 11-6 on the road and 3-0 in neutral-site games this year, have won eight consecutive games entering the NCAA Championships ... the Falcons' three previous neutral-site games all came in the MAC Tournament.

• BGSU is 10-2 over the last 12 games, and 18-2 in the last 20 contests ... the Falcons have won 26 of 29 games after a 1-2 start to the season ... after losing a 67-65 verdict at Central Michigan (Feb. 10), the Brown and Orange bounced back for a 73-57 win over Ohio (Feb. 13), then beat Akron (66-56; Feb. 20), Buffalo (81-64; Feb. 24), Kent State (69-55; Feb. 27) and Miami (March 2) ... the win over KSU clinched the divisional title for the Falcons, and the 63-58 triumph at MU gave BG the outright conference crown.

• BG's two losses in MAC play came to Toledo and CMU ... the Falcons saw this season's first eight-game winning streak snapped with a 66-63 loss at UT (Jan. 30), but rebounded with wins over Northern Illinois at home (85-67; Feb. 2) and Ball State (80-76; Feb. 6) on the road, prior to the CMU game.

• BG completed the first swing through the East unbeaten, meaning that the Falcons went a perfect 12-0 (including MAC Tournament games) vs. East Division opponents this season ... the Brown and Orange began cross-divisional play with home wins over Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan, before losing to UT.

• The Falcons went 10-4 in non-conference play ... BG opened the 2009-10 campaign with three games in the Preseason WNIT, going 1-2 with road losses vs. third-ranked Ohio State and Marist ... BGSU bounced back with wins in the next five games, with three on the road ... included in that five-game win streak was a trip to Nashville, where head coach Curt Miller's club defeated nationally-ranked Vanderbilt, 66-60 (Dec. 4).

• After a loss at St. Bonaventure (Dec. 12), BG bounced back with three wins in a five-day span before Christmas ... the Falcons ended the 2009 calendar year with a five-point loss at Hartford (Dec. 30), but topped SIU Edwardsville (Jan. 2) before beginning the MAC portion of the schedule with seven-straight wins.

• BGSU returned 10 letterwinners, including four starters, from last year's team that won the Mid-American Conference's regular-season title for a fifth-straight season ... the Falcons went 29-5 overall, posting the second-highest win total in school and conference history, and had a 15-1 MAC record in 2008-09 ... the Brown and Orange advanced to the third round of the Postseason WNIT in '09.

• The Falcons had just one senior on the roster a year ago ... Lindsey Goldsberry ended her career as the winningest basketball player – man or woman – in MAC history ... BG had a record of 114-20 in her four years, for an average of 28.5 wins.

• Junior Lauren Prochaska leads the Falcons in scoring and rebounding ... Prochaska, the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year in each of the last two seasons, is averaging 17.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game ... she has paced BG in scoring 18 times this year, and added a MAC Tournament MVP honor to her lengthy list of awards ... Prochaska has been named the MAC Player of the Week four times this season and nine times in her career.

• Prochaska leads the MAC in three-point field-goal pct. (.449) and total three-pointers made (89), and ranks second in three additional categories – scoring, free-throw percentage (.895) and three-pointers made per game (2.70).

• Junior Tracy Pontius and senior Tamika Nurse have 11.6 and 10.7 ppg, respectively ... Pontius has 2.5 rpg, and is second on the team in three-point field goals made ... Prochaska has hit a school-record 89 shots from long range to 65 for Pontius ... Pontius is second on the Falcons in assists (3.1 apg) ... Nurse has a team-high 3.3 assists per game, and ranks third on the team with 49 three-pointers made ... Nurse has averaged 14.8 points per game over the last six contests, including back-to-back games of 20 points or more in the late-season wins over Buffalo and Kent State ... Prochaska and Nurse have made 145 and 131 free throws, respectively, while Pontius has hit 65 shots from the stripe ... Pontius and Prochaska each are converting their free-throw tries at a rate of better than 86 percent.

• In the post, senior Tara Breske and junior Jen Uhl have scored 8.4 and 7.0 ppg, respectively ... Breske, who missed two games due to injury in early December, has 4.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots per game, leading the Falcons in the latter category and ranking third in the former ... Breske, who also has a team-leading 1.6 steals per game, joined Prochaska on the MAC's All-Tournament Team ... Uhl has 5.5 rebounds per game, ranking her second on the team, and paces the Falcons with three double-doubles this year to date ... Uhl and Breske are shooting .500 and .469, respectively, from the field.

• Junior Maggie Hennegan has 4.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, placing her fourth on the team in boards ... she has shot .437 from the field this year ... six players are averaging from 1.8 to 3.2 ppg heading into the NCAA Championships.

• A total of six players have played in all 33 games this year ... that list includes Hennegan, Nurse, Pontius, Prochaska, Uhl and sophomore Jessica Slagle.

• The list of returnees in 2009-10 includes three seniors – Breske, Laura Bugher and Sarah Clapper – along with five juniors ... Breske started all 34 games in the post last season.

• The returnees in the junior class include a pair of highly-decorated players in Prochaska and Pontius ... Prochaska, a wing, is a two-time MAC Player of the Year, while Pontius, a point guard, was an honorable-mention selection to the Associated Press All-America Team in 2009 ... both Pontius and Prochaska earned All-MAC First-Team honors in 2008-09 ... Prochaska was a repeat selection this year, while Pontius was named to the all-league second team in 2010.

• Juniors Uhl, Chelsea Albert and Kelly Zuercher also returned ... Uhl started the final 13 games last year at a forward spot ... sophomores Slagle and Maribeth Giese round out the returning letterwinners.

• Two other players are in their first playing season at BGSU ... Nurse, a fifth-year senior (Univ. of Oregon), and Hennegan, a redshirt junior (Saint Louis Univ.), participated in practices at BGSU last season, but sat out the year after transferring from other NCAA Division-I schools.

• Five newcomers also joined the program in 2009-10 ... that list includes a quartet of freshmen in Simone Eli, Allison Papenfuss, Chrissy Steffen and Jessie Tamerlano ... Danielle Havel also joins the program, but is sitting out this season after transferring from DePaul University ... she will retain three seasons of eligibility.

• Nurse, Pontius and Prochaska each have started all 33 games to date, while Uhl has made 30 starts and Breske 28 ... that quintet has started each of the last 23 games ... Breske, who had started the first four games of the year before suffering her injury, came off the bench for several contests before returning to the starting lineup ... Hennegan has made eight starts this year.

• Prochaska had 17.4 ppg and 5.5 rpg in MAC games, while Pontius averaged 12.2 ppg ... the duo combined for 79 successful three-pointers in the 16 conference contests ... Nurse finished with 11.0 ppg and a team-leading 3.1 apg in league play, while Breske had 8.1 ppg and 4.6 rpg ... Uhl had 7.6 ppg and a BG-best 6.1 rpg, and shot .523 from the field ... Hennegan, Steffen and Zuercher all scored at least 3.4 ppg in MAC action ... the Falcons finished with a +13.9 scoring margin, a rebounding margin of +0.9 and a +4.8 turnover margin in MAC games.

• Overall, the Falcons are shooting .428 from the field, .384 from three-point land and .759 from the free-throw line ... BG's opponents are shooting .392 overall, .298 from long range and .701 from the stripe ... the Falcons have made as many free throws – 512 – as the opponents have attempted ... BG has 37.7 rebounds per game to the opponents' 35.4 ... the Falcons have been outrebounded only 10 times in 33 games this year.

THE FALCONS ARE ...
• 27-6 this season to date, after going 29-5 in 2008-09;
• 14-2 in the MAC, having won a sixth-straight league regular-season title;
• 206-79 since Curt Miller took the BGSU helm in May of 2001;
• 108-36 in MAC games in that time:
• 197-60 overall in the nearly eight 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);
• 185-44 over the last six-plus years, with 2009-10 marking BG's seventh-straight season of at least 20 wins;
• a staggering 164-34 in the past five-plus years, with no fewer than 23 wins and a MAC regular-season title in each of the last six seasons;
• an eye-popping 141-26 overall and 73-7 in the MAC regular season in the last four-plus years, with at least 26 wins each year;
• 113-23 in the last three-plus years, including a 57-7 conference ledger, since seniors Tara Breske, Laura Bugher and Sarah Clapper joined the program;
• 82-19 overall, and 42-6 in MAC regular-season games, since juniors Chelsea Albert, Tracy Pontius, Lauren Prochaska, Jen Uhl and Kelly Zuercher began their respective playing careers at BGSU;
• 56-11 since sophs Maribeth Giese and Jessica Slagle ventured to NW Ohio;
• 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;
• 156-25 when making more free throws during Miller's first eight-plus seasons;
• 123-11 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 this 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.
• 5-12 in 12 national postseason appearances (including a 3-9 record in the NCAA Championships and a 2-3 mark in WNIT trips); and
• 4-5 in national postseason action under Miller (including a 2-3 mark in the NCAAs and a 2-2 record in the WNIT).

THE FALCON SENIORS
Fourth-year Falcons Tara Breske, Laura Bugher and Sarah Clapper have helped the Brown and Orange average 28.25 wins per season since arriving on campus ... that trio has been a part of the two winningest teams in program history, as well as four of the five national postseason wins in BG annals ... they have helped the Falcons to national postseason berths in each of their four seasons, with two trips each to the NCAAs and WNIT ... BGSU has gone 113-23 overall and 57-7 in MAC regular-season action since Breske, Bugher and Clapper came to the school ... Tamika Nurse, a fifth-year senior, is in her first playing season after sitting out last year as a transfer from the Univ. of Oregon.

THE JUNIORS
BGSU has posted a record of 82-19 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 played national postseason tournament games at Anderson Arena in each of their first two years, beating Dayton in the '08 WNIT and facing Syracuse and Indiana in that tourney at home in 2009 ... Maggie Hennegan joined that group for the 2009-10 season ... Hennegan sat out last season as a transfer after playing two years at Saint Louis Univ.

THE SOPHOMORES
Maribeth Giese and Jessica Slagle helped the Brown and Orange to 29 wins – the second-highest total in MAC history – along with a school-record 25-game winning streak in their first year in BG ... the Falcons are 56-11 overall and 29-3 in the MAC since the duo arrived in Northwest Ohio ... Danielle Havel is a member of the sophomore class, but is sitting out the '09-10 season after transferring from DePaul.

THE FRESHMEN
Four freshmen joined the Falcons for the 2009-10 season ... that list includes Simone Eli (Genoa, Ohio/Genoa), Allison Papenfuss (Whitehouse, Ohio/Anthony Wayne), Chrissy Steffen (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) and Jessie Tamerlano (North Royalton, Ohio/North Royalton).

SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
Michigan State enters Saturday's game with an overall record of 22-9, and the Spartans finished with a record of 12-6 in Big Ten Conference play, good for a second-place finish ... State lost to Iowa, 59-54, in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament, snapping a seven-game winning streak ... MSU is appearing in the NCAA Championships for the seventh time in the last eight seasons ... the Spartans have compiled a record of 13-9 in previous NCAA Tournament appearances, including a 7-1 record in the first round ... State has advanced out of the first round in each of the last six appearances, including a trip to the National Championship game in 2005 and 'Sweet 16' trips in both 2006 and 2009 ... senior center Allyssa DeHaan leads a balanced Spartan scoring attack, with 10.9 points per game ... the 6-9 DeHaan also has 5.8 rebounds per game, and has a total of 100 blocked shots this year to date ... forwards Kalisha Keane and Lykendra Johnson have 9.8 and 8.8 ppg, respectively ... Johnson leads the team with 7.6 rpg ... senior forward Aisha Jefferson has 7.6 ppg ... Johnson and junior guard Brittney Thomas (7.2 ppg, 3.2 assists per game) each have started all 31 games this year, while Jefferson, senior center Lauren Aitch (7.2 ppg) and freshman guard Jasmine Thomas (6.0 ppg) joined them in the starting lineup the last time out ... DeHaan started the first 30 games of the season before coming off the bench vs. Iowa ... head coach Suzy Merchant is in her third season with the Spartans after spending nine seasons in the MAC at Eastern Michigan ... the school's athletics web site is www.MSUSpartans.com.

THE SERIES
The Falcons trail Michigan State, 7-4, in the all-time series between the teams, and MSU won the most recent meeting ... that game also marked the teams' lone previous game in national postseason play ... two years ago (March 22, 2008), the host Spartans posted a 74-66 win over the Brown and Orange in the second round of the WNIT ... Kalisha Keane led MSU with 20 points, while Allyssa DeHaan had 12 points, nine rebounds and four blocks ... then-freshman Lauren Prochaska led BGSU with 24 points in the loss ... that 2008 game was the first meeting between the Falcons and Spartans in over a decade, since a 91-73 BGSU win at venerable Anderson Arena on Dec. 6,1997 ... Curt Miller has a record of 0-1 against MSU during his head-coaching tenure ... additional series information, including the complete list of game-by-game series results, can be found in the PDF version of these never-tedious game notes.

SIX DEGREES OF KEVIN BACON
(6 notes regarding BGSU's ties to MSU, Louisville and the NCAA Tournament)
• Saturday's game will mark a homecoming for BGSU associate head coach Jennifer Roos ... Roos is a native of Louisville ... she was inducted into her high school's (Kentucky Country Day) Hall of Fame last month (Feb. 19).

• The Falcons' greatest success in the NCAA Tournament came in 2007 ... BGSU won two games at Michigan State's Breslin Center, downing Oklahoma State and Vanderbilt to advance to the 'Sweet 16' ... current seniors Tara Breske, Laura Bugher and Sarah Clapper were freshmen on that team ... Clapper was injured and did not dress for the NCAA Tournament games that year ... Breske and Bugher did not see action in the games in East Lansing, but each played in the final moments of BGSU's third-round loss to Arizona State in Greensboro, N.C.

• Michigan State head coach Suzy Merchant's Mid-American Conference ties run deep ... she took the Spartan helm after spending nine seasons as head coach at Eastern Michigan ... Merchant is the winningest coach in EMU history, compiling a 147-91 record in Ypsilanti ... as a player, she was a four-year starter and three-year captain at Central Michigan.

• MSU associate head coach Shane Clipfell spent nine seasons with Merchant at EMU, and was the acting head coach for most of the 2006-07 season when Merchant was on maternity leave.

• MSU senior associate athletics director Shelley Appelbaum, a BGSU graduate, held the same position (Senior Associate A.D./SWA) for four years (1994-98) at BG before moving to East Lansing.

• BGSU junior Chelsea Albert's family will be busy this weekend ... Albert, obviously, will be in Louisville, as her Falcons will face MSU ... Albert's sister, Morgan, is a freshman on the Vermont women's basketball team ... the Catamounts, a #10 seed, will face #7-seeded Wisconsin in Notre Dame, Ind., on Sunday (March 21) ... UVM defeated Hartford to win the America East Conference tourney title and earn that league's automatic bid to the NCAAs.

THE FALCONS VS. THE MAC
BGSU closed the 2009-10 regular season with an all-time record of 335-142 (.702) in MAC regular-season contests, the most wins and highest winning pct. of all league institutions ... and, BGSU leads the series with all 11 MAC foes, making the Falcons the only team in the league, obviously, with a winning series record against every other school.

FALCONS VS. THE FIELD(S)
BGSU has a record of 2-3 against teams that made the NCAA Tournament in 2010 ... the Falcons defeated Vanderbilt and Saint Francis (Pa.) and lost to Ohio State, Marist and Hartford ... the Brown and Orange is 10-5 overall against teams in national postseason play, including WNIT participants Saint Bonaventure (0-1), Eastern Michigan (1-0), Kent State (2-0) and Toledo (1-1) and WBI entrants Akron (3-0) and Appalachian State (1-0).

BLOCK BY BRESKE
Senior Tara Breske has blocked 104 shots in her career ... Breske has moved past Megan McGuire (98 blocks from 1985-89) on the BGSU career list, and will finish her career in third place.

HOME COOKIN'
The Falcons finished with a perfect 13-0 record at venerable Anderson Arena ... BGSU has won 30 consecutive regular-season home games at "The House That Roars" since a loss to Western Michigan on Jan. 30, 2008 ... overall, BG has won 32 of the last 33 home games, with the lone loss coming to Indiana in the third round of last year's WNIT ... BGSU is 44-4 in MAC home games over the last six seasons, including three 8-0 records, two 7-1 marks and one 6-2 league ledger.

A CHART-TOPPER: FALCONS REACH 20 WINS AGAIN
BGSU coach Curt Miller has talked about wanting his program to maintain a level of consistency, and avoid being a 'one-hit wonder' ... it is safe to say that mission has been accomplished ... the Falcons' win over Ohio (Feb. 13) was BG's 20th of the season ... the Falcons have won at least 20 games in seven consecutive years, extending the school record and tying the MAC record ... the conference mark was set by Bob Lindsay's Kent State teams from 1995-96 through 2001-02 ... prior to the current run, the longest such streak in BGSU history was four-straight seasons, by the Fran Voll-coached teams of the late 1980s.

BGSU WAS ALREADY AT THE TOP OF THIS LIST
The Falcons have won at least 20 games for the 15th time in school history, the most of any MAC school ... other than BGSU, only Toledo (14) and Kent State (12) have posted 20 or more wins on 10 or more occasions.

BUGHER, HENNEGAN EARN ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS
A pair of BGSU student-athletes were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 4 Team ... senior Laura Bugher and redshirt junior Maggie Hennegan each were named to the second team ... both Bugher and Hennegan maintain a perfect 4.00 cumulative grade point average ... the District 4 team is made up of student-athletes from Division I schools in the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee ... to be nominated, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore and must carry a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher ... Bugher and Hennegan were the only two MAC players named to any of the eight district teams.

A FEW FINAL MAC TOURNAMENT (OR MAC TOURNAMENT FINAL) NOTES
The Falcons, as mentioned, have won 10 MAC Tournament titles, the most of any conference school ... Toledo is second with seven tourney crowns • the 2010 season marked the first time that the arch-rival schools had met in the league tournament final since 1994 • BGSU now leads Toledo, 41-26, in the all-time series ... the Falcons are 8-3 vs. the Rockets in the MAC Tournament, including a 3-0 mark in the championship game • overall, BGSU is now 10-2 in MAC Championship games, and the Falcons have an all-time record of 39-16 (.709) in the MAC Tournament ... in addition to owning the most tournament championships, BGSU now has the highest league tourney winning percentage amon gall MAC institutions ... the Falcons trailed Toledo (now 43-19, .694) in that category before downing the Rockets • last Saturday's UT game marked the first time in five years that BGSU played a MAC Tournament game against a team that had defeated them in the regular season ... the last such games came in the 2005 tourney ... that year, the Falcons went 13-3 in the regular season, losing twice to Eastern Michigan (coached by Suzy Merchant) and once to Kent State ... but, the Falcons downed EMU in the semifinals before beating KSU in the championship, for the first tourney title in the Curt Miller Era.

PURA VIDA!
Head coach Curt Miller and the Falcons jump-started their season in August, heading to Costa Rica on the first foreign tour in program history ... the Falcons benefitted from four games vs. local competition, in addition to 10 days of practices leading up to the tour ... the 12 players (the 10 returnees from 2008-09, plus the two transfers who sat out last season at BGSU) were able to bond together through a week and a half of diverse experiences, including whitewater rafting, zip-lining through the rainforest and hiking on a volcano.

JUST AS SUCCESSFUL IN THE CLASSROOM
The Falcons had one of the most successful seasons in program history on the court in 2008-09 ... head coach Curt Miller's program had one of its most successful campaigns in the classroom as well ... BGSU was ranked fifth in the entire nation on the WBCA's Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll for 2008-09 ... the awards recognized teams throughout the country that had the highest grade point averages for 2008-09 ... as a team, the Falcons had a GPA of 3.470 in '08-09 ... BGSU was the only MAC program on the list, and the Falcons were also the only program from the state of Ohio in the Division-I Top 25.

CAPTAINS
Seniors Tara Breske and Sarah Clapper and redshirt junior Maggie Hennegan are the captains of the 2009-10 Falcons ... Breske is a captain for the second consecutive year ... the captains earned that distinction in a vote of their teammates ... the award is particularly impressive in Hennegan's case, as she was chosen as a captain before ever playing her first game as a Falcon.

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