Bowling Green State University Athletics
Thursday, November 17
Bowling Green, Ohio
7:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
vs
Purdue
Sophomore Jillian Halfhill & the Falcons host nationally-ranked Purdue Thursday (photo by Doug Sampson)
Falcons Face No. 16/20 Purdue to Open Stroh Center Era
November 15, 2011 | Women's Basketball
BGSU battles Boilermakers Thursday night
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team begins a new era in program history, hosting nationally-ranked Purdue University Thursday evening (Nov. 17), in the first regular-season game at the brand-new Stroh Center ... tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
BGSU GAME NOTES - PDF
CURT MILLER'S TUESDAY PRESS CONFERENCE - Audio & Video links
QUICK HITS
• There will be a ring ceremony and banner unveiling prior to Thursday's game ... the 2010-11 team will be honored for winning the Mid-American Conference East Division and MAC Tournament titles ... the ceremony is scheduled to begin at approximately 6:50 p.m.
• The Falcons are coming off of a 69-38 loss at Dayton in Friday's (Nov. 11) season opener ... BGSU has lost the road opener in each of the last four years.
• Purdue enters the game ranked 16th in the Associated Press poll and 20th in the USA Today/ESPN rankings (preseason polls) ... the Boilermakers, obviously, will be the first nationally-ranked team to play in the Stroh Center.
• BGSU has an all-time record of 4-29 against nationally-ranked teams, including a 2-3 record at home – all at venerable Anderson Arena, of course – and a 3-10 mark in the Curt Miller Era.
• BG's starting lineup at Dayton included four players who had never started a collegiate game before Friday night ... junior Chrissy Steffen had started all 33 games for the Falcons last season ... but, Jillian Halfhill, Danielle Havel, Alexis Rogers and Jessica Slagle all were in the lineup for the first time.
• Rogers was one of four players to make her BGSU debut at Dayton ... the redshirt sophomore sat out last season after transferring from Duke University ... true freshmen Deborah Hoekstra, Jasmine Matthews and Logan Pastor all saw their first collegiate action in the UD game.
• BGSU will be looking to establish a new homecourt presence on Thursday night ... the Falcons certainly enjoyed playing at Anderson, posting wins in 46 of the last 48 games there ... BG won nearly three-quarters of the games played at "The House That Roars", going 333-116 (74.1%) over the years, and the Falcons were 192-54 (78.0%) in MAC games at Anderson.
• The Falcons won the MAC's East Division title in 2010-11, going on to capture the MAC Tournament championship for the fifth time in seven seasons.
• BG has advanced to national postseason play in each of the last seven years, with five NCAA Championships appearances and two trips to the WNIT.
• The Falcons posted a 72-45 win over Findlay in exhibition play at the Stroh Center on Nov. 1 ... all 12 players who saw action scored at least two points.
• Miller and his staff return nine letterwinners – but just one starter – from last year's 28-5 team ... Steffen, the lone returning starter, was chosen to the Preseason All-MAC Team.
• The Falcons were picked to defend their MAC East Division title in 2012, according to the league's preseason poll ... BGSU has won seven consecutive MAC divisional crowns.
• The Falcons are one of just 13 teams in the nation to have won at least 20 games in each of the last eight seasons (Baylor, Connecticut, Duke, Green Bay, Marist, Michigan State, Middle Tennessee State, Ohio State, Stanford, Temple, Tennessee and Vanderbilt).
• BG has won 26 or more games in each of the last six seasons.
• BGSU is on the lists of winningest NCAA Division-I teams over the last five years ... the Falcons are seventh among all Division-I programs in terms of winning percentage, and BG ranks eighth in the nation in total wins.
• BGSU finished 48th in the NCAA Women's Basketball Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) in 2010-11.
• The Falcons have set a new record for season tickets sold, with 741 as of Nov. 7.
• BGSU is one of only two NCAA D-I schools in which all four full-time coaches (head coach and three assistants) are in at least their 10th year at the school.
• BG is ranked sixth in the first CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll of the season.
• The Stroh Center will host the first and second rounds of the 2012 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship ... the first-round games are set for Sunday, March 18, with the second-round contest scheduled for Tuesday, March 20 ... tickets are available now through BGSUFalcons.com.
THE FALCONS VS. NATIONALLY-RANKED TEAMS
Purdue will enter Thursday's game ranked in the top 25 of both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls ... BGSU has an all-time record of 4-29 against nationally-ranked teams, including a 2-3 record at home and a 3-10 mark in the Curt Miller Era ... a few more notes about BGSU and top-25 foes ...
• All three of the Falcon's wins over nationally-ranked teams in the Miller Era have come against Vanderbilt ... BGSU downed the Commodores, 59-56, in the second round of the 2007 NCAA Championships in East Lansing, Mich., en route to the only 'Sweet Sixteen' appearance in school and MAC history ... BGSU ventured to Nashville two years ago (Dec. 4, 2009) and posted a 66-60 win ... last season, the Falcons vanquished Vandy at Anderson Arena, 69-58 (Dec. 1, 2010).
• Last year's win over the 'Dores was only the second home win over a nationally-ranked team in BGSU history ... the first came against Thursday's opponent, Purdue, in the 1991-92 season opener ... in that game, the Falcons downed the 10th-ranked Boilermakers at Anderson, in Jaci Clark's head-coaching debut (Nov. 23, 1991).
• BGSU has not had many chances to defeat a top-25 team at home, as Thursday will mark only the sixth time a nationally-ranked foe has ventured to Bowling Green ... in addition to the aforementioned Vanderbilt and Purdue games, the other home games vs. top-25 foes came against Georgia (82-63 loss; Dec. 19, 1994) and Notre Dame ... the Irish have come to BG twice as a top-25 team, downing BG, 85-70, in the 1996-97 opener (Nov. 23, 1996) and topping the Falcons in overtime four years ago (86-84; Dec. 5, 2007).
MORE INFORMATION
For more information on all things BGSU women's basketball, click the PDF link at the top of this page, or spend some quality time surfing the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.
BGSU GAME NOTES - PDF
CURT MILLER'S TUESDAY PRESS CONFERENCE - Audio & Video links
QUICK HITS
• There will be a ring ceremony and banner unveiling prior to Thursday's game ... the 2010-11 team will be honored for winning the Mid-American Conference East Division and MAC Tournament titles ... the ceremony is scheduled to begin at approximately 6:50 p.m.
• The Falcons are coming off of a 69-38 loss at Dayton in Friday's (Nov. 11) season opener ... BGSU has lost the road opener in each of the last four years.
• Purdue enters the game ranked 16th in the Associated Press poll and 20th in the USA Today/ESPN rankings (preseason polls) ... the Boilermakers, obviously, will be the first nationally-ranked team to play in the Stroh Center.
• BGSU has an all-time record of 4-29 against nationally-ranked teams, including a 2-3 record at home – all at venerable Anderson Arena, of course – and a 3-10 mark in the Curt Miller Era.
• BG's starting lineup at Dayton included four players who had never started a collegiate game before Friday night ... junior Chrissy Steffen had started all 33 games for the Falcons last season ... but, Jillian Halfhill, Danielle Havel, Alexis Rogers and Jessica Slagle all were in the lineup for the first time.
• Rogers was one of four players to make her BGSU debut at Dayton ... the redshirt sophomore sat out last season after transferring from Duke University ... true freshmen Deborah Hoekstra, Jasmine Matthews and Logan Pastor all saw their first collegiate action in the UD game.
• BGSU will be looking to establish a new homecourt presence on Thursday night ... the Falcons certainly enjoyed playing at Anderson, posting wins in 46 of the last 48 games there ... BG won nearly three-quarters of the games played at "The House That Roars", going 333-116 (74.1%) over the years, and the Falcons were 192-54 (78.0%) in MAC games at Anderson.
• The Falcons won the MAC's East Division title in 2010-11, going on to capture the MAC Tournament championship for the fifth time in seven seasons.
• BG has advanced to national postseason play in each of the last seven years, with five NCAA Championships appearances and two trips to the WNIT.
• The Falcons posted a 72-45 win over Findlay in exhibition play at the Stroh Center on Nov. 1 ... all 12 players who saw action scored at least two points.
• Miller and his staff return nine letterwinners – but just one starter – from last year's 28-5 team ... Steffen, the lone returning starter, was chosen to the Preseason All-MAC Team.
• The Falcons were picked to defend their MAC East Division title in 2012, according to the league's preseason poll ... BGSU has won seven consecutive MAC divisional crowns.
• The Falcons are one of just 13 teams in the nation to have won at least 20 games in each of the last eight seasons (Baylor, Connecticut, Duke, Green Bay, Marist, Michigan State, Middle Tennessee State, Ohio State, Stanford, Temple, Tennessee and Vanderbilt).
• BG has won 26 or more games in each of the last six seasons.
• BGSU is on the lists of winningest NCAA Division-I teams over the last five years ... the Falcons are seventh among all Division-I programs in terms of winning percentage, and BG ranks eighth in the nation in total wins.
• BGSU finished 48th in the NCAA Women's Basketball Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) in 2010-11.
• The Falcons have set a new record for season tickets sold, with 741 as of Nov. 7.
• BGSU is one of only two NCAA D-I schools in which all four full-time coaches (head coach and three assistants) are in at least their 10th year at the school.
• BG is ranked sixth in the first CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll of the season.
• The Stroh Center will host the first and second rounds of the 2012 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship ... the first-round games are set for Sunday, March 18, with the second-round contest scheduled for Tuesday, March 20 ... tickets are available now through BGSUFalcons.com.
THE FALCONS VS. NATIONALLY-RANKED TEAMS
Purdue will enter Thursday's game ranked in the top 25 of both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls ... BGSU has an all-time record of 4-29 against nationally-ranked teams, including a 2-3 record at home and a 3-10 mark in the Curt Miller Era ... a few more notes about BGSU and top-25 foes ...
• All three of the Falcon's wins over nationally-ranked teams in the Miller Era have come against Vanderbilt ... BGSU downed the Commodores, 59-56, in the second round of the 2007 NCAA Championships in East Lansing, Mich., en route to the only 'Sweet Sixteen' appearance in school and MAC history ... BGSU ventured to Nashville two years ago (Dec. 4, 2009) and posted a 66-60 win ... last season, the Falcons vanquished Vandy at Anderson Arena, 69-58 (Dec. 1, 2010).
• Last year's win over the 'Dores was only the second home win over a nationally-ranked team in BGSU history ... the first came against Thursday's opponent, Purdue, in the 1991-92 season opener ... in that game, the Falcons downed the 10th-ranked Boilermakers at Anderson, in Jaci Clark's head-coaching debut (Nov. 23, 1991).
• BGSU has not had many chances to defeat a top-25 team at home, as Thursday will mark only the sixth time a nationally-ranked foe has ventured to Bowling Green ... in addition to the aforementioned Vanderbilt and Purdue games, the other home games vs. top-25 foes came against Georgia (82-63 loss; Dec. 19, 1994) and Notre Dame ... the Irish have come to BG twice as a top-25 team, downing BG, 85-70, in the 1996-97 opener (Nov. 23, 1996) and topping the Falcons in overtime four years ago (86-84; Dec. 5, 2007).
MORE INFORMATION
For more information on all things BGSU women's basketball, click the PDF link at the top of this page, or spend some quality time surfing the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.
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