Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, November 11
Dayton, Ohio
7:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
at
Dayton
Senior Jessica Slagle & the Falcons head to Dayton for Friday's season opener (Doug Sampson photo)
Falcons Open 2011-12 Season at Dayton Friday Night
November 09, 2011 | Women's Basketball
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team opens the 2011-12 season by taking on the University of Dayton in Friday (Nov. 11) action ... tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at UD Arena.
BGSU NOTES - PDF
BGSU at DAYTON LINKS: LIVE STATS | AUDIO (free) | VIDEO (free)
QUICK HITS
• The Falcons certainly do not have an easy start to the 2011-12 season ... Dayton is receiving votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN top-25 polls ... BGSU's next opponent, Purdue, is 17th in the AP poll and 21st in the USA Today/ESPN rankings ... BG hosts the Boilermakers on Thursday, Nov. 17, in the first-ever women's basketball regular-season game at the Stroh Center.
• The Falcons of head coach Curt Miller won the Mid-American Conference'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 ... junior Chrissy 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 2009-10.
• 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.
FALCONS PICKED TO DEFEND MAC EAST TITLE IN 2011-12
The Falcons were picked to win the MAC's East Division title again in 2012, according to the league's preseason poll ... the poll was released on Nov. 1 by the conference office ... vote totals were not announced ... BGSU has won seven consecutive MAC divisional titles, winning the West Division in 2005 and capturing the East in each of the last six years ... last season, BG did not have the MAC's best regular-season record for the first time since 2004, as Toledo had a 14-2 mark to the Falcons' 13-3 league ledger ... but, the Brown and Orange went on to win the MAC Tournament championship for the second-straight season and the fifth time in the last seven years ... UT was picked to win both the West Division and MAC Tournament crowns in 2012.
EAST DIVISION
1 - Bowling Green
2 - Miami
3 - Akron
4 - Kent State
5 - Ohio
6 - Buffalo
WEST DIVISION
1 - Toledo
2 - Central Michigan
3 - Eastern Michigan
4 - Northern Illinois
5 - Ball State
6 - Western Michigan
VOTES TO WIN MAC TOURNAMENT: Toledo 33, Central Michigan 10, Bowling Green 3, Eastern Michigan 2
STEFFEN NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-MAC TEAM
Junior Chrissy Steffen was named to the Preseason All-MAC Team, earning that honor for the first time in her career ... Steffen, the lone returning starter from a year ago, averaged 10.4 points per game last season ... she finished third on the Falcons in scoring, assists (2.0 apg) and three-point field goals made (55) ... in MAC games only, Steffen was second on the team in both scoring (11.4 ppg) and three-pointers made.
MAD FALCON SUPPORT
As of Monday morning (Nov. 7), 741 women's basketball season tickets had been sold for 2011-12 ... that total represents a new program record, topping the previous mark of 629 season tickets sold in 2010-11, for the final year in Anderson Arena.
THE WORD 'TICKETS' HAS 71% CONSONANTS
The Falcons had an average home attendance of 1,844 last season ... that average is believed to be a program record ... it is indeed a women's basketball season attendance record for the non-doubleheader era (the MAC played women's/men's doubleheaders for much of the 1980s and early '90s).
WAYS TO FOLLOW BGSU-DAYTON
If you can't make it to Dayton for Friday night's game, there are a number of ways to follow the Falcons ...
• RADIO/AUDIO STREAM: The game can be heard on the radio at WBGU-FM 88.1, and the audio stream will be available, free of charge, at BGSUFalcons.com.
• LIVE STATS: Live stats will be accessable through BGSUFalcons.com or through UD's web site, DaytonFlyers.com.
• VIDEO STREAMING: Free live video streaming will also be available through DaytonFlyers.com.
The links to the audio, video and stats can be found at BGSUFalcons.com, in the 'schedule' section on the home page, or by accessing the women's basketball schedule and choosing the Dayton game.
HITTING THE ROAD (& HOPING IT DOESN'T HIT BACK)
The Falcons have enjoyed much success away from home, having gone 67-18 in true road games and 95-25 in road and neutral-site games combined over the last six seasons ... that success has not translated to the road opener as of late ... BGSU has lost the opening road game in each of the last three seasons, falling at Temple in 2008-09, #3-ranked Ohio State in '09-10 and Evansville last season ... the Falcons have a 5-5 record in road openers in the Curt Miller Era.
SUCCESS STARTS AT THE TOP
Head coach Curt Miller begins his second decade at the helm of the Falcons, having accomplished a great many things during his first 10 years ... entering the 2011-12 season, Miller is ranked 16th among all NCAA Division-I winningest active coaches (min. five years as a D-I head coach), with a winning percentage of .734 ... Miller is one of just two Mid-American Conference coaches listed among the top 50 (Kent State's Bob Lindsay, 47th, .637) ... Miller is ranked 17th on the list of winningest all-time Division-I coaches (min. 10 years as a D-I head coach).
AND THEN THERE WERE TWO: STABILITY BREEDS SUCCESS
A big reason for Bowling Green's women's basketball success has been the stability at the top ... the coaching staff – head coach Curt Miller, associate head coach Jennifer Roos, and assistant coaches Brandi Poole and Kevin Eckert – has been intact for 10 years ... Miller is in his 11th season at the helm of the Falcons ... Roos and Poole were on board during his initial season of 2001-02, with Eckert joining the staff in time for the 2002-03 campaign ... Bowling Green is one of just two NCAA Division-I women's basketball programs in the entire nation in which all four full-time coaches (head coach and three assistants) are in at least their 10th consecutive year at the school ... the list ...
LONGEST-TENURED NCAA DIVISION-I PROGRAMS
(All four coaches are in at least their 10th year with the school)
MONTANA – (Head Coach Robin Selvig – 34th season • Asst. Coach Annette Rocheleau – 31st season • Asst. Coach Shannon Schweyen – 20th season • Asst. Coach Trish Duce – 18th season)
BOWLING GREEN – (Head Coach Curt Miller – 11th season • Associate H.C. Jennifer Roos – 11th season • Asst. Coach Brandi Poole – 11th season • Asst. Coach Kevin Eckert – 10th season)
FALCON WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: 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.
• TELEVISION: Six of the Falcons' home games will be televised in the Toledo area on BCSN ... two additional games at the Stroh Center, along with one road contest, will be aired as the MAC Game of the Week by SportsTime Ohio ... the televised games can be found in the schedule on page 1 of these notes.
• VIDEO: All home games will be available via live video stream, through B2/America One, for a small fee ... fans can watch the action on their computers by visiting BGSUFalcons.com and clicking on the America One logo on the right-hand side of the page ... a number of the Falcons' road games also will have live video, at the jurisdiction of the host school, and the link(s) will be available at BGSUFalcons.com ... the video production for home games is courtesy of the campus television station, WBGU-TV.
• 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).
TOP EIGHT IN THE LAST FIVE
The NCAA has compiled its annual lists of the winningest Division-I teams over the last five years, and Bowling Green ranks in the top eight on both lists ... BGSU has won a total of 141 games, and the Falcons have won nearly 83 percent of the time over the last five seasons.
WINNINGEST TEAMS DURING PAST FIVE YEARS
(sorted by winning pct. – 2006-07 through 2010-11 seasons)
1. Connecticut 182 8 .958
2. Stanford 166 19 .897
3. Tennessee 158 22 .878
4. Green Bay 146 21 .874
5. Marist 147 24 .860
6. Duke 146 28 .839
7. BOWLING GREEN 141 29 .829
8. Xavier 134 31 .812
9. Baylor 141 34 .806
10. North Carolina 142 35 .802
WINNINGEST TEAMS DURING PAST FIVE YEARS
(sorted by total wins – 2006-07 through 2010-11 seasons)
1. Connecticut 182 8 .958
2. Stanford 166 19 .897
3. Tennessee 158 22 .878
4. Marist 147 24 .860
5. Green Bay 146 21 .874
Duke 146 28 .839
7. North Carolina 142 35 .802
8. BOWLING GREEN 141 29 .829
Baylor 141 34 .806
10. Texas A&M 140 36 .795
SPEAKING OF 'MID-MAJOR' ...
The Falcons were ranked sixth in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major preseason top-25 poll, released on Nov. 1 ... the 2011-12 season marks the second year the poll has been conducted ... the poll is the result of weekly voting by a panel of 31 head coaches from 'Mid-Major' schools.
BGSU TO APPEAR ON STO AT LEAST THREE TIMES IN 2011-12
The Falcons will be featured on SportsTime Ohio (STO) at least three times during the 2011-12 season ... BGSU's home games against Akron (Jan. 7) and Eastern Michigan (Jan. 22), as well as the Falcons' game at Toledo (Feb. 11), will be aired by the Cleveland-based network ... BG's three regular-season appearances are tied for the most by a MAC women's basketball team in '11-12 ... in addition to a 10-game regular-season women's hoops schedule, STO's coverage also will include the MAC Tournament semifinals (March 9) and championship (March 10).
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
The Falcons won a total of 12 games during the non-league portion of the schedule last winter ... the 2010-11 BGSU club broke the school – as well as the Mid-American Conference – record for non-league wins in a season ... the Falcons had never posted a double-digit non-conference win total prior to 2006-07, but BG now has done so in each of the last five seasons.
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS II
The Falcons, as mentioned, have posted a double-digit win total in non-conference play in five consecutive seasons, a MAC record ... in fact, no other MAC team has had more than two such years, consecutive or non-consecutive, in league history ... the complete list ...
10-WIN NON-CONFERENCE SEASONS, MAC TEAMS
No. School Years (Wins)
5 BGSU 2006-07 (11) // 2007-08 (11) // 2008-09 (11) // 2009-10 (10) // 2010-11 (12)
2 Eastern Michigan 2004-05 (10) // 2009-10 (10)
1 Kent State 2008-09 (11)
1 Toledo 2009-10 (10)
A FEW MORE NOTES RE: NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
• With a 12-1 record in non-conference play in 2010-11, BGSU posted a winning non-league record for the ninth-straight year ... BG is the only MAC school to have turned that trick.
• BGSU had not had as many as three consecutive winning seasons in over a decade (since 1991-92 to 1993-94), prior to beginning the current streak ... now, of course, the Falcons have posted nine-straight winning seasons in non-conference action, for the longest such streak in school history.
• The 2010-11 team was the fifth in six years to tie or break the school record for non-conference wins in a season ... BGSU's total of nine non-league wins in 2005-06 tied the school record, before the '06-07 team had 11 to set a new mark (and a MAC record as well) ... the '07-08 and '08-09 teams also had 11 non-league wins, while the 2009-10 team had 10 ... the Falcons have had at least seven non-league victories in each of the last nine seasons.
• BGSU has set new school records for non-league wins in a four-year and a five-year period ... BG has had 44 non-conference victories over the last four seasons, going 44-10 (.815) since the start of the 2007-08 season ... in the last five years, the Falcons have gone 55-12 (.821) in games prior to the start of the MAC schedule.
• Since the start of the 2002-03 season, BG is 85-26 (.766) in regular-season, non-league games, for the most wins and highest winning percentage of any MAC school in that time.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons return nine letterwinners, but only one starter, from last year's team that won 28 games, captured the MAC East Division and conference tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Championships ... BGSU finished the season with an overall mark of 28-5 ... the Falcons went 13-3 in MAC play, then posted three more wins in the MAC Tournament to earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships for the second-straight season and the fifth time in seven years ... BG went 14-1 at home (in the last season at venerable Anderson Arena), 10-3 on the road and 4-1 in neutral-site games.
• The Falcons lose the services of six seniors – Chelsea Albert, Maggie Hennegan, Tracy Pontius, Lauren Prochaska, Jen Uhl and Kelly Zuercher – from a year ago ... the five fourth-year players were part of 110 wins, the third highest total in school and MAC history ... that group combined for nearly 5,500 points, 2,400 rebounds and 1,000 assists during their time in the Brown and Orange.
• Head coach Curt Miller's starting lineup remained unchanged during all of last season ... four-fifths of that lineup, however, were part of the departed senior class.
• Miller and his staff have just one senior on the active roster this year ... that senior is tri-captain Jessica Slagle, who played in every game off the bench a season ago ... true junior Chrissy Steffen and redshirt junior Danielle Havel, both natives of Carmel, Ind., join Slagle as tri-captains.
• In addition to Slagle, there is one other fourth-year Falcon ... Maribeth Giese, however, has been medically disqualified, bringing an end to her playing career ... Giese will remain with the team in a support-staff role.
• The roster includes four juniors: Steffen, Havel, Simone Eli and Allison Papenfuss ... Miller's four sophomores include Jillian Halfhill, Jill Stein and Noelle Yoder ... additionally, Alexis Rogers suits up this season after sitting out last year per NCAA transfer regulations ... Rogers, who transferred from Duke University, retains three seasons of eligibility.
• The freshman class includes Deborah Hoekstra (East Lansing, Mich.), Kaila Hulls (Bloomington, Ind.), Jasmine Matthews (Matteson, Ill.), Shanique Ogle (Lorain, Ohio) and Logan Pastor (Uniontown, Ohio) ... Hulls suffered an injury in preseason practices, however, and likely will miss the entire season.
• All 12 active players scored at least two points in the team's exhibition-game win over Findlay on Nov. 1 ... in addition to Giese and Hulls, Eli was not in uniform for that game.
• BGSU led the nation in free-throw percentage last season, and the Falcons were also among the top-20 schools in three-point field goals per game (sixth), W-L percentage (11th), scoring margin (16th), fewest turnovers per game (20th) and three-point FG defense (20th).
BGSU TO HOST NCAA FIRST AND SECOND ROUNDS
BGSU's Stroh Center has been selected as one of 16 sites for the first and second rounds of the 2012 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship ... the venue will be the site of games on Sunday, March 18, and Tuesday, March 20, 2012 ... the 2011-12 season is the first year of operation for the Stroh Center, the new home for Falcon men's and women's basketball and volleyball ... Anderson Arena served as the site for NCAA first-round games in 1989, 1993 and 1994.
LAST TIME OUT
The Falcons dialed up the defensive intensity in the second half, riding a big run to a 72-45 win over Findlay in the team's lone exhibition game (Nov. 1) ... junior Chrissy Steffen led a balanced BGSU scoring attack with 12 points in the win at the Stroh Center, while redshirt junior Danielle Havel had nine points and a game-high 14 rebounds ... the Falcons outrebounded the Oilers by a 55-30 count ... all 12 BGSU players who saw action in the game made at least one field goal ... sophomore Noelle Yoder had eight points off the bench, while three teammates had seven points apiece ... that list included senior Jessica Slagle, redshirt sophomore Alexis Rogers and freshman Jasmine Matthews ... the Falcons, leading by a 35-24 score at the half, spotted the visitors two quick second-half baskets, including a three-point field goal, to cut the lead to just six points ... but, the Brown and Orange then held the Oilers without a hoop for a span of 14-and-a-half minutes ... after the visitors' Kayla Brown hit a layup off of a steal with 18:16 remaining, BGSU forced Findlay to miss 19 consecutive field-goal attempts ... BG's lead ballooned to 30 points before Lacey Kessler broke UF's drought with 3:48 remaining ... in addition to her 14 rebounds, Havel had a game-high total of four blocked shots on the night ... the Falcons' nine three-point field goals came from eight different players, with only freshman Deborah Hoekstra hitting more than one ... Hoekstra had six points in just seven minutes of action, going a perfect 2-of-2 from three-point land, while classmate Logan Pastor scored five points ... Pastor added four assists to tie for team honors, and she led the Brown and Orange with three steals.
A QUICK LOOK AT DAYTON
Dayton, coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, received votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today ESPN preseason polls ... the Flyers finished 21-12 last year, reaching the 20-win plateau for the fourth-straight season, and UD loses just one starter from that team ... the Flyers were picked to tie for the Atlantic 10 Conference title in the preseason coaches poll ... senior Justine Raterman, a first-team all-conference selection, is UD's top returning scorer with 16.1 points per game ... Raterman has been named to several preseason lists, including the Wooden Award preseason top-30 list ... additionally, she is one of 30 women's basketball players named a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award ... senior Casey Nance is second on the school's career blocks list, and classmate Patrice Lalor is seventh in UD history in assists, having led the team in that category in each of her first three seasons ... that trio was joined by senior De'Sarae Chambers and fifth-year senior Elle Queen in the starting lineup for the Flyers' lone exhibition, an 88-34 win over Northern Kentucky on Nov. 1 ... head coach Jim Jabir, beginning his ninth season with the Flyers, is the winningest coach in program history ... Jabir is 136-115 through his first eight seasons at UD ... the school's athletics web site is www.DaytonFlyers.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Dayton, 10-8, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU has won the last six meetings ... the teams have met only twice in the last 19 years, with both games coming in calendar year 2008 ... the Falcons captured a 64-52 victory at Anderson Arena in the WNIT on March 20, 2008 ... in the most recent matchup, the Brown and Orange downed the Flyers, 77-68, in the championship game of the Dayton Flyer Classic (Dec. 29, 2008) ... just one member of the current BGSU team, Jessica Slagle, saw action in that game ... for the Flyers, no fewer than five players on the '11-12 team played in that contest, combining for 41 of UD's 68 points ... Lalor, Nance and Raterman all started that game ... BG is 5-3 in home games and 4-5 in road contests (the site of one meeting is unknown) vs. the Flyers ... Curt Miller has a record of 2-0 against Dayton in his stellar BGSU career.
WE COULD GET USED TO THIS
Just six 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 prior to 2005 ... now, however, Curt Miller's Falcons have won at least 27 games in no fewer than five of the last six years – 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 games in '08-09, 27 more contests two years ago, and 28 games in 2010-11 ... in the last six seasons, BGSU has AVERAGED 28.2 wins per year.
THE FALCONS ARE/WERE ...
• 28-5 last season; after finishing with a 27-7 record the previous year;
• 13-3 in MAC play in 2010-11, having won a seventh-straight division title;
• 234-85 since Curt Miller took the BGSU helm in May of 2001;
• 121-39 in MAC games in that time:
• 225-66 overall in the nine 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);
• 213-50 over the last eight years, with 2010-11 marking BG's eighth-straight season of at least 20 wins;
• a staggering 192-40 in the past seven years, with no fewer than 23 wins in seven-straight seasons and a MAC regular-season title each year from 2004-10;
• an eye-popping 169-32 overall, and 86-10 in the MAC regular season, in the last six years, with at least 26 wins in each of those six years;
• a/an (insert your own adjective here) 141-29 in the last five years, including a 70-10 conference ledger;
• 110-25 overall, and 55-9 in MAC regular-season games, spanning the tenure of last season's fourth-year seniors, Chelsea Albert, Tracy Pontius, Lauren Prochaska, Jen Uhl and Kelly Zuercher;
• 84-17 overall and 42-6 in MAC action since senior Jessica Slagle and classmate Maribeth Giese ventured to NW Ohio;
• 55-12 overall and 27-5 in the MAC in the BGSU playing careers of juniors Simone Eli, Allison Papenfuss and Chrissy Steffen;
• 107-12 in the last 119 games vs. MAC foes (regular-season and tournament);
• A perfect 54-0 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field in the Miller Era;
• 189-10 when having a better FG pct. than the opposition in Miller's tenure, including a 61-0 mark in the last three seasons;
• 179-30 when making more free throws during Miller's first 10 years;
• 139-13 when outrebounding the opponent in the Miller Era;
• 51-5 in MAC home games in the last seven seasons;
• 42-6 in MAC road games over the last six years;
• 18-2 in the MAC Tournament in the last seven years, with five titles (2005, '06, '07, '10 and '11), an additional championship-game appearance (2009), and a trip to the semis in 2008;
• 42-16 overall in the MAC Tournament since it was instituted in 1982;
• 31-11 in MAC Tournament contests played at a neutral site;
• 20-4 at Gund/Quicken Loans Arena, the site of the MAC Tournament;
• 21-5 in MAC Tournament games in the Miller Era;
• 20-3 at "The Gund"/"The Q" under Miller;
• 35-3 in all non-conference home games since the start of the 2003-04 season;
• 31-2 against non-league foes at Anderson Arena over the venerable venue's final seven years (since November of 2004);
• 5-14 in 14 national postseason appearances (including a 3-11 record in the NCAA Championships and a 2-3 mark in WNIT trips); and
• 4-7 in national postseason action under Miller (including a 2-5 mark in the NCAAs and a 2-2 record in the WNIT).
UP NEXT
Following the Dayton game, the Falcons will open the Stroh Center Era with a game against nationally-ranked Purdue University on Thursday, Nov. 17 ... tipoff is 7:00 p.m. for the first women's basketball regular-season game in the history of the new arena.
BGSU NOTES - PDF
BGSU at DAYTON LINKS: LIVE STATS | AUDIO (free) | VIDEO (free)
QUICK HITS
• The Falcons certainly do not have an easy start to the 2011-12 season ... Dayton is receiving votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN top-25 polls ... BGSU's next opponent, Purdue, is 17th in the AP poll and 21st in the USA Today/ESPN rankings ... BG hosts the Boilermakers on Thursday, Nov. 17, in the first-ever women's basketball regular-season game at the Stroh Center.
• The Falcons of head coach Curt Miller won the Mid-American Conference'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 ... junior Chrissy 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 2009-10.
• 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.
FALCONS PICKED TO DEFEND MAC EAST TITLE IN 2011-12
The Falcons were picked to win the MAC's East Division title again in 2012, according to the league's preseason poll ... the poll was released on Nov. 1 by the conference office ... vote totals were not announced ... BGSU has won seven consecutive MAC divisional titles, winning the West Division in 2005 and capturing the East in each of the last six years ... last season, BG did not have the MAC's best regular-season record for the first time since 2004, as Toledo had a 14-2 mark to the Falcons' 13-3 league ledger ... but, the Brown and Orange went on to win the MAC Tournament championship for the second-straight season and the fifth time in the last seven years ... UT was picked to win both the West Division and MAC Tournament crowns in 2012.
EAST DIVISION
1 - Bowling Green
2 - Miami
3 - Akron
4 - Kent State
5 - Ohio
6 - Buffalo
WEST DIVISION
1 - Toledo
2 - Central Michigan
3 - Eastern Michigan
4 - Northern Illinois
5 - Ball State
6 - Western Michigan
VOTES TO WIN MAC TOURNAMENT: Toledo 33, Central Michigan 10, Bowling Green 3, Eastern Michigan 2
STEFFEN NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-MAC TEAM
Junior Chrissy Steffen was named to the Preseason All-MAC Team, earning that honor for the first time in her career ... Steffen, the lone returning starter from a year ago, averaged 10.4 points per game last season ... she finished third on the Falcons in scoring, assists (2.0 apg) and three-point field goals made (55) ... in MAC games only, Steffen was second on the team in both scoring (11.4 ppg) and three-pointers made.
MAD FALCON SUPPORT
As of Monday morning (Nov. 7), 741 women's basketball season tickets had been sold for 2011-12 ... that total represents a new program record, topping the previous mark of 629 season tickets sold in 2010-11, for the final year in Anderson Arena.
THE WORD 'TICKETS' HAS 71% CONSONANTS
The Falcons had an average home attendance of 1,844 last season ... that average is believed to be a program record ... it is indeed a women's basketball season attendance record for the non-doubleheader era (the MAC played women's/men's doubleheaders for much of the 1980s and early '90s).
WAYS TO FOLLOW BGSU-DAYTON
If you can't make it to Dayton for Friday night's game, there are a number of ways to follow the Falcons ...
• RADIO/AUDIO STREAM: The game can be heard on the radio at WBGU-FM 88.1, and the audio stream will be available, free of charge, at BGSUFalcons.com.
• LIVE STATS: Live stats will be accessable through BGSUFalcons.com or through UD's web site, DaytonFlyers.com.
• VIDEO STREAMING: Free live video streaming will also be available through DaytonFlyers.com.
The links to the audio, video and stats can be found at BGSUFalcons.com, in the 'schedule' section on the home page, or by accessing the women's basketball schedule and choosing the Dayton game.
HITTING THE ROAD (& HOPING IT DOESN'T HIT BACK)
The Falcons have enjoyed much success away from home, having gone 67-18 in true road games and 95-25 in road and neutral-site games combined over the last six seasons ... that success has not translated to the road opener as of late ... BGSU has lost the opening road game in each of the last three seasons, falling at Temple in 2008-09, #3-ranked Ohio State in '09-10 and Evansville last season ... the Falcons have a 5-5 record in road openers in the Curt Miller Era.
SUCCESS STARTS AT THE TOP
Head coach Curt Miller begins his second decade at the helm of the Falcons, having accomplished a great many things during his first 10 years ... entering the 2011-12 season, Miller is ranked 16th among all NCAA Division-I winningest active coaches (min. five years as a D-I head coach), with a winning percentage of .734 ... Miller is one of just two Mid-American Conference coaches listed among the top 50 (Kent State's Bob Lindsay, 47th, .637) ... Miller is ranked 17th on the list of winningest all-time Division-I coaches (min. 10 years as a D-I head coach).
AND THEN THERE WERE TWO: STABILITY BREEDS SUCCESS
A big reason for Bowling Green's women's basketball success has been the stability at the top ... the coaching staff – head coach Curt Miller, associate head coach Jennifer Roos, and assistant coaches Brandi Poole and Kevin Eckert – has been intact for 10 years ... Miller is in his 11th season at the helm of the Falcons ... Roos and Poole were on board during his initial season of 2001-02, with Eckert joining the staff in time for the 2002-03 campaign ... Bowling Green is one of just two NCAA Division-I women's basketball programs in the entire nation in which all four full-time coaches (head coach and three assistants) are in at least their 10th consecutive year at the school ... the list ...
LONGEST-TENURED NCAA DIVISION-I PROGRAMS
(All four coaches are in at least their 10th year with the school)
MONTANA – (Head Coach Robin Selvig – 34th season • Asst. Coach Annette Rocheleau – 31st season • Asst. Coach Shannon Schweyen – 20th season • Asst. Coach Trish Duce – 18th season)
BOWLING GREEN – (Head Coach Curt Miller – 11th season • Associate H.C. Jennifer Roos – 11th season • Asst. Coach Brandi Poole – 11th season • Asst. Coach Kevin Eckert – 10th season)
FALCON WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: 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.
• TELEVISION: Six of the Falcons' home games will be televised in the Toledo area on BCSN ... two additional games at the Stroh Center, along with one road contest, will be aired as the MAC Game of the Week by SportsTime Ohio ... the televised games can be found in the schedule on page 1 of these notes.
• VIDEO: All home games will be available via live video stream, through B2/America One, for a small fee ... fans can watch the action on their computers by visiting BGSUFalcons.com and clicking on the America One logo on the right-hand side of the page ... a number of the Falcons' road games also will have live video, at the jurisdiction of the host school, and the link(s) will be available at BGSUFalcons.com ... the video production for home games is courtesy of the campus television station, WBGU-TV.
• 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).
TOP EIGHT IN THE LAST FIVE
The NCAA has compiled its annual lists of the winningest Division-I teams over the last five years, and Bowling Green ranks in the top eight on both lists ... BGSU has won a total of 141 games, and the Falcons have won nearly 83 percent of the time over the last five seasons.
WINNINGEST TEAMS DURING PAST FIVE YEARS
(sorted by winning pct. – 2006-07 through 2010-11 seasons)
1. Connecticut 182 8 .958
2. Stanford 166 19 .897
3. Tennessee 158 22 .878
4. Green Bay 146 21 .874
5. Marist 147 24 .860
6. Duke 146 28 .839
7. BOWLING GREEN 141 29 .829
8. Xavier 134 31 .812
9. Baylor 141 34 .806
10. North Carolina 142 35 .802
WINNINGEST TEAMS DURING PAST FIVE YEARS
(sorted by total wins – 2006-07 through 2010-11 seasons)
1. Connecticut 182 8 .958
2. Stanford 166 19 .897
3. Tennessee 158 22 .878
4. Marist 147 24 .860
5. Green Bay 146 21 .874
Duke 146 28 .839
7. North Carolina 142 35 .802
8. BOWLING GREEN 141 29 .829
Baylor 141 34 .806
10. Texas A&M 140 36 .795
SPEAKING OF 'MID-MAJOR' ...
The Falcons were ranked sixth in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major preseason top-25 poll, released on Nov. 1 ... the 2011-12 season marks the second year the poll has been conducted ... the poll is the result of weekly voting by a panel of 31 head coaches from 'Mid-Major' schools.
BGSU TO APPEAR ON STO AT LEAST THREE TIMES IN 2011-12
The Falcons will be featured on SportsTime Ohio (STO) at least three times during the 2011-12 season ... BGSU's home games against Akron (Jan. 7) and Eastern Michigan (Jan. 22), as well as the Falcons' game at Toledo (Feb. 11), will be aired by the Cleveland-based network ... BG's three regular-season appearances are tied for the most by a MAC women's basketball team in '11-12 ... in addition to a 10-game regular-season women's hoops schedule, STO's coverage also will include the MAC Tournament semifinals (March 9) and championship (March 10).
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
The Falcons won a total of 12 games during the non-league portion of the schedule last winter ... the 2010-11 BGSU club broke the school – as well as the Mid-American Conference – record for non-league wins in a season ... the Falcons had never posted a double-digit non-conference win total prior to 2006-07, but BG now has done so in each of the last five seasons.
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS II
The Falcons, as mentioned, have posted a double-digit win total in non-conference play in five consecutive seasons, a MAC record ... in fact, no other MAC team has had more than two such years, consecutive or non-consecutive, in league history ... the complete list ...
10-WIN NON-CONFERENCE SEASONS, MAC TEAMS
No. School Years (Wins)
5 BGSU 2006-07 (11) // 2007-08 (11) // 2008-09 (11) // 2009-10 (10) // 2010-11 (12)
2 Eastern Michigan 2004-05 (10) // 2009-10 (10)
1 Kent State 2008-09 (11)
1 Toledo 2009-10 (10)
A FEW MORE NOTES RE: NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
• With a 12-1 record in non-conference play in 2010-11, BGSU posted a winning non-league record for the ninth-straight year ... BG is the only MAC school to have turned that trick.
• BGSU had not had as many as three consecutive winning seasons in over a decade (since 1991-92 to 1993-94), prior to beginning the current streak ... now, of course, the Falcons have posted nine-straight winning seasons in non-conference action, for the longest such streak in school history.
• The 2010-11 team was the fifth in six years to tie or break the school record for non-conference wins in a season ... BGSU's total of nine non-league wins in 2005-06 tied the school record, before the '06-07 team had 11 to set a new mark (and a MAC record as well) ... the '07-08 and '08-09 teams also had 11 non-league wins, while the 2009-10 team had 10 ... the Falcons have had at least seven non-league victories in each of the last nine seasons.
• BGSU has set new school records for non-league wins in a four-year and a five-year period ... BG has had 44 non-conference victories over the last four seasons, going 44-10 (.815) since the start of the 2007-08 season ... in the last five years, the Falcons have gone 55-12 (.821) in games prior to the start of the MAC schedule.
• Since the start of the 2002-03 season, BG is 85-26 (.766) in regular-season, non-league games, for the most wins and highest winning percentage of any MAC school in that time.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons return nine letterwinners, but only one starter, from last year's team that won 28 games, captured the MAC East Division and conference tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Championships ... BGSU finished the season with an overall mark of 28-5 ... the Falcons went 13-3 in MAC play, then posted three more wins in the MAC Tournament to earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships for the second-straight season and the fifth time in seven years ... BG went 14-1 at home (in the last season at venerable Anderson Arena), 10-3 on the road and 4-1 in neutral-site games.
• The Falcons lose the services of six seniors – Chelsea Albert, Maggie Hennegan, Tracy Pontius, Lauren Prochaska, Jen Uhl and Kelly Zuercher – from a year ago ... the five fourth-year players were part of 110 wins, the third highest total in school and MAC history ... that group combined for nearly 5,500 points, 2,400 rebounds and 1,000 assists during their time in the Brown and Orange.
• Head coach Curt Miller's starting lineup remained unchanged during all of last season ... four-fifths of that lineup, however, were part of the departed senior class.
• Miller and his staff have just one senior on the active roster this year ... that senior is tri-captain Jessica Slagle, who played in every game off the bench a season ago ... true junior Chrissy Steffen and redshirt junior Danielle Havel, both natives of Carmel, Ind., join Slagle as tri-captains.
• In addition to Slagle, there is one other fourth-year Falcon ... Maribeth Giese, however, has been medically disqualified, bringing an end to her playing career ... Giese will remain with the team in a support-staff role.
• The roster includes four juniors: Steffen, Havel, Simone Eli and Allison Papenfuss ... Miller's four sophomores include Jillian Halfhill, Jill Stein and Noelle Yoder ... additionally, Alexis Rogers suits up this season after sitting out last year per NCAA transfer regulations ... Rogers, who transferred from Duke University, retains three seasons of eligibility.
• The freshman class includes Deborah Hoekstra (East Lansing, Mich.), Kaila Hulls (Bloomington, Ind.), Jasmine Matthews (Matteson, Ill.), Shanique Ogle (Lorain, Ohio) and Logan Pastor (Uniontown, Ohio) ... Hulls suffered an injury in preseason practices, however, and likely will miss the entire season.
• All 12 active players scored at least two points in the team's exhibition-game win over Findlay on Nov. 1 ... in addition to Giese and Hulls, Eli was not in uniform for that game.
• BGSU led the nation in free-throw percentage last season, and the Falcons were also among the top-20 schools in three-point field goals per game (sixth), W-L percentage (11th), scoring margin (16th), fewest turnovers per game (20th) and three-point FG defense (20th).
BGSU TO HOST NCAA FIRST AND SECOND ROUNDS
BGSU's Stroh Center has been selected as one of 16 sites for the first and second rounds of the 2012 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship ... the venue will be the site of games on Sunday, March 18, and Tuesday, March 20, 2012 ... the 2011-12 season is the first year of operation for the Stroh Center, the new home for Falcon men's and women's basketball and volleyball ... Anderson Arena served as the site for NCAA first-round games in 1989, 1993 and 1994.
LAST TIME OUT
The Falcons dialed up the defensive intensity in the second half, riding a big run to a 72-45 win over Findlay in the team's lone exhibition game (Nov. 1) ... junior Chrissy Steffen led a balanced BGSU scoring attack with 12 points in the win at the Stroh Center, while redshirt junior Danielle Havel had nine points and a game-high 14 rebounds ... the Falcons outrebounded the Oilers by a 55-30 count ... all 12 BGSU players who saw action in the game made at least one field goal ... sophomore Noelle Yoder had eight points off the bench, while three teammates had seven points apiece ... that list included senior Jessica Slagle, redshirt sophomore Alexis Rogers and freshman Jasmine Matthews ... the Falcons, leading by a 35-24 score at the half, spotted the visitors two quick second-half baskets, including a three-point field goal, to cut the lead to just six points ... but, the Brown and Orange then held the Oilers without a hoop for a span of 14-and-a-half minutes ... after the visitors' Kayla Brown hit a layup off of a steal with 18:16 remaining, BGSU forced Findlay to miss 19 consecutive field-goal attempts ... BG's lead ballooned to 30 points before Lacey Kessler broke UF's drought with 3:48 remaining ... in addition to her 14 rebounds, Havel had a game-high total of four blocked shots on the night ... the Falcons' nine three-point field goals came from eight different players, with only freshman Deborah Hoekstra hitting more than one ... Hoekstra had six points in just seven minutes of action, going a perfect 2-of-2 from three-point land, while classmate Logan Pastor scored five points ... Pastor added four assists to tie for team honors, and she led the Brown and Orange with three steals.
A QUICK LOOK AT DAYTON
Dayton, coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, received votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today ESPN preseason polls ... the Flyers finished 21-12 last year, reaching the 20-win plateau for the fourth-straight season, and UD loses just one starter from that team ... the Flyers were picked to tie for the Atlantic 10 Conference title in the preseason coaches poll ... senior Justine Raterman, a first-team all-conference selection, is UD's top returning scorer with 16.1 points per game ... Raterman has been named to several preseason lists, including the Wooden Award preseason top-30 list ... additionally, she is one of 30 women's basketball players named a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award ... senior Casey Nance is second on the school's career blocks list, and classmate Patrice Lalor is seventh in UD history in assists, having led the team in that category in each of her first three seasons ... that trio was joined by senior De'Sarae Chambers and fifth-year senior Elle Queen in the starting lineup for the Flyers' lone exhibition, an 88-34 win over Northern Kentucky on Nov. 1 ... head coach Jim Jabir, beginning his ninth season with the Flyers, is the winningest coach in program history ... Jabir is 136-115 through his first eight seasons at UD ... the school's athletics web site is www.DaytonFlyers.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Dayton, 10-8, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU has won the last six meetings ... the teams have met only twice in the last 19 years, with both games coming in calendar year 2008 ... the Falcons captured a 64-52 victory at Anderson Arena in the WNIT on March 20, 2008 ... in the most recent matchup, the Brown and Orange downed the Flyers, 77-68, in the championship game of the Dayton Flyer Classic (Dec. 29, 2008) ... just one member of the current BGSU team, Jessica Slagle, saw action in that game ... for the Flyers, no fewer than five players on the '11-12 team played in that contest, combining for 41 of UD's 68 points ... Lalor, Nance and Raterman all started that game ... BG is 5-3 in home games and 4-5 in road contests (the site of one meeting is unknown) vs. the Flyers ... Curt Miller has a record of 2-0 against Dayton in his stellar BGSU career.
WE COULD GET USED TO THIS
Just six 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 prior to 2005 ... now, however, Curt Miller's Falcons have won at least 27 games in no fewer than five of the last six years – 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 games in '08-09, 27 more contests two years ago, and 28 games in 2010-11 ... in the last six seasons, BGSU has AVERAGED 28.2 wins per year.
THE FALCONS ARE/WERE ...
• 28-5 last season; after finishing with a 27-7 record the previous year;
• 13-3 in MAC play in 2010-11, having won a seventh-straight division title;
• 234-85 since Curt Miller took the BGSU helm in May of 2001;
• 121-39 in MAC games in that time:
• 225-66 overall in the nine 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);
• 213-50 over the last eight years, with 2010-11 marking BG's eighth-straight season of at least 20 wins;
• a staggering 192-40 in the past seven years, with no fewer than 23 wins in seven-straight seasons and a MAC regular-season title each year from 2004-10;
• an eye-popping 169-32 overall, and 86-10 in the MAC regular season, in the last six years, with at least 26 wins in each of those six years;
• a/an (insert your own adjective here) 141-29 in the last five years, including a 70-10 conference ledger;
• 110-25 overall, and 55-9 in MAC regular-season games, spanning the tenure of last season's fourth-year seniors, Chelsea Albert, Tracy Pontius, Lauren Prochaska, Jen Uhl and Kelly Zuercher;
• 84-17 overall and 42-6 in MAC action since senior Jessica Slagle and classmate Maribeth Giese ventured to NW Ohio;
• 55-12 overall and 27-5 in the MAC in the BGSU playing careers of juniors Simone Eli, Allison Papenfuss and Chrissy Steffen;
• 107-12 in the last 119 games vs. MAC foes (regular-season and tournament);
• A perfect 54-0 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field in the Miller Era;
• 189-10 when having a better FG pct. than the opposition in Miller's tenure, including a 61-0 mark in the last three seasons;
• 179-30 when making more free throws during Miller's first 10 years;
• 139-13 when outrebounding the opponent in the Miller Era;
• 51-5 in MAC home games in the last seven seasons;
• 42-6 in MAC road games over the last six years;
• 18-2 in the MAC Tournament in the last seven years, with five titles (2005, '06, '07, '10 and '11), an additional championship-game appearance (2009), and a trip to the semis in 2008;
• 42-16 overall in the MAC Tournament since it was instituted in 1982;
• 31-11 in MAC Tournament contests played at a neutral site;
• 20-4 at Gund/Quicken Loans Arena, the site of the MAC Tournament;
• 21-5 in MAC Tournament games in the Miller Era;
• 20-3 at "The Gund"/"The Q" under Miller;
• 35-3 in all non-conference home games since the start of the 2003-04 season;
• 31-2 against non-league foes at Anderson Arena over the venerable venue's final seven years (since November of 2004);
• 5-14 in 14 national postseason appearances (including a 3-11 record in the NCAA Championships and a 2-3 mark in WNIT trips); and
• 4-7 in national postseason action under Miller (including a 2-5 mark in the NCAAs and a 2-2 record in the WNIT).
UP NEXT
Following the Dayton game, the Falcons will open the Stroh Center Era with a game against nationally-ranked Purdue University on Thursday, Nov. 17 ... tipoff is 7:00 p.m. for the first women's basketball regular-season game in the history of the new arena.
BG WBB : Postgame Interviews 1.28
Thursday, January 29
BG WBB : Postgame Interviews 1.21
Thursday, January 22
BG WBB : Postgame Interviews 1.17
Sunday, January 18
BG WBB : Postgame Interviews 1.3
Saturday, January 03