BGSU Travels to Massachusetts for Midweek Matchup

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, riding a four-game winning streak, plays one more game before taking a break for the holidays ... the Falcons of head coach Jennifer Roos head to Amherst, Mass., for a Wednesday (Dec. 19) matchup with the University of Massachusetts ... tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. at the Mullins Center (9,493).

QUICK HITS
• Wednesday's game will be the first half of a college hoops doubleheader at the Mullins Center ... following the women's game, the UMass men's team will take on a Mid-American Conference foe, facing Ohio University in a game scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.

• BGSU will be looking to reach a program milestone on Wednesday night ... the Falcons are one win away from becoming the first MAC school with 700 overall wins ... BG enters Wednesday's game with an all-time record of 699-380, good for a winning percentage of 64.8% ... the Falcons have the most wins and highest winning percentage of any MAC program.

• The Falcons, after starting the year with a 3-3 record, have won four consecutive games, including a 79-69 win at the Stroh Center on Sunday afternoon (Dec. 16) ... each of BGSU's five starters scored in double digits, with two players reaching the 20-point plateau ... senior Chrissy Steffen had a game-high 21 points, while redshirt junior Alexis Rogers scored 20.

• The Falcons' total of 79 points tied a season high, and BGSU set new season bests for both field-goal percentage (50.0%) and three-point field-goal accuracy (57.1%) ... BG went 8-of-14 from long range, including a 7-for-10 performance from beyond the arc in the first half.

• Steffen is approaching a career milestone ... she now has a total of 973 points in 105 career games at BGSU ... the Carmel, Ind., native is looking to become the 25th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.

• The Wyoming contest marked the first time in just over a year that two Falcons scored 20 or more points in the same game ... Rogers (23) and Steffen (21) achieved that feat in last season's win at Youngstown State, on Dec. 6, 2011.

• Sunday's contest was the first time in nearly two calendar years that five Falcons scored in double figures in a game ... that had not happened since BGSU's 90-62 win over Central Michigan on Jan. 22, 2011, at venerable Anderson Arena.

• And, BGSU had not had all five starters reach double digits in the same game in over six years ... on Nov. 18, 2006, BGSU scored early and often in an 87-56 dismantling of Fairleigh Dickinson, with Ali Mann's 16 points leading the way ... Megan Thorburn (15), Liz Honegger (11), Kate Achter and Carin Horne (10 each) rounded out the starting lineup ... additionally, Amber Flynn scored 12 points off the bench in that win, which came at the UCF Tournament in Orlando, Fla.

• BGSU's game at UMass on Wednesday night will be the first time the teams have ever met in women's basketball ... in fact, the Falcons have never played a game in the state of Massachusetts.

• The Falcons are quite familiar with the Atlantic 10 Conference, however ... UMass will be the third of four A-10 opponents for BGSU this season ... the Brown and Orange lost to Temple, but defeated Butler, with both of those meetings coming at the Stroh Center ... following the UMass game, BG's next opponent will be nationally-ranked Dayton on Sunday, Dec. 30, at the Stroh.

• The Wyoming game ended a streak in which the Falcons held three consecutive opponents to fewer than 50 points ... BGSU won home games over Colorado State, 71-49 (Dec. 1), and Butler, 67-47 (Dec. 5), before allowing only 37 points at Northwestern (60-37, Dec. 9) ... the Falcons held the Wildcats off the scoreboard for over 10 minutes to start the game, and allowed NU to make only four field goals in the first half.

• The Falcons' defensive showing against NU, in terms of points allowed, was the team's best in nearly five years ... BG had not held an opponent to 37 points or fewer since a 78-36 win over UT Martin on Dec. 30, 2007 ... that win came in the Cyclone Shootout in Ames, Iowa.

• BGSU had not held three-straight opponents under 50 points for the first time in more than three decades ... the last such instance came when head coach Kathy Bole's Falcons held Adrian, Taylor and Lewis under the 50-point mark during a two-day span (Dec. 4-5, 1981).

• Rogers has scored 45 points over the last two games, with a game-high 25 at Northwestern and 20 more against Wyoming ... after missing the season opener vs. Madonna, she scored 43 points over the next seven games (5.9 ppg), before averaging 22.5 ppg in the last two contests.

• In that Northwestern game, Rogers scored nine of the game's first 10 points, and outscored the entire NU team in the first half, with 16 points before the break ... BG had a 28-15 halftime advantage.

• In fact, when Rogers hit a three-pointer to give her those 16 points with just over four minutes remaining in the first half, she was singlehandedly outscoring all of the other players on both teams combined ... that shot gave BGSU a 23-8 lead.

• Steffen is averaging 17.5 ppg over the last two contests, with 14 at Northwestern and a game-high 21 vs. UW ... Rogers and Steffen (39 points) combined to outscore the entire NU team on the afternoon.

• Junior point guard Jillian Halfhill has averaged an eye-popping 8.3 rebounds per game over the last four contests, all wins ... the 5-foot-6 Halfhill obliterated her previous career best with 13 boards against Colorado State ... she had five rebounds vs. Butler, eight at NU and seven more vs. Wyoming.

• Rogers will see a familiar face when the Falcons take the court in Amherst ... she and UMass sophomore Ronni Grandison both are from West Chester, Ohio, and both attended Lakota West High School.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the UMass game with a record of 7-3 on the season ... BGSU has won four games in a row to begin the month of December, starting with home victories over Colorado State (71-49; Dec. 1) and Butler (67-47; Dec. 5) ... the Brown and Orange then went on the road to record a third-straight win of 20-plus points, downing Northwestern, 60-37, in Chicagoland (Dec. 9) ... BG returned home to post a 79-69 win over Wyoming on Sunday (Dec. 16).

BGSU opened the 2012-13 campaign with a 68-57 win over Madonna at the Stroh (Nov. 10), then hit the road and bested Niagara, 79-74 (Nov. 15) ... BG then suffered back-to-back losses at Purdue (45-59; Nov. 19) and against Villanova, with the latter setback coming by a 53-42 score in Las Vegas (Nov. 24).

• The Brown and Orange bounced back with a 64-54 win over host UNLV (Nov. 25), before falling to Temple, 70-56, at the Stroh (Nov. 28) ... again, though, after losing to a Philadelphia Big Five school, the Falcons responded with a win over a Mountain West Conference foe, as BG topped CSU to begin the current four-game win streak.

• The Falcons are 4-1 at home, 3-1 on the road and 0-1 in neutral-site games this season to date ... BGSU has a scoring margin of +6.2, and the Falcons lead the MAC in rebounding margin, at +6.3.

• Individually, senior Chrissy Steffen paces a balanced Falcon scoring attack, with 12.0 points per game to date ... Steffen also averages 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest, and she leads the Brown and Orange with 18 successful three-point field goals this season ... the senior is shooting a team-best 48.8% from the floor.

• Steffen is one of eight Falcons averaging at least 4.1 points per game this year ... additionally, five of those eight players have averaged 4.0 or more rebounds.

• Redshirt junior Alexis Rogers and true junior Jillian Halfhill have 9.6 and 9.0 ppg, respectively ... Rogers has 5.7 rpg, good for second on the Falcons, and she leads BGSU in steals (1.4 spg) ... Halfhill has 5.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per contest, ranking second on the team in helpers and third in boards.

• Fifth-year senior Danielle Havel has 8.4 ppg, and leads the Falcons in a multitude of categories, including rebounds (6.4 rpg), assists (2.8 apg) and blocked shots (0.7) ... she also paces the Falcons in free-throw percentage (82.6%), is tied with Steffen for the team lead in three-point accuracy (39.1%) and ranks second in field-goal pct. (45.2%) ... she has three double-doubles on the young season, tops among Falcon players.

• Sophomore Jasmine Matthews has 6.2 ppg, while freshman Miriam Justinger averages 5.2 ppg ... Matthews is second on the Falcons in three-pointers made per game ... Justinger is 5-of-11 (45.5%) from three-point land and 21-of-27 (77.8%) from the free-throw line this year to date.

• Senior Allison Papenfuss and junior Jill Stein each have 4.1 ppg ... Stein has 4.0 rebounds per contest, while Papenfuss has 3.6 rpg ... Papenfuss was limited to just two minutes of action on Wyoming due to illness ... freshman Bailey Cairnduff averages 3.9 points per outing, and has made seven three-pointers this season to rank fifth on the Falcons.

• Each of the aforementioned nine players has scored in double digits at least once this season.

• Junior Katrina Salinas is averaging 2.1 ppg in her first season at BGSU, while sophomore Deborah Hoekstra has played in five games and is averaging 1.0 ppg.

• Halfhill, Havel and Steffen each have started all 10 games to date, while Rogers has made nine starts ... Cairnduff started the first four games of the season, while Matthews has been in the starting lineup in each of the last six contests.

• Head coach Jennifer Roos welcomed back nine letterwinners, including four starters, from a year ago ... the Brown and Orange went 24-7 overall and 14-2 in the MAC in 2011-12 ... two of those starters, Steffen and Rogers, were selected to the Preseason All-MAC Team in 2012-13.

• The Falcons are shooting .382 from the field, and BG is .333 from three-point range and .690 from the free-throw line through the first 10 games ... the opponents have shot .391 from the floor, .287 from beyond the arc and .705 from the stripe.

MILLENNIUM FALCON: STEFFEN EYES 1,000-POINT MARK
Senior Chrissy Steffen's 21-point game vs. Wyoming moved her ever closer to a career milestone ... Steffen now has a total of 973 points in 105 career games at BGSU ... the Carmel, Ind., native is looking to become the 25th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.

A QUICK LOOK AT UMASS
UMass has a record of 2-8 on the season ... the Minutewomen have been idle since a 71-59 road loss to Ole Miss on Dec. 8 ... Wednesday will be the team's first home game since Nov. 25 ... UMass has played three MAC teams to date, with both of the team's wins coming against the league in which BGSU resides ... the Minutewomen opened the season with a 30-point win over Kent State (83-53; Nov. 10), and UMass defeated Ohio in Athens (65-61; Nov. 29) ... the team is 1-3 at home and 1-5 on the road to date ... senior center Jasmine Watson has 14.3 points per game to lead the team, and she also has 6.7 rebounds per contest ... sophomore guard Emily Mitel and freshman guard Rashida Timbilla have 11.4 and 10.5 ppg, respectively ... Mitel has hit 24 three-point field goals to lead the team, while Timbilla is averaging a UMass-best 8.7 rpg ... head coach Sharon Dawley welcomed back eight letterwinners, including two starters, from the 2011-12 team ... last year, the Minutewomen went 8-21 overall and 3-11 in Atlantic 10 Conference play.

THE SERIES
BGSU and UMass have never met in women's basketball.

HONORARY MEMBERS OF THE ATLANTIC 10?
• Wednesday's opponent, UMass, is the third of four Atlantic 10 Conference opponents on the 2012-13 BGSU schedule ... the Falcons lost to Temple, but defeated Butler, with both of those games coming at home ... BG also will host nationally-ranked Dayton, with the UD game set for Dec. 30.

• In addition to the four A-10 foes, the Falcons' non-conference schedule includes three oppponents from the Mountain West Conference (UNLV, Colorado State and Wyoming); two from the Big Ten Conference (Purdue and Northwestern); and one each from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (Niagara), Big East Conference (Villanova) and Conference USA (UCF) ... BGSU also faced one school (Madonna) from the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference of the NAIA ... all of this, of course, is assuming none of these schools have changed conferences since these notes were completed.

THREE-MENDOUS!
The Falcons made 8-of-14 three-point field-goal tries against Wyoming ... BG was 7-for-9 to start the game, and hit 70.0% of the long-range attempts in the opening half ... senior Chrissy Steffen was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, while sophomore Jasmine Matthews was 3-of-4 from three-point land ... fifth-year senior Danielle Havel made two of her four triple tries.

BG WINNING THE BATTLE OF THE BOARDS
The Falcons have won the rebounding battle in eight of the season's first 10 games, and BGSU has pulled down at least six more boards than the opponent in each of those eight contests ... the Falcons have posted a double-digit advantage on the glass three times this season, including twice in the last four games (+17 vs. Colorado State, +11 vs. Butler) ... on the season, the Falcons have a MAC-best rebounding margin of +6.3.

UP NEXT
Following the UMass game, the Falcons will break for the holidays ... then, BGSU will face nationally-ranked Dayton on Sunday, Dec. 30, at the Stroh Center, beginning a season-long five-game homestand.

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