Falcons Begin Conference Road Play with Sunday Game at Ohio

Sunday, January 20

Athens, OH

2:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Ohio

Tickets

January 19, 2013 | Women's Basketball

BGSU, Bobcats meet in 2 pm start in Athens

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Alexis Rogers v Toledo - Kara Fallon photo

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, for the first time in a month, takes to the road ... the Falcons of head coach Jennifer Roos travel to Athens to face Ohio University in Mid-American Conference action Sunday afternoon (Jan. 20) ... tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at the Convocation Center (13,168).

BGSU NOTES - PDF

QUICK HITS
• Sunday's game will be the first road contest for the Falcons in a month and a day ... BG played at Massachusetts on Dec. 19, posting a 64-61 win, before beginning a season-long five-game homestand ... starting with Sunday's game, the Brown and Orange will play six of the next eight contests on the road.

• That five-game homestand saw the Falcons outscore the opponents by an average of 15.8 points per game ... BG, however, went 3-2 in those five games ... all three wins on the homestand came by at least 25 points.

• On Wednesday night (Jan. 16), the Falcons got off to a fast start en route to a 73-42 win over Ball State at the Stroh Center ... BG held the Cardinals without a field goal for nearly 12 minutes to start the game, and an early 19-0 run gave the Brown and Orange a 21-2 lead ... BSU never got closer than 15 points the rest of the way.

• Redshirt junior Alexis Rogers scored a game-high 17 points vs. BSU, including 10 in the first half ... Rogers made her first five field-goal attempts of the night, and went 8-of-10 for the game ... her 17 points came in just 18 minutes of action.

• Senior Allison Papenfuss joined Rogers in double figures for the Falcons, with her total of 12 points falling just one shy of her career high ... Papenfuss, who led all BG players with 27 minutes played against the Cardinals, also had seven rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.

• Junior Jillian Halfhill dished out a career-high nine assists in just 19 minutes, and did not commit a turnover in Wednesday night's win ... Halfhill's previous career best was five assists, but she had matched that total with over seven minutes remaining in the first half of the BSU game.

• Another junior, Jill Stein, had a game-high nine rebounds as the Falcons held a 47-30 advantage on the glass ... Stein, who had nine boards for the second time in three games, leads BGSU with 6.7 rebounds per game in MAC play ... she also had two assists and three blocked shots to tie her career bests in both categories.

• Sophomore Deborah Hoekstra scored eight points and grabbed a career-high five rebounds vs. the Cardinals ... Hoekstra, who scored a total of five points during the non-conference schedule, has 20 points (6.7 ppg) in the Falcons' three MAC games.

• All 10 Falcons who saw action in the Ball State game scored at least three points, with each of the 10 pulling down one or more rebounds.

• The Falcons got 34 points from the bench, tied for the third-highest total of the season, vs. BSU ... in the three MAC games to date, BGSU has enjoyed an 82-22 advantage in bench scoring.

• BGSU's defense has been solid, to say the least, in the first three MAC games ... the Falcons are allowing just 41.0 ppg in league play, and BG has allowed the foes – Kent State, Toledo and BSU – to shoot a combined 27.7 percent from the field.

• The Falcons, after shooting just 22.4% from the field in the Toledo game, more than doubled that percentage, shooting 47.3% vs. the Cardinals ... BG went 10-of-15 from the floor to start the game, and the Falcons shot 53.1% in the first half to open up a 38-19 lead at the intermission.

• Hoekstra and junior Katrina Salinas tied for team honors with 12 points apiece – the most of their respective BGSU careers – in the Kent State game ... all 11 of the BGSU players who have seen action this season have hit double digits in the scoring column at least once in 2012-13.

• The 60-point mark has proven to be a barometer of BGSU's success in the season's first 16 games ... the Falcons have a record of 11-0 when scoring 60 or more points this year, and BG is 0-5 when the offense is held under the 60-point mark.

• Last year, the Falcons went 14-2 in MAC play en route to posting the league's best regular-season record for the seventh time in eight seasons ... one of those two losses, however, came at the hands of Ohio ... despite a 24-point, 16-rebound game from Rogers, the Bobcats picked up a 60-56 win at the Convocation Center ... the home team got eight points from Tenishia Benson in the final 2:08 of the game.

• Sunday's (Jan. 13) BG-UT game drew a crowd of 3,327, the highest total for a BGSU women's basketball game in the brief history of the Stroh Center ... the highest attendance for a women's basketball event at the Stroh is 4,205 for the first round of the 2012 NCAA Championships (March 18, 2012), when Ohio State played Florida and Baylor took on UC-Santa Barbara ... the second-round game between Florida and Baylor (March 20, 2012) saw 4,097 walk through the Stroh Center doors.

DOING IT WITH DEFENSE
• BGSU held Ball State to just 42 points on Wednesday night ... in the season's first 16 games, BG has held the opposition to fewer than 60 points 11 times ... that includes seven games of less than 50 points, including all three MAC games to date ... and, in two contests – a 60-37 win at Northwestern and a 69-33 victory over Kent State – the Falcons did not allow the opponent to reach 40 points.

• On Dec. 1, the Falcons held Colorado State to just four successful field goals in the first half ... that marked the lowest FGM total for a BG opponent in a half in five years ... beginning with that CSU game, however, the Falcons held an opponent to just four field goals in a half four times in the next eight games.

• The Falcons allowed KSU to hit two field goals in the first 1:47 of that contest ... but, BG then permitted the Flashes to make just two more buckets over the final 18-plus minutes of the half.

• In fact, the BGSU defense held Kent State without a field goal for a stretch of 15:03 ... after KSU's Ashley Evans made a three-pointer with 9:42 left in the first half, the Flashes would not make another basket until 14:39 remained in the game.

• BG also held UT without a hoop for a lengthy stretch in the middle of that game ... the Rockets did not score a point for a span of 6:45, including the last 2:53 of the opening half and the first 3:52 of the second period.

• And, in the Ball State game, the Cardinals missed 16-straight field-goal attempts to start the game, before finally making a basket with 8:06 left before halftime.

• The Falcons have held four teams – Northwestern, nationally-ranked Dayton, KSU and BSU – to less than 30% shooting over the last eight games.

FALCONS VS. THE MAC
The Falcons, entering the Ohio game, continue to own the best record in MAC history ... BGSU has an all-time record of 364-148 (.711) in MAC regular-season contests, for 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 ... BG also has the most overall wins (703) and highest overall winning percentage (.648) of any conference women's basketball-playing institution.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Ohio game with an overall record of 11-5 on the season ... BGSU is 2-1 in the MAC after a 73-42 win over Ball State on Wednesday night (Jan. 16) at the Stroh Center ... after going undefeated in the month of December, the Falcons are 2-2 in January, losing by a 59-56 count to UCF in the final conference game (Jan. 4), before opening MAC play with a 69-33 win over Kent State (Jan. 10) ... BG then dropped a 48-38 decision to Toledo on Sunday (Jan. 13) before bouncing back with the 31-point win over BSU.

• The loss to UCF snapped a six-game winning streak which coincided with the month of December ... the Falcons capped that win streak with a 65-40 win over #14/15 Dayton (Dec. 30).

• BG had begun the month with home victories over Colorado State (71-49; Dec. 1) and Butler (67-47; Dec. 5) ... the Brown and Orange then recorded 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 (Dec. 16), and won a 64-61 decision at Massachusetts (Dec. 19) prior to breaking for the holidays.

• 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 aforementioned six-game win streak.

• The Falcons are 7-3 at home, 4-1 on the road and 0-1 in neutral-site games this season to date ... BGSU has a scoring margin of +9.0, and the Falcons lead the MAC in rebounding margin, at +5.0.

• Individually, senior Chrissy Steffen paces a balanced Falcon scoring attack, with 11.3 points per game ... Steffen also averages 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest, and she leads the Brown and Orange with 25 successful three-point field goals this season ... the senior is shooting a team-best 43.4% from the floor.

• Redshirt junior Alexis Rogers and true junior Jillian Halfhill have 10.7 and 9.0 ppg, respectively ... Rogers has a team-leading 6.4 rpg, and she also leads BGSU in steals (2.2 spg) ... Halfhill has 4.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest, leading the team in helpers and ranking third in boards.

• Fifth-year senior Danielle Havel has 6.9 ppg, and is near the top of the team lists in numerous categories ... she is second on the Falcons in both rebounds (5.1 rpg) and assists (2.3 apg), and she is tied for the team lead in blocked shots ... Havel is second on the Falcons in field-goal pct. as well as steals.

• Sophomore Jasmine Matthews has 5.5 ppg, while freshman Miriam Justinger averages 4.9 ppg ... Matthews, who has missed two of the three MAC games to date, is second on the Falcons in three-pointers, having hit 17 long-range attempts on the season ... Justinger is 9-of-21 (42.9%) from three-point land and 29-of-36 (80.6%) from the free-throw line this year to date ... she is second on the team in FT pct., trailing only Steffen (82.1%).

• Senior Allison Papenfuss and junior Jill Stein have 4.7 and 3.8 ppg, respectively, this season ... Stein has 4.4 rebounds per contest, while Papenfuss has 3.8 rpg ... both players have a total of 11 blocked shots, tying them with Havel for the team lead in that department.

• A pair of newcomers, junior Katrina Salinas and freshman Bailey Cairnduff, are averaging 3.0 points apiece, and each player has hit seven three-pointers this season to tie for sixth on the Falcons ... sophomore Deborah Hoekstra has played in nine games and is averaging 2.8 ppg ... Hoekstra and Salinas each had 12 points to share game scoring honors against Kent State, and Hoekstra has 20 points in the three MAC games.

• Each of the aforementioned 11 players has scored in double digits at least once this season.

• Seven players have seen action in all 16 games this year ... that list includes Halfhill, Havel, Justinger, Papenfuss, Salinas, Steffen and Stein ... Rogers has played in 15 games, with Cairnduff and Matthews seeing action in 13 and Hoekstra nine ... senior Simone Eli is currently sidelined due to injury and has yet to see game action this season.

• Halfhill, Havel and Steffen each have started all 16 games to date, while Rogers has made 15 starts ... Cairnduff started the first four games of the season, while Matthews was in the starting lineup for each of the next nine contests ... Justinger made her first collegiate start in the KSU game, and also was in the starting five vs. both Toledo and Ball State.

• In MAC play, BGSU's scoring is incredibly balanced, as seven players are averaging at least 5.7 ppg, but no Falcon has more than 8.7 points per game ... Rogers leads that list, with Papenfuss averaging 8.0 ppg and Justinger and Salinas 7.3 ppg apiece ... Halfhill has 7.0 ppg and 5.0 assists per contest in MAC play ... Stein leads the Falcons with 6.7 rebounds per game against conference foes, while Papenfuss has 6.0 rpg and Rogers 5.3 ... Papenfuss is shooting 52.6% from the field, having gone 10-for-19 in league action.

• 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.

• Havel, Rogers and Steffen each started all 31 games a year ago, while Matthews made 21 starts as a freshman ... Halfhill played in all 31 games last year, starting the first 10.

• The Falcons are shooting .379 from the field, and BG is .321 from three-point range and .723 from the free-throw line through the first 16 games ... the opponents have shot .369 from the floor, .271 from beyond the arc and .670 from the stripe.

• In MAC action, BGSU is shooting .384 from the floor, .294 from long range and .717 from the line ... the opponents have a field-goal percentage of just .277, a three-point rate of only .189 (10-of-53) and a free-throw pct. of .643 in league play.

A QUICK LOOK AT OHIO
Ohio has a record of 5-10 on the season, and the Bobcats are 0-3 in MAC play following Thursday's (Jan. 17) 78-56 loss at Miami ... Ohio has also faced Buffalo and Akron in league action, falling to the Zips at home and the Bulls on the road ... overall, Ohio is 3-4 at home, 2-5 on the road and 0-1 in neutral-site games to date ... individually, freshman guard Kiyanna Black leads the team in scoring, with 12.5 points per game ... junior guards Erin Bailes and Shavon Robinson have 9.8 and 9.5 ppg, respectively, while freshman forward Alex'ie Baldwin has 6.4 ppg and a team-leading 6.2 rebounds per contest ... the Bobcats have been hit hard by injuries this season, and added one student-athlete each from the volleyball and field hockey teams to the roster this week ... those players – Ashley Jordan and Laura Mastro – were among eight Bobcats to see action in the Miami game on Thursday ... head coach Semeka Randall welcomed back nine letterwinners, including three starters, from last year's club ... the 2011-12 Bobcats went 14-18 overall 6-10 in MAC play.

THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Ohio, 51-21, in the all-time series between the teams, but the Bobcats won the most recent meeting ... late last season, Tenishia Benson scored eight points in the final 2:08 of the game to key the Bobcats' 60-56 win over the Falcons (Feb. 22, 2012) ... that was one of just two MAC losses for BGSU last year, and it also marked the Falcons' first loss in Athens in a decade ... prior to last season, BG had won seven consecutive games at 'The Convo' since a 74-68 win in the first round of the 2002 MAC Tournament ... in last year's first matchup, the Falcons came away with a 61-49 win at the Stroh Center (Jan. 12, 2012) ... Ohio's win in the return match snapped an eight-game series winning streak for the Brown and Orange ... BGSU is 29-5 in home games, 19-14 in road contests and 3-2 in neutral-site meetings vs. the 'Cats through the years ... Jennifer Roos is meeting Ohio for the first time as a collegiate head coach.

UP NEXT
Following the Ohio game, the Falcons will return home to face Miami on Thursday night (Jan. 24), with tipoff set for 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center ... then, the Brown and Orange will play five of the next six games on the road, beginning with a game at Eastern Michigan on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 27.