Bowling Green State University Athletics
Thursday, February 28
Bowling Green, OH
7:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
vs
Buffalo
Falcons Host Buffalo Thursday as Regular Season Winds Down
February 26, 2013 | Women's Basketball
BG battles Bulls in 7 p.m. start at the Stroh Center
LINKS
BGSU NOTES | BUFFALO NOTES
THURSDAY'S GAME: Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Tickets
KIDS ADMITTED FREE
All kids ages 12 and under will be admitted free to Thursday night's game ... kids must go to the ticket window to receive a free ticket, and all free tickets will be for sections 108, 109 and 110 ... this offer will be extended for all midweek men's and women's basketball games throughout the remainder of the season.
THE FALCONS AND THE MAC TOURNAMENT RACE
• If the regular season was over, the top half (actually, the top 58.3 percent) of the MAC Tournament seedings would look like this ...
| Seed | School | Record | Remaining Games (2/28, 3/3 & 3/6) |
| 1 | Toledo | 12-1 | @WMU, v EMU, v BSU |
| 2 | Ball State | 10-3 | @CMU, v WMU, @Toledo |
| 3 | Central Michigan | 10-3 | v Ball St, @NIU, @EMU |
| 4 | Akron | 9-4 | v Ohio, v Miami, @Buffalo |
| 5 | Miami | 8-5 | v Kent St, @Akron, @Ohio |
| 6 | Bowling Green | 8-5 | v Buffalo, v Ohio, @Kent St |
| 7 | Buffalo | 7-6 | @BGSU, v Kent St, v Akron |
• As it currently stands, the Falcons would be the tournament's sixth seed, and would host the number-11 seed, either Kent State or Ohio, in first-round action on Saturday, March 9.
• BGSU could finish as high as the second seed and as low as the eighth ... with three regular-season games remaining, there are numerous tournament scenarios, but in the event of a two-team tie, BG would win a tiebreaker with Central Michigan, Ball State, Buffalo (currently – could change after Thursday's meeting) and Eastern Michigan ... the Falcons would lose a two-team tiebreaker with Akron (by virtue of the Zips' better record within the East Division) and Western Michigan ... the MAC tiebreaker procedure can be found on page 18 of the PDF version of these notes.
QUICK HITS
• The Falcons moved into a tie for the MAC East Division lead last week, but then dropped back into a deadlock for second place ... BGSU, after a midweek win over Akron (74-61 at the Stroh Center on Feb. 20), lost to a hot-shooting Miami team, 76-61, in Oxford on Saturday (Feb. 23) ... MU's Courtney Osborn was 7-of-9 from three-point range en route to 33 points ... the RedHawks shot 55.8% for the game.
• BGSU junior Jillian Halfhill had a stellar game in defeat on Saturday ... Halfhill had a career-high 23 points vs. Miami, and also led the Falcons with seven rebounds ... she went 4-of-9 from three-point range, and very nearly had three more points, but it was ruled that a shot she made from near midcourt at the first-half buzzer did not count.
• The following few notes illustrate how successful BGSU has been over the last decade ... the Falcons are currently 8-5 in MAC play ... BG has not had more than five losses in conference action since the 2002-03 campaign.
• In fact, BGSU has 121 wins and just 20 losses in MAC games over the last eight-plus years ... no other conference school has fewer than 51 losses in that time.
• The Falcons' 15-point loss to Miami was the team's largest margin of defeat this season ... believe it or not, it also was BGSU's most lopsided loss to a MAC team in over five years, since a 68-47 setback at Ball State on Jan. 26, 2008.
• Miami becomes the first team to defeat BGSU twice in the same season since Eastern Michigan in the 2004-05 campaign ... the Eagles won both regular-season meetings that year, but the Falcons gained a measure of revenge in the MAC Tournament, earning a 77-57 win in the semifinal round en route to the first of three consecutive conference tourney championships.
• MU's totals of 76 points and nine successful three-pointers were season highs for a BGSU opponent ... the RedHawks' 55.8% field-goal percentage also was a season best for a Falcon foe, and Miami's 29 field goals made tied a season high.
• Senior Chrissy Steffen has moved into the top 20 on the BGSU career scoring list ... she currently has 1,156 career points as a Falcon ... Steffen is just eight points behind 19th-place Andrea Nordmann, who scored 1,164 points at BGSU from 1989-93.
• Steffen is tied for sixth in school history in three-point field goals made, having hit 170 long-distance shots in her career ... Steffen has matched Carin Horne's total (170 from 2003-07), and she is just three successful three-pointers away from fourth place.
• Steffen tied her season high with three steals in the Miami game (the seventh time she has had three steals this season), and she set a new career standard with three blocked shots vs. the RedHawks.
• In addition to her career-high total of 23 points, Halfhill tied her career best with seven field goals made vs. Miami ... she hit a season-high four three-pointers, just one away from matching her career high.
• With seven boards vs. MU, Halfhill led the Falcons in rebounding for the sixth time this season ... only senior Danielle Havel (nine) and junior Alexis Rogers (eight) have led BG in that category more often in 2012-13.
• Freshman Bailey Cairnduff had five rebounds, the highest total of her young career, in the Miami game ... four of those boards came at the offensive end.
• Through 26 games this season, the Falcons have held the opponent to fewer than 50 points on 10 occasions, setting a 'modern-day' record ... the school record is 12 such games, amassed by the 1973-74 team ... the '74-75 club kept 11 opponents under the 50-point mark ... the 2006-07 BG team held nine opponents to fewer than 50 points, en route to an appearance in the Sweet Sixteen.
• In 29 games at the Stroh Center, the Falcons have allowed the opponent to reach 70 points just twice ... last week (Feb. 20), Akron became the first MAC foe to surpass the 60-point mark against the Brown and Orange in 14 games in the building ... BG has allowed an average of 53.6 ppg in all games at the Stroh, and just 52.0 ppg in MAC games.
• At the offensive end, the Falcons have a record of 17-2 when scoring 60 or more points this year ... BG is 0-7 when the offense is held under the 60-point plateau.
• The Falcons' conference opponents have averaged just 51.3 points per game over the first 13 league games.
• All 11 Falcons who have seen action this season have scored in double figures at least once ... nine of those 11 players have hit double digits more than once ... and, no fewer than 10 different players have led BGSU in scoring in at least one game this season.
FALCONS VS. THE MAC
The Falcons, entering the Buffalo game, continue to own the best record in MAC history ... BGSU has an all-time record of 370-152 (.709) 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 (709) and highest overall winning percentage (.647) of any conference women's basketball-playing institution.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Buffalo game with an overall record of 17-9 on the season ... BGSU is 8-5 in the MAC, and the Falcons are a game behind Akron in the East Division race ... the Falcons are tied with Miami for second place in the division, with fourth-place UB a game behind BG and MU.
• BGSU is coming off a 76-61 loss at Miami on Saturday (Feb. 23) ... the RedHawks set BG opponent season highs in points, field goal percentage and three-point field goals made ... prior to that game, BG had won four of five games, including a 74-61 win over the Zips at the Stroh Center last Wednesday (Feb. 20) ... after seeing a two-game winning streak come to an end with a 55-54 loss at Western Michigan (Feb. 10), the Brown and Orange went to the MAC's "West Coast" and came away with a 60-49 win at Northern Illinois (Feb. 16) ... prior to the WMU game, the Falcons had picked up wins at home against then MAC-leading Central Michigan (84-59, Feb. 3) and on the road vs. Buffalo (61-56, Feb. 7).
• BG's eight MAC wins have come by a total of 161 points, an average of 20.1 points per game ... only three wins (UB, NIU and Akron) have been by fewer than 14 points ... the team's five league losses have been by a combined total of 34 points (6.8 ppg), with three of those setbacks coming by five points or fewer.
• In addition to the aforementioned victories, the Falcons' other MAC wins have come against Kent State, Ball State, Ohio and Eastern Michigan ... BG's MAC losses were to Toledo, Miami twice, Akron and WMU.
• The Falcons are 9-4 at home, 8-4 on the road and 0-1 in neutral-site games this season to date ... BGSU has a scoring margin of +8.2 and a rebounding margin of +4.1 ... in league play, BG is 4-2 at home and 4-3 in hostile venues.
• Individually, senior Chrissy Steffen and redshirt junior Alexis Rogers pace a balanced Falcon scoring attack ... Steffen is averaging 11.7 points per game, with Rogers scoring at a 10.8 ppg clip.
• Steffen leads the Falcons with 16 double-digit scoring games this season ... after being held in single digits for five consecutive games to begin MAC play, she then scored at least 10 points in seven-straight contests before being held to four points at MU Saturday ... Rogers has hit double figures in scoring 13 times this year.
• Rogers has a team-leading 6.2 rebounds per game, and also tops the Falcons in steals, with 2.0 spg ... Steffen averages 4.2 rpg along with 1.5 assists per contest, and she leads the Brown and Orange with 44 successful three-point field goals this season ... Steffen is shooting a team-best 85.1 percent from the free-throw line, and leads the MAC in that category ... she has gone 57-of-67 from the stripe.
• Junior Jillian Halfhill has 9.0 ppg along with a team-leading 3.3 assists per contest ... the 5-6 point guard also has 4.9 rebounds per game, good for third on the team ... Halfhill is third in the MAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.6) ... she led the Falcons in scoring and rebounding at MU, with a career-high 23 points along with seven boards.
• Rogers and Halfhill, like Steffen, each are ranked among the MAC leaders in free-throw percentage ... Rogers is 11th in the league (75.0%), while Halfhill is 13th (70.3%).
• Fifth-year senior Danielle Havel has 7.4 ppg, and is near the top of the team lists in numerous categories ... Havel is second on the Falcons in both rebounds (5.5 rpg) and assists (2.1 apg), and she is also second on the team in blocked shots ... Havel has a BG-best four games with 10 or more rebounds this season to date ... she is shooting a team-best 47.2% from the field.
• Halfhill and Havel have hit 27 and 23 three-pointers, respectively, this year ... Havel is shooting 44.2% from long range.
• Freshman Miriam Justinger averages 5.3 ppg, and is shooting 79.1% from the free-throw line this year, having gone 34-of-43 ... sophomore Jasmine Matthews, who has missed 12 of the 13 MAC games due to injury, has 5.5 ppg ... both Justinger and Matthews have hit 17 three-point field goals this season, tying for fifth on the team.
• Freshman Bailey Cairnduff has 4.7 points per game and has knocked down 19 three-pointers ... BGSU's two post players off the bench, junior Jill Stein and senior Allison Papenfuss, have 4.2 and 3.6 ppg, respectively.
• Stein has 4.2 rebounds per contest, while Papenfuss has 3.4 rpg ... Stein leads the Falcons with a total of 18 blocked shots, while Havel has 15 and Papenfuss 12.
• Junior Katrina Salinas is averaging 2.7 ppg this season, while sophomore Deborah Hoekstra has 2.5 ppg ... Salinas has made 12 triples and Hoekstra eight this season.
• Each of the aforementioned 11 players has scored in double digits at least once this season, and 10 of the 11 have led BGSU in the scoring column in at least one game in 2012-13.
• Seven players have seen action in all 26 games ... that list includes Halfhill, Havel, Justinger, Papenfuss, Salinas, Steffen and Stein ... Rogers has played in 25 games, with Cairnduff seeing action in 23, Hoekstra 19 and Matthews 13 ... senior Simone Eli has been sidelined due to injury and has yet to see game action this season.
• Halfhill, Havel and Steffen each have started all 26 games this winter, while Rogers has made 25 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 has been among the starting five for each of the Falcons' 13 MAC games.
• In MAC play, BGSU's scoring is quite balanced, as six players are averaging at least 5.9 points per game, but only two Falcons have more than 8.5 ppg ... Steffen leads that scoring list at 10.7 ppg, followed by Rogers (10.5 ppg), Halfhill (8.5 ppg), Havel (7.2 ppg), Cairnduff (6.0 ppg) and Justinger (5.9 ppg) ... each of the other five Falcons are averaging between 3.0 and 4.4 ppg in MAC action (aka #MACtion) ... Halfhill has 3.9 assists per contest and a league-best 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio in MAC play ... Rogers has 5.8 rebounds per game and Havel 5.5 against conference foes, while Stein has 4.6 rpg ... Rogers is shooting 51.8% from the field, with Havel hitting 51.4% of her shots ... Cairnduff is third in the entire conference with a three-point field-goal percentage of 40.0% in league play ... she has gone 12-of-30 from long range vs. MAC foes ... Havel is shooting 52.2% (12-of-23) from three-point range, a percentage which would lead the league, but she is just one three-pointer shy of the minimum standard required to qualify for the league rankings ... all 11 players are averaging at least 9.9 minutes played against conference competition.
• The Falcons are shooting 38.7% from the field, and BG is 32.6% from three-point range and 72.0% from the free-throw line through the first 26 games ... the opponents have shot 38.1% from the floor, 28.3% from beyond the arc and 67.8% from the stripe.
• In MAC action, BGSU is shooting 39.5% from the floor, 32.4% from long range and 71.4% from the line ... the opponents have a field-goal pct. of 37.3%, a three-point rate of 27.6% (59-of-214) and a free-throw pct. of 68.0% in league play.
A QUICK LOOK AT BUFFALO
Buffalo has a record of 9-17 on the season, and the Bulls are 7-6 in MAC action ... UB has already matched the overall win total for all of last season, and the Bulls have nearly doubled last year's MAC victory total with three league games remaining ... the Bulls are coming off a 21-point road win over the weekend, having held Ohio to just 35 points ... the Bulls are 4-8 at home, 5-8 on the road and 0-1 in neutral-site games this year to date ... in MAC play, UB is 3-3 at Alumni Arena and 4-3 away from home ... redshirt junior forward Cherridy Thornton leads the team in scoring, with 11.8 points per game, while freshmen Mackenzie Loesing and Rachael Gregory each average 10.7 ppg ... Gregory, however, is out for the remainder of the season due to injury ... Thornton has 4.4 rebounds per game, while Loesing has 4.0 rpg and has a team-leading 33 three-point field goals made ... sophomore posts Kristen Sharkey and Christa Baccas have 8.2 and 7.5 ppg, respectively ... Sharkey has 5.9 rpg, while Baccas leads the team with 8.7 rpg and leads the entire MAC with 2.4 blocked shots per game ... Baccas, Loesing and Sharkey were joined by senior guard Nicki Hopkins (2.3 ppg) and junior guard Margeaux Gupilan (5.6 ppg, a team-leading 4.0 assists per game) in the starting lineup for the Ohio game ... first-year head coach Felisha Legette-Jack inherited nine letterwinners, including just one starter (the injured Nytor Longar), from last year's club ... the 2011-12 Bulls went 9-22 overall and 4-12 in MAC play.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Buffalo, 21-5, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU has won the last 17 meetings ... in this season's first meeting, the Falcons captured a narrow 61-56 decision at UB's Alumni Arena (Feb. 7, 2013) ... last year's games saw the Brown and Orange pick up a 79-59 win in Western New York (Jan. 15, 2012) and a 62-52 victory at the Stroh Center exactly one month later (Feb. 15, 2012) ... BGSU is 9-2 in home games, 11-3 in road contests and 1-0 in neutral-site meetings vs. the Bulls over the years ... Jennifer Roos has a record of 1-0 vs. Buffalo as a collegiate head coach.
UP NEXT
Following the Buffalo game, the Falcons will close the home portion of the regular-season schedule by facing Ohio on Sunday (March 3) at the Stroh Center ... tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m., and 'Senior Day' recognition ceremonies will take place prior to the game ... then, BG will wrap up the regular-season schedule with a March 6 matchup at Kent State ... the MAC Tournament begins with first-round games at campus sites on Saturday, March 9.
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