Bowling Green State University Athletics
Thursday, February 7
Buffalo, NY
7:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
at
Buffalo
BGSU celebrates a second-half 'and-one' basket by Chrissy Steffen (not pictured) in Sunday's win over CMU. The Falcons head to Buffalo for a Thursday matchup with the Bulls (The Blade/Andy Morrison)
Photo by: The Blade/Andy Morrison
Three-Game Road Swing Begins with a Trip to Buffalo
February 05, 2013 | Women's Basketball
BGSU, Bulls are tied for second in the East Division at the midway point
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team takes to the road for three consecutive Mid-American Conference games, beginning with a midweek contest in Western New York ... the Falcons of head coach Jennifer Roos, in the midst of a stretch of five road contests in a six-game span, face the University at Buffalo on Thursday night (Feb. 7), with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Alumni Arena (6,100).
LINKS
BGSU Notes | Buffalo Notes | BGSU Media Guide | BGSU-Central Michigan Highlights
THURSDAY'S GAME: Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Tickets
QUICK HITS
• The Falcons are coming off an impressive win ... BGSU knocked off Central Michigan by an 84-59 final on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 3) at the Stroh Center ... the Chippewas had been the MAC's lone unbeaten team, with a 7-0 league record entering the game.
• Sunday marked the second time this season that BGSU defeated a team ranked among the top 50 in the RPI by 25 points ... the Falcons downed Dayton (ranked #14/15 in the polls and #6 in the RPI at the time) by a 65-40 score on Dec. 30 at the Stroh ... that remains UD's only loss of the season, as the Flyers are 19-1 heading into a Thursday (Feb. 7) game ... CMU was 50th in the RPI prior to Sunday.
• The Falcons posted season bests in points scored and field-goal percentage against CMU ... BGSU shot 55.4 percent from the field en route to those 84 points ... the Falcons' total of 31 field goals made also was a season best.
• Senior Chrissy Steffen scored a game-high 19 points, pacing four double-digit scorers for the Brown and Orange ... junior Jillian Halfhill and freshman Bailey Cairnduff scored 14 points apiece, while redshirt junior Alexis Rogers had 13.
• BGSU shot nearly 67% from the field in the second half, with the team's 18-of-27 effort including a 7-for-10 (70%) half from three-point land ... the Falcons made their last six three-point attempts of the game ... BG was 10-of-18 (55.6%) from long range on the afternoon.
• The Falcons hit five of those six consecutive treys during a span of less than three minutes in the second half ... Cairnduff and junior Katrina Salinas each had two triples in that span, with Salinas also hitting a layup during that flurry ... Cairnduff and Salinas combined to go a perfect 6-for-6 from three-point range on Sunday.
• Cairnduff, a native of Morley, Mich., set a career best with her four successful three-pointers on Sunday ... after making a total of seven treys during her first 13 games, she has gone 9-of-14 (64.2%) from long range over the last five contests ... Cairnduff leads the entire league in three-point FG percentage in MAC games (52.9%; 9-of-17).
• Cairnduff's three highest-scoring games of the season have come against teams from her home state ... her 14-point output came seven days after she scored a career-high 18 points in her first collegiate game played in Michigan, a 61-47 win at Eastern Michigan (Jan. 27) ... Cairnduff, who had 12 points against Madonna in her collegiate debut (Nov. 10, 2012), is averaging 14.7 ppg vs. Michigan foes.
• Cairnduff scored 35 points during non-conference play ... in MAC games, she has 51 points to date ... Cairnduff leads the team in points per minute during conference play, and she is averaging 18.9 points per 40 minutes in MAC action.
• Steffen's scoring output vs. CMU marked her second-straight game with 19 points ... she now has 1,097 career points at BGSU, ranking her 21st on the school's career scoring list ... Steffen moved past Judit Lendvay (1,078 points from 1989-93) ... her next target is 20th-place Stefanie Wenzel, who scored 1,099 points at BGSU from 2000-04.
• Steffen hit three three-point field goals vs. the Chippewas, and now has made 159 in her career ... that total is good for ninth in BGSU history ... Steffen is one behind eighth-place Angie Farmer, who connected on 160 three-pointers from 1997-2001.
• Through 21 games this season, the Falcons have held the opponent to fewer than 50 points on nine occasions, tying the '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 also held nine opponents to fewer than 50 points, en route to an appearance in the Sweet Sixteen.
• The 60-point mark has been a pretty good barometer in determining BGSU's success this season ... the Falcons have a record of 14-1 when scoring 60 or more points this year ... BG is 0-6 when the offense is held under the 60-point plateau.
• The Falcons had five 'and-one' buckets in Sunday's game ... BGSU had four three-point plays and one four-point play in the win over CMU ... Steffen was responsible for two of those buckets, including a three-point shot while being fouled early in the second half, while Halfhill hit an 'and-one' shot in each half ... Rogers also converted an old-fashioned three-point play in the win.
• The Falcons and CMU tied, 32-32, in the rebounding department ... BGSU has been outrebounded just twice in the last 15 games, and only four times all season.
• BGSU had 19 assists in Sunday's game, with four players dishing out at least three apiece ... Halfhill led the way with five, while Steffen and freshman Miriam Justinger had four each and junior Jill Stein three ... for both Justinger and Stein, those totals represented career highs ... each of Stein's three assists came on a Cairnduff three-pointer.
• All 11 Falcons who have seen action this season have scored in double figures at least once ... no fewer than 10 different players have led BGSU in scoring in at least one game this season.
• In the eight MAC games to date, BGSU has enjoyed a 175-84 advantage in bench scoring, an average of 21.9 bench points per game for the Falcons compared with 10.5 ppg for the foes.
• The Falcons have displayed impressive balance during the conference portion of the schedule ... this balance is evident in a glance at the MAC-only statistics (see page 15 of these notes) ... only two players are averaging more than eight points per game in league games (Rogers and Steffen, at 10.8 and 10.0 ppg, respectively), but eight BG players are averaging at least 4.6 ppg ... all 11 BG players who have seen action have 2.4 ppg or more in conference play.
• The Falcons' conference opponents have averaged just 49.4 points per game and shot only 34.4 percent from the field over the first eight games.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Buffalo game with an overall record of 14-7 on the season ... BGSU is 5-3 in the MAC at the midway point of the conference schedule ... the Falcons are coming off a 25-point win, 84-59, over MAC-leading Central Michigan at the Stroh Center.
• BG's five MAC wins have come by a total of 132 points, an average of 26.4 points per game ... the three losses have been by a combined total of 18 points (6.0 ppg).
• In addition to Central Michigan, the Falcons' other MAC wins have come against Kent State, Ball State, Ohio and Eastern Michigan ... both CMU and BSU are currently 7-1 in league play, with the lone loss coming to the Falcons ... BG's MAC losses have come to Toledo, Miami and Akron ... BG fell to UA last Thursday (Jan. 31), 68-63, in Northeast Ohio, for just the Zips' third victory over the Falcons in 51 series meetings.
• After going undefeated in the month of December, the Falcons finished January with a 4-4 record... BG lost, 59-56, to UCF in the final non-conference game (Jan. 4), before opening MAC play with a 69-33 win vs. KSU (Jan. 10) ... BG then dropped a 48-38 decision to UT (Jan. 13) but bounced back with wins over BSU and Ohio by a combined 57 points ... then, however, BG lost two of the next three games, falling to MU and UA.
• The Falcons are 8-4 at home, 6-2 on the road and 0-1 in neutral-site games this season to date ... BGSU has a scoring margin of +9.6 and a rebounding margin of +4.7 ... in league play, BG is 3-2 at home and 2-1 in hostile venues.
• Individually, senior Chrissy Steffen and redshirt junior Alexis Rogers pace a balanced Falcon scoring attack ... Steffen is averaging 11.6 points per game, with Rogers scoring at a 11.1 ppg clip.
• Rogers has a team-leading 6.3 rebounds per game, and also tops the Falcons in steals, with 2.0 spg ... Steffen averages 4.2 rpg along with 1.6 assists per contest, and she leads the Brown and Orange with 33 successful three-point field goals this season ... Steffen is shooting a MAC-best 86.0 percent from the free-throw line, having gone 43-of-50 from the stripe.
• Junior Jillian Halfhill has 8.9 ppg along with a team-leading 3.0 assists per contest ... the 5-6 point guard also has 4.6 rebounds per game, good for third on the team ... Halfhill is third in the MAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.5).
• Fifth-year senior Danielle Havel has 6.8 ppg, and is near the top of the team lists in numerous categories ... Havel is second on the Falcons in both rebounds (5.3 rpg) and assists (2.2 apg), and she leads 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 46.7% from the field.
• Freshman Miriam Justinger has 5.7 ppg and sophomore Jasmine Matthews 5.5 ... Justinger is 15-of-38 (39.5%) from three-point land and 33-of-41 (80.5%) from the free-throw line this year to date ... Matthews, who has missed seven of the eight MAC games, still is third on the Falcons in three-pointers, having hit 17 long-range attempts on the season.
• Freshman Bailey Cairnduff has 4.8 points per game and ranks fourth on the Falcons with 16 three-pointers made ... BGSU's two post players off the bench, senior Allison Papenfuss and junior Jill Stein, have 4.2 and 3.3 ppg, respectively.
• Stein has 4.3 rebounds per contest, while Papenfuss has 3.6 rpg ... both players have blocked 12 shots this year, just one behind Havel's team-leading total of 13.
• Junior Katrina Salinas is averaging 3.0 ppg this season, while sophomore Deborah Hoekstra has 2.3 ppg ... Salinas has made 11 triples and Hoekstra seven this season.
• In MAC play, BGSU's scoring is quite balanced, as eight players are averaging at least 4.6 points per game, but only two Falcons have more than 8.0 ppg ... Rogers leads that scoring list at 10.8 ppg, followed by Steffen (10.0 ppg), Halfhill (7.9 ppg), Justinger (7.5 ppg) and Cairnduff (7.3 ppg) ... Halfhill has 3.6 assists per contest and a league-best 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio in MAC play ... Havel has 5.6 ppg in MAC action, with Salinas at 4.8 ppg and Papenfuss 4.6 ... Rogers leads the Falcons with 5.6 rebounds per game against conference foes, while Havel and Stein have 5.1 rpg apiece ... Havel is shooting 54.5% from the field, with Rogers hitting 51.5% of her shots ... Cairnduff leads the entire conference with a three-point field-goal percentage of 52.9% in league play ... she has gone 9-of-17 from long range vs. MAC foes ... all 11 players are averaging at least 11.0 minutes played, with no Falcon above 28.8 mpg in MAC matches.
• The Falcons are shooting 39.2% from the field, and BG is 33.0% from three-point range and 73.2% from the free-throw line through the first 20 games ... the opponents have shot 37.2% from the floor, 25.9% from beyond the arc and 67.0% from the stripe.
• In MAC action, BGSU is shooting 41.5% from the floor, 33.3% from long range and 74.6% from the line ... the opponents have a field-goal pct. of just 34.4%, a three-point rate of only 20.5% (27-of-132) and a free-throw pct. of 66.1% in league play.
A QUICK LOOK AT BUFFALO
Buffalo has a record of 7-14 on the season ... after going 2-11 in non-conference play, however, the Bulls are 5-3 in MAC action ... UB, picked to finish sixth (i.e., last) in the East Division in the league's preseason poll, is tied with BGSU and Akron for second, just a game behind division-leading Miami ... the Bulls began conference play with a 3-0 record ... after suffering losses to Toledo and Ball State, UB bounced back with a 19-point win over Western Michigan and a 78-70 victory against Miami on the road (Jan. 31) ... UB lost a 75-57 decision at Akron the last time out ... the Bulls are 4-6 at home, 3-7 on the road and 0-1 in neutral-site action ... in MAC play, Buffalo is 3-1 at Alumni Arena ... individually, redshirt junior forward Cherridy Thornton and freshman G/F Rachael Gregory are averaging 10.7 points per game apiece, with freshman guard Mackenzie Loesing scoring 10.1 ppg ... Gregory is injured and will miss the remainder of the season ... redshirt sophomore forward Kristen Sharkey has 8.9 ppg and 6.5 rebounds per contest, while sophomore C/F Christa Baccas has 7.2 ppg and a team-leading 8.6 rpg ... Baccas is third in the MAC in rebounding, and she leads the conference in blocked shots, with 2.3 per game ... guards Nicki Hopkins (2.1 ppg), a senior, and junior Margeaux Gupilan (5.5 ppg) join Baccas, Loesing and Sharkey in the projected starting lineup for first-year UB head coach Felisha Legette-Jack ... UB returned nine letterwinners, including 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, 20-5, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU has won the last 16 meetings ... last year's games saw the Falcons pick up a 79-59 win at UB's Alumni Arena (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, 10-3 in road contests and 1-0 in neutral-site meetings vs. the Bulls over the years ... Jennifer Roos is meeting Buffalo for the first time as a collegiate head coach.
UP NEXT
The Falcons are in the midst of a stretch which sees the team play five road games in a six-game span ... BGSU has a quick turnaround after the Buffalo game, as the Falcons will return to Northwest Ohio early Friday morning, only to leave again Saturday for a Sunday (Feb. 10) game at Western Michigan ... that contest will begin at 2:00 p.m. in Kalamazoo ... after a game at Northern Illinois on Feb. 16, the Brown and Orange will return home to face Akron on Feb. 20.
LINKS
BGSU Notes | Buffalo Notes | BGSU Media Guide | BGSU-Central Michigan Highlights
THURSDAY'S GAME: Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Tickets
QUICK HITS
• The Falcons are coming off an impressive win ... BGSU knocked off Central Michigan by an 84-59 final on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 3) at the Stroh Center ... the Chippewas had been the MAC's lone unbeaten team, with a 7-0 league record entering the game.
• Sunday marked the second time this season that BGSU defeated a team ranked among the top 50 in the RPI by 25 points ... the Falcons downed Dayton (ranked #14/15 in the polls and #6 in the RPI at the time) by a 65-40 score on Dec. 30 at the Stroh ... that remains UD's only loss of the season, as the Flyers are 19-1 heading into a Thursday (Feb. 7) game ... CMU was 50th in the RPI prior to Sunday.
• The Falcons posted season bests in points scored and field-goal percentage against CMU ... BGSU shot 55.4 percent from the field en route to those 84 points ... the Falcons' total of 31 field goals made also was a season best.
• Senior Chrissy Steffen scored a game-high 19 points, pacing four double-digit scorers for the Brown and Orange ... junior Jillian Halfhill and freshman Bailey Cairnduff scored 14 points apiece, while redshirt junior Alexis Rogers had 13.
• BGSU shot nearly 67% from the field in the second half, with the team's 18-of-27 effort including a 7-for-10 (70%) half from three-point land ... the Falcons made their last six three-point attempts of the game ... BG was 10-of-18 (55.6%) from long range on the afternoon.
• The Falcons hit five of those six consecutive treys during a span of less than three minutes in the second half ... Cairnduff and junior Katrina Salinas each had two triples in that span, with Salinas also hitting a layup during that flurry ... Cairnduff and Salinas combined to go a perfect 6-for-6 from three-point range on Sunday.
• Cairnduff, a native of Morley, Mich., set a career best with her four successful three-pointers on Sunday ... after making a total of seven treys during her first 13 games, she has gone 9-of-14 (64.2%) from long range over the last five contests ... Cairnduff leads the entire league in three-point FG percentage in MAC games (52.9%; 9-of-17).
• Cairnduff's three highest-scoring games of the season have come against teams from her home state ... her 14-point output came seven days after she scored a career-high 18 points in her first collegiate game played in Michigan, a 61-47 win at Eastern Michigan (Jan. 27) ... Cairnduff, who had 12 points against Madonna in her collegiate debut (Nov. 10, 2012), is averaging 14.7 ppg vs. Michigan foes.
• Cairnduff scored 35 points during non-conference play ... in MAC games, she has 51 points to date ... Cairnduff leads the team in points per minute during conference play, and she is averaging 18.9 points per 40 minutes in MAC action.
• Steffen's scoring output vs. CMU marked her second-straight game with 19 points ... she now has 1,097 career points at BGSU, ranking her 21st on the school's career scoring list ... Steffen moved past Judit Lendvay (1,078 points from 1989-93) ... her next target is 20th-place Stefanie Wenzel, who scored 1,099 points at BGSU from 2000-04.
• Steffen hit three three-point field goals vs. the Chippewas, and now has made 159 in her career ... that total is good for ninth in BGSU history ... Steffen is one behind eighth-place Angie Farmer, who connected on 160 three-pointers from 1997-2001.
• Through 21 games this season, the Falcons have held the opponent to fewer than 50 points on nine occasions, tying the '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 also held nine opponents to fewer than 50 points, en route to an appearance in the Sweet Sixteen.
• The 60-point mark has been a pretty good barometer in determining BGSU's success this season ... the Falcons have a record of 14-1 when scoring 60 or more points this year ... BG is 0-6 when the offense is held under the 60-point plateau.
• The Falcons had five 'and-one' buckets in Sunday's game ... BGSU had four three-point plays and one four-point play in the win over CMU ... Steffen was responsible for two of those buckets, including a three-point shot while being fouled early in the second half, while Halfhill hit an 'and-one' shot in each half ... Rogers also converted an old-fashioned three-point play in the win.
• The Falcons and CMU tied, 32-32, in the rebounding department ... BGSU has been outrebounded just twice in the last 15 games, and only four times all season.
• BGSU had 19 assists in Sunday's game, with four players dishing out at least three apiece ... Halfhill led the way with five, while Steffen and freshman Miriam Justinger had four each and junior Jill Stein three ... for both Justinger and Stein, those totals represented career highs ... each of Stein's three assists came on a Cairnduff three-pointer.
• All 11 Falcons who have seen action this season have scored in double figures at least once ... no fewer than 10 different players have led BGSU in scoring in at least one game this season.
• In the eight MAC games to date, BGSU has enjoyed a 175-84 advantage in bench scoring, an average of 21.9 bench points per game for the Falcons compared with 10.5 ppg for the foes.
• The Falcons have displayed impressive balance during the conference portion of the schedule ... this balance is evident in a glance at the MAC-only statistics (see page 15 of these notes) ... only two players are averaging more than eight points per game in league games (Rogers and Steffen, at 10.8 and 10.0 ppg, respectively), but eight BG players are averaging at least 4.6 ppg ... all 11 BG players who have seen action have 2.4 ppg or more in conference play.
• The Falcons' conference opponents have averaged just 49.4 points per game and shot only 34.4 percent from the field over the first eight games.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Buffalo game with an overall record of 14-7 on the season ... BGSU is 5-3 in the MAC at the midway point of the conference schedule ... the Falcons are coming off a 25-point win, 84-59, over MAC-leading Central Michigan at the Stroh Center.
• BG's five MAC wins have come by a total of 132 points, an average of 26.4 points per game ... the three losses have been by a combined total of 18 points (6.0 ppg).
• In addition to Central Michigan, the Falcons' other MAC wins have come against Kent State, Ball State, Ohio and Eastern Michigan ... both CMU and BSU are currently 7-1 in league play, with the lone loss coming to the Falcons ... BG's MAC losses have come to Toledo, Miami and Akron ... BG fell to UA last Thursday (Jan. 31), 68-63, in Northeast Ohio, for just the Zips' third victory over the Falcons in 51 series meetings.
• After going undefeated in the month of December, the Falcons finished January with a 4-4 record... BG lost, 59-56, to UCF in the final non-conference game (Jan. 4), before opening MAC play with a 69-33 win vs. KSU (Jan. 10) ... BG then dropped a 48-38 decision to UT (Jan. 13) but bounced back with wins over BSU and Ohio by a combined 57 points ... then, however, BG lost two of the next three games, falling to MU and UA.
• The Falcons are 8-4 at home, 6-2 on the road and 0-1 in neutral-site games this season to date ... BGSU has a scoring margin of +9.6 and a rebounding margin of +4.7 ... in league play, BG is 3-2 at home and 2-1 in hostile venues.
• Individually, senior Chrissy Steffen and redshirt junior Alexis Rogers pace a balanced Falcon scoring attack ... Steffen is averaging 11.6 points per game, with Rogers scoring at a 11.1 ppg clip.
• Rogers has a team-leading 6.3 rebounds per game, and also tops the Falcons in steals, with 2.0 spg ... Steffen averages 4.2 rpg along with 1.6 assists per contest, and she leads the Brown and Orange with 33 successful three-point field goals this season ... Steffen is shooting a MAC-best 86.0 percent from the free-throw line, having gone 43-of-50 from the stripe.
• Junior Jillian Halfhill has 8.9 ppg along with a team-leading 3.0 assists per contest ... the 5-6 point guard also has 4.6 rebounds per game, good for third on the team ... Halfhill is third in the MAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.5).
• Fifth-year senior Danielle Havel has 6.8 ppg, and is near the top of the team lists in numerous categories ... Havel is second on the Falcons in both rebounds (5.3 rpg) and assists (2.2 apg), and she leads 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 46.7% from the field.
• Freshman Miriam Justinger has 5.7 ppg and sophomore Jasmine Matthews 5.5 ... Justinger is 15-of-38 (39.5%) from three-point land and 33-of-41 (80.5%) from the free-throw line this year to date ... Matthews, who has missed seven of the eight MAC games, still is third on the Falcons in three-pointers, having hit 17 long-range attempts on the season.
• Freshman Bailey Cairnduff has 4.8 points per game and ranks fourth on the Falcons with 16 three-pointers made ... BGSU's two post players off the bench, senior Allison Papenfuss and junior Jill Stein, have 4.2 and 3.3 ppg, respectively.
• Stein has 4.3 rebounds per contest, while Papenfuss has 3.6 rpg ... both players have blocked 12 shots this year, just one behind Havel's team-leading total of 13.
• Junior Katrina Salinas is averaging 3.0 ppg this season, while sophomore Deborah Hoekstra has 2.3 ppg ... Salinas has made 11 triples and Hoekstra seven this season.
• In MAC play, BGSU's scoring is quite balanced, as eight players are averaging at least 4.6 points per game, but only two Falcons have more than 8.0 ppg ... Rogers leads that scoring list at 10.8 ppg, followed by Steffen (10.0 ppg), Halfhill (7.9 ppg), Justinger (7.5 ppg) and Cairnduff (7.3 ppg) ... Halfhill has 3.6 assists per contest and a league-best 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio in MAC play ... Havel has 5.6 ppg in MAC action, with Salinas at 4.8 ppg and Papenfuss 4.6 ... Rogers leads the Falcons with 5.6 rebounds per game against conference foes, while Havel and Stein have 5.1 rpg apiece ... Havel is shooting 54.5% from the field, with Rogers hitting 51.5% of her shots ... Cairnduff leads the entire conference with a three-point field-goal percentage of 52.9% in league play ... she has gone 9-of-17 from long range vs. MAC foes ... all 11 players are averaging at least 11.0 minutes played, with no Falcon above 28.8 mpg in MAC matches.
• The Falcons are shooting 39.2% from the field, and BG is 33.0% from three-point range and 73.2% from the free-throw line through the first 20 games ... the opponents have shot 37.2% from the floor, 25.9% from beyond the arc and 67.0% from the stripe.
• In MAC action, BGSU is shooting 41.5% from the floor, 33.3% from long range and 74.6% from the line ... the opponents have a field-goal pct. of just 34.4%, a three-point rate of only 20.5% (27-of-132) and a free-throw pct. of 66.1% in league play.
A QUICK LOOK AT BUFFALO
Buffalo has a record of 7-14 on the season ... after going 2-11 in non-conference play, however, the Bulls are 5-3 in MAC action ... UB, picked to finish sixth (i.e., last) in the East Division in the league's preseason poll, is tied with BGSU and Akron for second, just a game behind division-leading Miami ... the Bulls began conference play with a 3-0 record ... after suffering losses to Toledo and Ball State, UB bounced back with a 19-point win over Western Michigan and a 78-70 victory against Miami on the road (Jan. 31) ... UB lost a 75-57 decision at Akron the last time out ... the Bulls are 4-6 at home, 3-7 on the road and 0-1 in neutral-site action ... in MAC play, Buffalo is 3-1 at Alumni Arena ... individually, redshirt junior forward Cherridy Thornton and freshman G/F Rachael Gregory are averaging 10.7 points per game apiece, with freshman guard Mackenzie Loesing scoring 10.1 ppg ... Gregory is injured and will miss the remainder of the season ... redshirt sophomore forward Kristen Sharkey has 8.9 ppg and 6.5 rebounds per contest, while sophomore C/F Christa Baccas has 7.2 ppg and a team-leading 8.6 rpg ... Baccas is third in the MAC in rebounding, and she leads the conference in blocked shots, with 2.3 per game ... guards Nicki Hopkins (2.1 ppg), a senior, and junior Margeaux Gupilan (5.5 ppg) join Baccas, Loesing and Sharkey in the projected starting lineup for first-year UB head coach Felisha Legette-Jack ... UB returned nine letterwinners, including 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, 20-5, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU has won the last 16 meetings ... last year's games saw the Falcons pick up a 79-59 win at UB's Alumni Arena (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, 10-3 in road contests and 1-0 in neutral-site meetings vs. the Bulls over the years ... Jennifer Roos is meeting Buffalo for the first time as a collegiate head coach.
UP NEXT
The Falcons are in the midst of a stretch which sees the team play five road games in a six-game span ... BGSU has a quick turnaround after the Buffalo game, as the Falcons will return to Northwest Ohio early Friday morning, only to leave again Saturday for a Sunday (Feb. 10) game at Western Michigan ... that contest will begin at 2:00 p.m. in Kalamazoo ... after a game at Northern Illinois on Feb. 16, the Brown and Orange will return home to face Akron on Feb. 20.
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