Bowling Green State University Athletics
Saturday, March 23
Bowling Green, OH
5:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
vs
Duquesne (WNIT second round)
Falcons Host Duquesne as WNIT Rolls Along
March 22, 2013 | Women's Basketball
BGSU to face Dukes Saturday at 5:00 p.m. at Stroh Center
LINKS
BGSU NOTES | DUQUESNE NOTES | WNIT Bracket
SATURDAY'S GAME: Watch | Listen | Live Stats
BG IN THE WNIT
• The Falcons downed SMU, 76-70, in a WNIT first-round game on Thursday night (March 21) ... that marked BGSU's third WNIT win in program history, and the Falcons' first national postseason win since 2009.
• The 2012-13 season marks the Falcons' fifth appearance in the WNIT, and the second in as many years ... BGSU has an overall record of 3-4 in the tourney to date ... the Falcons are 3-3 in home games in the WNIT, including a record of 1-1 in the Stroh Center ... BG split four games at venerable Anderson Arena ... and, BGSU has a 3-3 mark in the WNIT since Jennifer Roos came to Northwest Ohio.
• BGSU hosted Butler in WNIT action in 1998, losing a 95-90 decision at Anderson Arena in the team's first appearance in the tourney ... that game was the final contest for Jaci Clark as BG's head coach, as she took the Dayton job following the season.
• Five years ago, the Brown and Orange picked up a home win over Dayton, 64-52, before losing at Michigan State by a 74-66 count two days later.
• The following March, the Falcons were awarded a first-round bye in the then 48-team event, and BG played a pair of games at Anderson ... the Falcons downed Syracuse by a 72-69 final in second-round action at "The House That Roars" ... but, BGSU fell to visiting Indiana, 75-67, in the third round.
• Last season, VCU scored at the buzzer for a 72-71 win over the Falcons ... Andrea Barbour went coast-to-coast for the game-winning layup, after BGSU's Jessica Slagle had given the Falcons a 71-70 lead by hitting two free throws with just 5.1 seconds left ... Barbour and VCU teammate Courtney Hurt combined for 50 points and 28 rebounds in the game ... Slagle had a career-high 23 points in her final game as a Falcon, while Jasmine Matthews scored 13 and Chrissy Steffen 12.
WIN NUMBER 102, BUT NATIONAL POSTSEASON WIN NUMBER ONE
The Falcons are coming off a 76-70 victory over SMU on Thursday night (March 21) in WNIT first-round action ... the win was the first national postseason victory for this year's senior class ... that group – Simone Eli, Danielle Havel, Allison Papenfuss and Chrissy Steffen – is making a national postseason appearance for the fourth consecutive year, including trips to the NCAA Championships in 2010 and '11 and appearances in the WNIT both last year and this season.
QUICK HITS
• Junior Jillian Halfhill scored 23 points, tying her career high, in the Falcons' win over SMU on Thursday night ... Halfhill had scored 23 points in BGSU's game at Miami last month (Feb. 23, 2013) ... she also matched her career bests in field goals made (seven) and minutes played (37) against the Mustangs on Thursday night.
• The victory over SMU gives the Falcons a 13-4 record at the Stroh Center this season to date ... BGSU is just one win away from tying the school single-season mark for home victories ... the Falcons went 14-1 in both the 2008-09 and 2010-11 seasons, and BG had a 14-2 mark last season, in the first year at the Stroh.
• BG has posted a double-digit home win total in each of the last eight seasons.
• In 33 games at the Stroh Center, the Falcons have allowed the opponent to reach 70 points just three times ... Akron (61 points in a BG win on Feb. 20) is the only MAC foe to surpass the 60-point mark against the Brown and Orange in 17 games in the building ... BG has allowed an average of 53.3 ppg in all games at the Stroh, and just 50.5 ppg against MAC opponents.
• While the opponents have scored 70 points only three times in 33 games at the Stroh Center, Falcon foes have done so twice in as many WNIT games in the building ... VCU posted a 72-71 win over the Brown and Orange in last year's WNIT first round, and a late three-pointer enabled SMU to reach the 70-point mark in BG's win on Thursday night.
• BG has won six consecutive home games, and the Falcons have averaged 73.2 points per game at the Stroh Center in that time.
• BGSU was whistled for just six fouls against SMU, tying the school record for fewest fouls in a game ... the Falcons also had only six fouls called against them in a game vs. Michigan on March 2, 1981.
• While the Falcons have posted 13 wins at home, Saturday's opponent has enjoyed great success on the road ... Duquesne enters the BGSU game with a record of 10-3 in road games this year ... DU's only road losses have come to North Carolina, Charlotte and Dayton, with the Dukes losing to UNC by only four points and to UD by only one point.
• The Falcons have turned the ball over a total of 60 times in the last two games, and the opponents have had 37 steals in those two contests ... Saturday's opponent, Duquesne, leads the entire nation in steals per game (14.1 spg in the last NCAA stats, dated March 17) ... individually, DU's Jocelyn Floyd has 5.1 steals per game to lead the entire country ... the Dukes were third in the nation in turnover margin in the most recent rankings.
• No BGSU opponent had hit double digits in three-point field goals made in the first 31 games of the year ... but, both Central Michigan and SMU have done so over the last two games ... CMU was 10-of-28 from long distance, while SMU was 10-for-23 ... by contrast, the Falcons attempted only 10 three-pointers, making three, vs. the Mustangs.
• Juniors Alexis Rogers and Jill Stein led the Falcons in scoring in the MAC Tournament ... Rogers averaged 12.7 points per game in the three contests, and also paced BG in rebounds (6.7 rpg) ... she shot 56.7 percent from the field in the three games, making 17-of-30 shots ... Stein averaged 9.3 ppg and 5.0 rpg off the bench, and led the team with a 64.7% field-goal rate, going 11-of-17 in the three games.
• Both Rogers and Stein got off to a solid start in WNIT play this season ... Rogers scored 16 points against SMU, including three-point plays on back-to-back possessions (just 21 seconds apart) late in the second half to increase BG's lead from three points to nine.
• Stein had 10 points, seven rebounds and a career-high four steals vs. SMU ... she tied her season high with 28 minutes played vs. the Mustangs ... Stein has averaged 9.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game over the last seven contests, after averaging 4.2 ppg and 4.2 rpg in the first 26 games ... she has four double-digit scoring games this season, including in each of the last three contests.
• Freshman Bailey Cairnduff (7.7 ppg), senior Chrissy Steffen (7.0 ppg), junior Jillian Halfhill (6.7 ppg) and senior Allison Papenfuss (6.3 ppg) all averaged between six and eight points per game in the MAC Tournament ... Halfhill led the Falcons with five three-point field goals, and was second on the team in rebounding, with 6.3 per game.
• The loss to CMU snapped a five-game winning streak for the Falcons ... after the SMU game, BGSU has won 10 of 13 games since the start of February.
• Steffen currently has a total of 1,223 career points as a Falcon, tying her for 17th on the school's scoring list ... she has tied Melissa Chase on that chart, and is 10 points behind 16th-place Michelle Shade.
• The Falcons have a record of 20-2 when scoring 60 or more points this year ... BGSU is 3-8 when the offense is held under the 60-point plateau, but the Falcons have won three of the last four such games, vs. Buffalo (Feb. 28), KSU (March 6) and WMU (March 13).
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Duquesne game with an overall record of 23-10 on the season ... BGSU has won at least 20 games for a MAC-record 10th consecutive season, and the Falcons have posted as many as 23 wins for the ninth consecutive year, also a new league mark... BG finished with a MAC ledger of 11-5, good for second place in the East Division, a game behind Akron.
• BGSU has won eight of the last 10 games, but the Falcons saw a five-game winning streak snapped in a big way ... BG downed Buffalo, Ohio and Kent State to close the regular season, then beat the Flashes in the first round of the MAC Tournament and Western Michigan in the second ... but, Central Michigan bounced the Brown and Orange from the MAC Tournament with an 81-48 win in the third round ... BG bounced back with a 76-70 win over SMU in the first round of the WNIT, and the Falcons are now 5-1 in March after finishing February with a record of 5-2.
• Two of BG's marquee wins came by 25 points apiece at the Stroh Center, including a 65-40 win over #14/15 Dayton on Dec. 30 – the Flyers' only loss of the regular season – and an 84-59 win vs. Central Michigan on Feb. 3 ... both UD and CMU advanced to the NCAA Championships.
• BG's 11 MAC wins came by a total of 203 points, an average of 18.5 points per game ... the team's five league losses were by a combined total of 34 points (6.8 ppg), with three of those setbacks coming by five points or fewer.
• The Falcons are 13-4 at home, 9-4 on the road and 1-2 in neutral-site games this season ... BGSU has a scoring margin of +8.2 and a rebounding margin of +5.5 ... in league play, BG went 6-2 at home and 5-3 in hostile venues.
• Individually, senior Chrissy Steffen and redshirt junior Alexis Rogers pace a balanced Falcon attack ... Steffen is averaging 11.2 points per game, with Rogers scoring at a 10.9-ppg clip ... Steffen leads the Falcons with 19 double-digit scoring games this season ... Rogers has hit double figures in scoring 18 times this year.
• Rogers has a team-leading 6.0 rebounds per game, and also tops the Falcons in steals, with 1.8 spg ... Steffen averages 4.6 rpg along with 1.5 assists per contest, and she leads the Brown and Orange with 55 successful three-point field goals this season ... Steffen is shooting a team-best 84.0 percent from the free-throw line ... she has gone 63-of-75 from the stripe.
• Junior Jillian Halfhill has 8.9 ppg along with a team-leading 3.4 assists per contest ... the 5-6 point guard, who tied her career high with 23 points in the SMU game, also has 5.2 rebounds per game, tied for second on the team ... Halfhill is fourth in the MAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.5) ... Rogers (75.3%) and Halfhill (74.6%) are ranked 10th and 12th, respectively, in the MAC in free-throw pct.
• Fifth-year senior Danielle Havel has 6.2 ppg, and is near the top of the team lists in numerous categories ... Havel is second on the Falcons in assists (1.8 apg) and blocked shots and is tied for second in rebounds (5.2 rpg) ... she has a BG-best four games with 10 or more rebounds this season to date.
• Halfhill and Havel have hit 31 and 23 three-pointers, respectively, this year ... Havel is shooting 37.7% from long range.
• Freshman Miriam Justinger averages 5.5 ppg, and is shooting 82.4% from the free-throw line, having gone 42-of-51 ... sophomore Jasmine Matthews, who missed all but one MAC game due to injury, also has 5.5 ppg ... Justinger has hit 21 three-point field goals and Matthews 17 this season.
• Junior Jill Stein and freshman Bailey Cairnduff have 5.2 and 5.0 points per game, respectively ... Cairnduff has knocked down 24 three-pointers, the third-highest total on the team, and has gone 34-of-36 (94.4%) from the free-throw line ... senior Allison Papenfuss has 3.9 ppg.
• Stein has 4.7 rebounds per contest, while Papenfuss has 3.7 rpg ... Stein leads the Falcons with a total of 26 blocked shots, while Havel has 23, Papenfuss 12 and Steffen 11.
• Junior Katrina Salinas is averaging 2.8 ppg this season, while sophomore Deborah Hoekstra has 2.3 ppg ... Salinas has made 17 triples and Hoekstra nine.
• 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 33 games ... that list includes Halfhill, Havel, Justinger, Papenfuss, Salinas, Steffen and Stein ... Rogers has played in 32 games, with Cairnduff seeing action in 30, Hoekstra 25 and Matthews 13 ... senior Simone Eli was sidelined due to injury nearly all year, but made her 2012-13 regular-season debut in the Ohio game on March 3, and has seen action in three games.
• Halfhill, Havel and Steffen each have started all 33 games this winter, while Rogers has made 32 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' last 20 games.
• In MAC play, BGSU's scoring was quite balanced, as six players averaged at least 5.9 points per game, but only two Falcons had more than 8.1 ppg ... Steffen led that scoring list at 11.0 ppg, followed by Rogers (10.0 ppg), Halfhill (8.1 ppg), Havel (6.3 ppg), Justinger (6.3 ppg) and Cairnduff (5.9 ppg) ... five other Falcons had between 2.9 and 5.1 ppg in MAC action (aka #MACtion) ... Halfhill had 4.0 assists per contest and ranked second in the league with a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio in MAC play ... Rogers had 5.4 rebounds per game against conference foes, while Havel had 4.3 rpg and Stein 5.2 ... Rogers shot 52.3% from the field ... Havel hit 48.0% of her three-point tries, going 12-of-25 from long range in league play ... Steffen shot a MAC-best 90.2% (37-of-41) from the free-throw line ... Cairnduff made 26-of-27 shots from the stripe (96.3%), but did not have enough FTM to qualify for the league leaders ... 10 players averaged double digits in minutes played against MAC competition, with an 11th Falcon at 9.5 mpg.
• 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.
• The Falcons are shooting 39.0% from the field, and BG is 31.3% from three-point range and 72.6% from the free-throw line through the first 33 games ... the opponents have shot 37.4% from the floor, 27.8% from beyond the arc and 68.7% from the stripe.
• In MAC action, BGSU shot 39.6% from the floor, 31.0% from long range and 70.9% from the line ... the opponents had a field-goal pct. of 36.1%, a three-point rate of 26.2% (69-of-263) and a free-throw pct. of 68.3% in league play.
A QUICK LOOK AT DUQUESNE
Duquesne has an overall record of 24-7, and the Dukes finished Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season play with an 11-3 record ... DU's conference win total set a program record, and the Dukes have tied the school record for overall victories ... Duquesne is participating in the WNIT for the fifth-straight season, and defeated Akron, 71-66, at home in the first round ... Duquesne leads the nation in steals per game, and the Dukes are third in the country in turnover margin ... DU is 13-2 at home, 10-3 on the road and 1-2 in neutral-site games this season ... junior forward Wumi Agunbiade leads the team in scoring and rebounding, with 13.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game ... she also has a team-high 44 blocked shots ... senior guard Jocelyn Floyd has scored 9.5 ppg and pulled down 6.4 rpg to rank second on the Dukes in both categories ... Floyd not only leads the nation in steals per game (5.1 spg), she leads the country by a wide margin ... her total of 149 steals is 25 more than any other player in Division I ... freshman guard April Robinson and junior G/F Orsi Szecsi each have 9.5 ppg, while senior guard Vanessa Abel has 8.3 ppg ... head coach Suzie McConnell-Serio welcomed back nine players, including three starters, from last year's club ... the 2011-12 Dukes went 20-12 overall and 7-7 in A-10 play.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Duquesne, 3-1, in the all-time series between the teams ... BG and DU have not met in over seven years, and Saturday marks the teams' first meeting in the postseason ... all four prior games – two at BGSU and two in Pittsburgh – took place in late November or early December ... the Falcons are a perfect 2-0 at home vs. the Dukes, including a 76-51 win over DU at venerable Anderson Arena on Dec. 6, 2005 ... Jennifer Roos is meeting Duquesne for the first time as a collegiate head coach.
UP NEXT
The BGSU-Duquesne winner will face either Drexel or Harvard in the third round of the WNIT ... the third-round game would be played between Wednesday (March 27) and Friday (March 27) at a site to be determined.
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