Bowling Green State University Athletics
Wednesday, January 15
Muncie, IN
6:07 PM
Bowling Green State University
at
Ball State
Falcons Head to Muncie for Midweek Matchup with BSU
January 14, 2014 | Women's Basketball
BGSU plays the first of four-straight cross-divisional games Wednesday night
Wednesday's game is part of the MAC's television package, and is scheduled to be aired on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel. Additionally, the game is slated to be available on ESPN3, Watch ESPN and ESPN Full Court. In the Toledo area, the BGSU-BSU game will be aired on BCSN 2.
PDF NOTES: BGSU | Ball State
Coach Roos previews the Ball State game
OFF TO A GOOD START
The Falcons are off to a 3-0 start in MAC play for the 16th time in 33 years of MAC basketball. On Wednesday night, BGSU will be looking to improve to 4-0 in the league for the 12th time in school history.
LAST TIME OUT: FALCONS RACE PAST AKRON, 81-65, TO MOVE TO 3-0
• The Falcons took an early lead and withstood several Akron runs en route to an 81-65 win over the Zips on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 12) at the Stroh Center. The Zips were picked to win the MAC's East Division in the preseason coaches' poll, with the Falcons tabbed for second.
• Senior Jillian Halfhill led BG with 18 points, as the Falcons had five double-figure scorers on the day. Fellow senior Alexis Rogers had 14 points, while a trio of Falcons scored 12 apiece. That group included senior Jill Stein, junior Jasmine Matthews and redshirt sophomore Erica Donovan. Donovan had a double-double, with a game-high 10 rebounds as BGSU had a slim 40-38 advantage on the boards.
• The Falcons hit 10-of-18 shots from three-point range, with Halfhill making four of her six long-distance tries. Both Donovan and Matthews hit a pair of shots from beyond the arc.
• Additionally, BGSU went 23-of-27 (85.2%) from the free-throw line. The Falcons went 1-of-3 from the stripe, both at the beginning and at the end of the game. In between, however, BGSU made 21 consecutive free-throw tries.
• After four early lead changes, the Falcons took the lead for good when Halfhill dribbled around the arc and knocked down a three-point try for an 8-6 Falcon advantage at the 15:51 mark.
• BGSU built a 12-point lead, but saw the Zips rally to within five points as the Falcons got into some first-half foul trouble. But, BG scored five points in the final minute of the half, including another Halfhill three-ball with 18 seconds left, and took a 39-29 lead into the intermission.
• BG increased the lead to 15 points early in the second period, but the Zips got back within eight soon after. However, a Donovan triple began a 7-2 run that gave the Falcons a 55-42 lead midway through the half.
• The lead fluctuated between 11 and 13 points for the next few minutes, but a pair of key three-pointers from Matthews helped seal the deal. Her first gave BG a 62-48 lead with 7:16 remaining, and the second gave the hosts a 15-point edge, 69-54, with 4:57 to go. The BG lead would not drop below 14 points thereafter.
BATTLE OF THE BOARDS
• The Falcons have enjoyed more than their fair share of success on the glass over the last year-plus. Since the start of the 2012-13 season, BGSU has won the rebounding battle in 40 of 50 games, including in 14 of the 19 MAC contests. Three of the other games saw the teams tie in that category.
• This year, the Falcons have out-rebounded the foes in 13 of the first 15 games, with double-digit margins in five of those matchups. BG owns a rebounding margin of +9.5 this year to date. BGSU has out-boarded all three MAC opponents so far in 2013-14, with a +9.0 rebounding margin in league play.
TAKE SOME, THEY'RE FREE
• BGSU struggled at the free-throw line early in the season, but the Falcons' fortunes have improved as of late. BG made fewer than 60 percent of its tosses three times in the first five games of the year, and the Falcons were shooting just 64.0% (96 of 150) through the end of November.
• Since that time, however, BGSU has shot better than 80% from the line, having gone 141-of-174 (81.0%) over the last eight games.
• In the last two games, wins over Kent State and Akron, the Falcons have made 41 free throws in 47 attempts, good for a success rate of 87.2%. Through three MAC games, BGSU is shooting a league-leading 84.6% (55-of-65) from the line.
THAT'S A SERIOUS SERIES ADVANTAGE
Sunday's win over Akron gives the Falcons a 50-3 lead in the all-time series between the teams. BGSU is now a perfect 27-0 in home games vs. the Zips, including a 3-0 mark at the Stroh Center.
A NEGATIVE NOTE THAT ACCENTUATES THE POSITIVE
Akron scored 65 points in Sunday's game, the highest point total BGSU has ever allowed against a MAC team in the Stroh Center. At the other end of the court, the Falcons have scored more than 65 points 10 times in 19 games vs. MAC opponents at the Stroh.
MY BROTHER FROM ANOTHER MOTHER
Both BGSU's Jennifer Roos and Ball State's Brady Sallee are in their second season as head coach at their respective schools. And, both Roos and Sallee enter Wednesday's match with a record of 14-5 in MAC play over their first year-plus. Roos, of course, won two additional games as interim head coach of the Falcons in the 2011-12 season.
LEAD, FOLLOW OR GET OUT OF THE WAY
• Through the first 15 games this season, there have been seven (Michigan, Niagara, Old Dominion, Monmouth, UMass, Saint Francis and Kent State) contests in which BG never trailed, two more (Ohio State and Akron) in which the Falcons were behind for less than a minute, and a 10th (Milwaukee) that saw BG trail for just over a minute.
• This year to date, BGSU has led for a total of 488:10 – 81.4 percent of the time – and trailed for just 87:09 (14.5%). The Falcons and the opponents have been tied for a total of 24:41.
• BGSU has trailed for a total of just eight minutes and 19 seconds (in 240 minutes of action) in the six home games, and the Falcons have not trailed later than the 12:40 mark of the first half of any game at the Stroh Center this season.
ROOS REACHES MILESTONES
Sunday's win over Akron was the 50th game for Jennifer Roos as the Falcons' head coach (not counting two games as interim head coach), and also marked her 400th overall game since joining the BGSU staff in 2001. The Falcons are 37-13 with Roos as head coach, and BG is now 295-105 (73.8%) since she ventured to Northwest Ohio.
QUICK HITS
• BGSU is 12-3 overall and 3-0 in MAC play. The Falcons have won four-straight games and nine of the last 10 games, capturing each of those nine decisions by at least 12 points.
• In fact, 11 of the Falcons' 13 victories this season have come by double figures. BGSU posted a one-point win at Iona (Nov. 9) in the second game of the year, and downed Butler by four points (Nov. 18) just over a week later, but each of the other 10 wins came by at least 11 points.
• The Falcons have posted four wins of 23 points or more, with three of those four coming at home. BGSU is 6-0 at the Stroh Center, having won those six games by an average of 23.0 points per contest.
• In addition to the six home wins, the Falcons have seven victories away from home, with marks of 4-1 on the road and 3-1 in neutral-site contests. BG has road wins over Iona, Butler, Ohio State and Kent State, and the Falcons have topped Michigan, Old Dominion and Monmouth in neutral-site action. The team's losses have come to then #18/21-ranked Purdue on the road and to Marist on a neutral court.
• In BGSU's six home games – vs. Niagara, Milwaukee, UMass, Saint Francis, Buffalo and Akron – the Falcons have averaged 81.2 points per game.
• BGSU has had a balanced scoring attack this season. Five Falcons are averaging between 8.4 and 12.9 points per game, and two other players have at least 5.9 ppg to date.
• The Falcons' five starters each have attempted between 109 and 150 shots, meaning that every starter is averaging somewhere between 7.2 and 10.0 field-goal attempts per game.
• BGSU leads the MAC and ranks 15th in the nation in scoring defense, having allowed just 55.7 points per game. The Falcons also lead the MAC in rebounding margin (+9.5) and field-goal percentage defense (36.8%), and BG is second among league teams in scoring margin (+13.6).
• BGSU is 20th in the nation in rebounding margin. The Falcons held a 40-38 advantage on the boards vs. Akron, and out-rebounded the previous three opponents (Saint Francis, Buffalo and KSU) by an average of 14.0 per game.
• For the second-straight week, the Falcons received six votes in the USA Today Sports Top 25 women's basketball coaches poll last Tuesday (Jan. 7 - these notes were completed before the Jan. 14 poll was released). BGSU had received seven votes in each of three-straight weeks in December, before getting two votes on Dec. 24, after a loss at nationally-ranked Purdue.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Ball State game with an overall record of 13-2 and a 3-0 MAC ledger. BGSU's non-conference wins included home games vs. Niagara, Milwaukee, Massachusetts and Saint Francis, road games vs. Iona, Butler and Ohio State, and neutral-site matchups against Michigan, Old Dominion and Monmouth. The Falcons' losses came at the hands of Marist (Nov. 22) in the Basketball Hall of Fame Challenge, and at Purdue on the road (Dec. 22).
• BGSU opened MAC play with a 62-50 win over Buffalo at the Stroh Center last weekend (Jan. 4), before downing Kent State, 58-39, in Northeast Ohio on Thursday evening (Jan. 9). On Sunday (Jan. 12), the Brown and Orange topped preseason East Division favorite Akron, 81-65, at the Stroh.
• Fifth-year senior Alexis Rogers, redshirt sophomore Erica Donovan and fourth-year Falcon Jillian Halfhill lead a balanced scoring attack. Rogers is averaging 12.9 points per game, with Donovan scoring 11.8 ppg and Halfhill 11.5 ppg this year to date.
• Sophomore Miriam Justinger has 8.6 points per game and junior Deborah Hoekstra 8.4 ppg. Senior Jill Stein and junior Jasmine Matthews have scored 6.6 and 5.9 points per contest, respectively.
• Stein leads the team and ranks fourth in the MAC in rebounding, with 9.0 boards per game, while Rogers has pulled down 8.2 rpg and Donovan 6.1. BGSU has had at least one player with 10 rebounds in 13 of this season's first 15 games.
• Halfhill leads the Falcons with 3.3 assists per outing, with Justinger handing out 2.6 apg to date. Stein is third on the team in that category, with 2.1 helpers per game.
• Rogers is shooting 54.1 percent from the floor, ranking third in the MAC in that category, while Donovan is shooting 46.7% and Hoekstra 46.0%. From long range, Halfhill has made a team-leading 26 three-point field goals, while Hoekstra has hit 20 shots from beyond the arc. Four other Falcons have made between seven and 16 treys apiece.
• Hoekstra leads the entire MAC in three-point field-goal percentage, having gone 20-of-45 (44.4%) from long distance to date.
• Freshmen Abby Siefker and Rachel Konieczki are averaging 1.9 and 1.7 ppg, respectively. Freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick has seen action in five games off the bench, and classmate Leah Bolton made her BGSU debut in the Monmouth game.
• Halfhill, Justinger, Rogers and Stein each have started all 15 games this season to date, with Donovan starting 14. Donovan started the first 12 games, but Matthews took her place in the lineup for the Buffalo game, as Donovan missed tipoff due to a funeral. Donovan was back in the starting five for the Kent State game.
• Head coach Jennifer Roos and her staff welcomed back seven letterwinners from a year ago, and the program also has added seven newcomers – five to the roster and two to the coaching staff.
• Through 15 games, the Falcons are shooting 41.1 percent from the field, 33.9% from three-point range and 73.1% from the foul line. Opponents are shooting 36.8% from the floor, 30.3% from the arc and 71.1% from the stripe. The Falcons have a scoring margin of +13.6, a rebounding margin of +9.5 and a turnover margin of +1.6 on the year.
THE BALL STATE CARDINALS
Ball State enters Wednesday's game with an overall record of 7-7, and the Cardinals are 2-1 in MAC play. BSU opened the conference schedule with an 87-78 loss at Akron, but the Cards went to Eastern Michigan and won a 70-66 decision before dismantling Kent State, 55-31, on Sunday (Jan. 12). BSU is 2-2 at home, 4-4 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site matches. Individually, sophomore guard Nathalie Fontaine leads the Cardinals in both scoring and rebounding, with 16.0 points and 6.8 boards per game. Junior guard Brittany Carter has 14.3 ppg and 4.7 rpg, while freshman guard Jill Morrison has 10.8 ppg. Morrison has hit a team-high 33 three-point field goals, while Carter has made 25 long-range shots despite playing in just nine games to date. Morrison leads the entire MAC in free-throw percentage (90.5%). Head coach Brady Sallee welcomed back seven letterwinners, including all five starters, from last year's team. The 2012-13 edition of the Cardinals went 17-16 overall and 12-4 in MAC regular-season play, tying for second in the West Division and advancing to the WNIT's third round.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Ball State, 43-14, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU has captured four consecutive meetings. Last year, the Falcons got off to a scorching start, taking a 21-2 lead en route to a 73-42 win at the Stroh Center (Jan. 16, 2013). Two seasons ago, in the Falcons' last visit to Muncie, the Brown and Orange posted a 63-52 win (Jan. 25, 2012). BGSU is 24-2 in home games, 17-10 on the road and 2-2 in neutral-site contests vs. the Cardinals over the years. Jennifer Roos is 1-0 against the Cards as a head coach.
FALCONS VS. THE MAC
The Falcons continue to own the best record in MAC history. Entering the Ball State game, BGSU has an all-time record of 376-152 (.712) in MAC regular-season contests, for the most wins and highest winning pct. of all league institutions. And, BG 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 victories (729) and highest overall winning percentage (.651) of any conference school.
DEFENSE!
• During her time as an assistant coach at BGSU, Jennifer Roos served as the team's defensive coordinator. The team enjoyed great success at the defensive end of the floor, and that success continued in her first season as head coach. In 2012-13, Roos and assistant coach Jesse Fleming helped the Falcons set a school record for fewest points allowed per game – 54.3 – breaking the record set the previous year.
• Last year's team also set new school records for fewest points allowed and lowest opponent field-goal percentage allowed in MAC games. In the 16 conference contests, league foes averaged just 51.9 points and shot only 36.1% from the floor.
• Those trends have continued as the 2013-14 season has gotten underway. In the first 15 games, despite playing a difficult schedule, BGSU has allowed 55.7 points per game and permitted the opponents to shoot just 36.8% from the field to date.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Redshirt sophomore Erica Donovan had a double-double, with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, in the win over Akron. The double-double was the Falcons' fifth in as many games. The Falcons now have a total of 10 double-doubles this season, topping the total (nine) for all of last year. Fifth-year senior Alexis Rogers has four double-doubles this season, while Donovan has three, senior Jill Stein two and senior Jillian Halfhill one.
THE FALCONS ARE ...
• 13-2 this year to date, after posting a 24-11 overall record last season;
• 3-0 in MAC play in 2013-14, after going 11-5 in MAC play in '12-13 (Last year's team finished in second place in the East Division by a game, snapping a streak of eight-straight division titles);
• 295-105 since Jennifer Roos came to BGSU in the summer of 2001;
• 149-46 in MAC games in that time:
• 274-70 over the last 10-plus years, with 2012-13 marking BG's MAC-record 10th-straight season of at least 20 wins;
• a staggering 253-60 in the past nine-plus years, with no fewer than 23 wins in nine-straight seasons and a MAC overall regular-season title in seven of those nine years (2004-10 and again in '12, after winning an East Division crown in '11);
• an eye-popping 230-52 overall, and 114-17 in the MAC regular season, in the last eight-plus years, with at least 24 wins in each of the last eight seasons;
• a splendiferous 202-49 in the last seven-plus years, including a 98-17 league ledger;
• a/an (insert your own adjective here) 171-45 overall, and 83-16 in MAC regular-season games, in the last six-plus seasons, since Monique Rosati came to the BGSU program;
• 145-37 overall and 70-13 in MAC action over the last five-plus winters;
• 116-32, including a 55-12 MAC ledger, in the last four-plus seasons;
• 89-25 overall and 41-10 in the MAC since seniors Jillian Halfhill and Jill Stein ventured to campus;
• 61-20 overall, and 28-7 in MAC action, since senior Alexis Rogers and juniors Deborah Hoekstra and Jasmine Matthews first put on a BGSU uniform;
• 37-13 since senior Katrina Salinas and sophomore Miriam Justinger were added to the Falcons' roster;
• 137-21 in the last 158 games vs. MAC foes (regular-season and tournament);
• A perfect 63-0 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field since 2001;
• 236-11 when having a better FG percentage than the opposition in that time, including a 108-1 mark in the last five-plus seasons (the lone exception was the Drexel game in the third round of the WNIT last year);
• 224-38 when making more free throws than the opponent in the Roos Assistant-Coach/Associate-Head-Coach/Interim-Head-Coach/Head-Coaching Era;
• 189-23 when outrebounding the opponent in that 12-plus-year span;
• 67-7 in MAC home games in the last nine-plus seasons;
• 54-11 in MAC road games over the last eight-plus years;
• 20-4 in the MAC Tournament in the last nine years, with five titles (2005, '06, '07, '10 and '11), an additional championship-game appearance (2009), and trips to the semis in 2008 and 2012;
• 44-18 overall in the MAC Tournament since it was instituted in 1982;
• 21-6 at Gund/Quicken Loans Arena, the site of the MAC Tournament;
• 50-6 in all non-conference home games since the start of the 2003-04 season;
• 7-16 in 16 national postseason appearances (including a 3-11 record in the NCAA Championships and a 4-5 mark in WNIT trips);
• 6-9 in national postseason action since Roos arrived at BG (including a 2-5 mark in the NCAAs and a 4-4 record in the WNIT); and
• 34-7 in the Stroh Center, with five of the seven losses coming by a combined 11 points.
THEN AND NOW
• Junior Deborah Hoekstra scored a total of 83 points, making 23 total field goals including 13 three-pointers, over her first two seasons. This year to date, Hoekstra has 126 points, having hit 40 total shots including 20 from beyond the arc.
• Hoekstra has scored in double figures six times this year, after doing so on two occasions over her first two years.
• Redshirt sophomore Erica Donovan has hit double figures nine times this year. She reached double digits six times during her entire first season, at North Carolina State two years ago.
• Sophomore Miriam Justinger has scored in double digits six times this season, after doing so four times during her freshman campaign.
• Senior Jill Stein entered the season with a career total of 45 assists, and averaged 0.5 assists per game over her first three years. This year, Stein is averaging 2.1 apg, good for third on the team. She has had at least three helpers on six occasions, including a pair of games with a career-best five assists.
TRY TO MAKE MORE THAN THEY TAKE
The 2013-14 Falcons appear to be continuing an impressive trend of getting to the foul line much more often than the other team. BGSU has made a total of 237 free throws this season to date. That total is 19 more than the opponents have attempted (218). BGSU has made more tosses than the foes have attempted in three of the last five years. And, the Falcons' total of free throws made has been at least 100 higher than the opponents' FTM total in each of the last eight seasons. The 2002-03 campaign was the last time the opposition made, or attempted, more free throws than BG.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, #MACTION
• The Falcons will be featured at least four times as part of the MAC's television schedule for the 2013-14 season. The league's TV package includes BGSU's home game vs. Northern Illinois on Jan. 26, as well as road contests at Ball State (Jan. 15), Central Michigan (Jan. 18) and Toledo (Feb. 2).
• The 55-game package will be produced and distributed by the new home for MAC basketball, Time Warner Cable Sports Channel (TWC). All games will be produced in high definition, available to Time Warner Cable subscribers and offered to ESPN for inclusion on ESPN3, Watch ESPN and ESPN Full Court. TWC will also work with affiliates in the MAC footprint concerning distribution in Michigan, Illinois and Indiana.
UP NEXT
Following the Ball State game, the Falcons will return to the road for another MAC TV game this weekend. BGSU will venture to Mount Pleasant, Mich., for a Saturday (Jan. 18) game vs. defending MAC Tournament champion and preseason league favorite Central Michigan. That game is set to tip at 12:07 p.m.. The Brown and Orange then will return home for back-to-back games vs. Eastern Michigan (Jan. 23) and Northern Illinois (Jan. 26).
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