Bowling Green State University Athletics
Thursday, January 23
Bowling Green, OH
7:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
vs
Eastern Michigan
EMU Comes to Town Thursday as Falcons Begin Two-Game Homestand
January 22, 2014 | Women's Basketball
PDF NOTES
Bowling Green | Eastern Michigan
GETTING IT DONE IN THE CLASSROOM AS WELL
The BGSU department of athletics will recognize the accomplishments of the program's student-athletes at Thursday's game. All BGSU student-athletes with a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher will be recognized on the court at halftime of the EMU contest.
FALCONS & EAGLES FLY HIGH...
For what it's worth, Thursday's matchup features the two teams with the best overall records in the MAC. BGSU enters the EMU game with a 14-3 mark, while the Eagles are 12-4 on the year. The teams had the most non-conference victories of any conference schools, as both BG and Eastern had 10 wins heading into the opening night of MAC action.
...AND HAVE FOR A WHILE
The Falcons and Eastern Michigan have enjoyed tremendous success in MAC play over the last decade. Since the start of the 2004-05 season, BGSU has an overall record of 128-21 in conference games. The Falcons' win total and winning percentage (85.9%) both are far and away the best of all MAC teams during that time. Eastern Michigan is second in the conference in both categories, with a 93-56 record (62.4%) since the '04-05 campaign.
TOP OF THE MAC
In the MAC statistics, BGSU and EMU rank at or near the top of several key categories. A partial list...
• EMU leads the league in scoring margin (+14.2), while BGSU is second (+12.5);
• The Falcons lead the MAC in scoring defense, allowing just 57.6 points per game, while Eastern is second in scoring offense, scoring 82.8 points per contest;
• BGSU is first in the MAC in rebounding margin (+8.5), with EMU third (+2.2);
• Eastern leads the league in offensive rebounding percentage, while BGSU paces the conference in defensive rebounding pct. Additionally, the Falcons are second in the MAC in offensive rebounding pct.
ROGERS NEARS MILLENNIUM MARK
Senior Alexis Rogers, in just her third season in a BGSU uniform, needs only 22 points to reach the 1,000-point mark for her Falcon career. Rogers has 978 points in 82 games at BG, an average of 11.9 points per game at the school. She is looking to become just the 26th player in BGSU history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
LAST TIME OUT: BATTLE OF MAC UNBEATENS GOES TO CMU IN OT
• In a battle of MAC unbeatens, host Central Michigan made a furious rally late in regulation, and the Chippewas went on to an 82-79 overtime victory over the Falcons Saturday afternoon (Jan. 18) at McGuirk Arena.
• Senior Alexis Rogers had a double-double for the Falcons, leading the team with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Classmate Jillian Halfhill had 18 points and tied for game honors with five assists before fouling out midway through the OT period, while redshirt sophomore Erica Donovan had 16 points and seven boards.
• For the Chippewas, Jessica Green was 10-of-14 from the field en route to 23 points on the day. Da'Jourie Turner scored 14 points, while Crystal Bradford had 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
• BGSU held Central scoreless for over eight minutes in the first half, taking a 21-17 lead, and a 7-0 run to end the period gave the Brown and Orange a 32-24 advantage at the break.
• In the second half, BG built a 10-point lead, saw the Chippewas get within two points with just under nine minutes to go, then forged a double-digit lead once again. But, the home team closed the second half on a 12-1 run to force overtime.
• That extra session saw the Chippewas score the first five points, but BG bounced back with the next five, tying the game at 75-75. The teams traded layups before a pair of free throws by Niki DiGuilio gave the home team the lead for good with 57.8 seconds to go.
• Then, Bradford deflected a BG pass to the wing, and the ball caromed off of a Falcon player before going out of bounds with 36.4 seconds left.
• On the ensuing possession, CMU's Da'Jourie Turner was fouled with 14.5 seconds to go, and made both shots for a four-point lead, 81-77. Freshman Rachel Konieczki's layup cut that lead in half, and BG quickly fouled with 5.4 seconds to go.
• Turner went back to the line. This time, she missed the first shot but hit the second for a three-point Central lead. The ensuing BG inbounds pass went off the hands of a Falcon player near midcourt, and multiple players went to the floor for the loose ball. The ball went to the Chippewas on alternating possession with just over a second left. Central inbounded and ran out the clock.
THE FALCONS AND OVERTIME
• Saturday's game at Central Michigan was BGSU's first overtime game of the season. In fact, it was the Falcons' first extra session since the team's last trip to Mount Pleasant, a 77-72 win for the Brown and Orange two years ago (Jan. 28, 2012).
• The loss snapped a string of four consecutive overtime wins for the Falcons. BG's last OT loss came on March 14, 2008, against Ohio in double-OT in the MAC Tournament.
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 41 of 52 games, including in 15 of the 21 MAC contests. Three of the other games saw the teams tie in that category.
• This year, the Falcons have out-rebounded the foes in 14 of the first 17 games, with double-digit margins in five of those matchups. BG owns a rebounding margin of +8.5 this year to date. BGSU has out-boarded four of the five MAC opponents so far in 2013-14, with a +5.8 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 183-of-229 (79.9%) over the last 10 games.
• In the three-game span which saw the Falcons face Kent State, Akron and Ball State, the Brown and Orange made 68 free throws in 80 attempts, good for a success rate of 85.0%. BG shot 68.2% from the line at Central Michigan, and the Falcons are shooting a league-leading 80.8% (97-of-120) from the stripe through the first five MAC games.
QUICK HITS
• BGSU is 14-3 overall and 4-1 in MAC play. The Falcons had won five-straight games and 10 of 11 contests, capturing each of those 10 decisions by double-digit margins, before suffering an 82-79 overtime loss on the road against preseason MAC favorite Central Michigan on Saturday (Jan. 18).
• Twelve of the Falcons' 14 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 eight victories away from home, with marks of 5-2 on the road and 3-1 in neutral-site contests. BG has road wins over Iona, Butler, Ohio State, Kent State and Ball 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, to Marist on a neutral court, and at CMU.
• 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 8.2 and 13.4 points per game, and two other players have at least 5.8 ppg to date.
• The Falcons' five starters each have attempted between 116 and 166 shots, meaning that every starter is averaging somewhere between 6.8 and 9.8 field-goal attempts per game.
• BGSU leads the MAC and ranks 20th in the nation in scoring defense, having allowed just 57.6 points per game. The Falcons also lead the MAC in rebounding margin (+8.5), and BG is second among league teams in scoring margin (+12.5) and field-goal percentage defense (37.6%).
• BGSU is 27th in the nation in rebounding margin in the most recent NCAA statistics. The Falcons have been out-rebounded in just one game since Nov. 18, as Ball State had a narrow 31-29 edge in that category last week (Jan. 15).
• For the first time in 10 weeks, the Falcons did not receive any votes in the USA Today Sports Top 25 coaches poll on Tuesday (Jan. 21). But, BG garnered three votes in this week's Associated Press poll after a five-week absence.
THREE FOR ALL
BGSU made six three-point field goals in the Central Michigan game. The Falcons now have hit at least one three-pointer in each of the last 293 games. BG has not been held without a trey since Feb. 12, 2005, at Akron, when the Falcons downed the Zips, 61-52, despite going 0-of-13 from long distance.
THREE-MENDOUS
The Falcons have enjoyed success from the three-point line over the last three games. In those games – vs. Akron, Ball State and Central Michigan – BGSU averaged 8.3 three-pointers per contest and shot 44.6% from long range. The Brown and Orange went 10-of-18 from long distance vs. the Zips, and BG was 9-of-19 from beyond the arc against the Cardinals before going 6-of-19 at Central.
LEAD, FOLLOW OR GET OUT OF THE WAY
• Through the first 17 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 537:02 – 78.4 percent of the time – and trailed for just 111:44 (16.3%). The Falcons and the opponents have been tied for a total of 36:14.
• 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.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Eastern Michigan game with an overall record of 14-3 and a 4-1 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' non-league 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). Then, the Brown and Orange topped preseason East Division favorite Akron, 81-65, at the Stroh (Jan. 12), and BGSU went to Muncie and picked up a 72-61 win over Ball State (Jan. 15). In a battle of the last two remaining MAC unbeatens, host Central Michigan picked up an 82-79 overtime decision over the Falcons on Saturday (Jan. 18).
• Fifth-year senior Alexis Rogers, fourth-year Falcon Jillian Halfhill and redshirt sophomore Erica Donovan lead a balanced scoring attack. Rogers is averaging 13.4 points per game, with Halfhill scoring 12.0 ppg and Donovan 11.5 ppg this year to date.
• Sophomore Miriam Justinger has 8.9 points per game and junior Deborah Hoekstra 8.2 ppg. Senior Jill Stein and junior Jasmine Matthews have scored 6.4 and 5.8 points per contest, respectively.
• Stein leads the team and ranks sixth in the MAC in rebounding, with 8.9 boards per game, while Rogers has pulled down 8.2 rpg (ninth in the league) and Donovan 5.8. BGSU has had at least one player with 10 rebounds in 14 of this season's first 17 games.
• Halfhill leads the Falcons with 3.5 assists per outing, with Justinger handing out 2.5 apg to date. Stein is third on the team in that category, with 2.1 helpers per game.
• Rogers is shooting 53.8 percent from the floor, ranking third in the MAC in that category, while Donovan is shooting 45.7% and Hoekstra 45.1%. From long range, Halfhill has made a team-leading 31 three-point field goals, while Hoekstra has hit 22 shots from beyond the arc. Four other Falcons have made between eight and 18 treys apiece.
• Hoekstra ranks second in the entire MAC in three-point field-goal percentage, having gone 22-of-51 (43.1%) from long distance to date.
• Freshmen Rachel Konieczki and Abby Siefker are averaging 2.2 and 1.6 ppg, respectively. Konieczki was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field en route to seven points at CMU. 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 17 games this season to date, with Donovan starting 16. 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, and has started each game since that time.
• 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 17 games, the Falcons are shooting 41.5 percent from the field, 34.5% from three-point range and 73.6% from the foul line. Opponents are shooting 37.5% from the floor, 28.7% from the arc and 70.4% from the stripe. The Falcons have a scoring margin of +12.5, a rebounding margin of +8.5 and a turnover margin of +1.4 on the year.
• In MAC games, BGSU is shooting 40.0% from the field, 35.4% from three-point land and 80.8% from the line. Opponents have shot 38.4% overall, 27.4% from long range and 62.7% from the stripe in MAC play.
THE EASTERN MICHIGAN EAGLES
Eastern Michigan enters Thursday's game with an overall record of 12-4, and the Eagles are 2-3 in MAC play. EMU already has shattered the team's win total (eight) for all of last season. The Eagles' conference wins have come at home vs. Western Michigan and on the road against Kent State, and Eastern has lost to Ball State, Northern Illinois and Buffalo. The UB game was an 84-83 overtime decision in New York on Saturday (Jan. 18). EMU is averaging 82.8 points per game on the year. Eastern is 6-1 at home, 4-3 on the road and 2-0 in neutral-site matches. Individually, freshman guard Janay Morton leads an incredibly balanced scoring attack, with 14.9 points per game. Morton, who leads the Eagles with 36 three-point field goals made, had 34 points in the UB game. Another freshman guard, Cha Sweeney, has 14.2 points per game, while senior guard Desyree Thomas and redshirt junior forward Olivia Fouty have 12.5 and 12.3 ppg, respectively. Fouty has a team-leading 9.6 rebounds per contest, while Thomas has 4.6 assists per outing. Head coach Tory Verdi welcomed back five letterwinners, including three starters, from last year's team. The 2012-13 edition of the Eagles went 8-22 overall and 6-10 in MAC regular-season play.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Eastern Michigan, 48-14, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU has won the last 11 meetings. Last season, the Brown and Orange picked up a 61-47 win in Ypsilanti (Jan. 27, 2013). Two years ago, in the last meeting in BG, Alexis Rogers scored a career-high 30 points to lead the Falcons to a 70-54 victory at the Stroh Center (Jan. 22, 2012). BGSU is 26-4 in home games, 19-9 on the road and 3-1 in neutral-site contests vs. the Hurons/Eagles through the years. Jennifer Roos is 1-0 against the Eagles as a collegiate head coach.
FALCONS VS. THE MAC
The Falcons continue to own the best record in MAC history. Entering the Eastern Michigan game, BGSU has an all-time record of 377-153 (.711) 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 (730) 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 in the 2013-14 season. In the first 17 games, despite playing a difficult schedule, BGSU has allowed 57.6 points per game and permitted the opponents to shoot just 37.5% from the field to date.
STROH'ME-COURT ADVANTAGE
• The Falcons have enjoyed a long-standing tradition of success at home. Most of that success came at venerable Anderson Arena, where the Brown and Orange enjoyed an outstanding home-court advantage over the years. But, the BG women's basketball program now owns an overall record of 34-7 in the Stroh Center, including a 17-2 record vs. MAC opponents.
• After losing by just one point to nationally-ranked Purdue in the first-ever women's basketball game in the building in November of 2011, the Falcons reeled off 14-straight wins at the Stroh, before losing another one-point game to VCU in the WNIT.
• Last season, the Falcons again won 14 games at home, including 25-point wins over both nationally-ranked Dayton (the Flyers' only regular-season loss all year) and Central Michigan (the Chippewas entered the game with a 7-0 MAC record).
• This year, the Falcons are 6-0 at home heading into the Eastern Michigan game. BG has won those six games by an average of 23.0 points.
• The 34-7 mark at the Stroh comes after the Falcons went 333-116 (74.2%) in Anderson Arena during the team's tenure there. The record was even better during MAC play, as the Falcons had a league mark of 192-54 (78.0%) at "The House That Roars" through the years.
TOUGH TO SCORE AT THE STROH
• In 41 games at the Stroh Center, the Falcons have allowed the opponent to reach 70 points just three times. Akron is the only MAC foe to surpass the 60-point mark against the Brown and Orange in 19 trips to the building by conference foes, and the Zips have done so twice (61 points in a BG win last Feb. 20; 65 points in another Falcon victory this season [Jan. 12]). Through the latter UA game, BG has allowed an average of 53.8 ppg in all games at the Stroh, and just 51.2 ppg against MAC opponents.
• BG has held 31 of 41 opponents to fewer than 60 points at the Stroh Center. The Falcons have limited 13 of those foes to less than 50 points, and on three occasions, BGSU has kept the opposition under the 40-point mark.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Senior Alexis Rogers had a double-double, with 20 points and 11 rebounds, in the Central Michigan game. BGSU now has a total of 11 double-doubles this season after recording nine during all of last year. Rogers has five this winter (and 20 in her career), while redshirt sophomore Erica Donovan has three, senior Jill Stein two and senior Jillian Halfhill one.
THE FALCONS ARE ...
• 14-3 this year to date, after posting a 24-11 overall record last season;
• 4-1 in MAC play in 2013-14, after going 11-5 in MAC action 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);
• 296-106 since Jennifer Roos came to BGSU in the summer of 2001;
• 150-47 in MAC games in that time:
• 275-71 over the last 10-plus years, with 2012-13 marking BG's MAC-record 10th-straight season of at least 20 wins;
• a staggering 254-61 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 231-53 overall, and 115-18 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 203-50 in the last seven-plus years, including a 99-18 league ledger;
• a/an (insert your own adjective here) 172-46 overall, and 84-17 in MAC regular-season games, in the last six-plus seasons, since Monique Rosati came to the BGSU program;
• 146-38 overall and 71-14 in MAC action over the last five-plus winters;
• 117-33, including a 56-13 MAC ledger, in the last four-plus seasons;
• 90-26 overall and 42-11 in the MAC since seniors Jillian Halfhill and Jill Stein ventured to campus;
• 62-21 overall, and 29-8 in MAC action, since senior Alexis Rogers and juniors Deborah Hoekstra and Jasmine Matthews first put on a BGSU uniform;
• 38-14 since senior Katrina Salinas and sophomore Miriam Justinger were added to the Falcons' roster;
• 138-22 in the last 160 games vs. MAC foes (regular-season and tournament);
• A perfect 63-0 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field since 2001;
• 236-12 when having a better FG percentage than the opposition in that time, including a 108-2 mark in the last five-plus seasons;
• 225-38 when making more free throws than the opponent in the Roos Assistant-Coach/Associate-Head-Coach/Interim-Head-Coach/Head-Coaching Era;
• 189-24 when outrebounding the opponent in that 12-plus-year span;
• 67-7 in MAC home games in the last nine-plus seasons;
• 55-12 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.
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 279 free throws this season to date. That total is nine more than the opponents have attempted (270). 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.
UP NEXT
Following the EMU game, the Falcons will conclude a brief two-game homestand with a Sunday (Jan. 26) contest vs. Northern Illinois. That game, which will begin at 2:07 p.m., is part of the MAC television package. Then, the month of January ends with a game at Ohio on Thursday, Jan. 30.
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