Falcons Face Milwaukee in Saturday Matinee

Saturday, November 22

Milwaukee, WI

12:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Milwaukee

Tickets

Kennedy Kirkpatrick vs Iona - Nov 18 2014

Kennedy Kirkpatrick & the Falcons face Milwaukee Saturday

Photo by: Bianca Garza, BGSU Marketing and Communications

November 21, 2014 | Women's Basketball

BGSU hits the road for the first time in '14-15

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, after posting a convincing home win on Tuesday night, now hits the road for the first time in the 2014-15 season. The Falcons of head coach Jennifer Roos face the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Saturday (Nov. 22), with tipoff set for 11:00 a.m. locally (noon Eastern) at the Klotsche Center. Saturday's game begins a stretch in which the Brown and Orange will play eight of nine contests away from home, with just one more game at the Stroh Center in the 2014 calendar year.

BGSU NOTES | MILWAUKEE NOTES - PDF

LAST TIME OUT: FALCONS SURGE PAST IONA, 80-59
• Redshirt junior Erica Donovan scored in double figures in each half as the Falcons broke into the win column with an 80-59 victory over Iona Tuesday night (Nov. 18) at the Stroh Center.

• Donovan scored 24 points to lead five double-digit scorers for the hosts, and paced the Brown and Orange with seven rebounds in the win. Sophomore Abby Siefker had a career-high 12 points on the night, while a trio of Falcons scored 10 points apiece. That group included junior Miriam Justinger and freshmen Rachel Myers and Haley Puk.

• Donovan's point total tied her career high, while both Myers and Puk hit double digits in the scoring column for the first time in their two-game BGSU careers. Siefker's total also marked her first double-figure output as a Falcon.

• Joy Adams led the Gaels with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Damika Martinez scored 18 points. Martinez is Iona's career scoring leader, with 1,930 points entering the game, and was averaging 32.0 points on the young season. But, Justinger and the Falcons limited her to a 6-for-16 shooting performance at the Stroh.

• The Falcons, after shooting only 29 percent from the floor in the season-opening loss to Bucknell, shot 48.2% from the field vs. Iona, including a 50% rate in the second half. The hosts went 17-of-23 from the free-throw line, while the Gaels were 6-of-10 from the stripe.

• BGSU led from wire to wire on Tuesday night. After scoring the first seven points of the evening, the Falcons saw the Gaels go on a 5-0 run, and BG's lead was cut to a single point on two occasions. With the score 13-12, however, the Brown and Orange proceeded to score 12-straight points while holding the visitors scoreless for nearly three minutes. The lead never dropped below 10 points again.

• The Falcons led by a 38-26 score at the intermission after a Justinger floater in the paint beat the halftime buzzer. Then, with BG holding an 11-point lead early in the second period, the home team went on a 13-0 run, holding Iona without a point for nearly five minutes and taking a 55-31 lead. The visitors got within 12 points on two occasions, but would draw no closer.

• The Falcons had a 29-7 advantage in points off the bench, keyed by the freshmen duo of Myers and Puk. Additionally, senior Deborah Hoekstra scored seven points off the bench for the home side.

SIXTY POINTS = SUCCESS AT THE STROH
The win over Iona on Tuesday night gives the Falcons a record of 45-9 at the Stroh Center since the building opened prior to the 2011-12 season. While an 83.3 winning percentage is certainly impressive, BGSU's chances of winning have increased exponentially when the team scores at least 60 points. The Falcons are 42-1 (97.7%) when reaching the 60-point mark inside the Stroh. BG is 28-1 when scoring at least 70 points, 12-0 when hitting the 80-point mark and 3-0 when reaching the 90-point plateau.

A FEW MORE NOTES FROM THE IONA GAME
• Redshirt junior Erica Donovan, the Falcons' top returning scorer from a year ago, was held scoreless in the season opener vs. Bucknell. And, she did not score in the first five-plus minutes vs. Iona. But, Donovan hit a three-pointer at the 14:41 mark of the first half on Tuesday night, beginning a stretch in which she scored 10 points in just over four minutes. Donovan ended the night with 24 points vs. the Gaels.

• That 24-point total tied Donovan's career high. Her other 24-point game came against another team from the state of New York, as she had two dozen points in a road win against Buffalo last Feb. 22.

• Sophomore Abby Siefker had 12 points to set a new career best. Siefker's career-high totals entering the season were seven points and 17 minutes played. But, she has averaged 27.5 minutes per game over the first two contests of the year. Siefker set a career high with nine points vs. Bucknell, then topped that with her 12-point output against Iona.

• A pair of freshmen, Rachel Myers and Haley Puk, came off the bench to score 10 points apiece in the win over the Gaels. It marked the first collegiate double-digit scoring game for each player.

• Sophomore Rachel Konieczki has reached career marks in each of the first two games. She tied her career best with 11 points vs. Bucknell, and set a new standard with six rebounds in the Iona game.

• Junior Miriam Justinger also had 10 points vs. Iona, and is the lone Falcon to have scored in double figures in each of the first two games this year. Justinger keyed BGSU's game-opening 7-0 run, throwing the ball inside to Siefker for a pair of layups, and hitting a left-wing three-pointer in between the two assists.

• Freshman Sarah Baer made her first collegiate appearance and also scored her first collegiate points in the Iona game. Baer had two points in two minutes of action vs. the Gaels.

SIX OF ONE, HALF DOZEN OF THE OTHER
Coach Jennifer Roos and the Falcons return six letterwinners from a year ago. Each of those returnees played in 31 or more games last winter, with three of the six playing in all 35 contests. BGSU's other six players on the 2014-15 roster have combined to play a total of 24 minutes in their collegiate careers. The latter half-dozen players include a pair of redshirt freshmen as well as four true frosh.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Milwaukee game with a 1-1 record. After opening the season with a 53-52 loss to Bucknell, BGSU bounced back with a convincing 80-59 victory over Iona.

• BG's starting lineup has been the same in each of the first two games, with senior Jasmine Matthews, redshirt junior Erica Donovan, true junior Miriam Justinger and sophomores Rachel Konieczki and Abby Siefker in the starting five vs. both Bucknell and Iona. Senior Deborah Hoekstra, one of the top sixth players in the MAC a year ago, has been the Falcons' first player off the bench in each of the two games to date.

• The Falcons' balanced scoring attack features four players averaging between 10.5 and 12.0 points per game. Donovan and Hoekstra each have scored 12.0 points per outing, with Justinger averaging 11.0 ppg and Siefker 10.5 ppg through two games.

• BGSU's rebounding has been quite balanced as well. Donovan and Siefker each have 5.5 boards per game, with Justinger at 5.0 rpg. Both Konieczki and Matthews have 4.0 rebounds per contest.

• Donovan has 3.0 assists per game and Justinger 2.5 to date. Matthews has 2.0 assists per game, and is tied with Justinger for the team lead in steals, with 2.0.

• BGSU is shooting 39.1 percent from the field, 33.3% from three-point range and 75.6% from the free-throw line through two games. The Falcons' opponents have shot 38.4% from the floor, 27.1% from the arc and 61.9% from the stripe.

• The Falcons have averaged 7.5 three-pointers made through the first two contests. Hoekstra has made four, while Justinger has hit three and Donovan, Konieczki and freshman Rachel Myers two each.

• Hoekstra, Myers, redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick and true frosh Haley Puk and Lauren Webb each have seen action in both games off the bench, while freshman Sarah Baer played in the Iona contest.

• The Falcons return six letterwinners, including two starters, from a 2013-14 team that won 30 overall games and captured a MAC regular-season title with a 17-1 league ledger. BGSU won the East Division title, and the Falcons had the best overall record in MAC play for the eighth time in the last 10 seasons. The division title was the program's ninth in that 10-year span.

• Last year's edition of the Brown and Orange advanced to national postseason play for the 10th consecutive March, winning three games in the WNIT before falling in the quarterfinal round to eventual tourney champion Rutgers. BGSU won more than 20 games for the 11th consecutive year.

• In addition to the six returnees, head coach Jennifer Roos and her staff – assistant coaches Jesse Fleming, Jacey Brooks and Sahar Nusseibeh and director of operations Monique Rosati – also have six players with freshman status on the roster. That 12-player roster includes two seniors, two juniors, two sophomores, two redshirt freshmen and the four true frosh.

• Donovan is the top returning scorer and rebounder. She averaged 10.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game a year ago, ranking third on the team in both categories.

• Donovan played in all 35 games, starting 34, last season. The Falcons' other returning starter is Justinger, who made 27 starts last season and avearged 8.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per outing. Justinger also averaged 2.4 assists per contest last winter, good for second on the Falcons and tops among returnees.

• Hoekstra and Matthews scored 6.9 and 6.4 ppg, respectively, last year. Both players saw action off the bench. Hoekstra, one of the league's top sixth players, came off the bench in all 35, while Matthews made nine starts.

• Matthews made 45 three-point field goals last season, while Hoekstra hit 41 long-range shots and made 36.3% of her attempts from beyond the arc. Donovan and Justinger made 36 and 28 treys, respectively.

• The 2013-14 Falcons shot 42.3 percent from the field, 35.2% from three-point range and 74.6% from the foul line. Opponents shooting 37.4% from the floor, 25.7% from the arc and 69.0% from the stripe. The Falcons had a scoring margin of +12.9, a rebounding margin of +6.5 and a turnover margin of +1.1 on the year.

• In MAC games, BGSU shot 43.0% from the field, 36.1% from three-point land and 78.5% from the line. Opponents shot 36.4% overall, 22.0% from long range and 64.8% from the stripe in MAC play.

THIRTY WINS
BGSU finished with a 30-5 record last winter. The 2013-14 Falcons are only the second team in MAC history to reach the 30-victory mark for a season. The first? The 2006-07 BGSU club, which became the first (and still the only) team in MAC women's basketball history to advance to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Championships.

RECENT SUCCESS
The NCAA has compiled its annual lists of the winningest Division-I teams over the last five years, and Bowling Green ranks in the top 15 on both lists. BGSU has won a total of 133 games over the last five years (from the start of the 2009-10 season through the end of 2013-14), and the Falcons have won more than 79 percent of the time during that span. BGSU's winning percentage is the 11th-highest among all NCAA Division-I programs over the last half decade, while the team's win total is the 13th-best in the nation in that time.

LONG-TERM SUCCESS
The Falcons have enjoyed success not only recently, but over the long term. BGSU ranks 30th in NCAA Division-I history in winning percentage, and the Falcons were 39th among all such schools in total wins entering the 2014-15 season. Heading into the Milwaukee game, BGSU has an all-time record of 747-394, good for a winning pct. of 65.5%. No other Mid-American Conference program is listed among the top 50 on either chart.

FALCONS SIGN THREE
Head coach Jennifer Roos recently announced the signing of three student-athletes to National Letters of Intent. Maddie Cole (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview H.S.), Sydney Lambert (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) and Carly Santoro (Bellevue, Ohio/Bellevue) will join the Falcons for the 2015-16 academic year.

THE MILWAUKEE PANTHERS
Milwaukee, like BGSU, will enter Saturday's game with a record of 1-1 on the young season. The Panthers split a pair of games on a season-opening trip, with a 77-73 victory at North Dakota State on Sunday (Nov. 16) and an 83-76 loss at North Dakota two days later. For the second game in a row, the Falcons will face a player who is averaging over 30 points per game, as UWM senior G/F Ashley Green has 33.0 ppg. Green is averaging a double-double, with 10.5 rebounds per game, and she is shooting 63.2% (24-of-38) from the field and 66.7% (6-for-9) from three-point range. Junior guard Jaleesa Armstrong has 16.5 ppg and a team-leading 5.0 assists per game, while junior G/F Jordyn Swan and freshman guard Jenny Lindner have 10.0 and 9.0 ppg, respectively. Last year, head coach Kyle Rechlicz and the Panthers finished 8-22 overall and 4-12 in Horizon League play. Rechlicz welcomed back five letterwinners, including two starters, from that team.

THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Milwaukee, 3-2, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU won the most recent meeting. Last December, Deborah Hoekstra scored a career-high 19 points as the Falcons topped the Panthers, 87-64, at the Stroh Center (Dec. 8, 2013). Last year's game marked the teams' first meeting in exactly 12 years. The teams have played in back-to-back years on two occasions prior to the current home-and-home series. BGSU swept the first such series, in 1992 and '93, while UWM returned the favor in 2000 and '01. None of the first five meetings has been close, as each game has been decided by between 19 and 25 points. Jennifer Roos is 1-0 against the Panthers as a head coach.

GOLDEN NUGGET
There will be a familar face on the opposing bench on Saturday. Milwaukee assistant coach Frank Goldsberry is the father of former BGSU standout Lindsey Goldsberry. Frank is in his third season on the UWM staff after spending nearly a decade as director of operations for the women's basketball team at the University of Dayton. Lindsey Goldsberry finished her career as the winningest player in BGSU and MAC basketball history, as the Falcons had a total of 114 wins (114-20) during her four years on the roster (2005-09).

CHAMPIONS AGAIN
The Falcons won the MAC's regular-season title outright last season, achieving that feat for the eighth time in 10 years. BGSU has captured a total of 14 regular-season championships. A few more notes about BG's titles ...

• BGSU won league regular-season titles in three consecutive years from 1986-87 to 1988-89 under head coach Fran Voll, and Jaci Clark's teams captured back-to-back crowns in the 1992-93 and '93-94 campaigns. In 2005, the Falcons had the MAC's best overall record at 13-3, and won the West Division. BGSU then won the East Division outright seven years running (2006-12), with MAC marks of 16-0, 15-1, 13-3, 15-1, 14-2, 13-3 and 14-2 in those seven seasons.

• BGSU has won nine division titles in the last 10 years. The lone exception came in 2012-13, when the Falcons finished in second place in the East, one game behind Akron, with a league mark of 11-5.

• BGSU's 14 total regular-season titles are the most of any conference institution.

• A total of 13 of BGSU's 14 MAC regular-season championships have been outright crowns. In each of the Falcons' first five championship seasons (1987, 1988, 1989, 1993 and 1994), the MAC had just one division, and BGSU had the best overall regular-season record outright.

• In each of the six-straight seasons from 2005 to 2010, Falcon teams not only won a division title, but also had the best overall record among all MAC schools. The '11-12 campaign was the only year that BG won a title without winning the overall regular-season championship, as the Falcons won the East Division with a 13-3 mark, but West Division-winning Toledo was 14-2 in the league.

NATIONAL POSTSEASON PLAY FOR THE 10TH-STRAIGHT SEASON
The Falcons have participated in national postseason play in each of the last 10 seasons, a school- and MAC-record streak. BGSU has made the WNIT field in five of those seasons, participating in the tourney in 2008 and 2009 as well as each of the last three years. The Falcons also have gone to the NCAA Championships five times in that span, making three-straight trips from 2005-07, then returning to the NCAAs in 2010 and '11. Prior to the current run, the school's previous record for consecutive postseason appearances was four, as Fran Voll guided the Falcons to the NCAAs in each year from 1987 through 1990.

THE FALCONS ARE/WERE ...
• 1-1 this season, after posting a 30-5 overall record last winter;
• 17-1 in MAC play in 2013-14, winning a division title for the ninth time in a 10-season span;
• 313-109 since Jennifer Roos came to BGSU in the summer of 2001;
• 163-47 in MAC games in that time:
• 292-74 over the last 11-plus years, with 2013-14 marking BG's MAC-record 11th-straight season of at least 20 wins;
• a staggering 271-64 in the past 10-plus years, with no fewer than 23 wins in each of the 10 seasons and eight MAC overall regular-season titles (2004-10, 2012 and again in '14, plus an East Division crown in '11);
• an eye-popping 248-56 overall, and 128-18 in the MAC regular season, in the last nine-plus years, with at least 24 wins in each of those nine seasons;
• a superb 220-53 in the last eight-plus years, including a 112-18 league ledger;
• a/an (insert your own adjective here) 189-49 overall, and 97-17 in MAC regular-season games, in the last seven-plus seasons, since Monique Rosati came to the BGSU program;
• 163-41 overall and 84-14 in MAC action over the last six-plus winters;
• 134-36, including a 69-13 MAC ledger, in the last five-plus seasons;
• 107-29 overall and 55-11 in the MAC in the last four-plus years;
• 79-24 overall, and 42-8 in MAC action, since seniors Deborah Hoekstra and Jasmine Matthews first put on a BGSU uniform;
• 55-17 overall and 28-6 in league play since Jennifer Roos became head coach, junior Miriam Justinger joined the Falcons' roster, and redshirt junior Erica Donovan transferred to BG;
• 31-6 since Donovan and sophomores Rachel Konieczki and Abby Siefker began their BGSU playing careers, and redshirt freshmen Leah Bolton and Kennedy Kirkpatrick came to campus;
• 151-23 in the last 174 games vs. MAC foes (regular-season and tournament);
• A perfect 67-0 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field since 2001;
• 250-12 when having a better FG percentage than the opposition in that time, including a 122-2 mark in the last six-plus seasons;
• 239-40 when making more free throws than the opponent in the Roos Assistant-Coach/Associate-Head-Coach/Interim-Head-Coach/Head-Coaching Era;
• 202-25 when outrebounding the opponent in that 13-plus-year span;
• 74-7 in MAC home games in the last 10 seasons;
• 61-12 in MAC road games over the last nine years;
• 20-5 in the MAC Tournament in the last 10 years, with five titles (2005, '06, '07, '10 and '11), an additional championship-game appearance (2009), and trips to the semis in 2008, 2012 and 2014;
• 44-19 overall in the MAC Tournament since it was instituted in 1982;
• 21-7 at Gund/Quicken Loans Arena, the site of the MAC Tournament;
• 51-7 in all non-conference home games since the start of the 2003-04 season;
• 10-17 in 17 national postseason appearances (including a 3-11 record in the NCAA Championships and a 7-6 mark in WNIT trips);
• 9-10 in national postseason action since Roos arrived at BG (including a 2-5 mark in the NCAAs and a 7-5 record in the WNIT); and
• 45-9 in the Stroh Center, with seven of the losses coming by a combined 17 points.

UP NEXT
Following the trip to Milwaukee, the Falcons will prepare for a flight to the left coast. BGSU will head to Los Angeles, Calif., to take part in the DoubleTree LA Westside Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by Loyola Marymount University. The Falcons will face UC Irvine on Friday, Nov. 28, and will meet either UAB or host LMU the following day. The Milwaukee game begins a nine-game stretch in which the Falcons will play eight games away from home. The Brown and Orange will venture to the states of Wisconsin, California, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Florida before the end of December.