Falcons Journey to Johnstown for Saturday Matchup with Red Flash

Saturday, December 13

Johnstown, PA

2:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Saint Francis (Pa.)

Rachel Konieczki vs Cincinnati - Dec 7 2014

Rachel Konieczki & the Falcons take on Saint Francis in Johnstown on Saturday afternoon

Photo by: Craig Bell, BGSU Marketing and Communications

December 11, 2014 | Women's Basketball

BGSU to meet Saint Francis (Pa.) at the Cambria County War Memorial

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, after a rare home game, returns to the road this weekend. The Falcons of head coach Jennifer Roos play the next five games away from Northwest Ohio, beginning with a Saturday (Dec. 13) game vs. Saint Francis University. The Falcons and Red Flash will meet at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, Pa., with tipoff scheduled for 2:00 p.m. BGSU is in the midst of a stretch which sees the team play eight of nine games away from home between Nov. 18 and Jan. 3.

GAME NOTES
BGSU | SFU

FALCONS FACE A(NOTHER) TOP-TEN SCORER
The Falcons will face the nation's leading scorer on Saturday. SFU's Alexa Hayward enters the weekend averaging an NCAA-best 27.7 points per game. By Saturday evening, BGSU will have played against three of the country's top-ten scorers, as Iona's Damika Martinez (eighth, 23.9 ppg) and Milwaukee's Ashley Green (ninth, 23.3 ppg) also are near the top of that list. Martinez was averaging 32.0 ppg when Iona played at BG, but the Falcons held her to 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting. Green entered the BGSU game averaging 33.0 ppg, and scored 23 points vs. the Brown and Orange. BG downed both the Gaels and the Panthers.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
If you can't make it to Saturday's game, you can still follow the Falcons via your radio or computer machine. The game will be broadcast by WBGU-FM 88.1, the flagship home of Falcon women's basketball, and will be available over the air and on the web.

Additionally, live stats as well as a video stream (free) will be available. And, in-game twitter updates can be found at @BGSUwbb. Log on to BGSUFalcons.com and click the 'calendar' link on the day or the game, or navigate your way to the women's basketball schedule page and bask in the veritable plethora of links.

LAST TIME OUT: STRONG SECOND-HALF START STOPS CINCINNATI
• The Falcons began the second half on a 10-0 run, building a double-digit lead en route to a 66-55 win over Cincinnati Sunday afternoon (Dec. 7) at the Stroh Center.

• Redshirt junior Erica Donovan had a double-double, with a game-high 17 points along with a BG-best 10 rebounds, to pace three Falcons in double figures in the scoring column. Senior Deborah Hoekstra had 15 points, with 10 coming in the second half, while junior Miriam Justinger scored 14.

• The Falcons turned the ball over just nine times on the afternoon, and BG had a 19-10 advantage in points off turnovers. Cincinnati had 14 turnovers in the game.

• The Falcons actually had a pair of 10-0 runs sandwiched around the halftime break. During that 20-2 stretch, the Bearcats could only muster two free throws late in the first period. UC went nearly nine minutes (8:55, to be exact) without hitting a field goal.

• Cincinnati took its largest lead of the game with just over five minutes left in the first half, when Makenzie Cann's layup gave the Bearcats a 22-17 advantage. Sophomore Rachel Konieczki immediately responded with a right-side jumper, and Hoekstra, Donovan and Justinger all scored before Konieczki's free throws gave BG a 27-22 lead with 2:11 to go in the half.

• UC's Bianca Quisenberry got to the line and hit two shots with 1:14 left before the break, but Donovan's three-pointer just 10 seconds into the second half began BG's second double-digit run. Donovan's long-range shot came after the Falcons were just 1-of-14 from three-point range in the opening period.

• Sophomore Abby Siefker, who just missed a double-double on the day, scored the game's next four points, and Konieczki's three-ball in transition gave the Brown and Orange a 37-24 lead with 17:25 to go in the contest. Konieczki and Siefker each had eight points on Sunday, with Siefker adding nine rebounds.

• Quisenberry and Marley Hill each had 13 points off the bench to lead the Bearcats. UC had a 35-17 advantage in bench scoring, but the Falcon defense held the Bearcats' five starters to a total of just 20 points. BGSU got a combined 49 points from the starters and 17 points from the bench players.

• BG limited UC's leading scorer, Jasmine Whitfield, to just two points and an 0-of-8 shooting performance from the field. Ana Owens, the Bearcats' second-leading scorer on the year, had eight points on the day. Whitfield and Owens entered the game averaging 14.8 and 12.6 points per game, respectively.

DONOVAN NAMED MAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Redshirt junior Erica Donovan was named MAC Player of the Week, the league office announced on Monday (Dec. 8). Donovan earned the honor for the first time this season and the second time in her BGSU career. Donovan had a double-double, with a game-high 17 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds, in the Falcons' lone game of the week, a 66-55 win over Cincinnati. She went 6-of-11 from the field and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.

EVEN STEVEN
Through five games, BGSU and the opponents both were an identical 103-for-284 from the floor. The Cincinnati game did very little to separate the Falcons and the foes in terms of field-goal percentage. BGSU is now 123-of 342 from the field (36.0%), while the opponents have taken and made one more shot this season. Falcon foes are 124-for-343 on the year.

THESE CATEGORIES ARE RELATIVELY EVEN, TOO
Six games into the season, the Falcons have been outrebounded by the opponents by a narrow 235-233 margin. BG has 79 offensive boards to the foes' 80. The Falcons have 154 defensive rebounds, and the opponents have 155. And, BG has made 33 three-point field goals to the foes' 28.

NOT THIS ONE
The Falcons' field-goal, three-point and rebounding stat lines may look similar to those of the opponents, but that is most certainly not the case when it comes to the free-throw categories. BG appears to be continuing a program trend of making more free throws than the opponents attempt. This year to date, BGSU is 89-of-115 from the stripe, for a conversion rate of 77.4 percent. Opponents have gone 46-of-66 (69.7%) from the line through the first six games of the season.

SIX OF ONE, HALF DOZEN OF THE OTHER
Coach Jennifer Roos and the Falcons returned 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 had combined to play a total of 24 minutes in their collegiate careers entering the season. The latter half-dozen players include a pair of redshirt freshmen as well as four true frosh.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Saint Francis game with a 4-2 record. After opening the season with a 53-52 loss to Bucknell, BGSU bounced back with a convincing 80-59 victory over Iona, then went on the road and picked up a 60-50 triumph over Milwaukee. The Brown and Orange extended the win streak to three games with a 62-54 win over UC Irvine, before suffering a narrow loss, 51-48, to Loyola Marymount. The latter two games came at the DoubleTree LA Westside Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by LMU.

• The Falcons returned home and posted a 66-55 win over Cincinnati on Sunday (Dec. 7), the team's lone home game in a month-and-a-half span.

• BG's starting lineup has been the same in each of the first six games, with senior Jasmine Matthews, redshirt junior Erica Donovan, true junior Miriam Justinger and sophomores Rachel Konieczki and Abby Siefker comprising the starting five. Senior Deborah Hoekstra, one of the top sixth players in the MAC a year ago, has been at the scorer's table the first time BGSU has made a substitution in each of the six games to date.

• The two juniors pace the Falcons' balanced scoring attack. Donovan leads the Falcons with 13.7 points per game, while Justinger also is in double digits with 10.7 ppg. Hoekstra and Konieczki have scored 9.8 and 6.8 ppg, respectively, with freshman Rachel Myers averaging 6.2 points and Siefker an 5.5 points per outing.

• Donovan leads the Falcons in rebounding as well as scoring, with 8.5 boards per game. Siefker and Justinger have 5.8 and 5.3 rpg, respectively, while Matthews has pulled down 3.5 caroms per contest.

• Justinger has 2.5 assists per game to pace the Falcons in that category, and she and Donovan are tied for the team lead in steals, with 1.5 per game. Matthews is second on the Falcons with 1.7 apg, with Donovan handing out 1.5 apg. Siefker has a team-leading 1.0 blocked shots per contest.

• BGSU is shooting 36.0 percent from the field, 24.8% from three-point range and 77.4% from the free-throw line through six games. The Falcons' opponents have shot 36.2% from the floor, 24.3% from the arc and 69.7% from the stripe.

• The Falcons have averaged 5.5 three-pointers made through the first six contests. Hoekstra has made eight triples, while Konieczki and Myers have hit six each and Donovan and Justinger five apiece.

• Hoekstra, Myers and freshman Haley Puk each have seen action in all six games off the bench, while redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick and true freshman Lauren Webb have appeared in five games apiece and classmate Sarah Baer three.

• The Falcons returned 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.

SIXTY POINTS = SUCCESS AT THE STROH
After the Cincinnati game, the Falcons have a record of 46-9 at the Stroh Center since the building opened prior to the 2011-12 season. While an 83.6 winning percentage is certainly impressive, BGSU's chances of winning at home have increased exponentially when the team scores at least 60 points. The Falcons are 43-1 (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.

750: FALCONS ARE FIRST TO YET ANOTHER MILESTONE
BGSU's win over Cincinnati was the 750th victory in program history. The Falcons are now 750-395, good for a winning percentage of 65.5%, over the years. BG is the first Mid-American Conference program to reach the 750-win plateau.

THE SAINT FRANCIS RED FLASH
Saint Francis will enter Saturday's game with an overall record of 0-6. The Red Flash dropped an 86-77 decision against visiting George Mason the last time out (Dec. 6). SFU's schedule to date has included road games against Ohio State and Tennessee. Individually, senior guard Alexa Hayward leads the team – and the entire nation – in scoring, with 27.7 points per game, and she also has a team-high 5.8 assists per outing. Hayward is 55-for-178 from the floor, and no other SFU player has made more than 21 or attempted more than 71 field goals. Hayward has made 25 of her team's 51 successful three-point baskets. Junior guard Aisha Brock is averaging 10.0 ppg, while senior forward Shaqeia Stokes has 7.8 ppg and a team-leading 6.0 rebounds per contest. Last year, head coach Joe Haigh's team finished 15-17 overall and 11-7 in the Northeast Conference. Haigh and the Red Flash welcomed back 10 letterwinners, including three starters, from the 2013-14 squad.

THE SERIES
The Falcons lead SFU, 5-0, in the all-time series between the teams, and the Brown and Orange captured an 81-66 win last Dec. 29 at the Stroh Center. In that game, Erica Donovan scored 22 points, including 11 in the game's first five minutes, to stake the Falcons to a 24-5 lead. The teams' first-ever meeting went to overtime, with the Falcons capturing an 80-74 decision on the road (Dec. 18, 2004). The most recent game prior to last year saw BG escape with a 77-72 win at Anderson Arena (Dec. 1, 2009). BG also posted a home win in 2005 and a road triumph in '08. Jennifer Roos is 1-0 against the Red Flash as a head coach.

THE FALCONS ARE/WERE ...
• 4-2 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;
• 316-110 since Jennifer Roos came to BGSU in the summer of 2001;
• 163-47 in MAC games in that time:
• 295-75 over the last 11-plus years, with 2013-14 marking BG's MAC-record 11th-straight season of at least 20 wins;
• a staggering 274-65 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 251-57 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 223-54 in the last eight-plus years, including a 112-18 league ledger;
• a/an (insert your own adjective here) 192-50 overall, and 97-17 in MAC regular-season games, in the last seven-plus seasons, since Monique Rosati came to the BGSU program;
• 166-42 overall and 84-14 in MAC action over the last six-plus winters;
• 137-37, including a 69-13 MAC ledger, in the last five-plus seasons;
• 110-30 overall and 55-11 in the MAC in the last four-plus years;
• 82-25 overall, and 42-8 in MAC action, since seniors Deborah Hoekstra and Jasmine Matthews first put on a BGSU uniform;
• 58-18 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;
• 34-7 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;
• 251-12 when having a better FG percentage than the opposition in that time, including a 123-2 mark in the last six-plus seasons;
• 242-40 when making more free throws than the opponent in the Roos Assistant-Coach/Associate-Head-Coach/Interim-Head-Coach/Head-Coaching Era;
• 204-25 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;
• 52-7 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
• 46-9 in the Stroh Center, with seven losses coming by a combined 17 points.

UP NEXT
Following the Saint Francis game, the Falcons' non-conference travel odyssey continues with a trip to the state of Illinois. The Brown and Orange will face Illinois State on Friday, Dec. 19, before meeting Bradley on Sunday, Dec. 21. The Falcons are in the midst of a nine-game stretch which sees BG play eight games away from home, in the states of Wisconsin, California, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Florida.