BGSU Battles Bradley Braves Before Break

Sunday, December 21

Peoria, IL

3:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Bradley

Freshman Rachel Myers & the Falcons face Bradley Sunday

Photo by: Craig Bell, BGSU Marketing and Communications

December 20, 2014 | Women's Basketball

Falcons face BU Sunday afternoon in final game before the holidays

By: PEORIA, Ill. (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, after wrapping up the semester with exams this week, concludes the pre-holiday schedule with one final game. The Falcons of head coach Jennifer Roos wrap up a weekend swing through the state of Illinois with a Sunday (Dec. 21) game at Bradley University. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. local time (3:00 p.m. Eastern) at Renaissance Coliseum. The Falcons are 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 | Bradley

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
If you can't make the trip to Peoria, you can still follow the Falcons via your radio or computer. The Bradley game – and all of BGSU's 2014-15 games, for that matter – 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 (fee required) will be available for Sunday's game. 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: FALCONS HOLD OFF PESKY ILLINOIS STATE, 58-54
• The Falcons built double-digit leads on multiple occasions, and BGSU withstood several comeback attempts by host Illinois State en route to a 58-54 win on Friday night (Dec. 19).

• Redshirt junior Erica Donovan led the way for the Brown and Orange, with game-high totals of 20 points and 15 rebounds. Her rebound total set a new career best. Sophomore Rachel Konieczki scored nine points for the Falcons, while fellow soph Abby Siefker and redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick had eight points apiece.

• Siefker had 12 rebounds of her own, and led all players with five assists in the win. She set career highs in both rebounds and assists.

• Donovan and Siefker combined for 14 offensive rebounds among their 27 total boards. Donovan had eight rebounds and Siefker six at the offensive end. On the night, the Falcons had a 44-37 advantage on the glass.

• Freshman Rachel Myers had six points on a pair of three-point field goals, including a key triple late in the game that gave the Falcons a six-point lead.

• Octavia Crump led three double-digit scorers for the Redbirds, with 17 points. Stekara Hall added 14 points and Katy Winge 11 for the hosts.

• The Falcons spotted the Redbirds an early lead on a Zenobia Bess free throw, but BG then reeled off the next nine points. Siefker was involved in the scoring of all four buckets during that run, with two field goals and a pair of assists.

• An 8-0 run for the Falcons made it a 17-4 game with nearly 10 minutes gone, and when Kirkpatrick found Myers for a triple near the top of the arc, BG had a 15-point lead, the largest of the game, at 23-8.

• The hosts scored the next eight points, however, and ISU cut the deficit to eight points, 26-18, at the half.

• In the second half, the Falcons built the lead to 12 points, 36-24, after back-to-back layups by Konieczki. But, back came the hosts, scoring eight-straight points to cut that lead to four.

• The game remained close, and ISU came all the way back to tie the contest at 49-all with 4:16 to go. On the next possession, Donovan's sweet drop-step move resulted in a layup and a two-point lead. The Redbirds split a pair of free throws, and Donovan rebounded the miss and was immediately fouled. She hit both of her shots from the stripe, then made a layup with 2:56 remaining for a 55-50 lead.

• With just over two minutes left, Hall stole the ball from Donovan, though, with Donovan injured on the play, and Hall was fouled on a layup try. When play resumed, Hall hit both free-throw tries. But, on the ensuing possession, Siefker kicked the ball to Myers for a three-pointer from the left corner, and the shot was on target, doubling the Falcons' lead. With 1:42 remaining, BG was ahead by a 58-52 score.

• Crump scored inside with 47.0 seconds left, but that would prove to be the final points of the game. BG missed several free throws down the stretch, but ISU missed four shots from the floor in the final 33 seconds of play.

• BGSU shot 37.7% from the field for the game, and the Falcons went 6-of-16 from three-point land. Kirkpatrick and Myers each made a pair of shots from beyond the arc in the win. ISU shot 35.0% from the floor, going 4-for-10 from long distance.

CHANNELING HER INNER KEVIN LOVE
Sophomore Abby Siefker did a little bit of everything on Friday night at ISU, with eight points, a career-high 12 rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot. Siefker also dished out a game-high five assists, by far the highest total of her Falcon career. In fact, Siefker entered the ISU game with totals of one assist this season and eight since coming to BG. She had seven assists during her freshman season, and now has six helpers this year to date.

FIFTY IS NIFTY, BUT SIXTY IS, UMMMM, BETTER
The win over the Illinois State Friday night was the 60th victory in the head-coaching career of Jennifer Roos. Roos is now 60-18 since assuming the helm prior to the 2012-13 season. That 60-18 mark does not include a pair of wins as the Falcons' interim head coach in 2011-12.

DONOVAN DOMINATES VS. ISU
Redshirt junior Erica Donovan had a dominant performance on Friday at ISU. She scored 20 points for the second-straight game, and also had a career-high 15 rebounds vs. the Redbirds. Donovan now has three double-doubles this season, matching her career total entering the year.

KIRKPATRICK KONNECTS
Redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick had a career-high eight points in the victory at Illinois State. She also set career bests in field goals made (three) and three-point field goals made (two) and attempted (four). The successful treys were the first of her career. Kirkpatrick had a total of two points over the first 10 games of her career (five last year, five this season), but now has 15 points over the last two games, including seven in the Saint Francis game.

MAKE MORE THAN THEY TAKE
So far this season, BG appears to be continuing a program trend of making more free throws than the opponents attempt. This year to date, BGSU has gotten to the line 157 times, making 117 shots. Opponents have gone 62-of-92 from the stripe through the first eight games of the season.

EVEN STEVEN
Through the first eight games of the season, the Falcons have gone 168-of-453 from the field (37.1%). The opponents have taken one more shot, and made one less shot, during that time. Falcon foes are 167-for-454 (36.8%) on the year.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Bradley game with a 6-2 record, and BGSU has won three-straight games for the second time this season. 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, the team's lone home game in a month-and-a-half span, before returning to the road and picking up a 76-62 decision against Saint Francis last weekend (Dec. 13). On Friday (Dec. 19), BG topped Illinois State by a 58-54 final in Normal.

• BG's starting lineup was 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, was at the scorer's table the first time BGSU made a substitution in each of those six contests.

• Hoekstra has started each of the last two contests, however, making her first collegiate start at Saint Francis, and remaining in the lineup for the ISU game. Hoekstra replaced fellow senior Matthews, who sat out due to injury, in the lineup.

• Donovan leads the Falcons in scoring, with 15.3 points per game, while Hoekstra is averaging 10.5 ppg. That duo combined to score 42 points against SFU, and Donovan scored 20 points for the second-straight game in the win over ISU.

• Justinger and Konieczki have scored 9.6 and 7.5 ppg, respectively, with freshman Rachel Myers and Siefker each averaging 5.4 points per outing.

• Donovan leads the Falcons in rebounding as well as scoring, with 9.1 boards per game. Siefker and Justinger have 6.6 and 5.4 rpg, respectively, while Matthews has pulled down 3.5 caroms per contest.

• Justinger has 2.4 assists per game to pace the Falcons in that category, and she and Donovan are tied for the team lead in steals, with 1.4 per game. Matthews is second on the Falcons with 1.7 apg, with Donovan and Hoekstra handing out 1.5 apg each. Siefker has a team-leading 0.9 blocked shots per contest.

• BGSU is shooting 37.1 percent from the field, 29.0% from three-point range and 74.5% from the free-throw line through seven games. The Falcons' opponents have shot 36.8% from the floor, 27.6% from the arc and 67.4% from the stripe.

• The Falcons have averaged 6.1 three-pointers made through the first eight contests. Hoekstra has made 13 triples to lead the way, while Konieczki and Myers have hit eight each, Justinger seven and Donovan six.

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

• Donovan, Matthews, Web and redshirt freshman Leah Bolton all are unlikely to dress for the Bradley game due to various injuries. Bolton played in the Falcons' exhibition game vs. Davis and Elkins, but has yet to see action during the regular season.

• 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.

THE BRADLEY BRAVES
Bradley has an overall record of 1-8, and the Braves are looking to snap a two-game losing streak. BU opened the season with five-straight road games, including contests against UIC, DePaul and Oklahoma, and the Braves are now in the midst of an eight-game homestand. Bradley's lone win to date was a 76-64 triumph over visiting Missouri. On Thursday, BU lost a narrow 62-59 decision to visiting Chicago State. Individually, senior guard Michelle Young leads the team in scoring, with 17.0 points per game, and she also paces the Braves in field-goal percentage and steals. Redshirt junior guard Fantasia Vine and freshman guard Anneke Schlueter have 7.9 and 7.8 ppg, respectively, while sophomore guard Leti Lerma has 6.9 ppg and a team-leading 5.6 rebounds per outing. Last year, head coach Michael Brooks and the Braves finished 8-22 overall and 5-13 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Brooks welcomed back just three letterwinners, including one starter, from the 2013-14 club.

THE SERIES
BGSU and Bradley have never met in women's basketball.

MAC TIES
The Falcons are seeing multiple staff members with Mid-American Conference ties on the opposing bench(es) during BGSU's weekend trip to Illinois. Illinois State assistant coach Lisa Hayden is in her second season with the Redbirds after 12 years on the staff at Miami University. Bradley assistant coach Skyler Young is a graduate of Western Michigan, and spent time on the staffs at both WMU and Ohio. And, BU director of operations Kristin Wiener was a four-year letterwinner at Northern Illinois, and is ranked in the top-15 in NIU history in both career scoring and rebounding.

THE FALCONS ARE/WERE ...
• 6-2 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;
• 318-110 since Jennifer Roos came to BGSU in the summer of 2001;
• 163-47 in MAC games in that time:
• 297-75 over the last 11-plus years, with 2013-14 marking BG's MAC-record 11th-straight season of at least 20 wins;
• a staggering 276-65 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 253-57 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 225-54 in the last eight-plus years, including a 112-18 league ledger;
• a/an (insert your own adjective here) 194-50 overall, and 97-17 in MAC regular-season games, in the last seven-plus seasons, since Monique Rosati came to the BGSU program;
• 168-42 overall and 84-14 in MAC action over the last six-plus winters;
• 139-37, including a 69-13 MAC ledger, in the last five-plus seasons;
• 112-30 overall and 55-11 in the MAC in the last four-plus years;
• 84-25 overall, and 42-8 in MAC action, since seniors Deborah Hoekstra and Jasmine Matthews first put on a BGSU uniform;
• 60-18 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;
• 36-7 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;
• 253-12 when having a better FG percentage than the opposition in that time, including a 125-2 mark in the last six-plus seasons;
• 243-40 when making more free throws than the opponent in the Roos Assistant-Coach/Associate-Head-Coach/Interim-Head-Coach/Head-Coaching Era;
• 206-25 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 Bradley game, the Falcons will take a brief break for the holidays. Then, BG's non-conference travel odyssey continues with a trip to Miami, Fla., for the FIU Sun & Fun Classic on Dec. 29-30. The Falcons will face Hampton on Monday, Dec. 29, then will play either Auburn or host Florida International on Tuesday, Dec. 30. That will wrap up a nine-game stretch which will have seen BG play eight games away from home, in the states of Wisconsin, California, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Florida.