Bowling Green State University Athletics
Wednesday, February 5
Bowling Green, OH
7:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
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Western Michigan
Falcons Host WMU Wednesday in Play 4Kay Game
February 04, 2014 | Women's Basketball
PLAY 4KAY
• Wednesday's Western Michigan contest marks the Falcons' annual Play 4Kay game in support of breast cancer awareness. The Falcons will be wearing their white jerseys with pink trim, and fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game. Additionally, every fan in attendance will receive a pink rally towel, courtesy of Kroger.
• The 2014 Play 4Kay initiative (formerly known as WBCA Pink Zone) is an opportunity for a nation of coaches to raise breast cancer awareness and funds for research on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. Since its inception in 2007, the Play 4Kay initiative has raised over $2.8 million to support women's cancer research.
GAME NOTES
Bowling Green | Western Michigan
ROGERS NAMED MAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR THIRD TIME
Falcon senior Alexis Rogers has been named MAC Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday afternoon (Feb. 3). Rogers earned the honor for the third time this season and the eighth time in her BGSU career. She averaged 21.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game as the Falcons posted a pair of road wins over Ohio and Toledo last week. On the week, Rogers shot 52.4% from the field, going 11-of-21. She hit 4-of-10 three-pointers (40%), and went 16-of-21 (76.2%) at the free-throw line.
LAST TIME OUT: FALCONS WIN AT TOLEDO, 66-59
• Junior Deborah Hoekstra's back-to-back three-point field goals gave BGSU the lead, and the Falcons fought off every Toledo surge down the stretch Sunday afternoon (Feb. 2) en route to a 66-59 win at Savage Arena.
• Senior Alexis Rogers led the Falcons with a double-double, posting game-high totals of 22 points and 12 rebounds. Rogers had 16 points and seven boards in the second half.
• Hoekstra scored 12 points, going 4-of-7 from three-point land, while senior Jillian Halfhill had 11. Halfhill scored all 11 of her points in the second half. In fact, the point guard had all of those points in the final 4:20 of the game, including nine in the last 2:34 of the contest.
• Toledo got 13 points from both Andola Dortch and Inma Zanoguera, while Brianna Jones scored 12 off the bench.
• In addition to the 12-rebound day from Rogers, senior Jill Stein pulled down seven boards and Hoekstra six as BG held a 39-36 advantage on the glass.
• The Falcons shot just 34.6 percent from the field on the day, but BG was 11-of-23 (47.8%) in the second half, going 7-for-11 (63.6%) from three-point range after the intermission. BG made a total of nine triples on the day, with Hoekstra and Rogers accounting for seven.
• BGSU went 9-of-26 from two-point range as well as three-point range in the game. Toledo shot 37% for the game, but the Rockets were just 1-of-15 from beyond the arc.
• The Falcons took the lead for good when redshirt sophomore Erica Donovan grabbed an offensive rebound after a missed free throw, kicking the ball out to Hoekstra for a three-pointer and a 44-42 BG lead with 6:36 left.
• After Zanoguera was called for an offensive foul, Hoekstra struck again, knocking down a triple try from dead center for a 47-42 lead with 5:27 to go.
• The Rockets got within one point on two occasions, and it was still a two-point game with 2:56 remaining, but, Halfhill drove and hit an 'and-one' shot off the glass, and her ensuing free throw was good for a 55-50 BG advantage. UT got no closer than that five-point margin thereafter, as BG went 11-of-14 from the free-throw line in the final two minutes to seal the win.
LEAD, FOLLOW OR GET OUT OF THE WAY
• Through the first 21 games this season, there have been nine contests (Michigan, Niagara, Old Dominion, Monmouth, UMass, Saint Francis, Kent State, Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois) in which BG never trailed, two more (Ohio State and Akron) in which the Falcons were behind for less than a minute, and a 12th (Milwaukee) that saw BG trail for just over a minute's time.
• This year to date, BGSU has led for 654:20 – 77.4 percent of the time – and trailed for just 142:20 (16.8%). The Falcons and the opponents have been tied for a total of 48:20.
• BGSU has trailed for a total of just eight minutes and 19 seconds (in 320 minutes of action) in the eight 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.
300
Sunday's win at Toledo marked the Falcons' 300th victory since Jennifer Roos came to BGSU. BG has a record of 300-106, good for a 73.9% winning percentage, since Roos joined the program as an assistant coach prior to the 2001-02 season.
DOUBLE DIGIT WINS AWAY FROM HOME
The win at Toledo also was BGSU's 10th victory away from home this season, matching the total for all of last year. The Falcons have a mark of 10-3 away from the Stroh Center this year, having gone 7-2 in true road games and 3-1 in neutral-site matchups. Last season, the Falcons went 10-6 away from home.
BATTLE OF THE BOARDS
• The Falcons have enjoyed more than their fair share of success on the glass over the Jennifer Roos head-coaching era. Since the start of the 2012-13 season, BGSU has won the rebounding battle in 45 of 56 games, including in 19 of the 25 MAC contests. Three of the other games saw the teams tie in that category.
• This year, the Falcons have out-rebounded the foes in 18 of the first 21 games, with double-digit margins in seven of those matchups. BG owns a MAC-best rebounding margin of +8.7 this year to date. BGSU has out-boarded eight of nine MAC opponents so far in '13-14, with a +7.4 rebounding margin (good for second in the conference) in league play.
QUICK HITS
• BGSU is 18-3 overall and 8-1 in MAC play, and BGSU has won four consecutive games heading into the Western Michigan contest. 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 Jan. 18. But, BG bounced back with a pair of home victories, downing Eastern Michigan (Jan. 23) and Northern Illinois (Jan. 26), before hitting the road and topping Ohio and Toledo.
• The Falcons posted a 78-62 win at Ohio Thursday night (Jan. 30), and downed UT, 66-59, in the Glass City Sunday afternoon (Feb. 2). BGSU has had two five-game and two four-game win streaks this season to date.
• Fifteen of the Falcons' 18 victories this season – including all eight home games – have come by double figures. Sunday's win at Toledo marked BGSU's first single-digit win since Nov. 18. BG posted a one-point win at Iona (Nov. 9) in the second game of the year, and downed Butler by four just over a week later (Nov. 18).
• The Falcons have recorded four wins of 23 points or more, with three of those four coming at home. BGSU is 8-0 at the Stroh Center, having won those eight games by an average of 20.6 points per contest.
• In addition to the eight home wins, the Falcons have 10 victories away from home, with marks of 7-2 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 eight home games, the Falcons have averaged 76.9 points per game. BG has topped the 80-point plateau five times this season, with all of those totals coming in home contests.
• BGSU has had a balanced scoring attack this season. Five Falcons are averaging between 8.8 and 14.3 points per game, and two other players have at least 5.1 ppg to date.
• The Falcons' five starters each have attempted between 136 and 201 shots, meaning that every starter is averaging somewhere between 6.4 and 9.6 field-goal attempts per game.
• BGSU leads the MAC and ranks 18th in the nation in scoring defense, having allowed just 57.2 points per game. The Falcons also lead the MAC in scoring margin (+12.5), rebounding margin (+8.7) and three-point field-goal percentage defense (27.3), and BG is second in the conference in field-goal percentage defense (37.2) and three-point FG pct. (34.8).
• BGSU is 21st 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 on Jan. 15.
• The Falcons received votes in the USA Today Sports Top 25 coaches poll in 10-straight weeks, but have not done so on either of the last two polls released (Jan. 21 & 28). But, BG garnered seven votes in this week's (Feb. 3) Associated Press poll after picking up three votes in each of the last two weeks.
THREE FOR ALL
BGSU made nine three-point field goals in the Toledo game. The Falcons now have hit at least one three-pointer in each of the last 297 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.
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 261-of-324 (80.6%) over the last 14 games.
• In the last eight games, the Brown and Orange have made 161 free throws in 197 attempts, good for a success rate of 81.7%. On the year, the Falcons are shooting 75.3% from the line (ranking second in the MAC), and a league-leading 81.4% (175-of-215) from the stripe in conference games.
FALCONS LIKE THEIR #MACTION
Since Jennifer Roos became head coach prior to the 2012-13 season, the Falcons have a record of 19-6 in MAC regular-season games. BGSU has won those 19 games by an average of 16.4 points per game, and the Falcons' MAC losses have been by 6.2 ppg. Sixteen of the 19 wins have been by double digits, with just two of the six losses coming by 10 points or more.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Western Michigan game with an overall record of 18-3 and an 8-1 MAC ledger. BGSU currently holds a two-game lead over Akron and a three-game edge on Buffalo in the MAC's East Division race.
• 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 four consecutive double-digit wins, downing Buffalo and preseason East Division favorite Akron at home, and Kent State and Ball State on the road. In a battle of the last two remaining MAC unbeatens, host Central Michigan picked up an 82-79 overtime decision over the Falcons on Jan. 18, but the Brown and Orange have bounced back with four-straight wins, including home victories over Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois.
• On Thursday (Jan. 30), the Falcons used a 27-4 game-ending run for a 78-62 win at Ohio, and BGSU then downed Toledo, 66-59, on the Rockets' home court Sunday (Feb. 2). Seven of BG's eight MAC wins – all except that Toledo game – have been by double figures.
• Fifth-year senior Alexis Rogers, fourth-year Falcon Jillian Halfhill and redshirt sophomore Erica Donovan lead a balanced scoring attack. Rogers is averaging 14.3 points per game, while Halfhill has 12.3 ppg and Donovan 10.6 ppg this year to date.
• Sophomore Miriam Justinger has 8.8 points per game, and junior Deborah Hoekstra, a strong candidate for the MAC Sixth Man Award, is also scoring 8.8 ppg. Senior Jill Stein and junior Jasmine Matthews have scored 6.7 and 5.1 points per contest, respectively.
• Stein leads the team and ranks fourth in the MAC in rebounding, with 9.1 boards per game, while Rogers has pulled down 8.4 rpg (eighth in the league) and Donovan 5.5. Stein had an eye-popping total of 18 boards in the win at Ohio, while Rogers had 22 points and 12 rebounds at Toledo. BGSU has had at least one player with 10 rebounds in 18 of this season's first 21 games.
• Halfhill leads the Falcons with 3.1 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 52.8 percent from the floor, ranking second in the MAC in that category, while Donovan is shooting 44.6% and Hoekstra 43.3%. From long range, Halfhill has made a team-leading 35 three-point field goals, while Hoekstra has hit 31 shots from beyond the arc. Four other Falcons have made between 13 and 22 treys apiece.
• Hoekstra ranks second in the entire MAC in three-point field-goal percentage, having gone 31-of-71 (43.7%) from long distance to date, while Halfhill is fifth in the league in that category (39.8%).
• Freshmen Rachel Konieczki and Abby Siefker are averaging 1.8 and 1.5 ppg, respectively. Another freshman, Kennedy Kirkpatrick, has seen action in five games off the bench, and classmate Leah Bolton has played in two contests, including the EMU match on Jan. 23. Bolton made her BGSU debut in the Monmouth game back on Dec. 1. Kirkpatrick has not seen action since the Ohio State game the previous week (Nov. 24).
• Halfhill, Justinger, Rogers and Stein each have started all 21 games this season to date, with Donovan starting 20. 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 21 games, the Falcons are shooting 42.1 percent from the field, 34.8% from three-point range and 75.3% from the foul line. Opponents are shooting 37.2% from the floor, 27.3% from the arc and 68.9% from the stripe. The Falcons have a scoring margin of +12.5, a rebounding margin of +8.7 and a turnover margin of +0.1 on the year.
• In MAC games, BGSU is shooting 42.0% from the field, 35.8% from three-point land and 81.4% from the line. Opponents have shot 37.3% overall, 24.5% from long range and 62.5% from the stripe in MAC play.
THE WESTERN MICHIGAN BRONCOS
Western Michigan enters Wednesday's game with an overall record of 9-11, and the Broncos are 5-4 in MAC play. WMU is in second place in the MAC's West Division race at the midpoint of the conference schedule. Western snapped a two-game losing streak with Saturday's (Feb. 1) 56-43 home win over Northern Illinois. The team's other MAC wins have come against Miami (two), Buffalo and Toledo. WMU is 5-5 at home and 4-6 on the road this season. In MAC play, the Broncos have a 4-1 record in Kalamazoo and a 1-3 mark away from home. Individually, sophomore forward Miracle Woods leads the team in scoring, with 18.3 points per game, and she also has 7.3 rebounds per game to rank second on the team. Wood is shooting a WMU-best 55.0% from the field. Junior forward Marquisha Harris has 10.9 ppg and a team-high 7.4 rpg, while junior guard A.J. Johnson's 9.5 ppg include a WMU-best 25 three-point field goals made. Three other Broncos are averaging between 7.2 and 8.4 ppg this winter. Head coach Shane Clipfell welcomed back nine letterwinners, including three starters, from last year's team. The 2012-13 edition of the Broncos went 11-20 overall and 6-10 in the MAC.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Western Michigan, 34-23, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU won the most recent meeting. Last year, the teams played a pair of games that went right down to the wire. In the teams' regular-season matchup, Corie Buchanan hit a shot in the lane with just 4.6 seconds to go, lifting Western to a 55-54 win in Kalamazoo (Feb. 10, 2013). The teams met again in the MAC Tournament, as the Falcons built an 18-point lead, then held off a spirited Bronco comeback for a 55-53 win in second-round action in downtown Cleveland (March 13, 2013). The last time the teams played in Bowling Green, Alexis Rogers had a double-double, with 22 points and 13 rebounds as the Falcons won a 67-56 decision at the Stroh Center (Feb. 4, 2012). BGSU is 17-10 in home games, 14-12 on the road and 3-1 in neutral-site contests vs. the Broncos through the years. Jennifer Roos is 1-1 against the Broncos as a collegiate head coach.
FALCONS VS. THE MAC
The Falcons continue to own the best record in MAC history. Entering the WMU game, BGSU has an all-time record of 381-153 (.713) 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 (734) and highest overall winning percentage (.652) 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 21 games, despite playing a difficult schedule, BGSU has allowed 57.2 points per game and permitted the opponents to shoot just 37.2% from the field to date.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Senior Alexis Rogers had a double-double, with 22 points and 12 rebounds, in the Toledo game. BGSU now has a total of 13 double-doubles this season after recording nine during all of last year. Rogers has six this winter (and 21 in her career), while senior Jill Stein and redshirt sophomore Erica Donovan have three apiece and senior Jillian Halfhill one.
THE FALCONS ARE ...
• 18-3 this year to date, after posting a 24-11 overall record last season;
• 8-1 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);
• 300-106 since Jennifer Roos came to BGSU in the summer of 2001;
• 154-47 in MAC games in that time:
• 279-71 over the last 10-plus years, with 2012-13 marking BG's MAC-record 10th-straight season of at least 20 wins;
• a staggering 258-61 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 235-53 overall, and 119-18 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 207-50 in the last seven-plus years, including a 103-18 league ledger;
• a/an (insert your own adjective here) 176-46 overall, and 88-17 in MAC regular-season games, in the last six-plus seasons, since Monique Rosati came to the BGSU program;
• 150-38 overall and 75-14 in MAC action over the last five-plus winters;
• 121-33, including a 60-13 MAC ledger, in the last four-plus seasons;
• 94-26 overall and 46-11 in the MAC since seniors Jillian Halfhill and Jill Stein ventured to campus;
• 66-21 overall, and 33-8 in MAC action, since senior Alexis Rogers and juniors Deborah Hoekstra and Jasmine Matthews first put on a BGSU uniform;
• 42-14 since senior Katrina Salinas and sophomore Miriam Justinger were added to the Falcons' roster;
• 142-22 in the last 164 games vs. MAC foes (regular-season and tournament);
• A perfect 64-0 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field since 2001;
• 239-12 when having a better FG percentage than the opposition in that time, including a 111-2 mark in the last five-plus seasons;
• 229-38 when making more free throws than the opponent in the Roos Assistant-Coach/Associate-Head-Coach/Interim-Head-Coach/Head-Coaching Era;
• 193-24 when outrebounding the opponent in that 12-plus-year span;
• 69-7 in MAC home games in the last nine-plus seasons;
• 57-12 in MAC road games over the last eight-plus years; and
• 36-7 in the Stroh Center, with five of the seven losses coming by a combined 11 points.
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 357 free throws this season to date. That total is 26 more than the opponents have attempted (331). 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 Western Michigan game, the Falcons will remain home for a MAC East Division clash this weekend. BGSU will host Miami on Sunday (Feb. 9), with tipoff at 2:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center. Then, the Brown and Orange will make a short trip to Ypsilanti, Mich., to take on Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 15, before facing league-leading Central Michigan on Feb. 19 at the Stroh.
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