Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, March 14
Cleveland, OH
12:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
vs
Ball State
No. 25 Falcons Prepare for MAC Tournament in Cleveland
March 11, 2014 | Women's Basketball
BGSU to face an opponent to be determined in Friday's semifinal round
LINKS
BGSU Notes
MAC Tournament Tickets on Sale
AUDIO: Tuesday (March 11) interview with Coach Roos
Roos Named MAC Coach of the Year
Rogers Named MAC Player of the Week
Halfhill, Rogers, Donovan Earn All-MAC Honors
Falcons Break into Associated Press Top 25
A Trio of Falcons Recognized by College Sports Madness
Falcons Down Akron, 77-76, for Outright MAC Crown
BGSU Game Notes from 2009-Present
BGSU Media Guide: PDF | Flip Interactive
Career Stats of Current Falcons
CHAMPIONS AGAIN
The Falcons won the MAC's regular-season title outright, marking the eighth time BGSU has achieved that feat in the last 10 years. BGSU now has captured a total of 14 regular-season championships. A few more notes about BG's titles ...
• BGSU won league regular-season championships 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 last season, 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.
• Thirteen 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, head coach Curt Miller's teams not only won a division title, but also had the best overall record among all MAC schools. The 2011-12 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.
HALFHILL, ROGERS AND DONOVAN NAMED TO ALL-MAC TEAM
• BGSU seniors Jillian Halfhill and Alexis Rogers were named to the All-MAC First Team, while redshirt sophomore Erica Donovan earned all-league honorable mention. The All-MAC Teams were announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon (March 10).
• This season marks the first time in five years that BGSU has had two players named to the first team (Tracy Pontius and Lauren Prochaska in 2009).
• Rogers earns all-league first-team honors for the second time, and she has received conference accolades in each of her three playing seasons at BGSU. Rogers was named to the All-MAC First Team two years ago before earning second-team honors last March. Halfhill and Donovan each earn all-league honors for the first time in their respective careers.
ROOS NAMED MAC COACH OF THE YEAR
BGSU's Jennifer Roos has been named the MAC Coach of the Year, it was announced Tuesday morning (March 11). Roos, in just her second year as a collegiate head coach, earns the honor for the first time. Roos has an overall record of 51-14 heading into Friday's MAC Tournament semifinal-round game, and she has guided the Falcons to a 28-6 MAC record over her first two seasons. Those marks do not include a 2-0 record as the Falcons' interim head coach during the 2011-12 season.
BGSU BREAKS INTO THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Falcons were ranked 25th in the nation in the latest Associated Press poll, which was released Monday (March 10). It marks BGSU's first appearance in the poll in just over five years – since March 2, 2009.
ROGERS NAMED MAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK, AGAIN
Senior Alexis Rogers was named MAC Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday afternoon (March 10). Rogers earns the honor for the fourth time this season, and the ninth time in her BGSU career. Rogers led the team in scoring, rebounding and steals as the Falcons went 2-0 on the road to capture the MAC regular-season championship outright. Rogers averaged 22.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and a whopping 6.5 steals per game as BG topped Miami, 73-56, before winning at Akron by a 77-76 score to finish MAC play with a 17-1 record and a league championship.
THE FALCONS IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT
BGSU enters Friday's semifinal-round game with an all-time record of 44-18 in the MAC Tournament. The Falcons have won 11 MAC Tournament titles, the most of any conference institution, and BGSU has the highest winning percentage (71.0%) of any MAC team in league tourney games. BG's conference tournament win total places the Falcons second among MAC teams. More information on BGSU and the MAC Tournament can be found on pages 38 and 39 of the PDF version of these notes.
FALCONS IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT, BY ROUND AND SITE
• The Falcons enter the 2014 MAC Tournament with an all-time record of 13-7 in the semifinal round. BGSU is 4-2 in league tourney first-round games, 1-0 in the second round, 0-1 in third-round games, 15-6 in quarterfinal-round contests and 11-2 in championship-game appearances.
• BGSU is a perfect 10-0 in MAC Tournament home games, including a 1-0 mark at the Stroh Center. BG is 2-5 in road games and 32-13 in neutral-site contests in the league tourney over the years.
BGSU AT THE Q
The Falcons enter the 2014 MAC Tournament with an all-time record of 21-6 at Quicken Loans (formerly Gund) Arena. A few more pieces of information about BGSU and "The Q" ...
• In their first-ever appearance in the building, the Falcons, seeded ninth, led top-seeded Toledo at halftime before losing in the 2001 tourney quarterfinals. That was BGSU's final game before the Curt Miller (and Jennifer Roos) Era began.
• Ten years ago, the Brown and Orange picked up a pair of one-point wins at then-Gund Arena, topping Western Michigan and Miami on buzzer-beating jumpers by Lindsay Austin. That '04 team fell to Eastern Michigan in the championship game, and BG then proceeded to win 10-straight games at "The Gund"/"The Q." That streak included MAC Tournament titles in 2005, '06 and '07.
• The Falcons' 10-game winning streak also included a quarterfinal-round win over Kent State in 2008. That streak came to an end with a double-overtime loss to Ohio in the semifinal round that season. Five years ago, BGSU downed Central Michigan and UT to advance to the title game, before falling to Ball State, 55-51, in the final.
• Following that loss to BSU in 2009, BG won six-straight games at "The Q." The 2010 tourney saw the Falcons defeat Miami, Akron and UT. In 2011, BGSU downed Ohio, CMU and EMU en route to a fifth MAC Tournament title in seven seasons. But, the top-seeded Falcons lost their first tourney game two years ago, falling by a 69-66 count to Central in the semifinals after earning a 'triple-bye.' BG downed Western in the second round last March, before being bounced from the tournament by eventual champion CMU in the third round. That 81-48 setback was BGSU's most lopsided tournament loss in program history.
• The Falcons are 21-5 at the facility since Roos arrived at BGSU. She enters the 2014 tournament with a record of 1-1 at "The Q" as a head coach.
LAST TIME OUT: BG DOWNS AKRON FOR OUTRIGHT MAC TITLE
• Senior Jillian Halfhill's layup with 6.6 seconds left gave the Falcons a 77-76 win at Akron Saturday afternoon (March 8). The win, coupled with a Central Michigan loss at Eastern Michigan, gives the Falcons the outright league regular-season crown.
• Senior Alexis Rogers had a monster game, with game-high totals of 23 points, 15 rebounds and seven steals. The steals total tied her career high, and the rebound total included nine at the offensive end.
• Fellow senior Jill Stein had 12 points and seven boards, while sophomore Miriam Justinger scored 11 points, all in the final six minutes of the second half. Justinger's point total included a key three-point field goal in the late going, as well as three free throws in the final minute of play.
• Hanna Luburgh had 20 points to pace four double-figure scorers for Akron. Anita Brown had 17 points off the bench, while Kacie Cassell and Katie Nunan scored 10 points apiece.
• The Zips shot 50.9 percent from the field for the game, including 56.0% in the second half, while BGSU shot 36.5% on the afternoon. Akron outrebounded the Falcons by two, 36-34, but BG hit eight three-pointers to the Zips' five, and the visitors went 23-of-26 from the free-throw line (88.5%). UA made 13-of-16 shots from the stripe.
• Justinger, as mentioned, scored all 11 of her points in the game's final six minutes, beginning with a free throw at the 5:52 mark that cut the Akron lead to 65-63. After a Rogers steal, Justinger converted a nifty left-side baseline drive, and the game was tied.
• After Nunan hit a long two-pointer, though, the Zips led by two points heading into the final media timeout, and Cassell split a pair of free throws out of the break for a 68-65 UA lead with 3:41 to go.
• On the next possession, the Falcons nearly threw the ball away, but Rogers saved it with a headlong dive under the basket, and Justinger grabbed the ball in front of the BG bench, a split-second before an Akron player could arrive. Justinger drove and drew a foul on Carly Young, knocking down two free throws at the 3:18 mark.
• Cassell missed a layup, with Rogers rebounding. The ensuing possession saw the senior take a Justinger entry pass and hit a layup for a 69-68 BG lead, but the Zips came right back, as Luburgh's three-pointer gave the hosts a 71-69 lead with just over two minutes remaining.
• Back came the Falcons, as Halfhill drove the lane and kicked a pass to Justinger on the right side. The sophomore's rainbow three was on target, and the Falcons led, 72-71, with 1:51 on the clock.
• Brown split a pair of free throws with 1:37 left, tying the game. She missed the second try, but the Zips kept possession after the Falcons dropped the rebound out of bounds. Luburgh made BG pay with a pull-up jumper for a 74-72 UA lead with 1:17 remaining.
• The next possession saw Rogers miss a layup try, but the senior tied up an Akron player on the rebound, and the possession arrow was pointing in BG's direction with 1:03 left.
• Justinger was fouled by Young on a three-point try – Young's fifth foul of the game – with 45.4 seconds to go. The sophomore hit all three resulting free-throw attempts, and the Falcons had a 75-74 lead. But, Luburgh hit a pair of tosses with 20.1 seconds remaining, and the hosts had a one-point lead.
• BG did not call a timeout, instead inbounding and running the offense, and Halfhill scored on a right-side drive with 6.6 seconds to go. Akron, out of timeouts, raced upcourt, but the BG defense forced Cassell to take a contested shot which fell short, glancing off the front of the rim as the buzzer sounded.
• Akron enjoyed advantages of 34-24 in points in the paint and 38-21 in bench scoring, but the Falcons had a whopping 29-5 lead in points off turnovers. BG turned the ball over 12 times, while forcing the Zips into 18 turnovers.
QUICK HITS
• BGSU is 27-3 overall, and the Falcons finished the regular season with a record of 17-1 in MAC play, good for the outright Mid-American Conference title. BGSU has won 13 consecutive games heading into the MAC Tournament.
• The Falcons won the East Division title, obviously, en route to the overall MAC regular-season crown. BGSU now has won a division title in nine of the last 10 seasons, and the Falcons have had the best overall regular-season record in the MAC in eight of those 10 years.
• BGSU has earned the number-one seed for the MAC Tournament, giving the Falcons a 'triple bye' and advancing the Brown and Orange to the semifinal round. BG's first league tourney game will be Friday (March 14) against an opponent to be determined.
• BGSU has won at least 20 games in each of the last 11 seasons, and the Falcons have posted as many as 23 wins in the last 10 years – both are school and MAC records. BG has amassed 24 or more victories in nine-straight seasons, and 2013-14 marks the sixth time in those nine years that the program has recorded 27 wins.
• BG moved into the national rankings for the first time in five years, as the Falcons were 25th in Monday's (March 10) Associated Press poll. The Falcons were ranked 26th in the NCAA's latest RPI listings, also as of Monday.
• Also, BGSU was listed 12th in the nation in the UPS Team Performance Index on Monday (March 10). The UPS Team Performance Index is a data index that comprehensively measures offensive and defensive efficiency for all 300-plus NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball teams.
• The Falcons' lone loss since December came in the fifth game of the conference schedule. BG suffered an 82-79 overtime loss on the road against preseason MAC favorite Central Michigan on Jan. 18, but the Falcons have bounced back to win each of the 13 games since that time.
• BG topped last year's MAC win total by six, albeit in two more games. The 2012-13 Falcons went 11-5 in league play. The conference returned to an 18-game schedule this season after playing 16 league games from 1998-99 through '12-13.
• The Falcons have surpassed the win total for all of last season by three, with at least two games remaining (at least one MAC Tournament game and at least one national postseason tourney game). Last year's team finished with a 24-11 record.
• In addition to the current 13-game winning streak, BGSU has won five games in a row on two occasions and four-straight games once this year.
• Twenty-two of the Falcons' 27 victories this season – including all 13 home games – have come by double figures. The Falcons' 66-59 win at Toledo on Feb. 2 marked BGSU's first single-digit win since Nov. 18, and BG picked up a five-point victory over Eastern Michigan on Feb. 15 and a one-point win at Akron to end the regular season (March 8). The Brown and Orange 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 eight wins of 22 points or more, with seven of those eight coming at home. BGSU has gone a perfect 13-0 at the Stroh Center, winning those 13 games by an average of 24.1 points per contest.
• In addition to the 13 wins at the Stroh, the Falcons have 14 victories away from home, with marks of 11-2 on the road and 3-1 in neutral-site contests. BG posted road wins over Iona, Butler and Ohio State in non-conference play, and Kent State, Ball State, Ohio, Toledo, EMU, Buffalo, Miami and UA during the league schedule. And, the Falcons topped Michigan, Old Dominion and Monmouth at neutral sites. 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 the teams' first 2013-14 meeting.
• In BGSU's 13 home games, the Falcons have averaged 76.2 points. BG has topped the 80-point plateau seven 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 8.0 and 14.9 points per game, and two other players have at least 6.0 ppg to date.
• The Falcons' five starters each have attempted between 170 and 292 shots, meaning that every starter is averaging somewhere between 6.0 and 9.8 field-goal attempts per game.
• BGSU leads the MAC and ranks 13th in the nation in scoring defense, having allowed just 56.0 points per game. The Falcons also lead the MAC in scoring margin (+14.8), rebounding margin (+7.4), field-goal percentage defense (36.7) and three-point FG pct. defense (24.8), and BG is second in the conference in FG pct. (42.7), free-throw pct. (75.2), three-point FG pct. (35.5) and three-pointers made (7.7).
• The Falcons are third in the nation in three-point FG pct. defense, and BG ranks seventh in W-L pct. and 15th in scoring margin. In fact, BGSU is ranked among the nation's top-40 teams in nine of the 18 statistical categories kept by the NCAA.
• BGSU is 29th in the country in rebounding margin. The Falcons have been out-rebounded in just four games since Nov. 18, although BG was out-boarded in three of the last five contests to end the regular season.
SENIOR PRIDE
The Falcons' seniors recently joined a relatively exclusive – and very impressive – group. Jillian Halfhill, Alexis Rogers and Jill Stein have become the ninth class in school history, and the eighth in a row, to be a part of at least 100 career wins at BG. Heading into the MAC Tournament, the Falcons have a record of 103-26 since they arrived on campus in the fall of 2010 (Rogers sat out that 2010-11 season as a transfer from Duke). The school mark is held by the one-woman class of Lindsey Goldsberry, who ended her career with 114 wins, the most by any player (male or female) in MAC basketball history.
BATTLE OF THE BOARDS
• The Falcons have enjoyed more than their fair share of success on the glass in the Jennifer Roos Head-Coaching Era. Since the start of the 2012-13 season, BGSU has won the rebounding battle in 51 of 65 games, including in 25 of the 34 MAC contests. Three of the other games saw the teams tie in that category.
• This year, the Falcons have out-rebounded the foes in 24 of the first 30 games, with double-digit margins in nine of those matchups. BG owns a MAC-best rebounding margin of +7.4 this year to date. BGSU out-boarded 14 of 18 MAC opponents in the regular season, and had a league-best +5.9 rebounding margin in conference play.
THREE-MENDOUS!
• In MAC games, the Falcons finished second in the league in three-point field-goal percentage, and BG led the league in three-point FG pct. defense. BGSU shot 36.1 percent from beyond the arc vs. conference foes, while allowing MAC opponents to shoot just 22.0% from long range.
• The Falcons also led the MAC in overall FG pct. defense in conference games (36.4%). The take-home message after all of this rambling? BGSU nearly shot better from behind the three-point line than the opponents did from anywhere on the court in MAC play.
THREE FOR ALL
BGSU made eight three-point field goals in the win at Akron on Saturday. The Falcons now have made at least one three-pointer in each of the last 306 games. BG has not been held without a triple in over nine years – since Feb. 12, 2005, at Akron, when the Falcons downed the Zips, 61-52, despite going 0-of-13 from long distance.
THREE-MARKABLE
• The Falcons made at least four three-point field goals in each of the 18 MAC games, and BG hit at least eight treys on nine occasions in conference play, including in seven of the last 10 games.
• Over the last nine games – all wins – BG has made a total of 83 three-pointers, an average of over nine per game. That nine-game span includes four contests in which the Falcons hit double digits in that category (15 in the home game vs. Miami, 12 vs. Western Michigan, and 10 at both Buffalo and MU).
STREAKY FALCONS
BGSU's win over Akron on Saturday (March 8) was the Falcons' 13th in a row. BG has had a total of 12 double-digit winning streaks in program history, including eight in the last nine seasons.
A LITTLE MORE INFO ABOUT THOSE DOUBLE-DIGIT STREAKS
As mentioned, the Falcons are currently riding a 13-game winning streak, the 12th double-digit streak in program history. Eight of those streaks have come over the last nine seasons. Since 2005, there have been only two seasons in which BG did not have a double-digit winning streak – 2009-10 (when BGSU had a pair of eight-game win streaks) and last season (when the Brown and Orange had separate streaks of six and five wins). The complete list of double-figure streaks...
LEAD, FOLLOW OR GET OUT THE WAY
• Through the first 30 games this season, there have been 11 contests (Michigan, Niagara, Old Dominion, Monmouth, UMass, Saint Francis, Northern Illinois, the first Eastern Michigan meeting, the second Ohio matchup and both games vs. Kent State) in which BG never trailed, three more (Ohio State, the first Akron game and the first Miami game) in which the Falcons were behind for less than a minute, and a 15th (Milwaukee) that saw BG trail for just over a minute's time.
• This year to date, BGSU has led for 919:14 – 76.3 percent of the time – and trailed for just 216:25 (18.0%). The Falcons and the opponents have been tied for a total of 69:21.
• BGSU trailed for a total of just 19 minutes and 29 seconds (in 520 minutes of action) in the 13 home regular-season games. The Falcons never trailed in the second half of any game at the Stroh Center this season. In fact, BG had not fallen behind later than the 12:40 mark of the first half of a home game until Feb. 5, when Western Michigan took the lead in the final minute of the opening half. BG, however, retook the lead for good just 19 seconds later.
FALCONS LIKE THEIR #MACTION
Since Jennifer Roos became head coach prior to the 2012-13 season, the Falcons have a record of 28-6 in MAC regular-season games. BGSU has won those 28 games by an average of 17.6 points per game, and the Falcons' MAC losses have been by 6.2 ppg. Twenty-three of the 28 wins have been by double digits, with just two of the six losses coming by 10 points or more.
TAKE SOME, THEY'RE FREE
• BGSU struggled at the free-throw line early in the season, but the Falcons' fortunes quickly improved in that area. 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 nearly 80% from the line, having gone 393-of-500 (78.6%) over the last 23 games.
• On the year, the Falcons are shooting 75.2% from the line (ranking second in the MAC), and BG was 78.5% from the stripe (best in the MAC) in conference games.
FALCONS GO 13-AND-OH AT THE STROH
The Falcons' win over Ohio capped a perfect home regular-season schedule. BG has a record of 13-0 at the Stroh Center this winter. The Falcons have completed the regular season with an unblemished home record for the eighth time in program history, and the first time at the Stroh. Seven Falcon teams made it through the regular season unscathed when the team called Anderson Arena home (three of those teams suffered a loss at home during national postseason play).
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the MAC Tournament with an overall record of 27-3, and BG finished with a 17-1 MAC 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.
• 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 UA 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 13-straight wins.
• Last week, the Falcons picked up a 73-56 road win over Miami on Wednesday (March 5), then headed to Akron and downed the Zips by a 77-76 count Saturday (March 8). That came after BG held Kent State to just 12 second-half points in an 82-38 win over the Flashes (Feb. 27), then kept a second-straight opponent under 40 points in a 63-39 win over Ohio (March 2).
• Fourteen of BG's 17 MAC wins this season were 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 14.9 points per game, while Halfhill has 13.3 ppg and Donovan 10.6 ppg this year to date.
• Sophomore Miriam Justinger has 8.2 points per game, and junior Deborah Hoekstra has come off the bench to score 8.0 ppg. Senior Jill Stein and junior Jasmine Matthews have scored 6.8 and 6.0 points per contest, respectively.
• Stein leads the team and ranks sixth in the MAC in rebounding, with 8.5 boards per game, while Rogers has pulled down 8.2 rpg and Donovan 5.6.
• Halfhill leads the Falcons with 3.2 assists per outing, with Justinger handing out 2.5 apg to date. Stein ranks third on the team in that category, with 2.2 per game.
• Rogers is shooting 53.4 percent from the floor, ranking third in the MAC and 42nd in the country in that category, while Donovan is shooting 44.0%. From long range, Halfhill has made a team-leading 60 three-point field goals, while Hoekstra has hit 41 shots from beyond the arc. Four other Falcons have made between 24 and 36 treys apiece.
• Halfhill leads the MAC – and ranks 14th in the entire nation – in three-point field-goal percentage, having gone 60-of-139 (43.2%) from long distance to date, while Hoekstra is seventh in the league on that list (38.0%). Halfhill hit a career-high six triples in the Western Michigan game (Feb. 5), part of a stretch which has seen her go 25-for-51 (49.0%) from three-point land over the last eight games.
• For her part, Matthews has gone 11-for-25 (44.0%) from long range over the last four games. She hit four treys vs. Kent State and three vs. both Ohio and Akron.
• Freshmen Abby Siefker and Rachel Konieczki are averaging 1.9 ppg apiece. Konieczki has seen action in all 30 games to date, while Siefker has played in 26. Another freshman, Kennedy Kirkpatrick, has seen action in five games off the bench, and classmate Leah Bolton has played in two contests. Kirkpatrick has not seen action since the Ohio State game on Nov. 24, while Bolton's two appearances came on Dec. 1 and Jan. 23.
• Halfhill, Rogers and Stein each have started all 30 games this season to date, with Donovan starting 29 and Justinger 27. Matthews has made three starts, including the first Buffalo game (Jan. 4, in place of Donovan) as well as the last three games (vs. Ohio, at Miami and at Akron, in place of Justinger). Justinger missed the Ohio and MU games, but came off the bench to play 20 minutes vs. UA.
• 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.
• The returnees include three starters from last season in Halfhill, Justinger and Rogers, along with Hoekstra, Matthews, Stein and senior Katrina Salinas. Salinas suffered an injury in practice prior to the season opener, and is expected to miss the entire 2013-14 campaign.
• The Falcons' newcomers to the floor include Donovan – who practiced with the team in 2012-13, sitting out the year as a transfer from North Carolina State – as well as the four freshmen.
• On the bench, Roos has a pair of first-year assistant coaches in Jacey Brooks and Sahar Nusseibeh. Brooks came to BGSU after spending the last three seasons at Canisius. She also spent three seasons on the staff at St. Bonaventure.
• Nusseibeh, a Northeast Ohio native, coached at Holy Cross for the last two years, and was a graduate assistant at Cincinnati prior to that time. Nusseibeh attended Hoover H.S. in glorious North Canton, Ohio, playing basketball for the storied Vikings program.
• Brooks and Nusseibeh joined the wily veteran, Jesse Fleming, on the BG women's hoops staff. Fleming is in his second year with the Falcons after spending the 2011-12 campaign at Stony Brook and the previous six years at St. Bonaventure. Monique Rosati is in her seventh season as director of operations.
• Through 30 games, the Falcons are shooting 42.7 percent from the field, 35.4% from three-point range and 75.2% from the foul line. Opponents are shooting 36.6% from the floor, 24.8% from the arc and 68.5% from the stripe. The Falcons have a scoring margin of +14.8, a rebounding margin of +7.4 and a turnover margin of +1.0 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.
• Rogers tied for fifth in scoring in MAC games, with 16.4 ppg, and she finished sixth in rebounding, with 8.6 rpg. Rogers shot 52.2% from the field to rank fourth in the league.
• Halfhill finished 10th in the league in scoring (14.7 ppg), and she led the MAC in three-point FG pct. in MAC games, hitting 47.1% (40-of-85) of her long-range tries. She was third in the MAC in three-pointers made (2.2 per game) and fifth in assist/turnover ratio.
• Stein wound up eighth in the league in rebounding (8.2 rpg) and fourth in blocked shots (1.4 bpg) in MAC matches. Justinger led the entire conference in free-throw pct., making 38-of-40 shots from the stripe (95.0%) in MAC play, while Rogers (86.7%) and Halfhill (83.3%) finished third and seventh, respectively, in the league.
FALCONS VS. THE MAC
The Falcons continue to own the best record in MAC history. Through the conclusion of the 2013-14 regular season, BGSU has an all-time record of 390-153 (.718) 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 (743) and highest overall winning percentage (.655) of any conference school.
THE FALCONS ARE ...
• 27-3 this year to date, after posting a 24-11 overall record last season;
• 17-1 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, but BG has won the East again in 2014);
• 309-106 since Jennifer Roos came to BGSU in the summer of 2001;
• 163-47 in MAC games in that time:
• 288-71 over the last 10-plus years, with 2013-14 marking BG's MAC-record 11th-straight season of at least 20 wins;
• a staggering 267-61 in the past nine-plus years, with no fewer than 23 wins in 10-straight seasons now, and a MAC overall regular-season title in eight of the last 10 years (2004-10, 2012 and again in '14, plus an East Division crown in '11);
• an eye-popping 244-53 overall, and 128-18 in the MAC regular season, in the last eight-plus years, with at least 24 wins in each of those nine years;
• a splendiferous 216-50 in the last seven-plus years, including a 112-18 league ledger;
• a/an (insert your own adjective here) 185-46 overall, and 97-17 in MAC regular-season games, in the last six-plus seasons, since Monique Rosati came to the BGSU program;
• 159-38 overall and 84-14 in MAC action over the last five-plus winters;
• 130-33, including a 69-13 MAC ledger, in the last four-plus seasons;
• 103-26 overall and 55-11 in the MAC since seniors Jillian Halfhill and Jill Stein ventured to campus;
• 75-21 overall, and 42-8 in MAC action, since senior Alexis Rogers and juniors Deborah Hoekstra and Jasmine Matthews first put on a BGSU uniform;
• 51-14 since senior Katrina Salinas and sophomore Miriam Justinger were added to the Falcons' roster;
• 151-22 in the last 173 games vs. MAC foes (regular-season and tournament);
• A perfect 66-0 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field since 2001;
• 247-12 when having a better FG percentage than the opposition in that time, including a 119-2 mark in the last five-plus seasons;
• 235-38 when making more free throws than the opponent in the Roos Assistant-Coach/Associate-Head-Coach/Interim-Head-Coach/Head-Coaching Era;
• 199-24 when outrebounding the opponent in that 12-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;
• 20-4 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
• 41-7 in the Stroh Center, with five of the losses coming by a combined 11 points.
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 during that time, and that success continued in her head-coaching tenure. In 2012-13, Roos and assistant 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 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 30 games, BGSU has allowed 56.0 points per game and permitted the opponents to shoot just 36.6% from the field to date. And, BG gave up only 55.4 ppg in MAC games, letting conference foes shoot just 36.4%.
FALCONS REACH 20-WIN MARK, AGAIN
For the 11th consecutive season, BGSU has reached the 20-win plateau. The 2013-14 Falcons earned win number 20 on Feb. 9, with a 91-45 victory over Miami, extending both the school and MAC records for such sustained success. Prior to BG's epic run, the old conference record of seven-straight 20-win seasons was set by Bob Lindsay's Kent State teams from 1995-96 through 2001-02. Before this current stretch, the longest streak in BG history was four-straight seasons, by Fran Voll's teams of the late 1980s.
BGSU IS AT THE TOP OF THIS 20-WIN LIST, TOO
The Falcons have won at least 20 games a total of 19 times in school history, the most of any MAC school. Other than BGSU, only Toledo (17) and Kent State (13) have posted 20 or more wins on more than six occasions.
ROGERS REACHES MILLENNIUM MARK
Senior Alexis Rogers blew past her would-be defender for a driving layup with 7:08 left in the Falcons' win over Eastern Michigan on Jan. 23. That layup gave her exactly 1,000 points in her BGSU career. Entering the MAC Tournament, she now has 1,196 points in 95 games at BG, an average of 12.6 points per game at the school. Rogers has moved into 20th place on the school career scoring list, and her next target is Jacki Raterman (1,213 points from 1995-99).
ROGERS IS QUICK TO REACH 1,000
Senior Alexis Rogers reached the 1,000-point mark for her career in just her third playing season at BGSU. The millennium milestone came in her 83rd game at BG, making her the 10th-fastest player to score 1,000 points as a Falcon.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Senior Alexis Rogers had a double-double in the win at Akron Saturday (March 8), with 23 points and 15 rebounds. BGSU has a total of 18 double-doubles this season after recording nine during all of last year. Rogers now has eight this winter (and 23 in her career), while senior Jill Stein has five, redshirt sophomore Erica Donovan three and senior Jillian Halfhill two.
UP NEXT
The winners of Friday's semifinal-round games will advance to the MAC Tournament's championship game on Saturday afternoon (March 15). The championship contest will begin at 1:00 p.m. at Quicken Loans Arena, with the winner earning the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
Amy Velasco, Lexi Fleming, & Coach Chmiel Postgame Interview (Mar. 5, 2025)
Thursday, March 06
Paige Kohler, Coach Chmiel, & Amy Velasco Postgame Interview (Feb. 26, 2025)
Thursday, February 27
In the Paint: Lexxus Graham-Blincoe
Wednesday, February 26
Erika Porter, Amy Velasco, & Coach Chmiel Postgame Interview (Feb. 22, 2025)
Sunday, February 23