Bowling Green State University Athletics
Thursday, March 27
Bowling Green, OH
7:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
vs
Michigan
BGSU Hosts Michigan in WNIT's Third Round
March 26, 2014 | Women's Basketball
Falcons face Wolverines Thursday night at the Stroh
LINKS
Get Your Tickets for Thursday's Game
GAME NOTES: BGSU | MICHIGAN
WNIT Bracket
Falcons Announce Promotions for Thursday's Game
Roos Named Russell Athletic/WBCA Region 4 C-O-Y
Rogers Named WBCA All-Region Nominee for Coaches' All-America Team
Fast Start Sends Falcons Past St. Bonaventure, 76-65
BGSU Downs High Point in WNIT Opener
BGSU Game Notes from 2009-Present
BGSU Media Guide: PDF | Flip Interactive
Career Stats of Current Falcons
BG IN THE WNIT
• The 2013-14 season marks the Falcons' sixth appearance in the WNIT, and the third in as many years. BGSU has a record of 6-5 in the tourney to date, with four of those victories coming in the last two seasons.
• The Falcons are 6-4 in WNIT home games, with records of 2-2 at venerable Anderson Arena and 4-2 at the Stroh Center. And, BGSU is 6-4 in the WNIT since Jennifer Roos came to Northwest Ohio, including 4-1 during her head-coaching tenure.
• The Brown and Orange earned the Mid-American Conference's automatic bid to the 2014 WNIT after winning the MAC's regular-season title outright. BGSU topped High Point, 72-62, in first-round action (March 20) before downing St. Bonaventure by a 76-65 score in Monday's second-round game (March 24).
• Last season, the Falcons won back-to-back WNIT games for the first time in program history. BG topped SMU, 76-70, in the first round, for the program's first national postseason win since 2009. Then, the Brown and Orange rallied for a 61-54 win over Duquesne in second-round action, before falling to eventual tourney champion Drexel, 50-47, in the third round.
• BGSU hosted Butler in the 1998 WNIT, losing a 95-90 decision at Anderson in the team's first appearance in the tourney. That game was the final contest for Jaci Clark as BG's head coach, as she took the Dayton job following the season.
• Six years ago, the Brown and Orange picked up a home win over UD, 64-52, before losing at Michigan State by a 74-66 count two days later.
• The following March, the Falcons were awarded a first-round bye in the then 48-team event, and BG played a pair of games at Anderson. The Falcons downed Syracuse by a 72-69 final in second-round action at "The House That Roars," but BGSU fell to visiting Indiana, 75-67, in the third round.
• Two years ago, VCU scored at the buzzer for a 72-71 win over the Falcons at the Stroh, after BG had taken the lead on a pair of free throws with 5.1 seconds left.
BGSU'S WNIT RESULTS
3/13/98Â BUTLER (first round).............. L 90-95
3/20/08Â DAYTON (first round).............. W 64-52
3/22/08Â at Michigan State (second round).. L 66-74
3/22/09Â SYRACUSE (second round^).......... W 72-69
3/26/09Â INDIANA (third round)............. L 67-75
3/15/12Â VCU (first round)................. L 71-72
3/21/13Â SMU (first round)................. W 76-70
3/23/13Â DUQUESNE (second round)........... W 61-54
3/28/13Â DREXEL (third round).............. L 47-50
3/20/14Â HIGH POINT (first round).......... W 72-62
3/24/14Â ST. BONAVENTURE (second round).... W 76-65
^ BGSU received a first-round bye in the 2009 WNIT
Home games in CAPS – 1998-2009 at Anderson Arena; 2012-14 at Stroh Center
NATIONAL POSTSEASON PLAY FOR THE 10TH-STRAIGHT SEASON
The Falcons are participating in national postseason play for the 10th consecutive season, 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.
BG'S BEST TOURNAMENT RUNS
• The Falcons have advanced to the third round of a national postseason tournament four the fourth times in school history. One of the previous trips received slightly more attention than the other two, as it came in the NCAA Championships. The 2006-07 Falcons defeated Oklahoma State and Vanderbilt to become the only team in MAC history to advance to the "Sweet Sixteen."
• BGSU has advanced to the third round of the WNIT on three occasions, in 2009, '13 and '14. The 2009 team earned a first-round bye, then downed Syracuse in second-round action to advance to the third round against Indiana.
• Last season, the Falcons topped SMU and Duquesne before losing a three-point decision to Drexel in the third round. All three of BGSU's 2013 games in the WNIT took place at the Stroh Center.
A DREAM SEASON FOR YOU = A TYPICAL YEAR FOR US
• The Falcons enter the Michigan game with an overall record of 29-4. At many schools around the nation, 29 wins would be a single-season record (10 of the 12 current MAC institutions have never won 29 games in a season). But, at Bowling Green, such lofty win totals have become a relatively common occurrence.
• A MAC team has won as many as 27 games on a total of 12 occasions. Bowling Green has been that team on eight of those 12 occasions, including six times in the last nine seasons. The 2006-07 "Sweet Sixteen" team won a MAC-record 31 games, while the 2008-09 club – and now the '13-14 team – posted 29 wins. The '05-06 and '10-11 Falcons won 28 games, while three BGSU teams won 27 games apiece.
• BGSU has won at least 29 games on three occasions now. The rest of the MAC schools combined have reached 29 wins just twice.
• A complete list of MAC teams with 27 wins or more can be found on page 10 of the PDF version of these notes.
CHAMPIONS AGAIN
The Falcons won the MAC's regular-season title outright, achieving that feat for the eighth time 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 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 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.
LAST TIME OUT: FAST START SENDS FALCONS PAST ST. BONAVENTURE
• The Falcons built a huge lead in the first half, and rode that strong start to a 76-65 win over St. Bonaventure in WNIT second-round action Monday night (March 24) at the Stroh Center.
• The Falcons' victory broke the school single-season record for home wins. BGSU is now a perfect 15-0 at the Stroh Center this year to date.
• Redshirt sophomore Erica Donovan scored 22 points to pace four Falcons in double digits. Senior Jillian Halfhill had 18 points, including 16 in the second half, while sophomore Miriam Justinger scored 17 and junior Jasmine Matthews 11.
• Justinger just missed a double-double, with a BG-best nine rebounds on the night. She has averaged 19.5 points per game in the Falcons' first two WNIT contests this year. Justinger was 7-of-9 from the field in the win over the Bonnies.
• Katie Healy led the visitors with 22 points, while Hannah Little had 17 points and a game-high 18 rebounds. The Bonnies held a 44-40 advantage on the glass.
• BGSU committed just six turnovers in the game, including only one in the first half. The Falcons were 9-of-19 from three-point range in the win, with three players making three long-range shots apiece.
• The Falcons took a seemingly commanding lead in the first half, then fought off numerous comeback attempts by the visitors. BG's lead, which reached a game-high 28 points (35-7) late in the first half, dwindled to single digits on several occasions. But, every time the Bonnies threatened to draw closer, the home team had an answer.
• The visitors, after scoring 15 first-half points and making just 6-of-28 shots from the field (21.4%) in the first half, shot over 51 percent and scored 50 points in the second.
• SBU rallied in the second period, getting as close as eight points. But, the Falcons were a perfect 6-of-6 from the stripe in that final minute, with Halfhill making four shots and Justinger two.
YOU CAN'T SPELL "WNIT" WITHOUT "JENNIFER" (AS LONG AS YOU ADD A "W" AND A "T" AND MAYBE GET RID OF SOME OTHER LETTERS)
After the win over St. Bonaventure, BGSU now has an overall record of 6-5 in the WNIT. The Falcons are 4-1 in the tourney with Jennifer Roos as head coach, after going 2-3 in WNIT action in the Curt Miller Era. BGSU's first-ever WNIT game, a first-round loss in 1998, came under head coach Jaci Clark.
HOME COOKIN'
With Monday's win over SBU, the Falcons have broken the school record for home wins in a season. BGSU is a perfect 15-0 at the Stroh Center. The previous record of 14 home wins was set by the 2008-09 team and matched no fewer than three times over the next four years. In fact, BG has won at least 13 home games in each of the last six seasons.
FALCONS ARE 15-AND-OH AT THE STROH
The Falcons' win over Ohio on March 2 capped a perfect home regular-season schedule, and BG has picked up two more home victories in the WNIT. The Falcons have a record of 15-0 at the Stroh Center entering the U-M game. BGSU 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).
STROH'ME-COURT ADVANTAGE
• The Falcons have enjoyed a long-standing tradition of success at home. Most of that success came at venerable Anderson Arena, where the Brown and Orange had an outstanding home-court advantage over the years. But, the BG women's basketball program has begun a new tradition of excellence at a new building. The Falcons now own an overall record of 43-7 in the Stroh Center, including a 23-2 ledger vs. MAC opponents in regular-season games.
• After losing by just one point to nationally-ranked Purdue in the first-ever women's basketball game in the building in November of 2011, the Falcons reeled off 14-straight wins at the Stroh, before losing another one-point game to VCU in the WNIT to end that 2011-12 campaign with a 14-2 mark at home.
• Last season, the Falcons again won 14 games at home, including 25-point wins over both nationally-ranked Dayton (the Flyers' only regular-season loss all year) and Central Michigan (the Chippewas entered the game with a 7-0 MAC record).
• This year, the Falcons have gone a perfect 15-0 at home to date. BG has won those 15 games by an average of 22.3 points.
• The 43-7 mark at the Stroh comes after the Falcons went 333-116 (74.2%) in Anderson Arena during the team's tenure there. The record was even better during MAC play, as the Falcons had a league mark of 192-54 (78.0%) at "The House That Roars" through the years.
TOUGH TO SCORE AT THE STROH
• In 50 games at the Stroh Center, the Falcons have allowed the opponent to reach 70 points just three times. Akron is the only MAC foe to surpass the 60-point mark against the Brown and Orange in 26 trips to the building by conference foes, and the Zips have done so twice (61 points in a BG win last Feb. 20; 65 points in another Falcon victory this season [Jan. 12]). Entering the Michigan game, BG has allowed an average of 53.2 ppg in all games at the Stroh, and just 50.0 ppg against MAC opponents.
• BG has held 38 of 50 opponents to fewer than 60 points at the Stroh Center. The Falcons have limited 17 of those foes to less than 50 points, and on five occasions, BGSU has kept the opposition under the 40-point mark.
ROGERS EARNS WBCA ALL-REGION ACCOLADES
• Senior Alexis Rogers has been named one of 52 regional finalists for the 2014 Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division I Coaches' All-America Team. She earns the honor for the second time in her three playing seasons at BGSU.
• Rogers' selection in 2014 marks the seventh time in eight seasons that a BGSU player has earned the honor. Lauren Prochaska was one of the 52 finalists in three consecutive years (2009-11). Ali Mann was a regional finalist in 2007, while Kate Achter was recognized in '08.
• The selection committee will review the 52 candidates and select the 10-member WBCA Division I Coaches' All-America Team from that list. The All-America squad will be announced at 1:10 p.m. CT on Saturday, April 5, during NCAA women's Final Four Super Saturday festivities.
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. 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 earned 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 earned all-league honors for the first time in their respective careers.
ROOS NAMED MAC COACH OF THE YEAR IN THE MAC...
BGSU's Jennifer Roos was named the MAC Coach of the Year. Roos, in just her second year as a collegiate head coach, earned the honor for the first time. Roos has an overall record of 53-15 heading into Thursday's Michigan 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.
... AND THE REGION
On Wednesday afternoon (March 26), BGSU's Jennifer Roos was named the 2014 Russell Athletic/WBCA Region 4 Coach of the Year. The Coach-of-the-Year honorees in each of the eight divisions all are finalists for the inaugural Pat Summitt Trophy, to be presented to the 2014 Russell Athletic/WBCA NCAA Division I National Coach of the Year on Monday, April 7. Roos earns the region C-O-Y honor for the first time. 2014 marks the eighth time a BGSU head coach has earned a WBCA district/region coach-of-the-year award. Curt Miller received the honor four times at BG, with Jaci Clark being recognized twice and Fran Voll once. Miller, now at Indiana, was named the 2014 Russell Athletic/WBCA C-O-Y for Region 6.
QUICK HITS
• BGSU is 29-4 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 won 13 consecutive games before dropping a 73-55 decision to Ball State in the semifinal round of 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 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 the March 10 Associated Press poll. The Falcons dropped out of the poll after the loss to Ball State, but BG received votes in both the AP and USA Today polls on March 17.
• Also, for what it's worth, the Falcons were ranked 32nd in the NCAA's most recent RPI listings, released on March 17.
• The Falcons' four losses this season all came to teams that qualified for either the NCAA Championships (Marist, Purdue) or the WNIT (Central Michigan, Ball State). All four games came away from home, with the Purdue and CMU games decided by single digits on the road, and the Marist and BSU contests being held at neutral sites.
• BGSU posted seven wins over teams in the NCAA and WNIT fields. BG went 2-2 vs. NCAA participants, with a pair of wins over Akron. The Falcons were 5-2 against the WNIT field during the regular season, picking up wins over BSU, Butler, CMU, Iona and Michigan. Four of those five wins came away from home.
• 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.
• Twenty-four of the Falcons' 29 victories this season – including all 15 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 nine days 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 15-0 at the Stroh Center, winning those 15 games by an average of 22.3 points per contest.
• In addition to the 15 wins at the Stroh, the Falcons have 14 victories away from home, with marks of 11-2 on the road and 3-2 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 Akron during the league schedule. And, the Falcons topped Michigan, Old Dominion and Monmouth at neutral sites.
• In BGSU's 15 home games, the Falcons have averaged 75.9 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 7.4 and 14.3 points per game, and two other players have at least 6.3 ppg to date.
• The Falcons' top-seven scorers each have attempted between 183 and 323 shots, and each of the seven are averaging between 5.5 and 9.8 field-goal attempts per game.
• BGSU leads the MAC and ranks 15th in the nation in scoring defense, having allowed just 56.9 points per game. The Falcons also lead the MAC in scoring margin (+13.5), rebounding margin (+6.9) and three-point FG percentage defense (25.8), and BG is second in the conference in FG pct. (42.2), FG pct. defense (37.1), free-throw pct. (74.7) and three-pointers made (7.6) and third in three-pt. FG pct. (34.8).
• The Falcons are third in the nation in three-point FG pct. defense, and BG ranks seventh in W-L pct. and 18th in scoring margin. In fact, BGSU is ranked among the nation's top-50 teams in nine of the 18 statistical categories kept by the NCAA.
• BGSU is 32nd in the country in rebounding margin. The Falcons have been out-rebounded in just five games since Nov. 18.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Michigan game with an overall record of 29-4, 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 bounced back with 13-straight wins.
• The Falcons ended the regular season with a 77-76 win on the road against Akron (March 8), but BG fell to Ball State, 73-55, in the MAC Tournament's semifinal round (March 14). The Brown and Orange downed High Point (72-62) and St. Bonaventure (76-65) in the WNIT to advance to the tourney's third round.
• 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 14.3 points per game, while Halfhill has 13.2 ppg and Donovan 11.2 ppg this year to date.
• Sophomore Miriam Justinger has 8.8 points per game, and junior Deborah Hoekstra has come off the bench to score 7.4 ppg. Senior Jill Stein and junior Jasmine Matthews have scored 6.5 and 6.3 points per contest, respectively.
• Stein leads the team and ranks sixth in the MAC in rebounding, with 8.4 boards per game, while Rogers has pulled down 8.1 (ninth in the MAC) rpg and Donovan 5.7.
• Halfhill leads the Falcons with 3.3 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 52.9 percent from the floor, ranking third in the MAC and 42nd in the country in that category, while Donovan is shooting 44.5%. From long range, Halfhill has made a team-leading 67 three-point field goals, while Hoekstra and Matthews each have hit 41 shots from beyond the arc. Four other Falcons have made between 24 and 36 treys apiece.
• Halfhill is third in the MAC – and ranks 20th in the entire nation – in three-point field-goal percentage, having gone 67-of-160 (41.9%) from long distance to date, while Hoekstra is seventh in the league on that list (36.6%).
• Freshmen Abby Siefker and Rachel Konieczki are averaging 1.9 and 1.8 ppg, respectively. Konieczki has seen action in all 33 games to date, while Siefker has played in 29. Another freshman, Kennedy Kirkpatrick, saw action in five games off the bench, and classmate Leah Bolton 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 33 games this season to date, with Donovan starting 32 and Justinger 27. Matthews has made seven starts, including the first Buffalo game (Jan. 4, in place of Donovan) as well as the last six games. Justinger missed the Ohio and Miami contests in early March, and has come off the bench to play in each of the last four games.
• 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 33 games, the Falcons are shooting 42.2 percent from the field, 34.8% from three-point range and 74.7% from the foul line. Opponents are shooting 37.1% from the floor, 25.8% from the arc and 69.0% from the stripe. The Falcons have a scoring margin of +13.5, a rebounding margin of +6.9 and a turnover margin of +1.2 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.
THE MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
Michigan enters Thursday's game with an overall record of 20-13, and the Wolverines went 8-8 in Big Ten Conference play to finish second in the league. U-M advanced to the WNIT's third round with home wins over Stony Brook (86-48; March 21) and Duquesne (68-52; March 27). Michigan is 8-8 at home, 9-2 on the road and 3-3 in neutral-site games. In Big Ten play, the Wolverines went 2-6 at home and 6-2 at hostile venues. Individually, junior guard Shannon Smith leads the team in scoring, with 14.0 points per game, and is joined by three of her teammates in double digits. Freshman guard Siera Thompson has 13.3 ppg, while junior forward Cyesha Goree has 12.1 ppg and a team-leading 9.4 rebounds per outing. junior guard Nicole Elmblad has 11.3 ppg, 7.6 rpg and 3.1 assists per contest. She is second on the team in assists, behind Smith (3.6 apg). All four players earned All-Big Ten honors, as Goree was named to the all-conference second team and the other three earned honorable mention. Head coach Kim Barnes Arico returned only three letterwinners, including just one starter, from last year's team. The 2012-13 edition of the Wolverines went 22-11 overall and 9-7 in the Big Ten.
THE SERIES
The Falcons trail Michigan, 8-4, in the all-time series between the teams, but BGSU won the most recent meeting. The teams met in the 2013-14 season opener, with the Brown and Orange picking up a 63-52 win at the Iona Tip-Off Tournament in New Rochelle, N.Y. (Nov. 8, 2013). Jillian Halfhill had 18 points and five assists in the win, while Erica Donovan scored 15 points in her BGSU debut. Shannon Smith had 17 points to pace three double-digit scorers for U-M. This year's meeting was the teams' first in a decade and a half, since an 82-71 Michigan win at Anderson Arena in December of 1998. The previous year, the Wolverines picked up a 25-point victory (89-64) in Ann Arbor. The Falcons are 1-5 in home games, 2-3 on the road and 1-0 at neutral sites vs. the Wolverines over the years. Thursday will mark the teams' first meeting inside the Stroh Center. Jennifer Roos is 1-0 vs. U-M as a collegiate head coach.
SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE
Some irresistible forces will meet some not-very-movable (some might say immovable) objects when BGSU meets Michigan. U-M is fifth in the nation in three-point field-goal percentage, while the Falcons are third in the country in three-point FG pct. defense. Michigan is 16th in the land in FG pct., while BG is 15th in the country in scoring defense and 39th in FG pct. defense. The Wolverines are 16th in rebounding margin, while BG is 32nd in the nation in that category.
THE FALCONS ARE ...
• 29-4 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);
• 311-107 since Jennifer Roos came to BGSU in the summer of 2001;
• 163-47 in MAC games in that time:
• 290-72 over the last 10-plus years, with 2013-14 marking BG's MAC-record 11th-straight season of at least 20 wins;
• a staggering 269-62 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 246-54 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 superb 218-51 in the last seven-plus years, including a 112-18 league ledger;
• a/an (insert your own adjective here) 187-47 overall, and 97-17 in MAC regular-season games, in the last six-plus seasons, since Monique Rosati came to the BGSU program;
• 161-39 overall and 84-14 in MAC action over the last five-plus winters;
• 132-34, including a 69-13 MAC ledger, in the last four-plus seasons;
• 105-27 overall and 55-11 in the MAC since seniors Jillian Halfhill and Jill Stein ventured to campus;
• 77-22 overall, and 42-8 in MAC action, since senior Alexis Rogers and juniors Deborah Hoekstra and Jasmine Matthews first put on a BGSU uniform;
• 53-15 since senior Katrina Salinas and sophomore Miriam Justinger were added to the Falcons' roster;
• 151-23 in the last 174 games vs. MAC foes (regular-season and tournament);
• A perfect 66-0 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field since 2001;
• 248-12 when having a better FG percentage than the opposition in that time, including a 120-2 mark in the last five-plus seasons;
• 237-38 when making more free throws than the opponent in the Roos Assistant-Coach/Associate-Head-Coach/Interim-Head-Coach/Head-Coaching Era;
• 200-25 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;
• 20-5 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;
• 50-6 in all non-conference home games since the start of the 2003-04 season;
• 9-16 in 17 national postseason appearances (including a 3-11 record in the NCAA Championships and a 6-5 mark in WNIT trips);
• 8-9 in national postseason action since Roos arrived at BG (including a 2-5 mark in the NCAAs and a 6-4 record in the WNIT); and
• 43-7 in the Stroh Center, with five of the losses coming by a combined 11 points.
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 Michigan game, she now has 1,221 points in 98 games at BG, an average of 12.5 points per game at the school. Rogers has moved into 19th place on the school career scoring list. and her next target is Melissa Chase (1,223 points from 1979-83). She trails Chase by two points, 17th-place Michelle Shade (1,233 points from 1991-95) by 12 and 16th-place Chrissy Steffen (1,245 points from 2009-13) by 24 on the BG career list.
UP NEXT
The winner of Thursday's BGSU-Michigan game will face either Rutgers or Seton Hall in the WNIT's quarterfinal round, with date and site to be determined.
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