Falcons Return Home for Miami Matchup

Saturday, January 24

Bowling Green, OH

2:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Miami

Tickets

Kennedy Kirkpatrick vs NIU - Jan 14 2015

Kennedy Kirkpatrick & the Falcons return home to face MU Saturday

Photo by: Larry Clapper

January 23, 2015 | Women's Basketball

BGSU faces the RedHawks Saturday at 2 p.m.

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, after playing away from home 12 times in the last 15 games, returns to the Stroh Center this weekend. The Falcons of head coach Jennifer Roos host Miami University in Saturday action (Jan. 24), with tipoff scheduled for 2:00 p.m. The MU game begins a stretch of three home contests in a four-game span for the Brown and Orange.

GAME NOTES
BGSU | Miami

FREE STUFF
There are a number of promotions and giveaways surrounding Saturday's game, including T-shirts and an autograph session...
• The first 500 fans through the Stroh Center gates will receive a free T-shirt;
• Additionally, it will be Autograph Day at the Stroh, with the BGSU women's basketball players holding a postgame autograph session in the Hall of Fame area of the building.

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

Additionally, live stats for Saturday's game will be available via BGSUFalcons.com, and a video stream (fee required) will be available as well. 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: BRONCOS PULL AWAY FOR 82-52 WIN IN KALAMAZOO
• Host Western Michigan shot nearly 60 percent from the field in the second half, breaking open a close game and pulling away for an 82-52 win over the Falcons Wednesday night (Jan. 21) at University Arena.

• Freshman Rachel Myers had a stellar shooting night for the Falcons (8-9, 1-5 MAC), scoring a game- and career-high 21 points. Myers hit 8-of-11 shots from the field, knocking down four three-point field goals in five attempts.

• The Broncos, however, shot 59.4% from the field in the second half and 54.8% for the game. Western Michigan (11-6, 4-2 MAC) led by six points at the half, largely on the strength of points in the paint, and the home team heated up from three-point range in the second period. Western went 6-of-14 from long distance in the second half.

• Both teams made eight three-pointers in the game, with the Falcons taking 19 shots and the Broncos 22 from beyond the arc.

• Miracle Woods paced four WMU double-digit scorers with 19 points and a game-best 12 rebounds, helping the Broncos to a decisive 44-19 rebounding advantage. A.J. Johnson added 15 points, Jessica Jessing 11 and Marquisha Harris 10 for Western.

• Senior Deborah Hoekstra, junior Miriam Justinger and redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick scored seven points apiece for the Falcons.

TAKE SOME, THEY'RE FREE: BGSU IS FOURTH THE NATION IN FT PCT.
• As of Thursday night (Jan. 22), the Falcons are fourth the entire nation in free-throw percentage. BGSU led the country prior to Wednesday's (Jan. 21) game at Western Michigan, but the Falcons shot 'only' 60 percent vs. the Broncos.

• Heading into Saturday's Miami game, BGSU is shooting 78.3% (227-of-290) from the charity stripe. Iowa State leads the nation with a 78.8% success rate. The BGSU single-season record for FT percentage is 79.9% by the 2010-11 team.

• The Falcons' 78.3% free-throw rate is impressive, to be sure, but BG is shooting an eye-popping 83.3% as a team in MAC games. Through the first six conference contests, BGSU has made 65-of-78 shots from the stripe.

• BG set a Stroh Center record for free-throw percentage by shooting 92.3% in the Ball State game, and the Falcons were an identical 12-of-13 at Akron as well. After going 7-for-9 at Kent State, BGSU hit 19-of-23 (82.6%) shots from the line against Northern Illinois and 9-of-10 tosses at Eastern Michigan. Despite hitting 6-of-10 tosses at WMU, the Falcons still have made at least 70% of their free throws in 15 of this year's 17 games, including nine-straight games prior to Wednesday night.

• Individually, senior Deborah Hoekstra is second in the MAC and seventh in the entire nation in free-throw percentage. Hoekstra has gone 43-of-47 at the stripe this season, good for a success rate of 91.5%.

ANOTHER CAREER NIGHT FOR MYERS
• Falcon freshman Rachel Myers had a career-high 21 points in Wednesday's Western Michigan game. For Myers, it was her third consecutive double-digit game, her fourth in the last five contests and her seventh of the season.

• Myers is averaging 8.2 points per game this season, third among active Falcons. In MAC games, she leads the team and is the top-scoring freshman in the conference, with 12.3 ppg.

• Myers averaged 5.1 points over the first nine games of the season. Since the Christmas holiday, however, the Findlay native has averaged 11.6 points per contest. She made her first collegiate start at Akron on Jan. 7, and scored a then career-high 17 ponts. Myers has started the last five games, averaging 13.0 ppg and hitting a total of 14 three-point field goals during that time.

FALCONS IN THE MAC RANKINGS
Several Falcons are ranked in numerous MAC rankings. Want more details? Well, read on...

• Senior Deborah Hoekstra is ranked in the top-20 in the MAC in both scoring and rebounding in conference games. Hoekstra is 17th in the league in scoring, with 11.3 points per game, and the guard is sixth in the conference with 8.7 rebounds per contest. Hoekstra leads the entire league in free-throw percentage, with a 94.1% success rate (16-of-17) in MAC games. She is also ranked among the MAC leaders in minutes played (fifth), three-point field goals made (T-eighth), steals (T-12th) in league games.

• Freshman Rachel Myers, as mentioned earlier, is 12th in the league in scoring with 12.3 ppg in MAC matches, and is the league's top-scoring freshman. Myers is fifth in the conference in both three-point field-goal percentage (42.9%; 15-of-35) and three-pointers made per game (2.5) against MAC foes.

• Another freshman, Haley Puk, is ninth in the MAC in three-point percentage in MAC games (40.0%; 8-for-20), and she is 14th in free-throw percentage (75.0%).

• Junior Miriam Justinger is seventh in minutes played in MAC games, and is ranked in the top-20 in scoring, with 10.8 ppg against conference competition.

THREE FOR ALL
• The Falcons have made 6.6 three-point field goals per game this year to date, ranking second in the MAC. BGSU has hit at least four triples in each of this season's 17 games. In conference play, the Falcons have made 7.8 treys per contest.

• BGSU has made at least four three-pointers in each of this season's 17 games, with seven or more successful long-range makes over the last five contests.

• The Falcons have hit at least four triples in 28-straight games against MAC foes. The last time BG failed to make four three-pointers against a conference opponent came on March 6, 2013, when the Falcons went 2-of-18 from long distance in a road win over Kent State.

THREE-MARKABLE
BGSU made eight three-point field goals in the Western Michigan game. The Falcons now have hit at least one three-pointer in each of the last 328 games. BG has not been held without a triple in nearly 10 years – since Feb. 12, 2005, at Akron, when the Falcons won, 61-52, despite going 0-of-13 from long distance.

THREE-MENDOUS
• Senior Deborah Hoekstra has made a BG-high 28 three-point field goals this year. She has hit at least one triple in each of the last 12 games.

• Freshman Rachel Myers has made 27 treys this season, including a team-leading 15 in MAC games. Myers has hit at least two triples in five-straight games, including two games with four three-pointers (Jan. 7 at Akron; Jan. 21 at Western Michigan). Myers is shooting 38.6% from long distance this year

• Another freshman, Haley Puk, has made 16 three-pointers, good for third on the team. Puk made four three-pointers in the Falcons' first eight games, but has hit at least one long-range shot in each of the last nine contests. Puk has made her last four three-point attempts, hitting her last triple try vs. Northern Illinois (Jan. 14), then going 2-for-2 at Eastern Michigan (Jan. 17) and 1-for-1 against WMU.

HOEKSTRA'S A REBOUNDING MACHINE
• Just over three weeks ago, senior Deborah Hoekstra had never had more than six rebounds in a game. Over the last seven games, however, the guard has had at least eight rebounds six times, and has averaged 8.7 boards in that time. Hoekstra set or matched her career rebounding best three times in as many games, with nine rebounds at FIU in the final non-conference game, nine more boards vs. Ball State in the MAC opener and a career-best 12 boards at Akron. She also had eight caroms at Kent State and pulled down 10 rebounds against both Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan.

• Hoekstra is averaging 5.5 rebounds on the year. In MAC play, Hoekstra is nearly averaging a double-double, with 11.3 points and a team-high 8.7 rebounds per game through six contests. She is sixth in the MAC in rebounding in conference games.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Miami game with an overall record of 8-9, and BGSU is 1-5 in Mid-American Conference play after an 82-52 loss at Western Michigan Wedneday night (Jan. 21).

• After winning four-straight games prior to Christmas, BGSU then dropped five consecutive contests, the program's longest slide since the 2000-01 season. The Falcons snapped that streak with a 65-59 win over visiting Northern Illinois on Jan. 14, but then lost at Eastern Michigan and WMU.

• Redshirt junior Erica Donovan and freshman Lauren Webb were injured in the Illinois State game on Dec. 19, and both are expected to miss the remainder of the 2014-15 season. Donovan was the Falcons' leading scorer and rebounder at the time of her injury, with 15.3 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. She had 20 points in each of her last two games, vs. SFU and ISU, with a career-high 15 boards in the latter contest.

• Sophomore Abby Siefker and redshirt freshman Leah Bolton are expected to miss the rest of the season as well. Bolton saw action in the Falcons' exhibition game on Nov. 7, but did not play in a regular-season game in 2014-15.

• Siefker started the first 12 games of the season, and averaged 5.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. She was second on the team in rebounding behind Donovan, and led the Falcons in blocked shots, with 1.0 rejections per game.

• Two Falcons – junior Miriam Justinger and sophomore Rachel Konieczki – have started all 17 games this season to date. Senior Deborah Hoekstra, after coming off the bench for the first 83 games of her BGSU career, has started the last 11 games, while freshman Haley Puk made her first collegiate start in the win at Bradley and has now started nine games. Another freshman, Rachel Myers, made her first collegiate start at Akron, and now has started five games in a row.

• Hoekstra leads the active Falcons in scoring, with 10.8 points per game, while Justinger and Myers have scored 9.6 and 8.2 ppg, respectively. Konieczki has 6.5 points per contest, with Puk averaging 5.5 ppg to date.

• Justinger and Hoekstra each are averaging 5.5 rebounds per game, with Hoekstra pulling down 8.7 boards per contest in the Falcons' six MAC games to date. Hoekstra has posted double-doubles in three of BG's last five games, with 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds at Akron, and 14 points and 10 boards vs. NIU and EMU. Justinger had the first double-double of her career in the Ball State game, with 16 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.

• Justinger has 2.2 assists per game to pace the Falcons in that category, while Konieczki has 1.6 assists and Hoekstra 1.2 helpers per contest. Redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick also has 1.2 helpers per game.

• Hoekstra has 1.3 steals per game, leading BGSU in that category, while Koneczki and Justinger have 1.2 and 0.9 spg, respectively. None of the active Falcons have blocked more than four shots this season.

• BGSU is shooting 36.4 percent from the field, 31.0% from three-point range and 78.3% from the free-throw line through 17 games. The Falcons' opponents have shot 39.9% from the floor, 27.4% from the arc and 64.3% from the stripe.

• The Falcons have averaged 6.6 three-pointers made to date, including a season-high 11 at EMU. Hoekstra has hit 28 triples to lead the way, while Myers has knocked down 27 long-range attempts, including a career-high four treys against both Akron and WMU. Puk has connected 16 times from beyond the arc, Justinger 13 and Konieczki 12.

• Hoekstra, Justinger, Konieczki, Myers and Puk each have seen action in all 17 games, while Kirkpatrick has played in 16 games and true freshman Sarah Baer 13. Senior Jasmine Matthews has played in 11 games this season, and has played a total of 25 minutes over the last four games after playing just one minute over the previous seven contests.

• Senior Erica Fullenkamp joined the team on Jan. 8, and made her BGSU women's basketball debut six days later vs. Northern Illinois. She has played in three games, averaging 1.7 rebounds in just 6.3 minutes per game. Fullenkamp earned four letters on the Falcon volleyball team at BG.

• In MAC games to date, Myers leads the team with 12.3 ppg, after scoring a career-high 21 points at WMU. Hoekstra and Justinger are averaging 11.3 and 10.8 ppg, respectively. Hoekstra, as mentioned, also has 8.7 rpg to lead the Falcons in that category, and she also leads BG in steals and blocked shots in MAC games. Justinger has 6.0 rpg and 1.8 apg in conference contests, and Myers has hit a team-leading 15 three-point field goals vs. MAC foes. BGSU is shooting 83.3% from the free-throw line in MAC games, having made 65-of-78 shots from the stripe.

• The Falcons returned six letterwinners, including two starters (Donovan and Justinger), 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 crown, 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.

• Last year's edition of the Brown and Orange advanced to national postseason play for the 10th consecutive March, winning three games in the WNIT before falling in the quarterfinal round to eventual tourney champion Rutgers. BGSU won more than 20 games for the 11th consecutive year.

• In addition to the six returnees, head coach Jennifer Roos and her staff – assistant coaches Jesse Fleming, Jacey Brooks and Sahar Nusseibeh and director of operations Monique Rosati – also added six players with freshman status on the roster. The 12-player active roster at the start of the 2014-15 season included two seniors, two juniors, two sophomores, two redshirt freshmen and the four true frosh.

THE MIAMI REDHAWKS
Miami enters Saturday's game with an overall record of 3-14 on the season, and the RedHawks are 0-6 in MAC play. MU's wins have come at home against Cincinnati Christian and Valparaiso, and against Davidson in neutral-site action in the final non-conference game. Miami is 2-5 at home, 0-6 on the road and 1-3 in neutral-site games. Individually, Freshman guard Baleigh Reid has 9.0 points per game to lead a balanced offensive attack. No fewer than six players are averaging between 6.7 and 9.0 ppg. Junior forward Jessica Rupright and freshman guard Kayla Brown have 8.8 and 8.1 ppg, respectively, while junior forward Hannah McCue has 7.9 ppg and a team-leading 8.3 rebounds per game. Senior guard Courtney Larson, who is sixth on the team with 6.7 ppg, leads the RedHawks with 9.0 ppg in MAC games to date. The RedHawks have made 12 or more three-pointers in a game twice this season, including a 12-of-32 long-distance effort in a narrow, 60-54 loss to preseason MAC favorite Central Michigan several games ago (Jan. 14). Larson hit six triples and Brown five in that game. Last year, head coach Cleve Wright's team went 8-22 overall and 4-14 in the MAC. Wright welcomed back just four letterwinners, including one starter, from that 2013-14 club.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Miami, 47-27, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU has won the last two meetings.

• In last year's first BGSU-MU contest, the Falcons put together one of their most complete games of the season in a 91-45 win at the Stroh Center (Feb. 9, 2014). Then, in the return match, the Falcons clinched the outright East Division title with a 73-56 road win (March 5, 2014).

• Miami's last win in the series came two years ago, a 76-61 win at Millett Hall (Feb. 23, 2013). The RedHawks swept both series meetings in 2012-13, becoming the first team to defeat the Falcons twice in the same season since 2004-05.

• BGSU is 22-12 in home games (2-1 at the Stroh Center), 19-14 on the road and 6-1 in neutral-site contests vs. the Redskins/RedHawks through the years.

• Jennifer Roos is 2-2 against Miami as a collegiate head coach.

FALCONS LIKE THEIR #MACTION
Since Jennifer Roos became head coach prior to the 2012-13 season, the Falcons have a record of 29-11 in MAC regular-season games. BGSU has won those 29 games by an average of 17.2 points per game, and the Falcons' MAC losses have been by 9.6 ppg. Twenty-three of the 29 wins have been by double digits, with just five of the 11 losses coming by 10 points or more.

FALCONS VS. THE MAC
The Falcons continue to own the best record in MAC history. Entering the Miami game, BGSU has an all-time record of 391-158 (.712) 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 (754) and highest overall winning percentage (.652) of any conference school.

THE FALCONS ARE/WERE ...
• 8-9 this season, after posting a 30-5 overall record last winter;
• 1-5 in MAC play. BG was 17-1 in the MAC in 2013-14, winning a division title for the ninth time in a 10-season span;
• 320-117 since Jennifer Roos came to BGSU in the summer of 2001;
• 165-52 in MAC games in that time:
• 299-82 over the last 11-plus years, with 2013-14 marking BG's MAC-record 11th-straight season of at least 20 wins;
• a staggering 278-72 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 255-64 overall, and 129-23 in the MAC regular season, in the last nine-plus years, with at least 24 wins in each of those nine seasons;
• a superb 227-61 in the last eight-plus years, including a 113-23 league ledger;
• a/an (insert your own adjective here) 196-57 overall, and 98-22 in MAC regular-season games, in the last seven-plus seasons, since Monique Rosati came to the BGSU program;
• 170-49 overall and 85-19 in MAC action over the last six-plus winters;
• 141-44, including a 70-18 MAC ledger, in the last five-plus seasons;
• 114-37 overall and 56-16 in the MAC in the last four-plus years;
• 86-32 overall, and 43-13 in MAC action, since seniors Deborah Hoekstra and Jasmine Matthews first put on a BGSU uniform;
• 62-25 overall and 29-11 in league play since Jennifer Roos became head coach, junior Miriam Justinger joined the Falcons' roster, and redshirt junior Erica Donovan transferred to BG;
• 38-14 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;
• 152-28 in the last 180 games vs. MAC foes (regular-season and tournament);
• A perfect 67-0 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field since 2001;
• 255-13 when having a better FG percentage than the opposition in that time, including a 127-3 mark in the last six-plus seasons;
• 244-44 when making more free throws than the opponent in the Roos Assistant-Coach/Associate-Head-Coach/Interim-Head-Coach/Head-Coaching Era;
• 207-26 when outrebounding the opponent in that 13-plus-year span;
• 75-8 in MAC home games in the last 10-plus seasons;
• 61-16 in MAC road games over the last nine-plus 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
• 47-10 in the Stroh Center, with seven losses coming by a total of 17 points.

SIXTY POINTS = SUCCESS AT THE STROH CENTER
After topping Northern Illinois (Jan. 14), the Falcons now have a record of 47-10 at the Stroh Center since the building opened prior to the 2011-12 season. While an 82.4 winning percentage is certainly impressive, BGSU's chances of winning at home have increased exponentially when the team scores at least 60 points. The Falcons are 44-1 (97.8%) when reaching the 60-point mark inside the Stroh. BG is 28-1 when scoring at least 70 points, 12-0 when hitting the 80-point mark and 3-0 when reaching the 90-point plateau.

TOUGH TO SCORE AT THE STROH
• In 57 games at the Stroh Center, the Falcons have allowed the opponent to reach 70 points just three times. Only Akron (twice) and Ball State (once) have scored even 60 points against the Brown and Orange in 28 trips to the building by MAC foes.

• BG has held 44 of 57 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.

UP NEXT
• Following the Miami game, the Falcons return to the road, heading to the MAC's "West Coast" to face Northern Illinois on Wednesday night (Jan. 28). Then, the Falcons will play back-to-back games at the Stroh Center, hosting Toledo (Jan. 31) and Central Michigan (Feb. 4).