The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, after opening the Mid-American Conference portion of the schedule at home, now returns to the road for a pair of contests in Northeast Ohio this week. The Falcons of head coach Jennifer Roos face the University of Akron on Wednesday night (Jan. 7), with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at James A. Rhodes Arena (5,500). Then, the Brown and Orange will return to the area this weekend, taking on Kent State University on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 10). Â LINKS GAME NOTES: BGSU | Akron THE LAST MEETING: Falcons Win at UA, Capture Outright MAC Crown NEXT HOME GAME: Wed., Jan. 14, vs. Northern Ill. - Get your tickets now! FOLLOW THE FALCONS If you can't make it to Akron on Wednesday night, 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 Wednesday's game, along with a video stream, 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: BALL STATE EARNS RARE WIN IN BOWLING GREEN • BGSU junior Miriam Justinger recorded the first double-double of her collegiate career, but the Falcons fell, 62-50, to Ball State Saturday afternoon (Jan. 3) at the Stroh Center.
 Kennedy Kirkpatrick drives to the hoop during second-half action on Saturday• Justinger had game-high totals of 16 points and 10 rebounds, setting a new career best in the latter category. Senior Deborah Hoekstra very nearly had a double-double of her own, with nine points and nine rebounds vs. the Cardinals. Hoekstra's rebounding total tied a career standard that she set in BG's previous game, at FIU (Dec. 30). The Falcons had a 36-34 advantage on the boards vs. BSU.
• For the visitors, Renee Bennett scored 14 points off the bench, while Nathalie Fontaine and Jill Morrison had 12 points apiece. Fontaine led the Cardinals with seven rebounds, while Morrison dished out five assists and hit a game-high three three-point field goals. Calyn Hosea had six assists as the Cardinals had 21 helpers on 27 field goals in the win.
• The win was just the third-ever road victory for the Cardinals against the Falcons, and was BSU's first win in Bowling Green in just under 11 years. BSU's only prior road wins against the Brown and Orange came in February of 2003 and January of '04. BG now has a record of 24-3 in home games vs. Ball State.
 • Saturday's game was tied on two occasions within the first three minutes, but Candyce Ussery hit a long three-pointer to break a 5-all tie and give the visitors the lead for good. Ussery, who opened the game with a triple from well beyond the arc, hit her second trey at the 17:10 mark as part of a 9-0 run for the Cards.
• BSU built the lead to as many as 15 points in the first half, but the Falcons ended the period on an 11-2 run to trail by a 32-26 score at the break. BG began the second period by scoring seven of the first nine points, with a pair of free throws by sophomore Rachel Konieczki cutting the Ball State lead to just one point, 34-33, with 18:54 left. But, a Shelbie Justice layup started an 11-2 run for the visitors, extending the margin to double digits for the rest of the game.
ABOUT THE FALCONS • The Falcons enter the Akron game with a 7-5 record, and BGSU is 0-1 in Mid-American Conference play after suffering a 62-50 loss to visiting Ball State on Saturday (Jan. 3). After winning four-straight games prior to Christmas, BGSU is looking to snap a three-game losing streak. The Brown and Orange dropped a pair of games earlier this week in Miami, Fla., falling to Hampton (64-53; Dec. 29) and the host school (68-55; Dec. 30) at the FIU Sun & Fun Classic.
• After opening the season with a 53-52 loss to Bucknell, BGSU bounced back with a convincing 80-59 victory over Iona, then went on the road and picked up a 60-50 triumph over Milwaukee. The Brown and Orange extended the win streak to three games with a 62-54 win over UC Irvine, before suffering a narrow loss, 51-48, to Loyola Marymount. The latter two games came at the DoubleTree LA Westside Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by LMU.
• The Falcons returned home and posted a 66-55 win over Cincinnati, the team's lone home game in a month-and-a-half span, before returning to the road and picking up a 76-62 decision against Saint Francis (Pa.). Then, BG went to Illinois and captured a pair of games, with a 58-54 win over Illinois State on Dec. 19 and a 61-47 victory at Bradley two days later.
• The Falcons saw two players, redshirt junior Erica Donovan and freshman Lauren Webb, injured in that Illinois State game. Both are expected to miss the remainder of the 2014-15 season. Donovan was the Falcons' leading scorer and rebounder at the time of 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.
• Three Falcons have started all 12 games this season to date. That trio includes junior Miriam Justinger and sophomores Rachel Konieczki and Abby Siefker. Senior Deborah Hoekstra, after coming off the bench for the first 83 games of her BGSU career, has started the last six games, while freshman Haley Puk made her first collegiate start in the win at Bradley and has now started four games.
• Hoekstra leads the active Falcons in scoring, with 10.3 points per game, while Justinger and Konieczki have scored 9.5 and 7.0 ppg, respectively. Freshman Rachel Myers has 6.2 points per contest, with Siefker averaging 5.4 ppg and Puk 5.0 to date.
• Siefker is averaging 6.3 rebounds per game, while Justinger has 5.7 rpg. Hoekstra and fellow senior Jasmine Matthews have 4.3 and 3.0 rpg, respectively. Justinger had the first double-double of her career in the Ball State game, with 16 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, while Hoekstra had a career-best nine boards vs. FIU, then matched that total with nine more rebounds against BSU.
• Justinger has 2.3 assists per game to pace the Falcons in that category, and she is tied for second on the team in steals, with 1.1 per game. Konieczki has 1.4 assists and a team-high 1.2 steals per contest, while Hoekstra has 1.3 apg and 1.1 spg. Siefker has a team-leading 1.0 blocked shots per game.
• BGSU is shooting 36.3 percent from the field, 28.2% from three-point range and 77.3% from the free-throw line through 12 games. The Falcons' opponents have shot 38.0% from the floor, 27.5% from the arc and 65.3% from the stripe.
• The Falcons have averaged 5.8 three-pointers made to date. Hoekstra has hit 19 triples to lead the way, while Myers and Koniezcki have knocked down 13 and 10 long-range attempts, respectively. Puk has connected nine times from beyond the arc and Justinger eight.
• Hoekstra, Justinger, Konieczki, Siefker, Myers and Puk each have seen action in all 12 games, while redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick has played in 11 games to date. Donovan, as mentioned, played in the first eight games of the year before suffering her injury.
• Freshman Sarah Baer has played in eight games off the bench, while Matthews and Webb have seen action in seven games apiece.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Donovan was the team's top returning scorer and rebounder in 2013-14. She averaged 10.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game a year ago, ranking third on the team in both categories.
• Donovan played in all 35 games, starting 34, last season. Justinger who made 27 starts last year and averaged 8.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per outing. Justinger also averaged 2.4 assists per contest last winter, good for second on the Falcons and tops among returnees.
• Hoekstra and Matthews scored 6.9 and 6.4 ppg, respectively, last year. Both players saw action off the bench. Hoekstra, one of the league's top sixth players, came off the bench in all 35 games, while Matthews made nine starts.
• Matthews made 45 three-point field goals last season, while Hoekstra hit 41 long-range shots and made 36.3% of her attempts from beyond the arc. Donovan and Justinger made 36 and 28 treys, respectively.
• The 2013-14 Falcons shot 42.3 percent from the field, 35.2% from three-point range and 74.6% from the foul line. Opponents shooting 37.4% from the floor, 25.7% from the arc and 69.0% from the stripe. The Falcons had a scoring margin of +12.9, a rebounding margin of +6.5 and a turnover margin of +1.1 on the year.
• In MAC games, BGSU shot 43.0% from the floor, 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.
THE AKRON ZIPS Akron has an overall record of 10-2 on the season, and the Zips are 0-1 in MAC play. After beginning the year with 10 consecutive wins, UA has dropped the last two games, falling at Youngstown State (75-62; Dec. 29) and Western Michigan (67-61; Jan. 3). The Zips are a perfect 6-0 at home this year to date, and UA is 2-2 on the road and 2-0 in neutral-site games. Akron is averaging 80.8 points per game to date, leading the MAC and ranking 10th in the nation in that category. Akron also leads the MAC in scoring margin (+17.5), rebounding margin (+5.9) and field-goal percentage (46.3%). Individually, junior guard Anita Brown is averaging 20.4 points per game, while senior G/F Sina King has 19.8 points per contest. They are second and third, respectively, in the MAC in scoring. King leads the team – and the MAC – in rebounding, with 9.3 rebounds per outing. Sophomore guard Hannah Plybon has 10.8 ppg, while freshman guard Kerri McMahan has 8.6 ppg and team-best averages of 4.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game. McMahan ranks second in the MAC in assists. Last year, head coach Jodi Kest and the Zips went 23-10 overall and 14-4 in the MAC. UA finished second (behind BGSU) in the East Division, but went on to win the MAC Tournament title for the first time in school history. Kest welcomed back nine letterwinners, including four starters, from the 2013-14 club.
THE SERIES • The Falcons lead Akron, 51-3, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU has won the last three meetings. The Falcons captured each of last year's two matchups, with a 81-65 decision at the Stroh Center (Jan. 12, 2014) and a 77-76 win in Akron just under two months later (March 8, 2014).
• The latter meeting saw Jillian Halfhill hit a layup with 6.6 seconds remaining to give the Brown and Orange a one-point win. That win, combined with other outcomes around the MAC that afternoon, gave the Falcons the outright league regular-season crown.
• UA's last win over the Falcons came two years ago at Rhodes Arena (Jan. 31, 2013), a 68-63 verdict that snapped a 19-game BG series winning streak. All three of Akron's series victories have come at the JAR, including a 74-56 win in the 1999 MAC Tournament quarterfinals, an 88-63 blowout in February of 2001 and the aforementioned 2013 game.
• BG won the first 26 series meetings with the Zips, saw Akron capture two of the next five games, then the Falcons won 19 in a row before UA's 2013 win.
• BGSU is a perfect 27-0 in home games, 22-3 on the road and 2-0 in neutral-site contests vs. the Zips over the years.
• Jennifer Roos is 3-1 against the Zips 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 28-7 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.
FALCONS VS. THE MAC The Falcons continue to own the best record in MAC history. Entering the conference portion of the 2014-15 regular season, BGSU has an all-time record of 390-154 (.717) 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 (753) and highest overall winning percentage (.654) of any conference school.
THE STARTING FIVE Last season, head coach Jennifer Roos used a total of three different starting lineups over the 35-game schedule. But, this year's version of the Falcons had used their third different lineup of the season by the ninth game. Junior Miriam Justinger and sophomores Abby Siefker and Rachel Konieczki each have started all 12 contests for the Brown and Orange this year to date.
DOUBLE(-DOUBLE) TROUBLE Junior Miriam Justinger recorded the first double-double of her career in Saturday's (Jan. 3) Ball State game, with a game-high 16 points and a game- and career-best 10 rebounds. Redshirt junior Erica Donovan is the only other member of the 2014-15 roster to have posted a double-double in college. Donovan's six career double-doubles included three in this season's first eight games.
MAKE MORE THAN THEY TAKE So far this season, BG appears to be continuing a program trend of making more free throws than the opponents attempt. This year to date, BGSU has gotten to the line 225 times, making 174 shots. Opponents have gone 96-for-147 from the stripe through the first 12 games of the season.
A STRONG TRADITION Fans, media members and SIDs have gotten used to the incredible amount of success the BGSU women's basketball team has achieved over the years. Here, in no particular order, are a few notes that illustrate just how much success the Falcons have enjoyed...
• BGSU's loss to Ball State on Saturday gave the Falcons a MAC record of 0-1 for the first time in over a decade. BG had won 10-straight league lid-lifters since a 72-70 loss to BSU at venerable Anderson Arena in January of 2004.
• The Falcons had won nine MAC home openers in a row prior to Saturday. BG's last loss in the first home MAC game came in 2005, a narrow 51-48 setback to Eastern Michigan at Anderson.
• BGSU has lost three games in a row for the first time in over three years. The last time the Falcons dropped three-straight contests came when BG fell to Georgia Tech in the 2011 NCAA Championships, then dropped games to Dayton and Purdue to open the 2011-12 season.
• The Falcons had not lost three consecutive games in the same season in nearly seven years, since BG fell to Miami, Ball State and Western Michigan in January of 2008.
• BG went over 13 years without suffering three consecutive losses by double digits. The last time that happened came in late November of 2001 when BG lost to nationally-ranked Colorado, Yale and Eastern Kentucky. Those marked games two, three and four for Jennifer Roos on the BGSU staff.
• BGSU now has a record of 23-3 vs. MAC opponents at the Stroh Center, and the Falcons are 46-10 overall since the building opened. The BSU game marked only the third time the Brown and Orange lost a game by double digits at the Stroh (14 points to Temple and 10 points to Toledo during the 2012-13 season).
WRITE THEM DOWN IN PENCIL (AND BRING AN ERASER) With a smaller active roster due to injuries, there has been plenty of playing time to go around in the last few games. And, a few Falcons are taking advantage by setting new career standards in various categories...
• Senior Deborah Hoekstra had a career-high nine rebounds in the FIU game. Her previous best had been six boards, set on three occasions. And, Hoekstra matched that total with nine more rebounds against Ball State. She just missed her first collegiate double-double, with nine points and those nine caroms vs. the Cardinals.
• Freshman Haley Puk made her first collegiate start in the Bradley game. She set a career standard with seven rebounds in that game, then broke that mark with eight caroms vs. Hampton. The next day, Puk scored a career-high 12 points vs. FIU.
• Redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick scored a total of two points over her first 10 career games (five last year, five this year). Since then, however, she has averaged 5.7 ppg, with 34 points over the last six contests. She set or tied her career highs for minutes played in each of four consecutive games, including 18 minutes on the court vs. Hampton and 21 vs. FIU. Kirkpatrick had a career-high two assists vs. HU, then doubled that mark the next day, leading BG with four helpers against FIU.
• Freshman Sarah Baer played in four of the Falcons' first eight games, seeing a total of 14 minutes of playing time in that span. Baer has posted double-digit minute totals in each of the last four games, however, including 19 minutes against both FIU and Ball State. She scored a then career-high three points vs. Hampton, then had career bests of seven points and six rebounds in the FIU contest. Baer also had the first two steals of her career in the latter game, and she has blocked four shots over the last four contests.
MAKE IT TOUGH FOR THEM TO SCORE Just prior to Christmas, the Falcons ranked 18th in the nation in scoring defense, as BGSU had surrendered just 53.9 points per game. Now, despite playing the last four contests with at least 25 percent of the roster sidelined due to injuries, BG still ranks 40th in the nation in scoring defense. The Falcons have allowed 56.6 ppg heading into Wednesday's game at Akron.
THE FALCONS ARE/WERE ... • 7-5 this season, after posting a 30-5 overall record last winter; • 0-1 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; • 319-113 since Jennifer Roos came to BGSU in the summer of 2001; • 164-48 in MAC games in that time: • 298-78 over the last 11-plus years, with 2013-14 marking BG's MAC-record 11th-straight season of at least 20 wins; • a staggering 277-68 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 254-60 overall, and 128-19 in the MAC regular season, in the last nine-plus years, with at least 24 wins in each of those nine seasons; • a superb 226-57 in the last eight-plus years, including a 112-19 league ledger; • a/an (insert your own adjective here) 195-53 overall, and 97-18 in MAC regular-season games, in the last seven-plus seasons, since Monique Rosati came to the BGSU program; • 169-45 overall and 84-15 in MAC action over the last six-plus winters; • 140-40, including a 69-14 MAC ledger, in the last five-plus seasons; • 113-33 overall and 55-12 in the MAC in the last four-plus years; • 85-28 overall, and 42-9 in MAC action, since seniors Deborah Hoekstra and Jasmine Matthews first put on a BGSU uniform; • 61-21 overall and 28-7 in league play since Jennifer Roos became head coach, junior Miriam Justinger joined the Falcons' roster, and redshirt junior Erica Donovan transferred to BG; • 37-10 since Donovan and sophomores Rachel Konieczki and Abby Siefker began their BGSU playing careers, and redshirt freshmen Leah Bolton and Kennedy Kirkpatrick came to campus; • 151-24 in the last 175 games vs. MAC foes (regular-season and tournament); • A perfect 67-0 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field since 2001; • 254-12 when having a better FG percentage than the opposition in that time, including a 126-2 mark in the last six-plus seasons; • 243-43 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; • 74-8 in MAC home games in the last 10-plus seasons; • 61-12 in MAC road games over the last nine years; • 20-5 in the MAC Tournament in the last 10 years, with five titles (2005, '06, '07, '10 and '11), an additional championship-game appearance (2009), and trips to the semis in 2008, 2012 and 2014; • 44-19 overall in the MAC Tournament since it was instituted in 1982; • 21-7 at Gund/Quicken Loans Arena, the site of the MAC Tournament; • 52-7 in all non-conference home games since the start of the 2003-04 season; • 10-17 in 17 national postseason appearances (including a 3-11 record in the NCAA Championships and a 7-6 mark in WNIT trips); • 9-10 in national postseason action since Roos arrived at BG (including a 2-5 mark in the NCAAs and a 7-5 record in the WNIT); and • 46-10 in the Stroh Center, with seven losses coming by a combined 17 points.
UP NEXT Following the Akron game, the Falcons will return to Northwest Ohio, unpack, repack and board a bus bound for Northeast Ohio once again. BGSU will battle Kent State on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 10), with tipoff scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at KSU's M.A.C. Center. Then, the Brown and Orange will return to the Stroh Center to face Northern Illinois on Wednesday, Jan. 14.
