The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team returns to Northeast Ohio for the second time this week. The Falcons of head coach Jennifer Roos will face Kent State University in a Mid-American Conference East Division matchup on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 10). Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at the Memorial Athletic & Convocation (M.A.C.) Center (6,327).
FOLLOW THE FALCONS If you can't make it to KSU 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, along with a free 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.
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN Due to injuries, a total of only seven players suited up for Wednesday night's game at Akron. That group consisted of one senior (Deborah Hoekstra), one junior (Miriam Justinger), one sophomore (Rachel Konieczki) and four freshmen (redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick and true frosh Sarah Baer, Rachel Myers and Haley Puk). On the road against the defending MAC Tournament champions – who had 15 players in uniform – the Falcons led with under 10 minutes to go in the second half before a late run gave the Zips the lead for good.  LAST TIME OUT: SHORTHANDED FALCONS FALL AT AKRON, 67-59  The BGSU bench was comprised of just two players on Wednesday night at Akron • The Falcons, with just seven players in uniform, fell to Akron, 67-59, Wednesday night (Jan. 7) at UA's James A. Rhodes Arena.
• "I'm proud of the effort that our kids gave," said BGSU head coach Jennifer Roos. "They really prepared hard for this game, and they really understood the game plan at both ends of the floor."
• BGSU's active roster on Wednesday night included one senior, one junior, a sophomore and four freshmen. One of those freshmen, Rachel Myers, scored 17 points, the highest total of her young career. Myers was in the starting lineup for the first time in her brief BG tenure.
• Senior Deborah Hoekstra had the first double-double of her career, with 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Hoekstra has set or tied her career rebounding best in three consecutive games.
• Another freshman, Haley Puk, had 11 points against the Zips. Myers went 4-for-6 from three-point range on the night, while Hoekstra and Puk hit two triples apiece. As a team, the Falcons hit nine shots from beyond the arc.
• The Zips got 20 points from Sina King, while Anita Brown added 17. Akron won for just the fourth time in the series with BGSU. The Falcons now lead that series by a 51-4 margin.
BGSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL INJURY UPDATE BGSU women's basketball student-athletes Erica Donovan and Lauren Webb are expected to miss the remainder of the 2014-15 season due to injury, head coach Jennifer Roos announced last week (Jan. 2). Both Donovan, a redshirt junior, and Webb, a freshman, were injured during the Falcons' win at Illinois State on Dec. 19.
Additionally, redshirt freshman Leah Bolton will apply for a medical retirement with the NCAA due to recurring injuries, ending her BGSU playing career.
Donovan, who was voted to the Preseason All-MAC Team in October, started each of the Falcons' first eight games of the season, and was leading the team in both scoring (15.3 points per game) and rebounding (9.1 rebounds per game). She had 20 points and 15 rebounds in BG's win at ISU, her second-straight 20-point game, before suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury with just over two minutes remaining in the second half.
Webb played in seven of the first eight games off the bench before suffering an ACL injury during the first half of the ISU game. She was averaging 0.1 ppg and 1.6 rpg in 5.9 minutes per contest.
Bolton played in the Falcons' exhibition win over Davis & Elkins on Nov. 7, and had two points and four rebounds. But, she has not seen action during the 2014-15 regular season. Injuries limited her to playing in just two games in 2013-14.
Senior Jasmine Matthews and sophomore Abby Siefker did not make the trip to Akron for Wednesday's (Jan. 7) game, leaving the Falcons with just seven players in uniform for that contest.
FULLENKAMP JOINS FALCONS BGSU volleyball standout Erica Fullenkamp has joined the Falcon women's basketball program. Fullenkamp, a senior at the University, completed a successful four-year career with the volleyball Falcons in November, and helped that team to a MAC Tournament championship and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Championships in 2012. Fullenkamp participated in practice with the women's basketball team on Thursday (Jan. 8) and is expected to be in uniform when the team takes the court at Kent State on Saturday.
ABOUT THE FALCONS • The Falcons enter the Kent State game with an overall record of 7-6, and BGSU is 0-2 in Mid-American Conference play after suffering a 67-59 loss at Akron on Wednesday (Jan. 7). After winning four-straight games prior to Christmas, BGSU is looking to snap a four-game losing streak. The Brown and Orange dropped a pair of games just after the Christmas holiday 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. Following the trip to Florida, the Falcons opened MAC play with a 62-50 loss to visiting Ball State last weekend (Jan. 3) prior to the UA game.
• 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.
• Two Falcons – junior Miriam Justinger and sophomore Rachel Konieczki – have stated all 13 games this season to date. Another sophomore, Abby Siefker, started the first 12 games of the year before missing the Akron contest.
• Senior Deborah Hoekstra, after coming off the bench for the first 83 games of her BGSU career, has started the last seven games, while freshman Haley Puk made her first collegiate start in the win at Bradley and has now started five games. Another freshman, Rachel Myers, made her first collegiate start at Akron.
• Hoekstra leads the active Falcons in scoring, with 10.5 points per game, while Justinger and Myers have scored 9.3 and 7.0 ppg, respectively. Konieczki has 6.8 points per contest, with Puk averaging 5.5 ppg and Siefker 5.4 to date.
• Siefker is averaging 6.3 rebounds per game, while Justinger has 5.5 rpg. Hoekstra has 4.8 boards per game after pulling down 12 rebounds at Akron. Fellow senior Jasmine Matthews has 3.0 rpg this year. 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 her first career double-double at UA, with 12 points to go along with those 12 boards.
• Justinger has 2.3 assists per game to pace the Falcons in that category, and she is third on the team in steals, with 1.0 per game. Konieczki has 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals per contest, ranking second on the Falcons in both categories. Hoekstra has 1.2 apg and a BG-best 1.2 spg. Siefker has a team-leading 1.0 blocked shots per game.
• BGSU is shooting 36.0 percent from the field, 29.3% from three-point range and 78.2% from the free-throw line through 13 games. The Falcons' opponents have shot 38.3% from the floor, 27.3% from the arc and 64.0% from the stripe.
• The Falcons have averaged 6.0 three-pointers made to date. Hoekstra has hit 21 triples to lead the way, while Myers has knocked down 17 long-range attempts, including a career-high four treys en route to 17 points (also a career high) at Akron. Puk has connected 11 times from beyond the arc, Konieczki 10 and Justinger nine.
• Hoekstra, Justinger, Konieczki, Myers and Puk each have seen action in all 13 games, while Siefker and redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick have played in 12 games to date. Freshman Sarah Baer has played in nine games off the bench, while Donovan, as mentioned, played in the first eight games of the year before suffering her injury. 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.
THE KENT STATE GOLDEN FLASHES Kent State has an overall record of 2-11 on the season, and the Golden Flashes are 0-2 in MAC play after a 67-49 loss at Toledo on Wednesday night (Jan. 7). KSU's other MAC game was a home setback against Central Michigan. The Flashes posted victories over Belmont at home and Colgate on the road during the non-conference portion of the schedule. KSU is 1-3 at home this year to date, and the Flashes are 1-6 on the road and 0-2 in neutral-site games. Individually, sophomore guard Larissa Lurken leads the team with 11.3 points per game, and she has made 23 of the team's 42 successful three-point field goals this season to date. Senior center CiCi Shannon has 9.2 ppg to go along with 5.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots per game. Sophomore guard Krista White has 8.8 ppg, and senior forward Montia Johnson has 7.1 ppg and a team-leading 7.3 rpg. Johnson and Shannon each are shooting better than 50 percent from the field this season. Last year, head coach Danielle O'Banion and the Flashes went 7-23 overall and 4-14 in the MAC. O'Banion welcomed back seven letterwinners, including three starters, from the 2013-14 club.
THE SERIES • The Falcons lead Kent State, 52-28, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU has won the last eight meetings and 21 of the last 22 matchups. BGSU swept last year's two games, with a 58-39 decision at the M.A.C. Center (Jan. 9, 2014) and an 82-38 triumph at the Stroh Center (Feb. 27, 2014).
• BGSU has held the Flashes under 40 points in four of the last five matchups, and KSU scored just 43 points in the other meeting during that time. The Flashes' last win in the series was a 44-43 decision in Kent four years ago (Jan. 15, 2011).
• Kent State won 12-straight series matchups, and 17-of-18 contests, before BGSU captured the next 13 meetings prior to KSU's win in 2011.
• BGSU is 25-10 in home games, 20-16 in road contests and 7-2 in neutral-site meetings with Kent/Kent State over the years.
• Jennifer Roos is 5-0 against the Golden Flashes 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 28-8 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 390-155 (.716) 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 has used four different lineups through 13 games. Junior Miriam Justinger and sophomore Rachel Konieczki are the only two players to have started all 13 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 last Saturday's (Jan. 3) Ball State game, with a game-high 16 points and a game- and career-best 10 rebounds. Then, at Akron (Jan. 7), senior Deborah Hoekstra posted her first career double-double, with 12 points and a career-high 12 boards against the Zips. Other than Justinger and Hoekstra, redshirt junior Erica Donovan is the only other member of the 2014-15 roster to have recorded a double-double in college. Donovan's six career double-doubles included three in this season's first eight games.
HOEKSTRA NAMED MAC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK On Wednesday (Jan. 7), senior Deborah Hoekstra was named MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week, earning that honor for the second time this season. Hoekstra averaged 9.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game the previous week, leading BG in rebounding and tying for the team lead in scoring. She has a perfect 4.000 cumulative GPA as a health science major.
MAKE MORE THAN THEY TAKE So far this season, BG appears to be continuing an impressive program trend of getting to the foul line much more often than the other team. BGSU has made a total of 186 free throws this year to date. That total is more than the opponents have attempted (172), much less made (110). The Falcons' total of free throws made has been at least 100 higher than the opponents' FTM total in each of the last nine seasons, and BG is on pace to accomplish that feat yet again this year. The 2002-03 campaign was the last time the opposition made, or attempted, more free throws than BG.
HOEKSTRA'S A REBOUNDING MACHINE • Just two weeks ago, senior Deborah Hoekstra had never had more than six rebounds in a game. In the last three games, however, the guard has averaged 10.0 boards per contest, and has set or tied her career-best total in each game. Hoekstra had nine rebounds at FIU (Dec. 30), then matched that total against Ball State (Jan. 3). On Wednesday, Hoekstra had 12 rebounds vs. Akron.
• In MAC play, Hoekstra is averaging a double-double, with 10.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game through two contests. She ranks third in the MAC in rebounding in conference games.
THEY'RE FREE • Senior Deborah Hoekstra and the Falcons have enjoyed their share of success at the free-throw line. Hoekstra has gone 31-of-34 at the stripe this season, good for a success rate of 91.2%. She ranks second in the MAC in that category, and would rank 11th in the nation, but she is just two free throws shy of qualifying for the national rankings.
• As a team, the Falcons have shot 78.2% from the free-throw line. That average leads the MAC and ranks fourth in the entire nation. BG set a Stroh Center record by shooting 92.3% in the Ball State game, and the Falcons were an identical 12-of-13 at Akron as well. BG, obviously, is shooting 92.3% from the stripe in MAC games.
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, numerous 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. But, the next time out, Hoekstra indeed visited Double-Double Land, with 12 points and 12 boards – a new career rebounding best – at Akron.
• 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. Puk had 11 points at Akron on Wednesday night.
• Another freshman, Rachel Myers, made the first start of her BG career at Akron. She responded by going 4-for-6 from three-point land en route to a career-high 17 points. Myers' previous single-game bests had been 10 points and two three-pointers made. She also set career standards in field goals made (six) and attempted (11) and minutes played (35) vs. the Zips.
• 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 5.1 ppg, with 36 points over the last seven contests off the bench. 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. Kirkpatrick played 20 minutes at Akron.
• 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 five 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. Baer scored six points on 2-for-2 shooting at Akron Wednesday.
THE FALCONS ARE/WERE ... • 7-6 this season, after posting a 30-5 overall record last winter; • 0-2 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; • 319-114 since Jennifer Roos came to BGSU in the summer of 2001; • 164-49 in MAC games in that time: • 298-79 over the last 11-plus years, with 2013-14 marking BG's MAC-record 11th-straight season of at least 20 wins; • a staggering 277-69 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 254-61 overall, and 128-20 in the MAC regular season, in the last nine-plus years, with at least 24 wins in each of those nine seasons; • a superb 226-58 in the last eight-plus years, including a 112-20 league ledger; • a/an (insert your own adjective here) 195-54 overall, and 97-19 in MAC regular-season games, in the last seven-plus seasons, since Monique Rosati came to the BGSU program; • 169-46 overall and 84-16 in MAC action over the last six-plus winters; • 140-41, including a 69-15 MAC ledger, in the last five-plus seasons; • 113-34 overall and 55-13 in the MAC in the last four-plus years; • 85-29 overall, and 42-10 in MAC action, since seniors Deborah Hoekstra and Jasmine Matthews first put on a BGSU uniform; • 61-22 overall and 28-8 in league play since Jennifer Roos became head coach, junior Miriam Justinger joined the Falcons' roster, and redshirt junior Erica Donovan transferred to BG; • 37-11 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; • 151-25 in the last 176 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; • 61-13 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 • 46-10 in the Stroh Center, with seven losses coming by a combined 17 points.
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 five contests with at least 25 percent of the roster sidelined due to injuries, BG still ranks 46th in the nation in scoring defense. The Falcons have allowed 57.4 ppg heading into Saturday's game at Kent State.
UP NEXT • Following the Kent State game, the Falcons will return home to face Northern Illinois on Wednesday (Jan. 14), with tipoff set for 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center. It will be 'Dollar Day' at the Stroh, as tickets are just one dollar, and hot dogs, popcorn and 12-oz. sodas also can be purchased for a dollar apiece. Dollar tickets to the game are available at the Stroh Center ticket office through the close of business Tuesday (Jan. 13).
• After the NIU game, BGSU then returns to more familiar territory: the road. The Brown and Orange will travel to face Eastern Michigan (Jan. 17) and Western Michigan (Jan. 21), ending a 15-game stretch in which BG plays away from home 12 times. Â
BGSU volleyball standout Erica Fullenkamp has joined the Falcon women's basketball program. Fullenkamp, a senior at the University, completed a successful four-year career with the volleyball Falcons in November, and helped that team to a MAC Tournament championship and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Championships in 2012. Fullenkamp participated in practice with the women's basketball team on Thursday (Jan. 8) and is expected to be in uniform when the team takes the court at Kent State on Saturday.
