Falcons Head South for Midweek Matchup with Miami

Wednesday, February 25

Oxford, OH

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Miami

Tickets

Rachel Konieczki & the Falcons head to Oxford for a Wednesday matchup with Miami

February 24, 2015 | Women's Basketball

BGSU battles the RedHawks at Millett Hall Wednesday night

By: OXFORD, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team closes the road portion of the regular-season schedule with a pair of trips this week, beginning with a midweek matchup with Miami University. The Falcons of head coach Jennifer Roos will face the RedHawks in Mid-American Conference action on Wednesday night (Feb. 25). Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Millett Hall.

GAME NOTES
BGSU | Miami

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
If you can't make it to Oxford on Wednesday night, you can still follow the Falcons via your radio- or computer-like devices. 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, as well as a video stream (fee required) will be available. And, as always, 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.

TAKE SOME, THEY'RE FREE: FALCONS SECOND IN THE NATION IN FT PCT.
• As of Monday evening (Feb. 23), the Falcons were ranked second in the entire nation in free-throw percentage. After shooting 81.0 percent from the line (17-of-21) in Saturday's Kent State game, BGSU is now shooting 78.1% (357-of-457) from the charity stripe this season. Drexel currently leads the nation with a 79.1% free-throw rate. The BGSU single-season record for FT percentage is 79.9% by the 2010-11 team.

• The Falcons' 78.1% overall percentage is impressive, to be sure, but BG is shooting an even-better 79.6% as a team in MAC games. Through the first 14 conference contests, BGSU has made 195-of-245 shots from the stripe.

• The Falcons have made at least 70% of their free throws in 22 of this year's 25 games, including 16 of the last 18 contests (and 12 of the 14 MAC games).

• Individually, senior Deborah Hoekstra leads the MAC and is ranked eighth in the entire nation in free-throw percentage. Hoekstra has gone 75-of-83 at the stripe this season, good for a success rate of 90.4%.

TAKE SOME MORE – WE SAID THEY WERE FREE
• As mentioned earlier, the Falcons lead the MAC and are ranked second in the nation in free-throw percentage. And, senior Deborah Hoekstra leads the league and is eighth in the country among individuals.

• In conference games, Hoekstra ranks second in the MAC in free-throw accuracy, and she is also second on her own team. Freshman Rachel Myers leads the league in success at the stripe in conference contests, having gone 32-of-34 (94.1%) against MAC foes, while Hoekstra has hit 48-of-53 shots (90.6%) in league games to date.

LAST TIME OUT: FLASHES HOLD OFF FURIOUS FALCON COMEBACK BID
• A furious comeback bid by the Falcons fell just short, as visiting Kent State escaped the Stroh Center with a 62-58 win Saturday evening (Feb. 21).

• The Golden Flashes led by as many as 16 points early in the second half, but the Falcons battled back to within one possession in the final minutes. However, BGSU could not convert on three consecutive trips down the floor, and the visitors – despite making just 2-of-6 free-throw attempts in the final 30 seconds of the game – got a Mikell Chinn charity toss with just 6.9 seconds to go to extend the margin to four points.

• Junior Miriam Justinger led all players with 19 points, while redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick added 13 points off the bench for the Falcons. Larissa Lurken paced three double-digit scorers with 16 points for the Flashes, including four three-point field goals.

• KSU led by five points at the half, but a 10-0 run early in the second period put the visitors in front by 15 points, 46-31. That lead reached a game-high 16 points when McKenna Stephens hit a jumper with 12:35 to go, giving the Flashes a 52-36 advantage. But, the Falcons would come roaring back.

• After CiCi Shannon's layup with 5:42 remaining put the Flashes ahead by a 60-46 count, Kent State would not make another field goal. A Kirkpatrick layup began a 12-0 run for the Falcons. That driving layup came with 5:29 on the clock, and moments later, a steal by senior Deborah Hoekstra began a BG possession that resulted in a Hoekstra banker from close range.

• Out of the game's final media timeout, BG fouled Melanee Stubbs, who missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity. Justinger knocked down a three-point try on the next possession, and suddenly, the Falcons were within seven points.

• Hoekstra was fouled on a drive, and knocked down two free-throw tries with 2:39 left, cutting her team's deficit to five points. After a KSU miss, freshman Sarah Baer split a pair of charity tosses to cut the Flashes' lead to 60-56.

• Chinn was called for traveling with 1:44 remaining, and on BG's next possession, an inbounds pass by freshman Rachel Myers found Justinger wide open under the basket. Justinger's layup was good, and the Falcons trailed by only two points with 1:18 to go.

• Kent State used nearly all of the shot clock on the next trip down the floor, but Jordan Korinek's jumper was no good, and Hoekstra's rebound gave the ball back to the Brown and Orange. After Kirkpatrick kicked the ball out to Hoekstra on the next possession, though, the BG senior was called for a traveling violation just before she attempted a three-point try.

• The ball went back to KSU with 29.7 seconds left, and a long inbounds pass found Stephens ahead of the pack. Hoekstra fouled Stephens before she could shoot a layup, however, and Stephens then missed two-straight free-throw tries, with Hoekstra rebounding the second miss.

• The next possession saw Hoekstra find Baer with an entry pass, but the freshman's shot would not drop, and Stephens rebounded the miss. Hoekstra fouled Stephens, sending her back to the line with 13.7 seconds on the clock. Stephens missed her first shot from the stripe, but made her second try to give KSU a three-point lead.

• The Falcons raced downcourt, but as sophomore Rachel Konieczki crossed midcourt, the ball was deflected out of bounds, with BG the last to touch it. KSU inbounded the ball with 8.0 seconds left, and Konieczki fouled Chinn with 6.9 ticks on the clock. Chinn missed her first shot at the line, but hit the second to give the Flashes a four-point lead and clinch the victory.

• Kent State shot 52.4 percent from the field in the second half and an even 50% for the game. BG shot 50% after halftime, making 9-of-18 shots in the second period, en route to a 44.7% rate on the evening.

THREE-MENDOUS
• The Falcons have made 6.5 three-point field goals per game this year to date, tying BG for second in the MAC. In conference play, the Falcons have hit an even 7.0 treys per contest, good for second in the league. BGSU has made at least four three-pointers in each of this season's 25 games.

• In fact, the Falcons have hit at least four triples in 36-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 seven three-point field goals in the Kent State game. The Falcons now have hit at least one three-pointer in each of the last 336 games. BG has not been held without a triple in over 10 years – since Feb. 12, 2005, at Akron, when the Falcons won, 61-52, despite going 0-of-13 from long distance.

YOUTH IS SERVED
• The Falcons have had four players suffer season- or career-ending injuries this season, with a fifth player missing large chunks of time due to injury as well. As a result, many BG freshmen have had an opportunity to gain valuable experience. True frosh Rachel Myers (27.6), Haley Puk (20.8) and Sarah Baer (12.6) all are averaging double-digit minutes per game, and each member of that trio has started at least five games.

• Additionally, redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick, who missed nearly all of last season due to injury, is averaging 19.2 minutes per game this winter.

• The 2014-15 season marks the first time three freshmen have started one or more games since 2007-08 (Lauren Prochaska and Crystal Murdaugh started all 34 games that year, while Chelsea Albert made six starts).

• BGSU has not had four frosh average double-digit minutes since the 2003-04 season, when first-year Falcons Ali Mann, Liz Honegger, Megan Thorburn and Carin Horne each played over 10 minutes per game. That quartet went on to lead BG to 31 wins and a trip to the 'Sweet Sixteen' round of the 2007 NCAA Championships as seniors.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Miami game with an overall record of 9-16, and BGSU is 2-12 in Mid-American Conference play. BG is looking to snap a seven-game losing streak, the team's longest since a seven-game slide early in the 1999-2000 season.

• Believe it or not, in the storied history of Falcon basketball, no BG team has ever lost eight games in a row. It's also very likely, however, that no Falcon women's basketball team ever lost one-third of the preseason roster to season-ending injuries.

• BGSU's last win came in this season's first meeting with Miami, a 66-53 triumph at the Stroh Center on Jan. 24. The Falcons had won two-straight games at home before dropping contests to Toledo (Jan. 31) and Central Michigan (Feb. 4) at the Stroh. BG is now 4-6 at home, 4-9 on the road and 1-1 at neutral-site venues this season.

• After winning four-straight games prior to Christmas, BGSU then dropped five consecutive contests, including the first three MAC games of the season. The Falcons snapped that streak with a 65-59 win over Northern Illinois at the Stroh on Jan. 14, and BG's other MAC win came against Miami 10 days later.

• That five-game post-holiday losing streak, not coincidentally, came after 25 percent of the roster – three of the 12 players on the team at that time – were lost for the season due to injury. That percentage reached 33.3% as a fourth player suffered a season-ending injury in early January.

• After opening the season with a one-point loss to Bucknell, BGSU bounced back with three-straight wins, beginning with a convincing 80-59 home victory over Iona. The Falcons went on the road and downed Milwaukee, then headed to the left coast and topped UC Irvine before suffering a narrow loss 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, to begin a four-game winning streak. Road wins over Saint Francis (Pa.), Illinois State and Bradley followed, but two players suffered season-ending injuries in that ISU game.

• The Brown and Orange dropped a pair of games just after the Christmas holiday in Miami, Fla., against Hampton and the host school at the FIU Sun & Fun Classic. BG opened MAC play with a home loss to Ball State and road setbacks at Akron and Kent State. The Falcons had only seven players in uniform for the UA contest on Jan. 7.

• Redshirt junior Erica Donovan and freshman Lauren Webb were injured in that Illinois State game. 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 also are expected to miss the rest of the season. 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 year, and averaged 5.4 points and 6.3 rebounds. She was second on the team in rebounding behind Donovan, and led the Falcons in blocked shots, with 1.0 rejections per game.

• Of the active Falcons, only two – junior Miriam Justinger and sophomore Rachel Konieczki – have started all 25 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 19 games. Freshmen Rachel Myers and Haley Puk have made 13 and 11 starts, respectively, with senior Jasmine Matthews and freshman Sarah Baer starting six games apiece.

• Hoekstra leads the active Falcons in scoring, with 11.4 points per game, while Justinger and Myers have scored 10.9 and 8.5 ppg, respectively. Justinger scored a season-high 19 points in Saturday's Kent State game. Konieczki has 5.8 points per contest, with redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick averaging 5.2 ppg and Puk 4.6.

• Hoekstra is averaging 6.0 rebounds per game, tops among the members of the active roster, and she has 7.8 rpg in MAC play. Hoekstra has led the Falcons in rebounding, or tied for the team lead, in nine of the last 13 games. Justinger has 5.2 rpg this season to date. Hoekstra has posted four double-doubles – all in conference contests – after Justinger had her first career double-double in the MAC opener vs. Ball State.

• Justinger has 2.2 assists per game to pace the Falcons in that category, while Konieczki has 1.5 assists and Hoekstra 1.4 helpers per contest. Kirkpatrick has handed out 1.2 assists per game.

• Konieczki has 1.2 steals per game apiece to lead the team in that category, while Justinger and Hoekstra have 1.1 spg apiece. Baer leads the active Falcons with a total of eight blocked shots this year, and Hoekstra has seven.

• BGSU is shooting 35.6 percent from the field, 31.3% from three-point range and 78.1% (good for second in the nation) from the free-throw line through 25 games. The Falcons' opponents have shot 41.2% from the floor, 29.3% from the arc and 66.4% from the stripe.

• The Falcons have averaged 6.5 three-pointers made this year, including a season-high 11 at Eastern Michigan (Jan. 17) and 10 against Central Michigan (Feb. 4). Hoekstra has hit 43 triples – including a career-high five in that CMU game – to lead the way, while Myers has knocked down 39 long-range attempts. Justinger and Puk have connected 23 and 19 times, respectively, from beyond the arc, while Konieczki has made 15 three-point tries and Kirkpatrick 14.

• Hoekstra, Justinger, Konieczki, Myers and Puk each have seen action in all 25 games, while Kirkpatrick has played in 24 games and Baer 21. Matthews has played in 12 games this season, but has missed 11 of the last 19 contests due to injury. After starting the first six games of the year and averaging 22.5 minutes per game, Matthews has averaged just 4.5 minutes per appearance since Christmas.

• Senior Erica Fullenkamp joined the team on Jan. 8, and made her BGSU women's basketball debut six days later in the first NIU meeting. A former Falcon volleyball standout, Fullenkamp has played in each of the last 11 games, averaging 0.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in 7.0 minutes per outing.

• In MAC games, Hoekstra leads the team with 12.2 ppg, with Justinger and Myers averaging 11.4 and 10.5 ppg, respectively. Hoekstra, as mentioned, has 7.8 rpg to lead the Falcons in that category, and she also tops BG in blocked shots in MAC games. Justinger has 5.2 rpg and 2.0 apg in conference contests. Myers has hit 27 triples and Hoekstra 25 vs. MAC foes. BGSU is shooting 79.6% from the free-throw line in MAC games, having made 195-of-245 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 four true frosh.

THE MIAMI REDHAWKS
Miami will enter Wednesday's game with an overall record of 5-20, and the RedHawks are 2-12 in MAC play. After losing the first 10 conference games, however, MU has gone 2-2 over the last two weeks, with road wins at Kent State (69-53; Feb. 11) and Buffalo (78-68; Feb. 21) during that time. The RedHawks are 2-9 at home, 2-8 on the road and 1-3 in neutral-site matchups this year, and MU is 0-7 at Millett Hall and 2-5 at hostile venues in MAC play. Individually, freshman guard Baleigh Reid leads a balanced scoring attack with 10.5 points per game. Reid is one of six RedHawks averaging at least 6.8 ppg. Fellow freshman guard Kayla Brown has 8.3 ppg, while junior forward Jessica Rupright has scored 7.7 ppg. Junior forward Hannah McCue and senior guard Courtney Larson have 7.6 ppg apiece. McCue leads the 'Hawks with 8.0 rebounds per game, while Larson has a Miami-best 3.1 assists per contest. 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 the 2013-14 club.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Miami, 48-27, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU has won the last three meetings.

• In this year's first meeting, the Falcons built a 31-9 halftime lead, holding Miami scoreless for over 11 minutes, en route to a 66-53 win over the RedHawks at the Stroh Center (Jan. 24, 2015). Redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick had 18 points, more than doubling her previous career-best scoring effort, and senior Deborah Hoekstra had a double-double.

• Last year, the Falcons put together one of their most complete games of the season in a 91-45 win over the RedHawks at the Stroh (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 23-12 in home games (3-1 in the Stroh Center), 19-14 in road contests and 6-1 in neutral-site contests vs. the Redskins/RedHawks over the years.

• Jennifer Roos is 3-2 against Miami as a collegiate head coach.

FALCONS = #MACTION
Since Jennifer Roos became head coach prior to the 2012-13 season, the Falcons have a record of 30-18 in MAC regular-season games. BGSU has won those 30 games by an average of 17.1 points per game, and 24 of the 30 wins have been by double digits.

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 392-165 (.704) 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 (755) and highest overall winning percentage (.649) of any conference school.

THE FALCONS ARE/WERE ...
• 9-16 this season, after posting a 30-5 overall record last winter, and after suffering season-ending injuries to four of the 12 players on the roster at the start of this year;
• 2-12 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;
• 321-124 since Jennifer Roos came to BGSU in the summer of 2001;
• 166-59 in MAC games in that time:
• 300-89 over the last 11-plus years, with 2013-14 marking BG's MAC-record 11th-straight season of at least 20 wins;
• a staggering 279-79 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 256-71 overall, and 130-30 in the MAC regular season, in the last nine-plus years, with at least 24 wins in each of those nine seasons;
• a superb 228-68 in the last eight-plus years, including a 114-30 league ledger;
• a/an (insert your own adjective here) 197-64 overall, and 99-29 in MAC regular-season games, in the last seven-plus seasons, since Monique Rosati came to the BGSU program;
• 171-56 overall and 86-26 in MAC action over the last six-plus winters;
• 142-51, including a 71-25 MAC ledger, in the last five-plus seasons;
• 115-44 overall and 57-23 in the MAC in the last four-plus years;
• 87-39 overall, and 44-20 in MAC action, since seniors Deborah Hoekstra and Jasmine Matthews first put on a BGSU uniform;
• 63-32 overall and 30-18 in league play since Jennifer Roos became head coach, junior Miriam Justinger joined the Falcons' roster, and redshirt junior Erica Donovan transferred to BG;
• 39-21 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;
• 153-35 in the last 188 games vs. MAC foes (regular-season and tournament);
• A perfect 67-0 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field since 2001;
• 256-14 when having a better FG percentage than the opposition in that time, including a 128-4 mark in the last six-plus seasons;
• 245-49 when making more free throws than the opponent in the Roos Assistant-Coach/Associate-Head-Coach/Interim-Head-Coach/Head-Coaching Era;
• 208-26 when outrebounding the opponent in that 13-plus-year span;
• 76-12 in MAC home games in the last 10-plus seasons;
• 61-19 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
• 48-14 at the Stroh Center, with nine of those losses coming by a total of 24 points.

HOEKSTRA'S A REBOUNDING MACHINE
• Roughly two months ago, senior Deborah Hoekstra had never had more than six rebounds in a game. Over the last 15 games, however, the guard has had six or more rebounds 12 times, and she has AVERAGED 7.9 boards in that time. Hoekstra has set or matched her career rebounding best four times in that span, including three times in as many games, and has pulled down 10 or more boards on four occasions, including a career-high 14 rebounds in the first Miami game.

• Hoekstra is averaging 6.0 rebounds on the year. In MAC play, she is averaging a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game, good for eighth in the conference. Hoekstra has led BG, or tied for the team lead, in rebounding in eight of the last 11 games.

UP NEXT
Following the Miami game, the Falcons will close the road portion of the regular-season schedule with a Saturday (Feb. 28) contest at MAC-leading Ohio University. Then, the season ends with games against Buffalo (March 4) and Akron (March 7) at the Stroh Center. The MAC Tournament begins on Monday, March 9, at campus sites, with the fifth- through eighth-seeded teams hosting seeds nine through 12.