BGSU Battles Broncos in Wednesday Night Matchup in Kalamazoo

Wednesday, January 6

Kalamazoo, Mich.

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Western Michigan

Tickets

Lauren Tibbs v Evansville - Dec 2 2015 - Amanda Cutcher photo

Senior Lauren Tibbs & the Falcons face WMU Wednesday (Amanda Cutcher photo)

Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications

January 05, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Falcons wrap up two-game road swing to begin MAC play

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, after beginning Mid-American Conference play with a road win over the weekend, hits the road once again for a midweek matchup. Head coach Jennifer Roos and the Falcons head to Kalamazoo for a Wednesday (Jan. 6) contest against Western Michigan University, with tipoff set for 7:00 p.m. at University Arena.

LINKS
GAME NOTES: BGSU | WMU | All 2015-16 Notes
GET TO KNOW...: Roos | Fleming | Brooks | Nusseibeh | Rosati
2015-16 Women's Basketball Media Central
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FOLLOW THE FALCONS
If you can't make it to Kalamazoo on Wednesday, 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, the game will be aired on ESPN3.com, and live stats will be available as well. And, in-game twitter updates can be found at @BGSUwbb on your twitter machine. To follow the Falcons, simply log on to BGSUFalcons.com and click the 'calendar' link on the day of the game, or navigate your way to the women's basketball page.

LAST TIME OUT: FALCONS RALLY FOR 64-58 WIN AT MIAMI
• The Falcons rallied from 14 points down to post a 64-58 win over Miami Saturday afternoon (Jan. 2), in the MAC opener for both teams at Millett Hall.

• Senior Lauren Tibbs and sophomore Rachel Myers tied for game scoring honors with 16 points apiece for the Falcons (5-5, 1-0 MAC), while junior Ashley Tunstall had 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds in the win.

• Tibbs scored 14 of BGSU's 24 first-half points, while Myers and Tunstall each scored 11 points in the second half. Tunstall had eight points in the game's final seven minutes.

• BGSU trailed by just two points after one quarter of play, but the RedHawks (6-6, 0-1) opened the second quarter on a 13-2 run to open up a 30-17 lead. That lead reached a game-high 14 points when Kristen Levering's three-point field goal made it a 33-19 contest with 2:22 left before the half.

• The 'Hawks took a 36-24 lead into the intermission, then scored the first point of the third quarter before the Falcons slowly began to rally. The lead fluctuated between seven and 10 points for much of the period, before back-to-back triples cut BG's deficit to just four, 43-39, late in the quarter.

• The Falcons held the RedHawks without a basket in that third quarter.

• In the fourth quarter, MU twice extended the lead back out to six points before a 5-0 BG run cut the hosts' lead to a single point. Tunstall hit a pair of free throws with 4:07 remaining to give the Falcons the lead for good.

• The Falcons forced the RedHawks into 20 turnovers, and BG had advantages of 22-15 in points off turnovers and 11-2 in second-chance points.

• BGSU went 10-for-23 from three-point range in the win, including a 7-of-12 performance in the second half. Six different players hit at least one triple, led by a 4-for-6 long-distance effort from Myers.

• Overall, Tibbs was 7-for-11 from the field, while Myers went 6-for-9. Tibbs made two of her three three-point attempts.

DON'T (ACTUALLY, GO AHEAD AND) CALL IT A COMEBACK
• The Falcons, as mentioned, trailed by as many as 14 points late in the second quarter, before rallying to win at Miami on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 2). The game marked the first time BG won after trailing by double digits in nearly two years, since a WNIT first-round game vs. High Point on March 20, 2014. On that evening, the Falcons fell behind by 10 points, but wound up winning by 10, 72-62.

• Saturday's Miami game marked BGSU's largest deficit overcome in a win in just under four years. On Jan. 7, 2012, the Brown and Orange trailed Akron by 15 points (28-13) late in the first half, but rallied for a 62-58 win at the Stroh Center.

A FEW MORE NOTES FROM THE MIAMI GAME
• Three Falcons scored in double digits in Saturday's win at Miami, with all three amassing season-high point totals. Senior Lauren Tibbs and sophomore Rachel Myers each had 16 points, while junior Ashley Tunstall scored 13 points in the win. Tunstall also had a season-high nine rebounds vs. the RedHawks

• Tibbs had 14 of BGSU's 24 first-half points, going 6-of-7 from the field in the first 20 minutes.

• Miami got off to a hot-shooting start. The RedHawks made four-straight three-point field-goal attempts to begin the day, and MU went 6-of-8 from long distance in the first half. The RedHawks' first five overall shot attempts of the second quarter all went in, helping the home team build a double-digit lead.

• The Falcons held Miami without a field goal during the entire third quarter. After hitting a shot with 1:39 left in the second period, the RedHawks did not make another field goal for a 12-minute, 34-second stretch, until a layup in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.

• Meanwhile, the Falcons went 5-of-8 from three-point range in the third period, and BG was 7-of-12 from long distance in the second half. Miami, after that 6-for-8 first half, went 0-of-3 from beyond the arc in the second half.

• Overall, the RedHawks shot 56.5 percent from the field in the first half, but just 31.3% (5-of-16) in the second. BG, after shooting 34.6% in the opening half, went 12-for-24 (50%) from the floor in the final 20 minutes..

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• Bowling Green enters Wednesday's game with an overall record of 5-5, and the Falcons are 1-0 in MAC play. BG snapped a three-game losing streak with Saturday's (Jan. 2) 64-58 win at Miami in the conference opener.

• The Miami game was the Falcons' first game in 12 days, and just BG's second in a 25-day span. BGSU played three games in seven days to begin December, and after a game on Dec. 8, did not play again until Dec. 21. Then, a trip to San Antonio just after Christmas was cancelled.

• BGSU is 3-1 at home, 1-3 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site games this season. The Falcons are 1-0 on the road in MAC play after going 0-10 against conference opponents away from Bowling Green last year (0-9 in the regular season, 0-1 in the MAC Tournament).

• BG began the season with a pair of double-digit wins at the Stroh, then left Northwest Ohio and played three games that were decided by a total of 10 points.

• Each of the Falcons' first three home games came against Missouri Valley Conference foes, and the Brown and Orange won those three games by an average of 16.3 points. BG began the season by dispatching both Illinois State and Bradley at the Stroh Center over a three-day span, before losing a narrow 54-51 contest at Cincinnati the following weekend.

• The Falcons headed to Wilmington, N.C., and split a pair of games, dropping a 70-66 decision to Davidson before downing Jacksonville, 72-69 in overtime. Those two contests were part of the UNCW Hampton Inn Thanksgiving Classic.

• BGSU began the month of December with a 74-56 win over Evansville at the Stroh, but BG then lost to Cleveland State, 69-48, at Quicken Loans Arena. The Falcons dropped a 68-39 decision before more than 10,000 fans at Virginia on Dec. 8, then suffered a 58-45 setback against perennial mid-major power South Dakota State at the Stroh nearly two weeks later (Dec. 21).

• Just one Falcon, fifth-year senior Lauren Tibbs, has a double-digit scoring average. Tibbs, in her first season at BGSU after transferring from Marquette, has 11.2 points per game, and also leads the Falcons with 6.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots per contest. Tibbs is shooting a BG-best 60.5 percent from the field, and she leads the entire MAC in field-goal percentage.

• Senior Miriam Justinger and freshman Sydney Lambert have 8.6 and 8.5 ppg, respectively. Lambert leads BGSU in assists (2.1 apg) and has hit 16 three-point field goals to rank second on the team in that category. Justinger leads the Falcons in steals (1.0 spg) and is third on the team in both rebounding and assists. Justinger has hit 14 long-distance shots this year, ranking third on the Falcons on that list as well.

• Lambert is shooting 41.0% from three-point land, while Justinger has made 37.8% of her long-range attempts. They are a combined 30-of-76 from behind the arc through the first 10 games.

• Sophomore Rachel Myers and redshirt soph Kennedy Kirkpatrick have 7.1 and 5.6 ppg, respectively. Kirkpatrick is second on the Falcons in assists, while Myers leads the Brown and Orange with 17 three-pointers made. Like Justinger, Myers is shooting 37.8% from long range.

• Junior Ashley Tunstall has 4.2 ppg, while freshman Carly Santoro has scored 4.0 ppg to date. Tunstall is second on the team with 5.1 rpg after a 13-point, nine-rebound game at Miami.

• Juniors Rachel Konieczki and Abby Siefker have 1.9 and 1.4 ppg, respectively, and Siefker is second on the Falcons in blocked shots, with 0.7 per contest.

• Each of the aforementioned nine players has seen action in all 10 games, while sophomore Haley Puk has played in eight, classmate Sarah Baer seven and freshman Maddie Cole four. Justinger, Lambert, Myers and Tibbs each have started all 10 games for the Brown and Orange this season, while Tunstall has joined them in the starting lineup for each of the last four games.

• The Falcons are shooting 39.5% from the field, 33.3% from three-point land and 72.2% from the free-throw line. The opponents are shooting 38.1% from the floor, 30.7% from the arc and 67.4% from the stripe.

• BGSU has a scoring margin of -1.2 and a rebounding margin of +2.7. The Falcons have blocked 2.7 shots per game after averaging 1.5 bpg a year ago.

• Head coach Jennifer Roos and the Falcons returned a total of eight letterwinners, all of whom had started at least five games in their BGSU careers entering the season. The returnees were joined by five newcomers, including a pair of transfers (Tibbs and Tunstall) who were eligible to play immediately.

• The 2014-15 Falcons went 9-21 overall after four players on the 12-woman preseason roster suffered season- or career-ending injuries, and a fifth missed the bulk of the conference schedule due to injury as well. The returning players entered the season with a combined total of 203 starts in the Brown and Orange.

SYD THE KID
Freshman Sydney Lambert hit a huge shot late in Saturday's win at Miami. The Cincinnati native, playing in front of a large contingent of family and friends, missed her first five field-goal attempts on the afternoon. But, with BG clinging to a one-point lead in the final minute, Lambert fired a three-pointer from the left side, hitting nothing but net and giving the Falcons a four-point lead, 60-56, with 36 seconds on the clock. The RedHawks cut the lead to two points, but the Falcons hit 4-of-4 free throws in the final 16 seconds to seal the win.

SYD THE KID II
Freshman Sydney Lambert either scored or assisted on 17 of the Falcons' 19 first-half points vs. South Dakota State (Dec. 21). She scored all eight of her team's second quarter points, including back-to-back three-point field goals just 25 seconds apart. Lambert had 14 points, tying her season high, vs. the Jackrabbits.

TEXAS TRIP CANCELLED
The Falcons' scheduled trip to San Antonio, Texas, was cancelled and the two scheduled games will not be made up. BGSU was scheduled to participate in the Rae & Craig Blair Memorial UTSA Holiday Classic on Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 29-30. BG was slated to take on Texas Southern and the host school, UTSA. However, the team's scheduled flight from Detroit to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Sunday, Dec. 27, was cancelled, as were hundreds of other flights in and out of Dallas/Fort Worth due to tornadoes in the area on Saturday. No other flights were available later Sunday, Monday or Tuesday.

SCOUTING WMU
Western Michigan has an overall record of 8-5, and the Broncos are 0-1 in MAC play after dropping a 73-63 decision on the road against defending league champion Ohio Saturday (Jan. 2). The Broncos won five-straight games from Nov. 24 to Dec. 19, but have lost three of the last four contests. The Broncos are a perfect 4-0 at home, however, and Western is 3-3 on the road and 1-2 in neutral-site games to date. Senior forward Miracle Woods leads the team in scoring, with 12.1 points per game, and also has 5.1 rebounds per contest. Sophomore forward Teagan Reeves has 9.5 ppg, with both senior forward Jessica Jessing and junior guard Meridith Shipman averaging 9.1 ppg to date. Jessing has a team-leading 6.8 rpg, while Shipman paces the Broncos in assists (3.5 apg) and three-point field goals made (28). She is shooting 49.1 percent from beyond the arc. Senior guards Alex Morton and Deborah Meeks each have 7.6 ppg for head coach Shane Clipfell. Jessing, Morgan and Shipman have started all 13 games this fall, while Reeves has made 12 starts. Last season, the Broncos finished with a 20-13 overall mark and an 11-7 MAC ledger, and WMU advanced to the WNIT.

THE BGSU-WMU SERIES
The Falcons lead Western Michigan, 35-25, in the all-time series between the teams, but the Broncos captured each of last year's two meetings by lopsided scores in Kalamazoo. In the first 2014-15 meeting, the Broncos shot nearly 60 percent from the field in the second half, breaking open a close game and pulling away for an 82-52 win (Jan. 21, 2015). Rachel Myers led the Falcons with a game- and career-high 21 points, but the 30-point margin of victory was WMU's largest in series history. That win snapped a two-game series winning streak for BG, including a 72-50 win in the teams' most recent meeting at the Stroh Center (Feb. 5, 2014). After the teams played two games decided by two points or less in 2012-13, none of the last three matchups has been closer than 22 points. BGSU and WMU met in the first round of the MAC Tournament last season, and the Broncos went on a second-half run to pull away for a 65-42 win (March 9, 2015) in Kalamazoo. BGSU is 18-10 in home games (2-0 at the Stroh Center), 14-14 in road contests and 3-1 in neutral-site meetings vs. Western over the years. Jennifer Roos is 2-3 against the Broncos as a collegiate head coach.

A VIEW FROM THE NORTH
Falcon senior Miriam Justinger had a standout career at Sylvania Northview H.S. She was a First-Team All-Ohio selection as a senior, averaging 19.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists as the Wildcats went 21-2 and posted a district runner-up finish. Justinger helped the team to Northern Lakes League championships in each of her last three years. WMU senior Jessica Jessing was a teammate of Justinger's at Northview, joining Justinger on the all-league team. Falcon freshman Maddie Cole, then as now, was a freshman when Justinger and Jessing were seniors. Cole averaged 4.1 points and 3.6 rebounds as that 2011-12 team went a perfect 14-0 in NLL play.

FALCONS VS. THE MAC
Despite last year's struggles after the injury bug bit BG, the Falcons continue to own the best record in MAC history. Entering Wednesday's WMU game, BGSU has an all-time record of 393-169 (.699) in MAC regular-season contests, for the most wins and highest winning percentage 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 and highest overall winning pct. of any conference institution.

THREE-MARKABLE
The Falcons have made at least five three-point field goals in each of this season's 10 games to date. BG has hit four or more triples in 42 of the last 43 games, dating to late in the 2013-14 season. The lone exception during that stretch was last year's MAC Tournament first-round game, when BG made three treys at Western Michigan.

THREE-MENDOUS
BG hit 10 three-pointers in the win at Miami Saturday, marking the third time this season the Falcons have hit double digits in that category. Junior Ashley Tunstall knocked down a long-range shot in that MU game, becoming the 10th player on the roster to make a three-pointer through 10 games this season.

THREE-LIGHTFUL
BGSU will be looking to extend an impressive streak in the WMU game. The Falcons have hit at least one three-pointer in each of the last 351 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.

UP NEXT
Following Wednesday's game in Kalamazoo, BGSU will return to Northeast Ohio for a lengthy stay. The Falcons begin a three-game homestand by facing defending champion Ohio at the Stroh Center on Saturday (Jan. 9). That game, scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m., is the second half of a Falcon hoops doubleheader which sees the BGSU men's team take on Central Michigan at 2:00 p.m. Then, the BG women will host Akron (Jan. 13) and Ball State (Jan. 16) before returning to the road for a Jan. 20 game at Northern Illinois.

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