Bowling Green State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Falcons Reflect Upon 2015-16 Season
April 12, 2016 | Women's Basketball
Seniors each pick up multiple awards at Sunday night's banquet
Seniors Miriam Justinger and Lauren Tibbs each picked up multiple awards at the 2015-16 Bowling Green State University Women's Basketball Awards Banquet, which was held in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom of the Bowen Thompson Student Union Sunday night (April 10).
BGSU W.Basketball Banquet Photo Gallery
Tibbs was named the team's Player of the Year in a vote of team members, and also was named the Power Player of the Year. Justinger was named the Falcons' Impact Player of the Year, and the duo shared the Fran and Marty Voll Senior Achievement Award.
Several other team members earned awards as well. Freshman Sydney Lambert was named the Playmaker of the Year, while classmate Maddie Cole picked up the team's Most Improved Player award and sophomore Rachel Myers received the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.
Junior Rachel Konieczki received the Falcon Award, which is given to the person or persons who embody qualities such as dedication, commitment, effort and being the ultimate team player. And, sophomore Haley Puk earned the Les Disher Service Award, a new award named in honor of BGSU fan and supporter Les Disher, who passed away last month.
Justinger, a native of Sylvania, Ohio (Northview H.S.), started all 28 games in 2015-16, averaging 29.0 minutes per contest. She was third on the team in scoring, with 8.8 points per game, and also averaged 4.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per contest. Justinger, who finished third on the team in scoring and second in rebounding, made 33 three-point field goals to rank third on the Falcons in that category. She was second on the Falcons in steals, and ranked among the MAC leaders in free-throw percentage (77.0%, 13th) and three-point field-goal accuracy (35.9%, 10th). Justinger scored in double figures 12 times, including in seven of the last 11 games of the season. She was selected to be a part of the WBCA's 'So You Want to be a Coach' program, held in conjunction with the Final Four in Indianapolis last week. Justinger finished her career with 1,027 points at BGSU, tying her for 25th on the school's career scoring list, and she also posted career totals of 460 rebounds, 267 assists, 130 steals and 114 three-pointers made.
Tibbs, a native of Taylor Mill, Ky. (Scott H.S.), was named to the All-MAC Third Team after leading the Falcons in a plethora of categories in her lone season with the team. Tibbs paced the team in scoring and rebounding, with 12.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, and she also led BG in field-goal percentage (55.4%; 155-of-280) -- ranking third in the entire league in that category -- and blocked shots (26, 0.9 per game). Tibbs, who joined the Falcons after earning her undergraduate degree at Marquette University, started all 28 games for BGSU in 2015-16. She shot over 40% from three-point range, making 17-of-42 long-range attempts (40.5%). Tibbs finished 18th in the MAC in scoring and 10th in the league in rebounding, and she was eighth among MAC players in blocks per game. She was named MAC Player of the Week on Feb. 22, after averaging 23.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks and shooting 66.7% (20-for-30) from the field and a perfect 100% (5-for-5) from three-point range the previous week.  Tibbs scored in double digits a team-leading 20 times on the season, including back-to-back games of 20 points or more, and she recorded the Falcons' only three double-doubles on the year.
Cole, like Justinger a native of Sylvania, Ohio, and a product of Northview H.S., saw action in 13 games off the bench in her initial season in Orange and Brown. Cole averaged 1.1 points and 0.8 rebounds per game, and shot 55.6% from the field. She was 5-of-9 from the floor, including 1-for-3 from three-point range, on the year. Cole had a season-high seven points in the Falcons' win at Kent State, going a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor. She gave the Falcons a spark off the bench in a seven-minute stint against arch-rival Toledo, with three rebounds, an assist and a steal as BGSU rallied from a 19-point deficit to tie the contest in the fourth quarter.
Konieczki, a native of Rockford, Ill. (Rockford Lutheran), played in 26 of the Falcons' 28 games off the bench, averaging 8.5 minutes per game. She also averaged 1.5 points and 1.0 rebounds per contest on the year. Konieczki had a season-high six points vs. Cleveland State, and had four points on three other occasions. She has 267 points, 113 rebounds and 82 assists as a Falcon through the 2015-16 season. Konieczki was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society, in February of 2016.
Lambert, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio (McAuley H.S.), was named to the MAC's All-Freshman Team. She jumped right into the lineup in her initial season at BGSU, starting all 28 games, and finished second on the team in scoring with 9.4 points per game. Lambert also had 3.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and a team-best 1.2 steals per outing. She averaged 31.1 minutes per game to lead the team in that category as well. Lambert hit a BG-best 56 three-point field goals and shot a team- and MAC-best 40.9% from the arc. In MAC games only, she led the entire league in long-range accuracy as well, going 41-for-97 (42.3%) from three-point land. Lambert made at least two three-pointers on 17 occasions, including a season-high six triples in a win over Kent State. She scored a season-high 20 points in that contest, and hit double digits in that category on 12 occasions.
Myers, a native of Findlay, Ohio (Liberty-Benton H.S.), started all 28 games and finished fourth on the team in scoring, with 7.6 points per game. She was second on the Falcons with 51 three-point field goals made, and shot 36.4% from long distance. Myers was ninth in the MAC in three-point FG pct., and finished 13th in the league in three-pointers made per game. In MAC games only, she finished sixth in the league in three-point accuracy (37.9%). Myers scored in double digits nine times on the season, including a career-high 24 points at Central Michigan. In that game, she made seven three-pointers, falling just one shy of the school record. Myers was inducted into both Chi Alpha Sigma and the Mortar Board Honor Society. In the classroom, the team's Scholar-Athlete of the Year has a perfect 4.000 cumulative GPA in dietetics.
Puk, from Waterloo, Iowa (West H.S.), played in 26 games, starting the last seven of the season. She averaged 15.8 minutes, 3.8 points and 1.7 rebounds per contest. Puk made 16 three-point field goals to rank fifth on the team, and she was fourth on the Falcons in steals and fifth in assists. She scored in double figures three times, including a season-high 13 points at Central Michigan. Puk also had back-to-back double-digit games, with 11 points in a win over Miami, and 12 points and seven rebounds at Ohio.
In addition to the presentation of awards on Sunday night, the crowd was treated to dinner and a season highlight video. Junior Abby Siefker delivered the invocation, and Cole, Lambert, fellow freshman Carly Santoro, Tibbs and junior Ashley Tunstall received letter jackets after officially becoming BGSU first-year letterwinners. The team's two seniors each had the opportunity to speak, as Justinger and Tibbs shared their thoughts and memories on their time at BGSU.
Additionally, it was announced that Konieczki and Lambert will be co-captains of the 2016-17 Falcons, and banquet emcee Larry Weiss revealed the team's plans to take a foreign tour to Cuba in August. In addition to the returning players, NCAA rules allow for the team's four incoming freshman also to take part in that trip as well.
Also at the banquet, Tibbs was recognized for earning all-league third-team honors and for being named MAC Player of the Week, while Lambert was presented with her MAC All-Freshman Team honor. Justinger was recognized for reaching the 1,000-point mark for her career, and no fewer than eight Falcons -- the highest total in the league by far -- were recognized for being named to the Academic All-MAC Team. That group included Justinger, Konieczki, Myers, Puk, Siefker, Tibbs, Sarah Baer and Kennedy Kirkpatrick.
2015-16Â BGSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS
* Player of the Year: Lauren Tibbs
(Sponsored by Dan Long/Long's Cleaners)
* Falcon Award: Rachel Konieczki
(Sponsored by Joan Slebos)
* Power Player of the Year: Lauren Tibbs
(Sponsored by George & Susan Lang)
* Playmaker of the Year: Sydney Lambert
(Sponsored by Ron Thompson)
* Impact Player of the Year: Miriam Justinger
(Sponsored by Bill Lloyd)
* Most Improved Player: Maddie Cole
(Sponsored by Larry & Fran Weiss)
* Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Rachel Myers
(Sponsored by Steve & Rhonda Melchi)
* Les Disher Service Award: Haley Puk
* Fran & Marty Voll Senior Achievement Award: Miriam Justinger & Lauren Tibbs
AWARDS CRITERIA
Player of the Year: presented to the most outstanding player during the season
Impact Player of the Year; presented to the player who made significant contributions during the season
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: presented to the player who excels on the court and in the classroom
Playmaker of the Year: presented to the most outstanding guard
Power Player of the Year: presented to the most outstanding post player
Most Improved Player: presented to the player who has shown the most improvement throughout the season
Falcon Award: presented to the player who embodies qualities such as dedication, commitment, effort and being the ultimate team player
Disher Service Award: presented to the player who has made significant contributions to the community in the field of service
BGSU W.Basketball Banquet Photo Gallery
Tibbs was named the team's Player of the Year in a vote of team members, and also was named the Power Player of the Year. Justinger was named the Falcons' Impact Player of the Year, and the duo shared the Fran and Marty Voll Senior Achievement Award.
Several other team members earned awards as well. Freshman Sydney Lambert was named the Playmaker of the Year, while classmate Maddie Cole picked up the team's Most Improved Player award and sophomore Rachel Myers received the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.
Junior Rachel Konieczki received the Falcon Award, which is given to the person or persons who embody qualities such as dedication, commitment, effort and being the ultimate team player. And, sophomore Haley Puk earned the Les Disher Service Award, a new award named in honor of BGSU fan and supporter Les Disher, who passed away last month.
Justinger, a native of Sylvania, Ohio (Northview H.S.), started all 28 games in 2015-16, averaging 29.0 minutes per contest. She was third on the team in scoring, with 8.8 points per game, and also averaged 4.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per contest. Justinger, who finished third on the team in scoring and second in rebounding, made 33 three-point field goals to rank third on the Falcons in that category. She was second on the Falcons in steals, and ranked among the MAC leaders in free-throw percentage (77.0%, 13th) and three-point field-goal accuracy (35.9%, 10th). Justinger scored in double figures 12 times, including in seven of the last 11 games of the season. She was selected to be a part of the WBCA's 'So You Want to be a Coach' program, held in conjunction with the Final Four in Indianapolis last week. Justinger finished her career with 1,027 points at BGSU, tying her for 25th on the school's career scoring list, and she also posted career totals of 460 rebounds, 267 assists, 130 steals and 114 three-pointers made.
Tibbs, a native of Taylor Mill, Ky. (Scott H.S.), was named to the All-MAC Third Team after leading the Falcons in a plethora of categories in her lone season with the team. Tibbs paced the team in scoring and rebounding, with 12.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, and she also led BG in field-goal percentage (55.4%; 155-of-280) -- ranking third in the entire league in that category -- and blocked shots (26, 0.9 per game). Tibbs, who joined the Falcons after earning her undergraduate degree at Marquette University, started all 28 games for BGSU in 2015-16. She shot over 40% from three-point range, making 17-of-42 long-range attempts (40.5%). Tibbs finished 18th in the MAC in scoring and 10th in the league in rebounding, and she was eighth among MAC players in blocks per game. She was named MAC Player of the Week on Feb. 22, after averaging 23.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks and shooting 66.7% (20-for-30) from the field and a perfect 100% (5-for-5) from three-point range the previous week.  Tibbs scored in double digits a team-leading 20 times on the season, including back-to-back games of 20 points or more, and she recorded the Falcons' only three double-doubles on the year.
Cole, like Justinger a native of Sylvania, Ohio, and a product of Northview H.S., saw action in 13 games off the bench in her initial season in Orange and Brown. Cole averaged 1.1 points and 0.8 rebounds per game, and shot 55.6% from the field. She was 5-of-9 from the floor, including 1-for-3 from three-point range, on the year. Cole had a season-high seven points in the Falcons' win at Kent State, going a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor. She gave the Falcons a spark off the bench in a seven-minute stint against arch-rival Toledo, with three rebounds, an assist and a steal as BGSU rallied from a 19-point deficit to tie the contest in the fourth quarter.
Konieczki, a native of Rockford, Ill. (Rockford Lutheran), played in 26 of the Falcons' 28 games off the bench, averaging 8.5 minutes per game. She also averaged 1.5 points and 1.0 rebounds per contest on the year. Konieczki had a season-high six points vs. Cleveland State, and had four points on three other occasions. She has 267 points, 113 rebounds and 82 assists as a Falcon through the 2015-16 season. Konieczki was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society, in February of 2016.
Lambert, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio (McAuley H.S.), was named to the MAC's All-Freshman Team. She jumped right into the lineup in her initial season at BGSU, starting all 28 games, and finished second on the team in scoring with 9.4 points per game. Lambert also had 3.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and a team-best 1.2 steals per outing. She averaged 31.1 minutes per game to lead the team in that category as well. Lambert hit a BG-best 56 three-point field goals and shot a team- and MAC-best 40.9% from the arc. In MAC games only, she led the entire league in long-range accuracy as well, going 41-for-97 (42.3%) from three-point land. Lambert made at least two three-pointers on 17 occasions, including a season-high six triples in a win over Kent State. She scored a season-high 20 points in that contest, and hit double digits in that category on 12 occasions.
Myers, a native of Findlay, Ohio (Liberty-Benton H.S.), started all 28 games and finished fourth on the team in scoring, with 7.6 points per game. She was second on the Falcons with 51 three-point field goals made, and shot 36.4% from long distance. Myers was ninth in the MAC in three-point FG pct., and finished 13th in the league in three-pointers made per game. In MAC games only, she finished sixth in the league in three-point accuracy (37.9%). Myers scored in double digits nine times on the season, including a career-high 24 points at Central Michigan. In that game, she made seven three-pointers, falling just one shy of the school record. Myers was inducted into both Chi Alpha Sigma and the Mortar Board Honor Society. In the classroom, the team's Scholar-Athlete of the Year has a perfect 4.000 cumulative GPA in dietetics.
Puk, from Waterloo, Iowa (West H.S.), played in 26 games, starting the last seven of the season. She averaged 15.8 minutes, 3.8 points and 1.7 rebounds per contest. Puk made 16 three-point field goals to rank fifth on the team, and she was fourth on the Falcons in steals and fifth in assists. She scored in double figures three times, including a season-high 13 points at Central Michigan. Puk also had back-to-back double-digit games, with 11 points in a win over Miami, and 12 points and seven rebounds at Ohio.
In addition to the presentation of awards on Sunday night, the crowd was treated to dinner and a season highlight video. Junior Abby Siefker delivered the invocation, and Cole, Lambert, fellow freshman Carly Santoro, Tibbs and junior Ashley Tunstall received letter jackets after officially becoming BGSU first-year letterwinners. The team's two seniors each had the opportunity to speak, as Justinger and Tibbs shared their thoughts and memories on their time at BGSU.
Additionally, it was announced that Konieczki and Lambert will be co-captains of the 2016-17 Falcons, and banquet emcee Larry Weiss revealed the team's plans to take a foreign tour to Cuba in August. In addition to the returning players, NCAA rules allow for the team's four incoming freshman also to take part in that trip as well.
Also at the banquet, Tibbs was recognized for earning all-league third-team honors and for being named MAC Player of the Week, while Lambert was presented with her MAC All-Freshman Team honor. Justinger was recognized for reaching the 1,000-point mark for her career, and no fewer than eight Falcons -- the highest total in the league by far -- were recognized for being named to the Academic All-MAC Team. That group included Justinger, Konieczki, Myers, Puk, Siefker, Tibbs, Sarah Baer and Kennedy Kirkpatrick.
2015-16Â BGSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS
* Player of the Year: Lauren Tibbs
(Sponsored by Dan Long/Long's Cleaners)
* Falcon Award: Rachel Konieczki
(Sponsored by Joan Slebos)
* Power Player of the Year: Lauren Tibbs
(Sponsored by George & Susan Lang)
* Playmaker of the Year: Sydney Lambert
(Sponsored by Ron Thompson)
* Impact Player of the Year: Miriam Justinger
(Sponsored by Bill Lloyd)
* Most Improved Player: Maddie Cole
(Sponsored by Larry & Fran Weiss)
* Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Rachel Myers
(Sponsored by Steve & Rhonda Melchi)
* Les Disher Service Award: Haley Puk
* Fran & Marty Voll Senior Achievement Award: Miriam Justinger & Lauren Tibbs
AWARDS CRITERIA
Player of the Year: presented to the most outstanding player during the season
Impact Player of the Year; presented to the player who made significant contributions during the season
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: presented to the player who excels on the court and in the classroom
Playmaker of the Year: presented to the most outstanding guard
Power Player of the Year: presented to the most outstanding post player
Most Improved Player: presented to the player who has shown the most improvement throughout the season
Falcon Award: presented to the player who embodies qualities such as dedication, commitment, effort and being the ultimate team player
Disher Service Award: presented to the player who has made significant contributions to the community in the field of service
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
F
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