Falcons Hit the Road to Face League-Leading CMU

Wednesday, January 10

Mount Pleasant, MI

7:00 PM ET

Bowling Green State University

Central Michigan

Tickets

Clare Glowniak v Xavier - Dec 6 2017 - Brad Phalin photo

Photo by: Brad Phalin, BGSU Marketing and Communications

January 09, 2018 | Women's Basketball

BGSU begins two-game road swing in Mt. Pleasant

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

BGSU at CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Wednesday, January 10, 2018 • 7:00 p.m.
McGuirk Arena (5,300) • Mt. Pleasant, Mich.

TELEVISION / VIDEO: ESPN3.com
RADIO / AUDIO: Chippewa Sports Network
LIVE STATS: www.CMUChippewas.com
TWITTER: @BGSUwbb

all available audio, stats & video links can be found at BGSUFalcons.com on game day

UP NEXT FOR THE FALCONS...
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team hits the road for a pair of games this week, beginning with a Wednesday (Jan. 10) contest against the Mid-American Conference's lone remaining unbeaten team. Head coach Jennifer Roos and the Falcons face Central Michigan University in a 7:00 p.m. start at McGuirk Arena.

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RELIVE THE LAST FIVE BGSU-CMU MEETINGS
Jan. 14, 2017 - CMU 76, BGSU 65 (OT) (aka, "Stroh-vertime")
Feb. 6, 2016 - CMU 76, BGSU 75 (aka, "A Buzzer-Beater in the Mount")
Feb. 4, 2015 - CMU 57, BGSU 54 (aka, "Down to the Wire")
Feb. 19, 2014 - BGSU 67, CMU 55 (aka, "Battle of Division Leaders Goes to the Falcons")
Jan. 18, 2014 - CMU 82, BGSU 79 (OT) (aka, "CMU Wins Matchup of MAC Unbeatens")

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
>> If you can't make it to the arena on game day, fear not – you can still follow the Falcons via your radio- or computer-like devices. Wednesday's CMU game will feature a free video stream, as well as live stats and Twitter updates. All links will be available via BGSUFalcons.com.

>> All of BGSU's home games and many road contests will have audio broadcasts, courtesy of the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO). And, every BGSU home game this season will have a free live stream, with all but one home contest in 2017-18 aired via ESPN3.com. Wednesday's CMU game also will be on ESPN3.com.

>> Live stats will also be available for all games, and in-game Twitter updates for every BGSU game can be found at @BGSUwbb.

>> 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. Any and all available links to ticket info. and game coverage will be available there.

DOUBLE(-DOUBLE) TROUBLE
If it's a game day for the women's basketball Falcons, there's a good chance junior Carly Santoro just might record a double-double. On Saturday afternoon (Jan. 6) vs. Ball State, Santoro had 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, marking her fourth-straight double-double and her 10th in 14 games this year.

As of Monday morning (Jan. 8), Santoro led the MAC and was tied for sixth in the nation in double-doubles. She now has 15 in her career.

Santoro posted three-straight double-doubles to begin the year, and then put together another three-game streak, with a double-double in each of BG's two wins at the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament and another vs. Valparaiso. And, she has posted a double-double in each of the last four games, against Cincinnati, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan and BSU.

CARLY SPENDS THE WINTER IN DOUBLE-DOUBLE LAND (we hear it's nice there)
Junior Carly Santoro led the Falcons with five double-doubles a year ago, and had topped that total less than one-third of the way through 2017-18. Now, she has doubled it, with 10 through 14 games this season to date.

Santoro is only the third Falcon to have 10 or more double-doubles in a season in the last 20 years.

The last Falcon to have double-digit double-doubles in a season was Alexis Rogers, who had 10 in the 2011-12 campaign. No Falcon has had more since Charlotta Jones had 15 double-doubles in 1997-98.

DOUBLE(-DOUBLE) TROUBLE, REVISITED
Carly Santoro is not the only Falcon to visit Double-Double Land this year. Sophomore Andrea Cecil had her first career double-double on Dec. 18, with career-best totals of 26 points and 10 rebounds against Ferris State.

The Falcons are 7-4 this season when a player records a double-double, after going 4-6 in such games last winter.

FALCONS WELCOME DEAN TO PROGRAM
On Monday (Jan. 8), BGSU coach Jennifer Roos announced the addition of Alyssa Dean to the program. Dean, a transfer from the University of Memphis, has enrolled at BGSU in time for the Spring 2018 semester.

Dean, a 5-8 guard, is a native of Columbus, Ohio, and a graduate of Centennial High School. She is eligible to practice with the Falcons immediately, and will be eligible to play following the conclusion of the Fall 2018 semester. Dean retains three years of eligibility.

Dean played in seven games, making two starts, for the Tigers this season. She averaged 4.1 points and 1.1 rebounds per game. Dean had season-high totals of 10 points and 37 minutes played in the season opener vs. Tennessee State.

Last year, as a true freshman, Dean sat out the entire season due to injury.

Dean was a three-year letterwinner at Centennial, scoring over 1,200 points in those three seasons. She missed the 2015-16 season, her senior year, with an ACL injury suffered in the summer of '15. As a junior, Dean averaged 21.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.7 steals per game, and was named to the Associated Press All-Ohio Division II Second Team.

She was named to the AP All-Central District First Team as both a sophomore and a junior, and was rated the No. 75 guard in the nation by ESPNW.com.

LAST TIME OUT: BALL STATE HOLDS OFF FALCONS' COMEBACK EFFORT
Caterrion Thompson had a career day, and Carly Santoro posted yet another double-double, but Ball State used a balanced scoring effort to hold off the Falcons, 84-73, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 6) at the Stroh Center.

Thompson scored a career-high 21 points, hitting six three-point field goals, while Santoro had 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for the Falcons (8-6, 0-3 MAC). Thompson set a new career mark for three-pointers made, tying the Stroh Center record in the process.

For Santoro, the double-double was her 10th in 14 games this season to date, and her fourth in as many games.

But, Ball State (13-1, 2-1 MAC) had five players score in double digits, with two others scoring nine points. Carmen Grande had 16 points along with seven assists for the Cardinals, while Moriah Monaco and Jasmin Samz added 14 points apiece.

As a team, the Falcons hit a total of 14 three-pointers, just two shy of the school single-game record. BGSU made at least three triple tries in every quarter.

THE FALCONS: A QUICK OVERVIEW
BGSU is 8-6 on the season, and the Falcons are 0-3 in Mid-American Conference play. BG is 4-3 at the Stroh Center, 3-3 in true road games and 1-0 in neutral-site contests this season to date.

The Falcons opened the season with seven games in a 19-day span. BGSU went 6-1 during that time, then began December by downing Xavier before a large School Day crowd at the Stroh. But, BG has dropped five of the last six games.

The Falcons fell to RV/RV South Dakota State before taking a break for fall semester exams, but got back in the win column with an 82-73 win over Ferris State. Then, however, BG suffered a loss at Cincinnati to end the non-conference slate, and the Brown and Orange dropped a 67-58 decision at Western Michigan in the (Dec. 30) MAC opener. On Wednesday (Jan. 3), a tip-in at the buzzer gave visiting Eastern Michigan a 54-52 victory at the Stroh, and BG fell, 84-73, to Ball State on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 6).

Head coach Jennifer Roos and her staff – which is comprised of assistant coaches Jacey Brooks, Nick Moore and Jessie Ivey, director of operations Monique Rosati and video coordinator Amanda Cutcher – welcomed back a total of nine returning players, including three starters, from a year ago. The list of returnees includes two seniors, three juniors and four second-year Falcons.

Rachel Myers and Haley Puk make up the senior class, while Maddie Cole, Sydney Lambert and Carly Santoro each are in their junior year. Sophomores Andrea Cecil, Caterrion Thompson and Jane Uecker also return, as does Clare Glowniak, who is a redshirt freshman in terms of eligibility after missing the bulk of last season due to injury.

The nine returnees are joined by five freshmen, including Terri Battle, Madisen Parker, Angela Perry, Sierra Thompson and Kennedy Williams. Perry made her collegiate debut in the MAC opener at WMU, after missing the entire non-league portion of the schedule due to injury.

BGSU's starters in the first 13 games of the season were Cecil, Lambert, Puk, Santoro and Uecker. The two sophomores, Cecil and Uecker, each made the first start of their respective collegiate careers in the season opener. Glowniak replaced Uecker in the starting five for the Ball State bout.

Santoro was named to the Preseason All-MAC Team. She led the Falcons in scoring a year ago, averaging 12.0 points per game. Santoro is the Falcons' top returning rebounder as well, having pulled down 7.4 boards per contest last winter.

This year, through 14 games, two Falcons are scoring in double digits, with two others just shy of that mark. Santoro leads the way with 14.6 ppg, and is averaging a double-double, with a team-leading 10.6 rpg. Cecil has 11.4 ppg, while Lambert and Puk each are averaging 9.4 ppg. Caterrion Thompson (6.1 ppg), Uecker (5.5) and Sierra Thompson (4.1) are ranked fifth through seventh, respectively, in scoring.

Lambert and Santoro are tied for the team assists lead, with 2.4 apg apiece. Santoro has a team-leading 2.1 steals per contest, while Lambert is second with 1.6 spg. Lambert has knocked down 26 three-point field goals this year, while Puk has hit 24.

Through three MAC games, Caterrion Thompson leads the Falcons with 15.7 ppg, while Santoro has 14.3 ppg and a team-high 11.7 rpg. Thompson is shooting shooting 50 percent from the floor (14-for-28) and 61.1% (11-of-18) from three-point range.

THREE-ON THOMPSON
Sophomore Caterrion Thompson had quite a week as the Falcons opened the home portion of the MAC schedule. Thompson shot nearly 65 percent from three-point range and led the Falcons in scoring in both games last week.

Thompson, who entered last week averaging 3.8 points per game on the season, averaged 19.5 points in last week's two contests. She shot 48.0% from the floor, and went 11-for-17 (64.7%) from three-point distance.

She led the Falcons with 18 points, just one shy of her career-high, in the Eastern Michigan game, then scored a career-high 21 points vs. Ball State three days later. Thompson hit five three-pointers against EMU, and tied the Stroh Center record with a career-high six triples against BSU.

Thompson enters the CMU game shooting 61.1% from three-point range in MAC games, having gone 11-for-18 from long distance. In conference games, she leads the MAC in three-pointers made (3.7 per game) and ranks second in three-point accuracy.

FALCONS VS. THE MAC
The Falcons continue to own the best record in MAC history. Entering Wednesday's CMU game, BGSU has an all-time record of 402-198 (.670) 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 league institution.

MUCH IMPROVED
The Falcons have a 4-3 record at the Stroh Center this season to date. With the fourth victory, which came on Dec. 18, the Brown and Orange topped the home win total for all of last year.

Last season, the Falcons won a total of five games away from home. This year, BG captured four games in hostile (three) or lukewarm (one) venues during the month of November alone. Entering Wednesday's CMU kerfuffle, the Falcons are 4-3 in all games played away from the Stroh Center this season.

THREE-MARKABLE
Through the years, BGSU rosters typically have been stocked with players who can score from three-point range. The Falcons hit 14 triples – just one shy of the Stroh Center record and two away from the school record – against Ball State on Saturday. Six different players hit a triple, with four of those six connecting from long distance multiple times.

THREE-LIGHTFUL
Two years ago, the Falcons made at least four three-point field goals in all 28 contests. Last year, BGSU connected at least four times in 27 of the 31 games, and this year, the Falcons have made four or more treys in 12 of the 14 games.

THREE-GION OF BOOM
In fact, BG has knocked down four or more three-pointers in 99 of the last 106 games, dating to late in the 2013-14 season.

THREE- ... UMMM, SOME OTHER PHRASE THAT STARTS WITH 'THREE'
BGSU will be looking to extend a mucho-impressive streak in the CMU game. The Falcons have hit at least one three-pointer in each of the last 414 games. BG has not been held without a triple in close to 13 years – since Feb. 12, 2005, at Akron, when the Falcons won, 61-52, despite going 0-of-13 from long distance.

SCOUTING CMU
Central Michigan is 11-3 on the season, and the Chippewas are the MAC's lone remaining unbeaten team, with a 3-0 record in league play. Central has won road games vs. Ball State and Miami, along with posting a home win over Ohio in MAC action. On the year, CMU is 4-2 at home, 5-1 on the road and 2-0 in neutral-site matchups. Four starters are averaging over 13 points per game, while the fifth has 9.6 ppg. Presley Hudson leads the way with 18.4 ppg, and has hit 56 three-point field goals. Tinara Moore has 17.1 ppg and 9.2 rebounds, while both Reyna Frost and Cassie Breen have 13.2 ppg. Frost leads the MAC with 13.2 rebounds per game. The Chippewas are averaging over 81 points per outing. Last year, CMU went 23-9 overall and 15-3 in the MAC. Head coach Sue Guevara welcomed back seven letterwinners, including four starters, from that club.

THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Central Michigan, 47-19, in the all-time series between the teams, but the Chippewas have captured the last three meetings. Two of those wins came by a combined four points, and last year's 11-point decision required overtime. In that 2016-17 game (Jan. 14, 2017), Presley Hudson scored 11 of her 34 points in the extra session, as Central downed BG, 76-65, at the Stroh Center. Two years ago, in the teams' last meeting in mid-Michigan, Hudson hit a layup at the buzzer as CMU pulled out a 76-75 win. In that game, BGSU tied the school record by making 16 three-point field goals, and Rachel Myers had seven of those triples en route to 24 points. BGSU's last win over Central came on Feb. 19, 2014, a 67-55 victory in a battle of MAC divisional leaders at the Stroh. BGSU is 25-6 in home games, 18-9 on the road and 4-4 in neutral-site contests vs. the Chippewas over the years.

FRIES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BAG (A FEW FINAL NOTES)
BGSU got a season-high 21 points off the bench vs. EMU, then saw bench players combine for 31 points three days later vs. Ball State. BG leads the MAC in three-pointers made (8.3) and long-range percentage (.385) in MAC games, while CMU is tops in the league in three-point FG defense (.197) in conference contests. Senior Haley Puk played in her 100th career game, and hit her 100th (and her 101st) career three-pointer, vs. Ball State.

UP NEXT
Following the CMU game, the Falcons will unpack and repack the suitcases, heading back out on the road for a Saturday (Jan. 13) game at Akron. That contest, which begins at approximately 4:30 p.m., is the second half of a doubleheader which sees the BGSU men's team in town to face the Zips as well.