Falcons Meet Eagles in Midweek #MACtion in Ypsi

Wednesday, January 23

Ypsilanti, MI

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Eastern Michigan

Tickets

January 22, 2019 | Women's Basketball

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BGSU faces EMU Wednesday night, in Falcons' lone road trip in a 5-game span

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

BGSU at EASTERN MICHIGAN
Wednesday, January 23, 2018 • 7:00 p.m.
Convocation Center • Ypsilanti, Mich.

TELEVISION / VIDEO: ESPN+
RADIO: Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO)
LIVE STATS: www.EMUEagles.com
TWITTER: @BGSUwbb
all 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 makes a short trip north on Wednesday (Jan. 23), venturing across the state line to meet Eastern Michigan University. Head coach Robyn Fralick and the Falcons face the Eagles in a 7:00 p.m. start at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, Mich.

NEED-TO-KNOW INFORMATION
>> The Falcons have gotten at least 33 points from players off the bench on five occasions this season, including each of the last three contests.

>> Sophomore Angela Perry has totals of 50 points and 25 rebounds over the last three contests.

>> All five of BGSU's Mid-American Conference games to date have been within two points with under 12 minutes remaining. Four of those five contests have been two-point games into the fourth quarter, and three have been one-possession games in the final minute.

HOW MUCH CAN YOU BENCH?
The Falcons have gotten 33 or more points from players off the bench five times this season, including in each of the last three games. BG had 48 bench points at Akron (Jan. 12), the team's highest total in nearly seven years (since the Brown and Orange had 49 bench points in a win at Kent State on Feb. 28, 2012).

The Falcons followed that up with a 33-9 advantage in bench scoring last Wednesday night (Jan. 16) vs. Northern Illinois. Both the UA and NIU contests saw a BG player come off of the bench to score at least 20 points.

And, BGSU enjoyed a lopsided 34-8 advantage in bench production vs. Toledo on Saturday (Jan. 19). The Falcons' bench has outscored the opponents', 115-45, over the last three games.

BGSU's bench has outscored the opposition's in 10 of this season's 16 games, including each of the last six contests.

LENDING A HELPING HAND
Last season, the Falcons were close to last in the nation in both assists and assists per game. With a total of 277 assists and an average of 9.2 helpers per game, BGSU was ranked 343rd (out of 349 teams) in the former category and 345th in the latter.

This season, BGSU is 30th in the country – and first in the MAC – with 16.8 assists per game, having nearly doubled last year's total. The Falcons are second in the league and 63rd in the land with a total of 269 assists.

To put those last two paragraphs into perspective: If BGSU has a total of nine assists over the remainder of the 2018-19 schedule, the Falcons will top last season's assist total.
BGSU AMONG THE NCAA ASSISTS LEADERS
Year Assists (Rank) Assists/Game (Rank)
2017-18 277 (343rd of 349) 9.2 (345th of 349)
2018-19* 269 (63rd of 349) 16.8 (30th of 349)
* as of Monday morning, Jan. 21

I AM IRON WOMAN
Senior Sydney Lambert played all 40 minutes on Saturday afternoon vs. Toledo. That came less than 72 hours after she had played every second of the Northern Illinois game. And, Lambert also played all 40 minutes at Akron.

In fact, Lambert has played all 40 minutes in no fewer than six games this season to date. She leads the Mid-American Conference and is ranked 12th in the nation in minutes played per game (37.24).

SEE THE THREE, BE THE THREE
For years, the Falcons have been proficient at sinking shots from beyond the arc, and this season has been no exception. BGSU is currently 11th in the nation in three-point field goals made per game, having hit 9.9 per contest.

The Falcons are 22nd in the land in total three-pointers made (158) and 25th in triples attempted (448).

Individually, freshman Morgan McMillen is 11th in the country in three-pointers made per game (3.44), and she is 21st nationally in three's made (55) and attempted (146). McMillen has made at least four treys in a game nine times this season.

THE FALCONS: A QUICK OVERVIEW
BGSU enters the EMU game with a record of 7-9, and the Falcons are 0-5 in MAC play, having lost the first three of those conference games by a total of just 12 points.

BG saw a four-game winning streak snapped with a narrow 84-82 loss to Western Michigan in the league opener at the Stroh Center, and the Falcons have also fallen to Northern Illinois and Toledo at home and Ball State and Akron on the road.

Most recently, BG dropped a 79-65 decision to the Rockets on Saturday.

BGSU was a perfect 4-0 in the month of December, marking the Falcons' second winning streak of three or more games this season. After falling in the season opener at Michigan State, BG bounced back with wins over Marshall, Robert Morris and Loyola Chicago, 88-74, at the Stroh. The Falcons dropped the next three games before putting together the aforementioned four-game win streak.

The Falcons are 5-3 at home, 2-5 on the road and 0-1 in neutral-site contests.

Head coach Robyn Fralick is in her first season on the BGSU bench. Her staff includes associate head coach Kim Cameron, assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Karmen Graham, assistant coach Joel Whymer, director of operations Monique Rosati and video coordinator Amanda Cutcher.

Four Falcons are averaging over 11 points per game. Freshman Morgan McMillen leads the way with 15.4 points per contest, and has scored in double digits in 13 of her first 16 career outings.

McMillen tied the school single-game record with eight triples vs. Marshall (in her second collegiate game). She is ranked 11th in the nation in three-pointers made per game, and has a total of 55 on the year.

Junior Andrea Cecil has 13.7 ppg to date, and is also second on the Falcons in rebounding, with 4.6 boards per game. Cecil has had 19 or more points seven times this season, and is shooting 40.7% from three-point land.

Sophomore Angela Perry has 13.6 ppg and is shooting 58.1% from the floor, good for 29th in the nation. Perry, who has seen action in 13 games, has already more than doubled her point total for all of last season. She had 24 points, including 20 in the second half, vs. Akron, and has three 20-point games this season.

Perry had a career-high nine rebounds at UA, then matched that total vs. NIU. She had seven boards vs. the Rockets, and has now led the Falcons in that category in each of the last three games. Perry also paced BG in scoring vs. UT, with 18 points.

Senior Sydney Lambert is averaging 11.4 ppg and leads the team with 4.3 assists per game. She has hit 30 treys, good for third on the team, and also has 4.1 boards per outing.

Freshman Kadie Hempfling and sophomore Madisen Parker have 5.6 and 5.3 ppg, respectively. Hempfling has a BG-best 8.9 rebounds per game, and she is also averaging 4.1 assists per game to rank second on the Falcons in that category (66 total assists to Lambert's 69).

Hempfling has had eight double-digit rebounding totals in her first 16 games. Parker has gone 23-of-56 (41.1%) from three-point range this year, including a perfect 3-for-3 in each of two Falcon wins and 2-for-2 at Akron.

In MAC games only, Perry leads the team with 14.8 ppg, while Lambert has 12.0 ppg and McMillen 11.8. Cecil has 9.6 ppg and senior Maddie Cole 5.6 in conference contests, and Cole is 13-for-19 (68.4%) from the floor in the five games. Five different players have between 10 and 19 assists in MAC matchups.

BGSU returned a total of 10 letterwinners, including three starters, from last year's team that finished with an 11-19 overall record and a 3-15 mark in MAC play.

A total of eight different Falcons have made at least one start this season. Cecil and Lambert are the only two players to have started all 16 games.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE EAGLES
Eastern Michigan is 9-7 overall and 2-3 in MAC play. Eastern is coming off of an 85-44 loss at Ohio on Saturday. That snapped a two-game winning streak, including a home victory over Western Michigan and a road win vs. Akron. Overall, the Eagles are 6-1 at home (with the only loss coming in OT to Buffalo) and 3-3 on the road. Danielle Minott has 15.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game to pace the Eagles, while Corrione Cardwell (13.3 ppg) and Courtnie Lewis (10.4) also are scoring in double digits. Head coach Fred Castro welcomed back eight letterwinners, including four starters, from last year's team that finished 11-20 overall and 6-12 in MAC play.

THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Eastern Michigan, 51-17, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU has captured 14 of the last 17 meetings. But, the Eagles have captured each of the last two matchups. In last season's lone meeting (Jan. 3, 2018), EMU got a tip-in at the buzzer for a 54-52 victory at the Stroh Center. Two years ago, in BG's last trip to Ypsi, the Eagles picked up an 81-74 win in overtime (Jan. 25, 2017). The Falcons won 13-straight meetings from the Eagles between 2005 and '15. BGSU is 28-5 in home games, 20-11 in road contests and 3-1 in neutral-site meetings with EMU over the years.

DOWN THE ROAD
Following the EMU game, the Falcons will end the month of January with home games vs. two of the MAC's top teams, facing Ohio Saturday (Jan. 26) and Central Michigan next Wednesday (Jan. 30). The Ohio contest begins at 2:00 p.m. at the Stroh, with the CMU kerfuffle set for a 7:00 p.m. start.

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