BGSU Meets Ball State on Saturday Afternoon at the Stroh

Saturday, January 16

Bowling Green, Ohio

2:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Ball State

Tickets

Abby Siefker v South Dakota State - Dec 21 2015 - Larry Clapper

Abby Siefker & the Falcons face Ball State at the Stroh on Saturday

Photo by: Larry Clapper

January 15, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Falcons look to deal with Cards as three-game homestand concludes with 2:00 p.m. contest

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

UP NEXT FOR THE FALCONS
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team concludes a three-game home swing on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 16). Head coach Jennifer Roos and the Falcons welcome Ball State University to town for a Mid-American Conference matchup, with tipoff set for shortly after 2:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.

LINKS
GAME NOTES: BGSU | Ball State
2015-16 Women's Basketball Media Central
Buy Tickets | Join the Falcon Club Today!
#TBT on a Friday: Falcons Down Ball State for Third-Straight MAC Tournament Title | Stats

FREE STUFF
The first 500 fans through the Stroh Center doors on Saturday will receive a free BGSU women's basketball T-shirt.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
If you can't make it to the Stroh Center on Saturday afternoon, you can still follow the Falcons via your radio- or computer-like devices. The BGSU-Ball State 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, all of BGSU's home games are aired on ESPN3.com, and live stats will be available as well. And, in-game 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.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• Bowling Green enters Saturday's game with an overall record of 5-8, and the Falcons are 1-3 in MAC play. BG is looking to snap a three-game losing streak, including a 71-55 setback vs. Akron at the Stroh Center on Wednesday (Jan. 13).

• BG opened conference action with a 64-58 win at Miami (Jan. 2), but the Brown and Orange fell to Western Michigan, 74-45 (Jan. 6), before dropping a 72-57 decision to defending MAC champion Ohio (Jan. 9).

• The Miami game was the Falcons' first 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 3-3 at home, 1-4 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site games this season. The Falcons are 0-2 at the Stroh in MAC play, and BG is 1-1 on the road in league action 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 10.8 points per game, and also leads the Falcons with 7.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocked shots per contest. Tibbs is shooting a BG-best 57.5 percent from the field, and she ranks third in the entire MAC in field-goal percentage.

• Freshman Sydney Lambert and senior Miriam Justinger have 9.0 and 8.8 ppg, respectively, and that duo combined for 34 points in Wednesday's Akron game. Lambert leads BGSU in assists (2.0 apg) and has hit a team-leading 22 three-point field goals this year to date. Justinger is tied for the BG lead in steals, and she is second on the Falcons in assists and third in rebounding. She has made 16 long-distance shots this year, ranking third on the Falcons on that list as well.

• Lambert is shooting 39.3% from three-point land, while Justinger has made 33.3% of her long-range attempts. Lambert hit a career-high four triples vs. Ohio last weekend.

• Sophomore Rachel Myers and redshirt soph Kennedy Kirkpatrick have 7.1 and 4.8 ppg, respectively. Kirkpatrick is third on the Falcons in assists, while Myers is second on the Falcons with 21 three-pointers made. Myers is shooting 37.5% from long range.

• Freshman Carly Santoro has 4.4 ppg, while junior Ashley Tunstall has scored 4.1 ppg to date. Santoro posted season-high totals in points (11), rebounds, field goals made and attempted at Western Michigan. Tunstall had a 13-point, nine-rebound game at Miami, and is second on the team with 4.7 boards per contest. She was limited to just 11 minutes in the Ohio game due to injury, and did not play against Akron.

• Sophomore Haley Puk has 1.7 ppg, while junior Rachel Konieczki is averaging 1.6 ppg and junior Abby Siefker 1.3. Siefker is second on the Falcons in blocked shots, with 10 rejections in 13 games.

• Eight players – Justinger, Kirkpatrick, Konieczki, Lambert, Myers, Santoro, Siefker and Tibbs – each have seen action in all 13 games, while Tunstall has played in 12, Puk 11, sophomore Sarah Baer nine and freshman Maddie Cole four. Justinger, Lambert, Myers and Tibbs each have started all 13 games for the Brown and Orange this season, while Tunstall joined them in the starting lineup for six-straight games before sitting out the UA contest. Siefker drew her first start of the season vs. the Zips.

• The Falcons are shooting 37.8% from the field, 32.2% from three-point land and 71.1% from the free-throw line. The opponents are shooting 39.2% from the floor, 31.4% from the arc and 66.1% from the stripe.

• In MAC games only, Tibbs is averaging 11.0 points and 6.8 rebounds, while Myers has 9.3 ppg and Lambert and Justinger are averaging 9.0 ppg apiece.

• Myers is third in the MAC in three-point field-goal percentage in conference games, hitting 47.1% of her shots (8-of-17) from beyond the arc in the first four contests.

• 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.

JUSTINGER SCORES 20
Senior Miriam Justinger scored a team- and season-high 20 points in Wednesday night's (Jan. 13) Akron game. Justinger was just two points shy of matching her career-high total of 22 points, which she set in a WNIT win over High Point at the Stroh Center in March of 2014.

JUSTINGER SCORES 896
With her 20 points against Akron, senior Miriam Justinger now has a career total of 896 points at BGSU. She ranks 34th in school history, just six points behind Tecca Thompson (902 points from 1986-90).

LAST TIME OUT: AKRON TOPS FALCONS, 71-55, AT THE STROH
• Anita Brown scored a game-high 23 points, pacing four Akron double-digit scorers as the Zips downed the Falcons by a 71-55 final Wednesday night (Jan. 13) at the Stroh Center.

• Senior Miriam Justinger led the Falcons (5-8, 1-3 MAC) with a season-high 20 points, while freshman Sydney Lambert added 14.

• Brown was joined in double figures by Hannah Plybon, DiAndra Gibson and Greta Burry. Plybon had 15 points, while Gibson scored 13 points and added eight rebounds. Burry had a double-double, with 11 points and 11 boards, as the Zips (8-7, 2-2 MAC) owned a narrow 46-44 advantage on the glass.

• The Falcons held Akron to just a 6-for-25 performance from three-point range, with both Gibson and Plybon going 2-of-9 from long distance. But, BGSU hit only five triples in 27 attempts.

• Akron led by just two points, 9-7, after Lambert hit a three-pointer midway through the opening quarter, but the Zips ended the period on a 9-2 run. UA scored the first five points of the second quarter to take a 23-9 lead, and after the Falcons got within nine points with just over four minutes left in the half, the visitors scored nine-straight points, and the lead never dropped below double digits again.

• The Falcons were without junior forward Ashley Tunstall, who was injured early in the second half of Saturday's (Jan. 9) Ohio game. Tunstall played in each of the Falcons' first 12 games of the season, starting the last six contests in that span.

• Akron shot 41.2 percent from the field for the game, while holding the Falcons to just a 27.6% success rate. BG made 18 free throws to UA's nine, but both teams shot under 70% from the line on the night.

• Senior Lauren Tibbs led the Falcons with nine rebounds, while junior Abby Siefker had eight and Lambert six. For both Siefker and Lambert, the rebound total represented a season best.

SCOUTING BALL STATE
Ball State has an overall record of 11-4, and the Cardinals are 3-1 in MAC play heading into Saturday's game at the Stroh. BSU opened conference action with a 75-69 win over Toledo, then suffered a 73-48 road loss to defending league champion Ohio. The Cards bounced back with home wins against Miami (66-41) and Buffalo (68-63). BSU is a perfect 8-0 at home, and the Cardinals are 2-3 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site games this year to date. In MAC action, BSU is 3-0 in Muncie and 0-1 away from home. BSU leads the MAC in field-goal percentage (43.4%) and rebounding margin (+6.2). Individually, senior guard Nathalie Fontaine leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, with 21.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per contest. Fontaine currently leads the entire MAC in scoring and ranks second in the conference in rebounding. Two other Cardinals have double-digit scoring averages, as junior guard Jill Morrison and sophomore forward Moriah Monaco have 11.7 and 10.9 ppg, respectively. Morrison leads the team with 40 three-point field goals made, while Monaco has 27 long-distance makes. Junior center Renee Bennett has 8.8 ppg and is third in the MAC in field-goal pct. (59.3%). Freshman guard Carmen Grande rounds out the probable BSU starters, and has 4.7 ppg and a team-leading 5.6 assists per contest. Grande is tied for first in the MAC in assists. Last season, head coach Brady Sallee's team finished 17-14 overall and 13-5 in MAC action. Sallee and his staff welcomed back eight letterwinners, including four starters, from that 2014-15 team.

THE BGSU-BALL STATE SERIES
The Falcons lead Ball State, 44-17, in the all-time series between the teams, but the Cardinals have won the last three meetings. BSU swept last season's two matchups, with a 62-50 win in the 2015 MAC opener at the Stroh Center (Jan. 3, 2015), and a 77-52 triumph on Valentine's Day in Muncie (Feb. 14, 2015). In March of 2014, the Cards bounced BG out of the MAC Tournament with a 73-55 victory in the semifinal round in Cleveland. That game snapped a five-game series winning streak for the Falcons. BGSU is 24-3 in home games (1-1 in the Stroh Center), 18-11 on the road and 2-3 in neutral-site meetings with the Cardinals over the years. Jennifer Roos is 2-3 against BSU as a collegiate head coach.

FALCONS VS. THE MAC
The Falcons continue to own the best record in MAC history. Entering Saturday's Ball State game, BGSU has an all-time record of 393-172 (.696) 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 13 games to date. BG has hit four or more triples in 45 of the last 46 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, 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 different player on the roster to make a three-pointer this season.

THREE-LIGHTFUL
BGSU will be looking to extend an impressive streak in the Ball State game. The Falcons have hit at least one three-pointer in each of the last 354 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.

FOR MORE INFORMATION...
A few more notes, plus a veritable plethora of boxes, charts and statistical information, can be found in the PDF version of these notes. Just click the link near the top of this page.

UP NEXT
Following the Ball State game, the Falcons will prepare for a trip to the MAC's "West Coast," as BGSU takes on Northern Illinois on Wednesday, Jan. 20. Then, the Falcons return to the Stroh Center for a two-game homestand, facing Kent State (Jan. 23 – Alumnae Day) and Eastern Michigan (Jan. 27 – Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night).
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