Falcons Put 2-0 Record on the Line at Robert Morris Thursday

Thursday, November 16

Moon Township, PA

10:00 AM ET

Bowling Green State University

Robert Morris

Tickets

Photo by: Bianca Garza, BGSU Marketing and Communications

November 15, 2017 | Women's Basketball

BG faces two-time defending NEC champions in morning matchup

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

BGSU at ROBERT MORRIS
Thursday, November 16, 2017 • 10:00 a.m.
North Athletic Complex • Moon Township, Pa.

TELEVISION / VIDEO: NECFrontRow.com
RADIO / AUDIO: None
LIVE STATS: www.RMUColonels.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, coming off of a road win in a morning game, will look to repeat that feat. Head coach Jennifer Roos and the Falcons continue a season-opening stretch of four games in a 10-day span with a trip to Western Pennsylvania to face Robert Morris University on Thursday (Nov. 16). Tipoff is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. at the North Athletic Complex.

Then, the Brown and Orange will return home to take on Canisius College on Sunday (Nov. 19). That game begins at 2:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.

BGSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL LINKS
Game Notes (PDF): BGSU | RMU
BGSU Notes from all 2017-18 games (& previous seasons)
2017-18 BGSU Women's Basketball Schedule
Women's Basketball Giveaways / Promotions
Women's Basketball Spark Page
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2017-18 BGSU Women's Basketball Quick Facts
The Opponent: RMU Women's Basketball
FALCON NEWS: Santoro Named MAC, CSM Player of Week | Falcons Top Titans in Monday-Morning Thriller | #CanScoreO! Carly's 30-Point Performance Lifts Falcons Past EKU | Roos , Falcons Sign Three | Santoro Named to Preseason All-MAC Team | Veteran Quartet to Captain Falcons
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MY BABY TAKES THE MORNING TRAIN
For the Falcons, Thursday's game at RMU is the second of three morning tipoffs in the span of under a month. BGSU picked up an 85-81 win at Detroit Mercy on Monday morning (Nov. 13) before a crowd of over 4,000 fans. Thursday's RMU game begins at 10:00 a.m., and the Falcons' home matchup with Xavier on Dec. 6 is set for an 11:00 a.m. start.

SANTORO NAMED MAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK (BY MULTIPLE OUTLETS)
Junior Carly Santoro has been named Mid-American Conference Player of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 14). Santoro earns the honor for the first time this season and the second time in her BGSU career.

Additionally, Santoro was named the conference's P-O-W by College Sports Madness. She is the first Falcon to capture this honor since December of 2014.

Santoro, a native of Bellevue, Ohio (Bellevue H.S.), exploded for 30 points and 10 rebounds in the Falcons' 77-60 win over Eastern Kentucky on Friday evening (Nov. 10), in the 2017-18 regular-season opener. The 30-point game was the second of Santoro's career.

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.

For Thursday's Robert Morris game, there will be a live video stream via NECFrontRow.com. Live stats will also be available for the RMU contest, and in-game twitter updates can be found at @BGSUwbb.

All of BGSU's home games and many of the Falcons' road contests will have audio broadcasts, courtesy of the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO). And, all but one of BGSU's home games in 2017-18 will be aired via ESPN3.com, with a live stream for the remaining game (Ferris State; Dec. 18) available through WBGU-TV.

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.

FALCONS OFF TO A 2-0 START
The Falcons have started the season with a 2-0 record for the second time in three years and the fourth time in the six years since Jennifer Roos became head coach. BG began the 2015-16 season with home wins over Illinois State and Bradley, for the program's last 2-0 start.

The last time BG won as many as three games to begin the year came in 2013-14, when the Falcons started the season with a 4-0 record en route to a 30-win season and a trip to the fourth round of the WNIT.

BG has had four 2-0 starts in the last six years, after starting 2-0 a total of seven times in the previous 39 seasons. The Falcons have begun the year with two or more wins in the following seasons: 1974-75, 1988-89, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1997-98, 2005-06, 2007-08, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2015-16 and 2017-18.

LAST TIME OUT: FALCONS TOP TITANS IN MONDAY-MORNING THRILLER
In a Monday-morning thriller, Bowling Green moved to 2-0 on the young season with an 85-81 win over host Detroit Mercy at Calihan Hall. The non-conference game was held before a Field Trip Day crowd of over 4,000 fans in the Motor City.

Sophomore Andrea Cecil had a career-high 20 points to pace four double-digit scorers for the Falcons. Junior Sydney Lambert had a stellar stat line, with 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists. The point guard was 4-for-8 from three-point range.

Sophomore Jane Uecker posted a career best with 12 points on Monday, while junior Carly Santoro had her second double-double in as many games, with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

For the Titans, Brianne Cohen scored 20 points, while Anja Marinkovic added 18 and Lexey Tobel 16. Both Marinkovic and Tobel made five three-point field goals as the hosts connected on 13 long-range shots on the day.

The teams combined to make 24 three-pointers, and each team shot better than 40 percent from the arc. Detroit went 13-for-29 (44.8%) from downtown, while the Falcons were 11-of-27 (40.7%) from long distance.

PROTECT THE BASKETBALL...
The Falcons averaged 16.3 turnovers per game, the second-highest average in the Mid-American Conference, last season. But, this year, BGSU has turned the ball over a total of just 14 times in two games.

BG tied a school record with just five turnovers in the season opener vs. Eastern Kentucky, and the Falcons had only nine turnovers in Detroit on Monday.

Against EKU, the Orange and Brown went nearly 19 minutes before committing a turnover to start the game. BG then turned the ball over three times in the final 1:22 of the first half and twice more on back-to-back possessions early in the third period. Then, however, BG had zero turnovers over the game's final 16:32.

...AND MAKE THEM COUGH IT UP
BGSU forced EKU into 18 turnovers on the night, and the Falcons had a 30-6 advantage in points off turnovers.

The Falcons' total of 30 points off turnovers was the team's highest in over three years, since BG had 34 such points in a 91-45 dismantling of Miami on Feb. 9, 2014, at the Stroh.

Through two games, BGSU has forced the opponents into a total of 32 turnovers, and the Falcons have a 47-15 advantage in points off turnovers.

FALCONS LIGHT UP THE SCOREBOARD
BGSU scored 77 or more points in a game only three times last season, but the Falcons have done so twice in as many games this year. BG had 85 or more points just once last year – an 86-50 win over Akron at the Stroh Center – a feat the 2017-18 Falcons matched on Monday at Detroit.

The Falcons' total of 85 points was the team's highest in a road game in over five years, since a 91-48 win at Kent State in the final regular-season game of the 2011-12 season (Feb. 28, 2012).

BG averaged 62.6 points per game a year ago. On Friday vs. EKU, the Falcons had 63 points after just three quarters in the win over EKU. On Monday, BG scored 61 points in the first three quarters at UDM, and reached 63 points with over eight minutes left in the game.

#CanScoreO
Junior Carly Santoro exploded for 30 points in the Falcons' 77-60 win over Eastern Kentucky Friday evening (Nov. 10). The game marked the second 30-point outing of her career, and with 10 rebounds, it was her sixth double-double as a Falcon. Santoro scored a career-high 32 points at Kent State last season, and had five double-doubles during the 2016-17 campaign.

Santoro has had two of those double-doubles against Eastern Kentucky. She had a 20-point, 12-rebound effort in last year's opener in Richmond, Ky., and now is averaging 25.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game vs. the Colonels.

Santoro then had her seventh career double-double, and her second in as many games, with 11 points and 13 boards in Monday's (Nov. 13) win at Detroit.

Friday marked Santoro's fifth game of 20 or more points at BG, and pushed her over the 500-point mark for her career. The Bellevue, Ohio, native now has 531 career points in 61 games as a Falcon.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
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 comprise the senior class, while Maddie Cole, Sydney Lambert and Carly Santoro enter 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 eligibilty 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. The frosh combined for 34 points in the exhibition win over Seton Hill.

BGSU's starters vs. both EKU and UDM were Cecil, Lambert, Puk, Santoro and Uecker. The two sophomores, Cecil and Uecker, made the first start of their respective collegiate careers in the season opener.

Santoro recently 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.

THREE-MARKABLE
Through the years, BGSU rosters typically have been stocked with players who can score from three-point range. No fewer than 12 different players made at least one three-point field goal two years ago, and all 12 Falcons who saw action last year knocked down at least one trey. This year, after just two games, a total of eight different players have made one or more long-distance shots.

THREE-MENDOUS
The Falcons made 10 or more three-point field goals in four MAC games last season, including a season-high 15 treys against Akron at the Stroh Center. Overall, BG made at least eight triples in 14 of last year's 31 games, and the Falcons have hit eight or more treys in each of this season's first two contests.

THREE-LIGHTFUL
Two years ago, the Falcons made at least five three-point field goals in 24 of 28 games, and BG hit at least four triples in all 28 contests. Last year, BGSU connected at least four times in 27 of the 31 games, and that trend has continued in this year's first two games.

THREE-GION OF BOOM
In fact, BG has knocked down four or more three-pointers in 89 of the last 94 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 Robert Morris game. The Falcons have hit at least one three-pointer in each of the last 402 games. BG has not been held without a triple in over 12 years – since Feb. 12, 2005, at Akron, when the Falcons won, 61-52, despite going 0-of-13 from long distance.

A FEW MORE FALCON PLAYER NOTES
Sophomore Andrea Cecil had the first 20-point game of her young collegiate career in Monday's win at Detroit. Cecil also set or matched career-best totals in field goals made (7) and attempted (17), free throws made (4) and three-point field goals made (2). With seven rebounds, she fell just one short of matching her career best.

Junior Sydney Lambert scored 17 points, just three away from her career best, in the win at UDM. Lambert has scored in double figures in 29 career games, the most among current Falcons. Lambert had six assists to tie her career high.

Sophomore Jane Uecker scored a career-high 12 points on Monday. Uecker set or tied career standards in field goals made (5) and attempted (11), assists and minutes played (24). Uecker has scored 18 points in two games after scoring a total of 36 points during her freshman season.

In her second collegiate game, Sierra Thompson scored six points and grabbed four rebounds. Thompson, who posted eight and eight vs. EKU, is averaging 7.0 points and 6.0 boards per game in her first two contests as a Falcon.

SCOUTING ROBERT MORRIS
Robert Morris is 0-1 on the young season, having dropped a 100-58 decision at Michigan State on Saturday. The Colonels, coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, were picked to finish second in the Northeast Conference, according to the league's preseason poll. Senior Megan Smith, who averaged 10.6 points and a team-leading 6.0 rebounds a year ago, was named to the Preseason All-NEC Team. Head coach Charlie Buscaglia welcomed back seven letterwinners, including a pair of starters, from a 2016-17 team that went 22-11 overall and 14-4 in the NEC. The Colonials won both the league regular-season and tourney titles.

THE BGSU-RMU SERIES
The Falcons lead Robert Morris, 2-0, in the all-time series between the teams. The first meeting, like Thursday's game, was a 10:00 a.m. tipoff in Moon Township, Pa. On that date (Dec. 20, 2004), the Falcons rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit for a 66-51 win. The game was scheduled to be a Kids Day contest, but was played in a nearly-empty arena due to frigid temperatures and a two-hour delay for nearly all area schools. The second meeting, on New Year's Eve, 2006, saw the Falcons post a 92-81 win at venerable Anderson Arena. RMU was one of just two teams (Notre Dame was the other) to surpass the 80-point mark against that '06-07 BGSU team that went 31-4 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen.

UP NEXT
Following the RMU contest, the Falcons conclude a busy stretch of four games in a 10-day span with Sunday's (Nov. 19) contest vs. Canisius on Moana Day at the Stroh Center. Then, the Brown and Orange will head to Boca Raton, Fla., for the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament (Nov. 24-25). BG will play Norfolk State in the first game and either Saint Francis Brooklyn or host FAU in the second.