Falcons Host EKU as 2017-18 Season Begins

Friday, November 10

Bowling Green, OH

5:30 PM ET

Bowling Green State University

Eastern Kentucky

Tickets

BGSU 2017-18 women's basketball team -- players only

Photo by: BGSU Marketing and Communications

November 09, 2017 | Women's Basketball

BGSU battles the Colonels in a 5:30 p.m. start at the Stroh

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

BGSU vs. EASTERN KENTUCKY
Friday, November 10, 2017 • 5:30 p.m.
Stroh Center (4,347) • Bowling Green, Ohio

TELEVISION / VIDEO: ESPN3.com
RADIO / AUDIO: WBGU-FM 88.1 / BGRSO
LIVE STATS: www.BGSUFalcons.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 opens the 2017-18 season with four games in a 10-day span, beginning this weekend. Head coach Jennifer Roos and the Falcons host Eastern Kentucky University in a Friday (Nov. 10) matchup, with tipoff scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Stroh Center.

Then, the Falcons will hit the road(s) for a pair of weekday morning matchups. BGSU will face Detroit on Monday (Nov. 13) in an 11:00 a.m. tip, then will head to Western Pennsylvania for a Thursday (Nov. 16) tilt vs. Robert Morris. The RMU contest will begin at 10:00 a.m.

BGSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL LINKS
Get Your Tickets Now!
Game Notes (PDF): BGSU | EKU
BGSU Notes from all 2017-18 games (& previous seasons)
2017-18 BGSU Women's Basketball Schedule
Women's Basketball Giveaways / Promotions
Roos, Falcons Sign Three
2017-18 BGSU Women's Basketball Quick Facts
The Opponent: EKU Women's Basketball
Santoro Named to Preseason All-MAC Team
Veteran Quartet to Captain Falcons
Join the Falcon Club Today!

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.

Friday's EKU game will have an audio broadcast, courtesy of the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO).

The EKU game is scheduled to be streamed via ESPN3.com. In fact, 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, 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 information and game coverage will be available there.

SANTORO NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-MAC TEAM
Junior Carly Santoro was named to the Preseason All-MAC Team. Santoro, a native of Bellevue, Ohio, started all 31 games in 2016-17, leading the Falcons in scoring and ranking second in rebounding with 12.0 points and 7.4 boards per game. She also was second in minutes per game (29.7) and three-point field goals made (44), and led the team in free throws made and attempted. She scored in double digits 19 times, the highest total on the team, and paced the club with four games of 20 points or more. Santoro also led the Falcons with five double-doubles on the season. Through two years in the Orange and Brown, Santoro has scored 490 career points, an average of 8.3 per game.

VETERAN QUARTET TO CAPTAIN FALCONS
A veteran quartet will lead BGSU into the 2017-18 season. Seniors Rachel Myers and Haley Puk and juniors Sydney Lambert and Carly Santoro will serve as team captains for the Falcons in the '17-18 campaign.

"We are very pleased to recognize these four women as leaders within our program," said head coach Jennifer Roos. "In addition to their respective strengths as leaders, each one has had a tremendous amount of growth since they have arrived at BGSU. We will rely heavily upon those respective skill sets to lead our program this season."

LAST TIME OUT: FALCONS RACE PAST SETON HILL, 92-62, IN EXHIBITION
The Falcons broke open a tight game with a late second-quarter run on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 5), and the Falcons put on a third-quarter shooting clinic to seize control en route to a 92-62 win over Seton Hill in exhibition play at the Stroh Center.

Five Falcons scored in double digits, and nine different BGSU players scored at least six points in the win. The Falcons shot a blistering 76.5 percent from the floor in the third quarter to extend a nine-point halftime lead to a 29-point advantage late in that period.

Junior Sydney Lambert and freshman Sierra Thompson each had 17 points to tie for game honors, while freshman Kennedy Williams added 11 points and junior Carly Santoro and sophomore Jane Uecker 10 apiece.

Seton Hill rallied from an early nine-point deficit to tie the game on three occasions, including on a Halie Torris jumper with four minutes left before the half. But, a free throw by junior Maddie Cole began a 12-1 run for the Falcons, capped by freshman Madisen Parker's corner three with just 3.9 seconds left in the half.

Then, in the third quarter, the Falcons scored the first eight points to take a 17-point lead, and after Torris hit a jumper, the hosts continued to pull away with some torrid shooting. BG made five-straight field-goal attempts to begin the period, and after a rare third-quarter miss, the hosts hit six consecutive shots, capped by a Sierra Thompson layup that gave BG a 68-40 advantage.

The Falcons shot an even 54 percent from the field, while limiting Seton Hill to a 31.4% success rate. Both teams made eight three-pointers, but BG did so in 22 tries (36.4%) while it took the Griffins 39 attempts (20.5%) to get there.

The Orange and Brown had a 50-33 rebounding advantage, and BG also enjoyed sizable margins in points in the paint (40-16), fast-break points (18-5) and bench scoring (43-27).

A FEW MORE NOTES & NUMBERS FROM SUNDAY'S EXHIBITION
Junior Sydney Lambert and freshman Sierra Thompson, as mentioned in the above note, each scored 17 points in the win over Seton Hill. Thompson was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, and scored her 17 points in just 15 minutes.

Another freshman, Kennedy Williams, had 11 points. Williams and Lambert each went 3-of-5 from three-point land.

Junior Carly Santoro had a double-double, with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while sophomore Jane Uecker also scored 10 points. Uecker, who was 5-for-7 from the floor, had a well-rounded stat line that included six rebounds and BG-high totals of two steals and two blocked shots.

Caterrion Thompson had a well-rounded stat line of her own. The sophomore had six points, seven rebounds and a game-high six assists in 23 minutes.

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 – welcome 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.

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.

Lambert, like Santoro, started all 31 games in her sophomore season, averaging 10.4 ppg and a team-leading 2.3 assists per game. Lambert and Santoro combined to make 115 three-point field goals in 2016-17, with Lambert knocking down a team-high 71 long-range shots.

Puk rounds out the Falcons' returning starters, having started the last 24 contests of her junior year. She was fifth on the team in scoring (6.1 ppg) and was third on the team in three-point field goals made. Lambert, Santoro and Puk ranked first through third on the team, respectively, in successful triples as well as steals.

Five of the other six returnees played in at least 29 of the team's 31 games last fall. The lone exception is Glowniak, who played in each of the first 12 contests before missing the remainder of the season due to injury.

Seven returning players averaged double-digit minutes per game last season, with an eighth playing over nine minutes per outing.

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 members who saw action last year knocked down at least one trey.

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.

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.

THREE-GION OF BOOM
In fact, BG has knocked down four or more three-pointers in 87 of the last 92 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 Eastern Kentucky game. The Falcons have hit at least one three-pointer in each of the last 400 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.

SYD THE THREE-POINT-SHOOTING KID
Sydney Lambert, after just two years with the Falcons, is tied for 11th place in BGSU career history in three-point field goals made. Heading into the EKU game, Lambert has made 127 triples in 59 career games. She is tied with Jillian Halfhill (127 treys from 2010-14), and her next target on that list is 10th-place Stefanie Wenzel (143 triples from 2000-04). The legendary Lauren Prochaska (2007-11) holds the school record, having hit 310 three-pointers during her career.

Lambert has shot 37.9% from beyond the arc in her career, ranking her 11th in school history in career three-point FG percentage.

MYERS IS ON THE LIST AS WELL
Senior Rachel Myers is 16th in BGSU history in career three-point field goals made. Myers has hit 112 long-range shots, just two fewer than 15th-place Miriam Justinger (114 from 2012-16). Myers, who has averaged nearly 40 three-pointers per season over her first three years, is just 31 successful triples away from the top-10.

A TRADITION OF SUCCESS
Bowling Green has won 14 MAC regular-season championships and 11 league tournament titles, the highest totals among all conference teams. Prior to the injury-plagued season of 2014-15, the Falcons had won at least 20 games in a MAC-record 11 consecutive years. BG won at least 24 games in nine-straight seasons during that span, losing just 18 total games in MAC regular-season play during those nine years.

The Falcons made 10 consecutive national postseason trips from 2005-14, with five NCAA Championships appearances and five trips to the WNIT during that time. The 2006-07 team was the most successful in MAC history, winning a league-record 31 games en route to an NCAA 'Sweet Sixteen' appearance.

Overall, BGSU has won 20 or more games 19 times, the highest total among all Mid-American Conference women's basketball-playing institutions.

SCOUTING EASTERN KENTUCKY
Eastern Kentucky, like the Falcons and many other teams across the nation, opens the 2017-18 regular season on Friday. The Colonels defeated Davis & Elkins, 67-54, in the team's lone exhibition game on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 5). EKU returns five letterwinners from last season, including junior forward Abby Wright, who averaged 6.3 points per game a year ago. Wright started nine games last season. Senior center Madison Wood (2.3 ppg, 3.2 rebounds per game) made 13 starts last winter. The Colonels graduated nine players from last year's team, and EKU welcomes 12 new faces to the roster this year, including eight freshmen and four junior transfers. One of those newcomers, freshman guard Bria Bass, led the team with 19 points, including five three-pointers, in the exhibition-game win. Last year, head coach Chrissy Roberts and the Colonels went 12-20 overall and 7-9 in the Ohio Valley Conference. EKU advanced to the championship game of the OVC Tournament for the second consecutive year.

THE BGSU-EKU SERIES
The Falcons trail Eastern Kentucky, 5-2, in the all-time series between the teams, and the Colonels captured a narrow 57-55 victory in last year's season opener in Richmond, Ky. (Nov. 11, 2016). Carly Santoro had her first career double-double in that contest, with a game-high 20 points and 12 rebounds. Prior to last season, the teams had not met for nearly 13 years, since a 70-57 road win by the Brown and Orange at the EKU Comfort Suites Classic (Dec. 29, 2003). That snapped a two-game winning streak for the Colonels, who posted wins of 20 or more points in back-to-back years (November of 2000 and '01). The teams also played a home-and-home series in 1982-83 and '83-84, and met at Anderson Arena in December of 1988. BGSU is 1-2 at home and 1-3 on the road vs. EKU over the years, and Friday night will mark the teams' first meeting inside the Stroh Center.

SIXTY POINTS = SUCCESS AT THE STROH
When BGSU scores 60 or more points at the Stroh Center, the Falcons have won over 87 percent of the time. The Falcons are 54-8 when reaching at least the 60-piont mark inside the Stroh since the building opened prior to the 2011-12 season. And, BGSU is 35-3 when scoring at least 70 points, 14-0 when hitting the 80-point mark and 3-0 when reaching the 90-point plateau inside the Stroh.

UP NEXT
The Falcons' stretch of four games in a 10-day span continues with trips to Detroit and Robert Morris. BGSU faces Detroit Mercy on Monday morning (Nov. 13) in an 11:00 a.m. start, then meets RMU three days later (Thursday, Nov. 16) in a 10:00 a.m. tipoff. The Falcons' next home game is Sunday, Nov. 19, when BG faces Canisius on Moana Day at the Stroh Center.