BGSU Closes Non-League Slate with Trip to Cincinnati

Thursday, December 21

Cincinnati OH

7:00 PM ET

Bowling Green State University

Cincinnati

Sydney Lambert v Ferris State - Dec 18 2017

Sydney Lambert & the Falcons head to Cincinnati for the final non-conference game (photo by Brad Phalin)

Photo by: Brad Phalin, BGSU Marketing and Communications

December 20, 2017 | Women's Basketball

Falcons face Bearcats Thursday night

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

BGSU at CINCINNATI
Thursday, December 21, 2017 • 7:00 p.m.
Saint Ursula Academy • Cincinnati, Ohio

TELEVISION / VIDEO: Bearcats TV
RADIO / AUDIO: None
LIVE STATS: www.GoBearcats.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, after beginning the week with a win, hits the road for one final game before the Christmas holiday. Head coach Jennifer Roos and the Falcons head to the Queen City for a Thursday (Dec. 21) matchup with the University of Cincinnati. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Saint Ursula Academy Gymnasium & Convocation Center. UC is playing most of the 2017-18 home schedule at that venue due to a renovation of the team's on-campus home, Fifth Third Arena.

BGSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL LINKS
Game Notes (PDF): BGSU | UC
BGSU Notes from all 2017-18 games (& previous seasons)
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2017-18 Schedule | Giveaways / Promotions
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FALCON NEWS: Santoro Named MAC Player of Week Again | Roos , Falcons Sign Three | Santoro Named to Preseason All-MAC Team | Veteran Quartet to Captain Falcons
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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. Thursday's UC 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.

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.

#WINNING
The Falcons have matched the program's win total for all of last season. Monday night's victory over Ferris State gave BGSU an 8-2 record on the year. The 2016-17 team finished the season with an 8-23 mark.

START ME UP. IF YOU START ME UP I'LL NEVER STOP.
The Falcons are off to an 8-2 start to the season. The 2017-18 campaign marks the 12th time in program history that BG has won at least eight of the first 10 games.

Seven of those 12 seasons have come since Jennifer Roos arrived at BGSU, with two coming since she assumed the head-coaching job.

Three BGSU teams – the 2005-06, 2010-11 and 2013-14 BGSU teams – have been 9-1 after 10 games, while this year is the ninth time a Falcon squad has been 8-2 at this juncture.

'STROH'ME COURT ADVANTAGE
The Falcons' win over Ferris State gives BGSU a 4-1 record at the Stroh Center this season to date. With that victory, which came on Dec. 18, the Brown and Orange topped the home win total for all of last year.
FALCONS AT HOME
Season Home Non-Conf. MAC
2016-17 3-12 2-4 1-8
2017-18 4-1 4-1 -––

ROAD WARRIORS IN NOVEMBER
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 the Cincinnati game, the Falcons are 4-1 in all games played away from the Stroh Center this season.
FALCONS ON THE ROAD
Season Road Neutral-Site Total
2016-17 3-10 2-1 5-12
2017-18 3-1 1-0 4-1

SYD THE (CINCINNATI) KID
Thursday's game marks a homecoming for Falcon junior Sydney Lambert. The point guard is a Cincinnati native and a graduate of McAuley H.S. Lambert has started all 69 of BGSU's games since her arrival on campus, and enters the UC contest with a career total of 696 points as a Falcon.

LAST TIME OUT: CECIL, FALCONS DOWN FERRIS STATE, 82-73
Sophomore Andrea Cecil had a career night, leading the Falcons to an 82-73 win over Ferris State at the Stroh Center on Monday evening (Dec. 18). With the win, the Falcons improve to 8-2 on the season.

BGSU has matched the team's win total for all of last season.

Cecil put up career-high numbers in both scoring and rebounding, with her first collegiate double-double on Monday night. The Oak Harbor native had 26 points and 10 rebounds in the win.

Cecil paced four Falcons in double figures in the victory. Junior Sydney Lambert had 20 points and eight rebounds, going 4-for-6 from three-point range, while senior Haley Puk added 16 points and junior Carly Santoro 11.

Lambert set season bests and tied her career standards in both scoring and rebounding in Monday night's win.

Rachel McInerney led the Bulldogs (7-5) with a double-double of her own. She had 20 points and game-high totals of 18 rebounds and four blocked shots. Three of her teammates hit double digits in scoring, as Riley Blair had 17 points, Alexis Bush 12 and Leah Humes 11.

BGSU trailed for only 12 seconds in the entire game, but the Falcons could not shake the scrappy Bulldogs. FSU was within four points midway through the fourth quarter before the home team went 9-of-10 from the foul line over the final two-plus minutes.

20-20 VISION
Sophomore Andrea Cecil had a career-high 26 points in the Falcons' win over Ferris State, while junior Sydney Lambert tied her career best with 20 points. It marked the first time in nearly a year since two Falcons scored 20 or more points in the same game. Lambert and classmate Carly Santoro each had 20 points against Central Michigan on Jan. 14, 2017, at the Stroh Center.

A Falcon player has scored 20 or more points six times this season. Cecil and Santoro each have had two such games in 2017-18, while Lambert and senior Haley Puk have reached the 20-point mark once apiece. Falcon players reached the 20-point plateau seven times during all of last season.

With four different players reaching the 20-point mark, the Falcons have already topped the total for all of last season in that category. Last winter, Santoro had four games of 20 points or more, while Lambert had two and Ashley Tunstall one.

DOUBLE(-DOUBLE) TROUBLE
Sophomore Andrea Cecil had her first career double-double in Monday's win over Ferris State. Cecil posted career-best totals of 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Cecil joins junior Carly Santoro on the list of BG players recording a double-double this season. Santoro already has six – she posted three-straight double-doubles to begin the year, and then put together another three-game streak, with a double-double in each of BGSU's two wins at the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament and another vs. Valparaiso.

Santoro led the Falcons with five double-doubles a year ago, and – obviously – has topped that total less than one-third of the way through the 2017-18 season.

The last Falcon to have more than six double-doubles in a season was Deborah Hoekstra, who had seven in the 2014-15 campaign.

The Falcons are now 7-0 this season when a player records a double-double. BGSU went just 4-6 in such games last season.

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 four times through 10 games this year.

The Falcons had 80 or more points just twice last winter, but BG has reached the 80-point mark three times so far in 2017-18.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
BGSU is off to an 8-2 start to the season. The Falcons are 4-1 at the Stroh Center, 3-1 in road games and 1-0 in neutral-site contests.

The Falcons opened the season with wins over Eastern Kentucky, Detroit and Robert Morris, with the latter two victories coming in front of loud School Day crowds on the road. The Brown and Orange suffered a loss to Canisius at the Stroh, but bounced back with wins over Norfolk State and FAU to win the latter school's Thanksgiving tournament.

BG then topped Valparaiso to complete a season-opening stretch of seven games in a 19-day span, before downing Xavier before a large School Day crowd at the Stroh. 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 Monday evening's 82-73 win over Ferris State.

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. The frosh combined for 34 points in the Falcons' exhibition win over Seton Hill.

BGSU's starters in all 10 games to date have been 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.

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 10 games, four Falcons are scoring in double digits. Santoro leads the way with 14.7 ppg, and is averaging a double-double, with a team-leading 10.4 rpg. Cecil (12.1 ppg), Lambert (11.3) and Puk (10.6) also are averaging over 10 points per outing, while Uecker (6.0) and Sierra Thompson (5.2) each average over five ppg.

Lambert leads the Falcons in both assists (2.5 apg) and steals (1.8 spg), while Santoro is second in both categories, with 2.1 apg and 1.5 spg. Lambert has knocked down 21 three-point field goals this year, while Puk has hit 20.

BGSU has a +2.9 scoring margin, a +0.2 rebounding margin and a +2.4 turnover margin this season to date.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
The Falcons enter the Cincinnati game with a record of 8-2 on the year. BGSU's eight non-conference wins are the program's most since 2013-14, and the Falcons have won as many non-league contests as in the previous two seasons combined.

The program record for pre-MAC victories is 12, amassed in the 2011-12 campaign. This year's BGSU team has clinched a winning non-conference record for the 14th time in the last 16 years.

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, a total of nine different players had made one or more long-distance shots by the season's sixth game.

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 this year, the Falcons have made four or more treys in nine of the 10 games.

THREE-GION OF BOOM
In fact, BG has knocked down four or more three-pointers in 96 of the last 102 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 UC game. The Falcons have hit at least one three-pointer in each of the last 410 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-THREE LAMBERT
Junior Sydney Lambert recently moved into the BGSU top-10 list in career three-point field goals made. Lambert has hit 148 long-range shots in 69 career games. Her next target on the school list is ninth-place Angie Farmer (160 3's from 1997-2001).

HOLDING ON TO THE BALL
The Falcons rank second in the MAC and 23rd in the nation in fewest turnovers per game, at 12.8. Last season, BG finished 11th in the conference and 221st in the country in that category.

BG currently has a turnover margin of +2.2, after finishing the 2016-17 campaign with a turnover margin of -2.8.

SCOUTING CINCINNATI
Cincinnati is 7-5 on the season, and the Bearcats are 6-3 at home and 1-2 on the road this year to date. Most recently, UC dropped an 87-76 home decision to nationally-ranked Ohio State. Four 'Cats are scoring in double figures, including Nikira Goings, who has a team-leading 12.5 points per game. Iimar'i Thomas has 12.1 ppg and a team-high 6.6 rebounds per outing, while Shanice Johnson (10.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and Ana Owens (10.3 ppg, 4.0 assists per game) round out UC's double-digit scorers. Last year, head coach Jamelle Elliott's team went 16-14 overall and 7-9 in American Athletic Conference play. Elliott welcomed back eight letterwinners, including three starters, from that club.

THE SERIES
The Falcons trail Cincinnati, 12-7, in the all-time series between the teams, and UC has won each of the last two meetings. Last season, the Bearcats took the lead with just over two minutes to go and hit their free throws down the stretch, en route to a 68-58 win at the Stroh Center (Nov. 15, 2016). Two years ago, in the last meeting in the Queen City, UC won a narrow 54-51 decision. The Falcons are 6-2 at home, 1-8 on the road and 0-2 at neutral sites vs. the 'Cats over the years.

UP NEXT
Following the UC game, the Falcons will take a break for the holidays before beginning Mid-American Conference play on Saturday, Dec. 30, at Western Michigan. BG's first home league game is on Wednesday, Jan. 3, vs. Eastern Michigan.
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