Conference Play Commences in Kalamazoo

Saturday, December 30

Kalamazoo, MI

2:00 PM ET

Bowling Green State University

Western Michigan

Tickets

Photo by: Bianca Garza, BGSU Marketing and Communications

December 29, 2017 | Women's Basketball

BGSU battles Broncos in Saturday afternoon's MAC opener

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

BGSU at WESTERN MICHIGAN
Saturday, December 30, 2017 • 2:00 p.m.
University Arena (5,421) • Kalamazoo, Mich.

TELEVISION / VIDEO: ESPN3.com
RADIO / AUDIO: WBGU-FM 88.1 / BGRSO
LIVE STATS: WMUBroncos.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 going 8-3 during the non-conference portion of the schedule, closes the 2017 calendar year and opens the Mid-American Conference slate this weekend. Head coach Jennifer Roos and the Falcons head to Kalamazoo for a Saturday (Dec. 30) contest against Western Michigan University. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at University Arena..

BGSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL LINKS
Game Notes (PDF): BGSU | WMU
BGSU Notes from all 2017-18 games (& previous seasons)
BGSU Box Scores & Recaps (PDF)
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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. Saturday's WMU game will feature free video and audio streams, 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, including the WMU game, 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. Saturday's WMU contest also will be aired on 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. The victory over Ferris State on Dec. 18 gave BGSU eight wins this year to date. The 2016-17 team finished the season with an 8-23 mark.

A BRAND NEW SPARK PAGE, JUST IN TIME FOR CONFERENCE PLAY

FALCONS PICKED TO FINISH FIFTH IN MAC EAST IN 2017-18
The Falcons were picked to finish fifth in the MAC's East Division in the 2017-18 season, according to the league's preseason coaches poll. Buffalo and Central Michigan were predicted to win the East and West divisions, respectively.
EAST DIVISION WEST DIVISION
1 - Buffalo (10 first-place votes) – 69 pts. 1 - Central Michigan (10) – 70
2 - Kent State (1) – 52 2 - Toledo (1) – 60
3 - Ohio (1) – 47 3 - Ball State (1) – 46
4 - Miami – 40 4 - Western Michigan – 32
5 - Bowling Green – 23 5 - Northern Illinois – 29
6 - Akron –21 6 - Eastern Michigan – 15
PREDICTED REG.-SEASON CHAMPION (with votes received): CMU 10; BSU, Buffalo 1.
PREDICTED MAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPION: CMU 9; BSU, Buffalo, WMU 1.

FALCONS VS. THE MAC
The Falcons continue to own the best record in MAC history. Entering the 2017-18 conference schedule, BGSU has an all-time record of 402-195 (.673) 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 league institution.

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.

GREAT START
The Falcons are off to an 8-3 start to the season. The 2017-18 campaign marks the 21st time in program history that BG has won at least eight of the first 11 games.

Ten of those 21 seasons have come since Jennifer Roos arrived at BGSU, with three coming since she assumed the head-coaching job.

The 2010-11 Falcons were 10-1 after 11 games, while nine BGSU teams were 9-2 at this juncture. This year marks the 10th time a Falcon squad has been 8-3 after 11 contests.

BG has started the season with a record of 8-3 or better in 10 of the last 13 years.

'STROH'ME COURT ADVANTAGE
The Falcons have a 4-1 record at the Stroh Center this season to date. With the fourth 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 -––

ON THE ROAD...
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 WMU game, the Falcons are 4-2 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 3-2 1-0 4-2

CECIL NAMED MAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
On Wednesday (Dec. 27), Andrea Cecil was named Mid-American Conference Player of the Week, earning the honor for the first time in her BGSU career.

Cecil, a native of Oak Harbor, Ohio, averaged 21.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in the Falcons' two games last week. The sophomore shot 51.9 percent from the floor, going 14-for-27, and hit 13 of 18 shots from the free-throw line (72.2%).

DOUBLE(-DOUBLE) TROUBLE
Junior Carly Santoro had a double-double – her seventh of the season – with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in the Cincinnati game.

Three days earlier, sophomore Andrea Cecil had her first career double-double, with career-best totals of 26 points and 10 rebounds against Ferris State.

Santoro 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, but topped that total less than one-third of the way through the 2017-18 season.

The last Falcon to have as many as seven double-doubles in a season was Deborah Hoekstra, who had seven in the 2014-15 campaign. Alexis Rogers had eight double-doubles in 2013-14.

The Falcons are now 7-1 this season when a player records a double-double. BGSU went just 4-6 in such games last season.

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

The Falcons opened the season with seven games in a 19-day span. BGSU went 6-1 during that time, then began December by 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 an 82-73 win over Ferris State. Most recently, BG fell, 75-51, at Cincinnati on Dec. 21.

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.

BGSU's starters in all 11 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 11 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 (12.5 ppg), Lambert (10.8) and Puk (10.2) also are averaging over 10 points per outing, while Uecker (5.6) and Sierra Thompson (4.7) are chipping in a combined 10.3 points per contest.

Lambert and Santoro each have 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game, tying for the team lead in both categories. Lambert has knocked down 23 three-point field goals this year, while Puk has hit 20.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
The Falcons finished the pre-MAC schedule with a record of 8-3. 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 posted a winning non-conference record for the 14th time in the last 16 years.

SYD-THREE LAMBERT
Junior Sydney Lambert recently moved into the BGSU top-10 list in career three-point field goals made. Lambert has hit 150 long-range shots in 70 career games. Her next target on the school list is ninth-place Angie Farmer (160 3's from 1997-2001).

THE 700 CLUB
Junior Sydney Lambert, a Cincinnati native, reached a pair of milestones during the Falcons' game in her hometown. In addition to hitting her 150th career three-point field goal at UC, she also went over the 700-point mark for her career. Lambert now has 702 points, the most among active Falcons.

HOLDING ON TO THE BALL
The Falcons rank second in the MAC and 29th in the nation in fewest turnovers per game, at 12.9. Last season, BG finished 11th in the conference and 221st in the country in that category.

BG currently has a turnover margin of +2.0, after finishing the 2016-17 campaign with a turnover margin of -2.8.

SCOUTING WMU
Western Michigan is 7-5 on the season, and the Broncos are on a three-game winning streak. WMU is a perfect 4-0 at home, including victories over Detroit Mercy, Kentucky State and Goshen during the current streak. The Broncos are 2-3 on the road and 1-2 in neutral-site games this season to date. Breanna Mobley leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, with 16.0 points and 8.5 boards per game. Marley Hill also is scoring in double digits, with 10.8 ppg, and she has 5.7 rpg. No fewer than 14 different players have hit at least one three-point field goal this season to date. Last year, head coach Shane Clipfell's team went 19-13 overall and 8-10 in the MAC. Clipfell welcomed back 11 of 12 letterwinners, including four starters, from that squad.

THE SERIES
The Falcons lead WMU, 35-29, in the all-time series between the teams, but Western has won each of the last six meetings. Last season, the Broncos picked up a 75-58 victory in Kalamazoo (Jan. 11, 2017) and a 74-53 win at the Stroh Center (Feb. 15, 2017). BG's last victory over WMU came on Feb. 5, 2014 (72-50 at the Stroh), while the Falcons' last road win in the series came back on Feb. 7, 2009 (a 79-77 overtime win). BG is 18-12 at home, 14-16 on the road and 3-1 at neutral sites vs. the Broncos over the years.

UP NEXT
Following the WMU game, the Falcons will begin the 2018 calendar year with a pair of home games. The Brown and Orange will host Eastern Michigan on Wednesday (Jan. 3) in a 7:00 p.m. start, before meeting Ball State three days later (Sat., Jan. 6) inside the Stroh Center..