Falcons Host Xavier Wednesday Morning

BGSU vs. XAVIER
Wednesday, December 6, 2017 • 11:00 a.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, looking to extend a three-game winning streak, faces a tough test in the form of a Big East Conference foe. Head coach Jennifer Roos and the Falcons begin the December portion of the schedule by hosting Xavier University on Wednesday morning (Dec. 4). Tipoff is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. at the Stroh Center.

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Game Notes (PDF): BGSU | Xavier
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SCHOOL DAYS
Wednesday's game vs. Xavier is the Falcons' annual Kids Day game, and a large number of children from area schools will be in attendance.

BGSU-XAVIER TIES
Netta Floyd, Xavier's Director of Basketball Operations, was a three-year letterwinner under coaches Jaci Clark and Dee Knoblauch at BGSU. Floyd, then Netta Smith, was on the BG roster from 1995-99, and helped the Falcons to 21 wins and a trip to the WNIT in the 1997-98 season.

Greg Christopher, Xavier's Director of Athletics since May of 2013, took that job after spending six-and-a-half years at BGSU's AD. His oldest daughter, Megan Christopher, is a sophomore on the XU women's basketball team.

Greg Lautzenheiser, XU's women's basketball SID, earned his undergraduate degree in 2008. He served as a student manager for the BGSU men's basketball team under coach Dan Dakich, and most importantly, completed a practicum in the BGSU athletic communications office in 2007-08.

PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF IT
BGSU's game at South Dakota State on Saturday (Dec. 9), originally scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, has been moved back an hour. Tipoff is now scheduled for 7:00 p.m. local time (8:00 p.m. ET) in Brookings, S.D.

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.

Wednesday's Xavier game will feature video and audio streams, as well as live stats and Twitter updates, all free of charge (other than the cost of purchasing a computer, a phone or other streaming device, or bus fare to go to your local library and watch/listen on a computer there).

All of BGSU's home games and many 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.

SYNONYMS FOR "G.O.A.T." – 1) SANTORO. 2) THAT'S IT. THAT'S THE LIST.
Junior Carly Santoro continued her stellar start to the season with a 29-point, 13-rebound effort in BG's lone game last week, a 90-77 win over Valparaiso. Santoro, who also had a career-high six assists in the win, went 8-of-11 from the floor and 13-of-16 from the free-throw line.

#CanScoreO
Junior Carly Santoro's 29-point game vs. Valparaiso was only her second highest-scoring game of the season. She had 30 points in BG's season-opening win over Eastern Kentucky.

DOUBLE(-DOUBLE) TROUBLE
Junior Carly Santoro has recorded six double-doubles in seven games this season. She posted three-straight double-doubles to begin the year, and now has put together another three-game streak. She had a double-double in each of BGSU's two wins at the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament before adding another against Valpo.

Santoro led the Falcons with five double-doubles a year ago, and – obviously – has topped that total roughly one-fourth 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.

Interestingly (depending upon your level of interest), the Falcons are 6-0 this season when Santoro records a double-double. BGSU went just 1-4 in such games last season.

SAN-TORRID
As of last Wednesday morning (Nov. 29), Carly Santoro was tied for third in the nation in double-doubles, with six. Obviously, with the Falcons idle for over a week, she was bound to drop on that list. But, as of Monday afternoon (Dec. 4), Santoro remained in the top 10 (tied for seventh) in the country in that category.

#CanReboundO
Junior Carly Santoro is ranked 10th in the country in rebounding, with 11.9 boards per game. She is currently the nation's leading rebounder among players under 6-0.

ANY MORE SANTORO-RELATED NOTES?
Yes. On Monday morning, Carly Santoro was named the MAC Player of the Week by the College Sports Madness web site. It marked the second time she has won the award this season to date.

LAST TIME OUT: FALCONS VANQUISH VALPO, 90-77
To say the Falcons got off to a slow start last Tuesday night (Nov. 28) might be an understatement. To say the Falcons finished fast is most definitely an understatement.

BGSU shot 64 percent from the floor over the final three quarters, scoring 79 points in that time, en route to a 90-77 win over Valparaiso University before a loud crowd on Falcon Marching Band night at the Stroh Center.

Junior Carly Santoro had her sixth double-double in seven games this season, with a monster stat line of 29 points, 13 rebounds and a career-high six assists. She led the Falcons in all three categories and had game-high numbers in scoring and rebounding.

Junior Sydney Lambert had 17 points in the win, while sophomore Andrea Cecil added 10 and senior Haley Puk nine. Lambert (five) and Puk (three) combined to make eight of BG's 10 three-point field goals.

The Falcons erased an early deficit to take the lead in the second quarter, but BG led by only four points, 25-21, after a Dani Franklin three-pointer with 3:46 left in the half. But, the Falcons would get points on each of the next five possessions, beginning with a Cecil three-point play. Lambert hit a three-pointer, then made a layup on the next possession to extend BG's lead to eight, before Santoro hit two free throws with just 2.2 seconds left in the half.

After scoring on the final five possessions of the first half, BG scored on each of the first five possessions of the second half. A short jumper by Cecil began the third-quarter scoring, and Santoro scored five-straight points before Puk knocked down three-point tries on back-to-back trips. When her second triple swished through the hoop, the Falcons had a 50-32 lead.

START ME UP. IF YOU START ME UP I'LL NEVER STOP.
The Falcons are off to a 6-1 start to the season. The 2017-18 campaign marks the 12th time in program history that BGSU has won at least six of the first seven games.

The 2005-06 club is the only team to be undefeated through seven games. That team won eight-straight games to start the year. A total of 11 other BGSU teams – including the 2017-18 version – has been 6-1 at this juncture. Prior to this season, the last team to go 6-1 was the 2013-14 squad.

#WINNING
The Falcons ended the November portion of the schedule with a 6-1 record. The last BG team to win as many as six games in November was the 2013-14 club, which also ended the month with a 6-1 mark.

The last time a Falcon team won as many as six games in any month of the year was also that '13-14 squad, which went 6-2 in March of 2014, en route to the fourth round of the WNIT.

In fact, that 2013-14 team won six or more games in every month but one, and in that month (December), the Falcons only played five games. Just because you're dying to know, the '13-14 team went 6-1 in November, 4-1 in December, 7-1 in January, a perfect 7-0 in February and 6-2 in March.

Last year, BGSU's sixth win of the season came on February 4.

TEN OUT OF TEN. THAT'S PRETTY GOOD, RIGHT?
The Falcons scored points on 10 consecutive possessions against Valparaiso – the last five possessions of the second quarter & the first five of the third. That stretch of just over six minutes saw BG extend a four-point lead to a 50-32 advantage. The Falcons had 25 points on those 10 trips.

NO THIRD-QUARTER WOES VS. VALPO
The Falcons have led at halftime of all seven games this season to date, but BG has struggled in the third quarter for much of the season. Heading into the Valparaiso game, BGSU had outscored opponents in the first (95-77), second (131-94) and fourth (96-84) quarters, but had been outscored by 40 points in the third.

After scoring a total of 76 third-quarter points in the first six games (an average of 12.7 points), the Falcons exploded for 32 points in the third quarter last Tuesday night. BG led by 10 at the half, but extended that lead to as many as 20 before taking a 19-point advantage into the final period vs. Valparaiso.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
BGSU is off to a 6-1 start to the season. The Falcons picked up 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 Center, but bounced back with wins over Norfolk State and FAU to win the latter school's Thanksgiving tournament. BG then topped Valparaiso last week to complete a season-opening stretch of seven games in a 19-day span.

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 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 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 seven 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 seven games, four Falcons are scoring in double digits. Santoro leads the way with 17.0 ppg, and is averaging a double-double, with a team-leading 11.9 rpg. Lambert (11.3 ppg), Puk (11.0) and Cecil (10.6) also are averaging over 10 points per outing, while Uecker (7.0) and Sierra Thompson (6.9) each have scored more than six ppg.

Lambert and Santoro each have 2.7 assists per game to tie for the team lead, while Santoro has a BG-best 1.7 steals per contest. Puk has knocked down a team-leading 14 three-point field goals, while Lambert has hit 13 long-range shots.

Sierra Thompson is shooting a team-high .556 from the floor, while Uecker is shooting .449. That duo, along with Cecil and Lambert, average between four and five rebounds per game each.

BGSU has a +6.0 scoring margin, a +4.0 rebounding margin and a +3.1 turnover margin through seven games this season.

SCOUTING XAVIER
Xavier is 4-2 on the season. The Musketeers opened the year with home wins over New Hampshire, Mount St. Mary's and Grambling State before going on the road for the first time and falling to Minnesota. XU returned home to down Fort Wayne, but the Musketeers dropped a 62-57 decision to visiting Wake Forest Monday night. Imani Partlow and Jada Byrd have 12.3 and 12.2 points per game, respectively, but Partlow has missed the last three games. Last year, Xavier finished with a 12-18 overall record and a 4-14 Big East Conference mark. Head coach Brian Neal welcomed back seven players, including one starter, from that team.

THE SERIES
The Falcons trail Xavier, 3-2, in the all-time series between the teams, but the programs have not met in over 18 years. BGSU is 2-1 at home and 0-2 on the road vs. the Musketeers. The Falcons' wins came in February of 1987 and November of 1993 at venerable Anderson Arena. XU picked up a win in 1994, before capturing December victories in both 1998 and '99. The most recent matchup was an 87-72 outcome on Dec. 1, 1999. The last game in Bowling Green came the prior year (Dec. 30, 1998) and saw Xavier pick up a 92-75 win. Netta Smith had five points in 14 minutes off the bench for the Falcons in that '98 meeting. All five games in the series have been decided by between 15 and 18 points.

FRIES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BAG (A FEW FINAL FALCON NOTES)
The Falcons set season-best marks in field-goal percentage (53.4%), three-point FG pct. (41.7%) and free-throw pct. (85.7%) in the Valpo game.

BGSU shot better than 70% from the floor in both the second (75%; 9-of-12) and third (70.6%; 12-of-17) quarters.

The Falcons went 13-for-13 from the stripe to begin the game, before finally missing with 9:33 left in the fourth quarter.

BGSU reached the 90-point mark for the first time since Feb. 9, 2014, when the Falcons drubbed Miami, 91-45, at the Stroh.

The Falcons' field-goal pct. was BG's best in almost two years, since the Brown and Orange shot .563 from the floor in a home win over Evansville on Dec. 2, 2015.

UP NEXT
Following the Xavier game, the Falcons head to Brookings, S.D., for a Saturday (Dec. 9) meeting with South Dakota State. That contest will begin at 7:00 p.m. local time (8:00 p.m. ET) at Frost Arena.

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Terri Battle

Andrea Cecil

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