Eastern Awaits Falcons for Saturday MAC Matchup

Saturday, January 17

Ypsilanti, MI

2:30 PM

Bowling Green State University

Eastern Michigan

Tickets

Haley Puk v NIU - Jan 14 2015 - Garza photo

Haley Puk & the Falcons, after defeating NIU Wednesday, return to the road to face EMU Saturday

January 16, 2015 | Women's Basketball

BGSU heads to Ypsilanti to face the Eagles in a 2:30 p.m. start

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, after picking up a win in a rare home game, now returns to a familiar place: the road. The Falcons of head coach Jennifer Roos make a short trip north on Saturday (Jan. 17), heading to Ypsilanti, Mich., to face Eastern Michigan University. Tipoff is set for 2:30 p.m. at the Convocation Center (8,754). The BGSU-EMU game is the second half of a doubleheader which begins with the Eastern men's team facing Northern Illinois University at 12:00 p.m.

GAME NOTES
BGSU | Eastern Michigan

ROAD WARRIORS
Following the EMU game, the Falcons will take on Western Michigan in Kalamazoo on Wednesday (Jan. 21). The WMU game will conclude a 15-game stretch during which BGSU will have played away from home 12 times.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
If you can't make it to Ypsilanti on Saturday, you can still follow the Falcons via your radio or computer machine. The game – like all BGSU women's basketball games – will be broadcast by WBGU-FM 88.1, the flagship home of Falcon women's basketball, and will be available over the air or on the web.

Additionally, live stats for Saturday's game will be available via EMUEagles.com, and a video stream (fee required) will be available as well. And, in-game twitter updates can be found at @BGSUwbb. Log on to BGSUFalcons.com and click the 'calendar' link on the day or the game, or navigate your way to the women's basketball schedule page and bask in the veritable plethora of links.

LAST TIME OUT: SECOND-HALF THREE-FOR-ALL LIFTS FALCONS PAST NIU
• The Falcons hit five three-point field goals in the second half, building a 20-point lead en route to a win over Northern Illinois Wednesday night (Jan. 14). BGSU held off an NIU comeback bid, downing the Huskies, 65-59, at the Stroh Center.

• Leading by seven at the half, the Falcons hit four three-pointers in a span of under five minutes to build a 15-point lead just over midway through the second half, and a fifth trey gave the home team a 55-35 lead with 6:44 remaining. BGSU went 5-of-6 from three-point range during that eight-minute stretch. The Brown and Orange shot 60 percent overall (12-of-20) and 50% from long distance in the second half.

• Senior Deborah Hoekstra had her second double-double in as many Wednesdays, tying for game honors with 14 points and leading all players with 10 rebounds in the win. Junior Miriam Justinger scored 13 points, including nine in the first half, while freshman Rachel Myers joined that duo in double digits with a 10-point game. Myers and senior Jasmine Matthews hit two three-pointers apiece, as six different Falcons connected from long distance in the win.

• For NIU, all five starters scored in double figures, led by Amanda Corral's 14 points. Ally Lehman had 12 points for the Huskies, while Danny Pulliam, Renee Sladek and Jenna Thorp all had 10 points on the night. Sladek had eight rebounds and Lehman seven as the teams battled to a 32-32 draw on the glass.

• BGSU has won 13 consecutive games vs. NIU. The Huskies' last win over the Falcons was a four-overtime affair at Anderson Arena in 2004.

SIXTY POINTS = SUCCESS AT THE STROH CENTER
After topping Northern Illinois on Wednesday night (Jan. 14), the Falcons now have a record of 47-10 at the Stroh Center since the building opened prior to the 2011-12 season. While an 82.4 winning percentage is certainly impressive, BGSU's chances of winning at home have increased exponentially when the team scores at least 60 points. The Falcons are 44-1 (97.8%) when reaching the 60-point mark inside the Stroh. BG is 28-1 when scoring at least 70 points, 12-0 when hitting the 80-point mark and 3-0 when reaching the 90-point plateau.

FULLENKAMP JOINS FALCONS
BGSU volleyball standout Erica Fullenkamp has joined the Falcon women's basketball program. Fullenkamp, a senior at the University, completed a successful four-year career with the volleyball Falcons in November, and helped that team to a MAC Tournament championship and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Championships in 2012. Fullenkamp participated in her first practice with the women's basketball team on Thursday, Jan. 8, and was in uniform for the Falcons' game at Kent State two days later. She did not see action vs. the Golden Flashes, but made her BG hoops debut on Wednesday (Jan. 14) vs. Northern Illinois, playing five minutes and pulling down a rebound.

TAKE SOME; THEY'RE FREE
• As of Thursday night (Jan. 15), the Falcons were ranked second in the entire nation in free-throw percentage. BGSU is shooting 78.5% from the free-throw line heading into the EMU game. BG trails only Youngstown State (78.6%) among 343 Division-I teams listed in the NCAA rankings.

• The Falcons' 78.5% free-throw rate is impressive, to be sure, but BG is shooting an eye-popping 86.2% as a team in MAC games. Through the first four conference contests, BGSU has made 50-of-58 shots from the stripe.

• BG set a Stroh Center record for field-goal percentage by shooting 92.3% in the Ball State game, and the Falcons were an identical 12-of-13 at Akron as well. After going 7-for-9 at Kent State, BGSU hit 19-of-23 (82.6%) shots from the line against Northern Illinois. The Falcons have made at least 70% of their free throws in 14 of this year's 15 games, including each of the last eight.

• Individually, senior Deborah Hoekstra ranks second in the MAC and ninth in the nation in free-throw percentage. Hoekstra has gone 42-of-46 at the stripe this season, good for a success rate of 91.3%.

THE STARTING FIVE
Last season, head coach Jennifer Roos used a total of three different starting lineups over the 35-game schedule. But, this year's version of the Falcons had used four different lineups by the 13th game. Junior Miriam Justinger and sophomore Rachel Konieczki are the only two players to have started all 15 contests for the Brown and Orange this year to date.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Eastern Michigan game with an overall record of 8-7, and BGSU is 1-3 in Mid-American Conference play after posting a 65-59 win over visiting Northern Illinois Wednesday night (Jan. 14). After winning four-straight games prior to Christmas, BGSU then dropped five consecutive contests, the program's longest slide since the 2000-01 season.

• After opening the season with a one-point loss to Bucknell, BGSU bounced back with three-straight wins, beginning with a convincing 80-59 home victory over Iona. The Falcons went on the road and downed Milwaukee, then headed to the left coast and topped UC Irvine before suffering a narrow loss to Loyola Marymount. The latter two games came at the DoubleTree LA Westside Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by LMU.

• The Falcons returned home and posted a 66-55 win over Cincinnati, the team's lone home game in a month-and-a-half span, to begin a four-game winning streak. Road wins over Saint Francis (Pa.), Illinois State and Bradley followed, but two players suffered season-ending injuries in the ISU game.

• The Brown and Orange dropped a pair of games just after the Christmas holiday in Miami, Fla., against Hampton and the host school at the FIU Sun & Fun Classic. BG opened MAC play with a 62-50 loss to Ball State at the Stroh Center (Jan. 3), then – with just seven players in uniform – fell by a 67-59 score at Akron (Jan. 7), before suffering a 55-48 setback at Kent State on Saturday (Jan. 10).

• Redshirt junior Erica Donovan and freshman Lauren Webb were injured in that Illinois State game. Both are expected to miss the remainder of the 2014-15 season. Donovan was the Falcons' leading scorer and rebounder at the time of her injury, with 15.3 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. She had 20 points in each of her last two games, vs. SFU and ISU, with a career-high 15 boards in the latter contest.

• Sophomore Abby Siefker and redshirt freshman Leah Bolton are expected to miss the rest of the season as well. Bolton saw action in the Falcons' exhibition game on Nov. 7, but did not play in a regular-season game in 2014-15.

• Siefker started the first 12 games of the season, and averaged 5.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. She was second on the team in rebounding behind Donovan, and led the Falcons in blocked shots, with 1.0 rejections per game.

• Two Falcons – junior Miriam Justinger and sophomore Rachel Konieczki – have started all 15 games this season to date. Senior Deborah Hoekstra, after coming off the bench for the first 83 games of her BGSU career, has started the last nine games, while freshman Haley Puk made her first collegiate start in the win at Bradley and has now started seven games. Another freshman, Rachel Myers, made her first collegiate start at Akron, and now has started three games in a row.

• Hoekstra leads the active Falcons in scoring, with 10.8 points per game, while Justinger and Myers have scored 9.6 and 7.2 ppg, respectively. Konieczki has 6.9 points per contest, with Puk averaging 5.5 ppg to date.

• Justinger is averaging 5.7 rebounds per game, while Hoekstra has 5.4 rpg, including 9.8 boards per contest in the Falcons' four MAC games to date. Hoekstra has posted double-doubles in two of BG's last three games, with 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds at Akron, and 14 points and 10 boards vs. NIU. Justinger had the first double-double of her career in the Ball State game, with 16 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.

• Justinger has 2.3 assists per game to pace the Falcons in that category, while Konieczki has 1.5 assists and Hoekstra 1.3 helpers per contest. Hoekstra also has 1.3 steals per game, leading BGSU in that category, and both Koneczki and Justinger have 1.1 spg. None of the active Falcons have blocked more than three shots this season.

• BGSU is shooting 36.2 percent from the field, 29.5% from three-point range and 78.5% from the free-throw line through 14 games. The Falcons' opponents have shot 38.9% from the floor, 26.5% from the arc and 63.6% from the stripe.

• The Falcons have averaged 6.2 three-pointers made to date. Hoekstra has hit 24 triples to lead the way, while Myers has knocked down 21 long-range attempts, including a career-high four treys en route to 17 points (also a career high) at Akron. Puk has connected 13 times from beyond the arc, Konieczki 11 and Justinger 10.

• Hoekstra, Justinger, Konieczki, Myers and Puk each have seen action in all 14 games, while redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick has played in 14 games and true freshman Sarah Baer 11. Senior Jasmine Matthews has played in nine games this season, and has played a total of 14 minutes over the last two games after playing just one minute over the previous seven contests.

• Senior Erica Fullenkamp, who joined the team on Jan. 8, made her BGSU women's basketball debut six days later vs. Northern Illinois, playing five minutes and pulling down a rebound. Fullenkamp was a four-year volleyball standout at BG.

• In MAC games to date, Hoekstra has scored 47 points, Justinger 46 and Myers 43, and all are averaging between 10.8 and 11.8 ppg. Hoekstra, as mentioned, also has 9.8 rpg to lead the Falcons in that category. Justinger has 7.0 rpg and 2.0 apg in conference contests, and Myers has hit a team-leading nine three-point field goals vs. MAC foes. BGSU is shooting 86.2% from the free-throw line in MAC games, having made 50-of-58 shots from the stripe.

• The Falcons returned six letterwinners, including two starters (Donovan and Justinger), from a 2013-14 team that won 30 overall games and captured a MAC regular-season title with a 17-1 league ledger. BGSU won the East Division crown, and the Falcons had the best overall record in MAC play for the eighth time in the last 10 seasons. The division title was the program's ninth in that 10-year span.

• Last year's edition of the Brown and Orange advanced to national postseason play for the 10th consecutive March, winning three games in the WNIT before falling in the quarterfinal round to eventual tourney champion Rutgers. BGSU won more than 20 games for the 11th consecutive year.

• In addition to the six returnees, head coach Jennifer Roos and her staff – assistant coaches Jesse Fleming, Jacey Brooks and Sahar Nusseibeh and director of operations Monique Rosati – also added six players with freshman status on the roster. The 12-player active roster at the start of the 2014-15 season included two seniors, two juniors, two sophomores, two redshirt freshmen and the four true frosh.

THE EASTERN MICHIGAN EAGLES
Eastern Michigan has an overall record of 7-7 on the season, and the Eagles are 0-3 in MAC play after an 82-59 home loss to Ohio on Wednesday night (Jan. 14). EMU's other MAC games came on the road, against Northern Illinois and Akron. The Eagles are off to an 0-3 league start for the first time since 2008-09. Eastern is averaging 81.3 points per game in the team's seven wins this year, but just 57.9 ppg in the seven losses this season to date. The Eagles are 5-1 at home, 0-6 on the road and 2-0 in neutral-site games. Individually, sophomore guard Cha Sweeney is averaging 13.9 points per game to pace three double-digit scorers. Sweeney also has 4.5 rebounds and a team-leading 3.1 assists per contest. Senior forward Jamaica Bucknor has 11.6 ppg and 7.1 rpg, while sophomore guard Janay Morton has 10.9 ppg and is tied with Sweeney for the team steals lead, with 1.9 spg. Junior forward Shannise Heady and senior forward Brianna Puni have 8.1 and 6.2 ppg, respectively. Puni, a transfer from Illinois State who became eligible in December, has a team-high 8.8 rpg. Last year, head coach Tori Verdi's team went 18-14 overall and 7-11 in the MAC. Verdi welcomed back six letterwinners, including two starters, from the 2013-14 club.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Eastern Michigan, 50-14, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU has won the last 13 meetings, including a pair of matchups last year.

• In the teams' most recent meeting, Jillian Halfhill and Alexis Rogers posted double-doubles as the Falcons picked up a 51-46 win at the Convocation Center (Feb. 15, 2014). The first 2013-14 clash saw BG down EMU, 71-57, at the Stroh Center (Jan. 23, 2014).

• BGSU is 27-4 in home games, 20-9 on the road and 3-1 in neutral-site contests vs. the Hurons/Eagles through the years.

• EMU's last win over the Falcons was a 57-52 decision in Ypsilanti nearly a decade ago (Feb 19, 2005). The Eagles swept the two regular-season meetings that year, but the Brown and Orange posted a 77-57 win in the MAC Tournament semifinals to snap Eastern's five-game winning streak and begin BG's current 13-game streak.

• Jennifer Roos is 3-0 against the Eagles as a collegiate head coach.

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
Due to injuries, a total of only seven players suited up for the Jan. 7 game at Akron. That group consisted of one senior (Deborah Hoekstra), one junior (Miriam Justinger), one sophomore (Rachel Konieczki) and four freshmen (redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick and true frosh Sarah Baer, Rachel Myers and Haley Puk). On the road against the defending MAC Tournament champions – who had 15 players in uniform – the Falcons led with under 10 minutes to go in the second half before a late run gave the Zips the lead for good.

FALCONS LIKE THEIR #MACTION
Since Jennifer Roos became head coach prior to the 2012-13 season, the Falcons have a record of 29-9 in MAC regular-season games. BGSU has won those 29 games by an average of 17.2 points per game, and the Falcons' MAC losses have been by 7.1 ppg. Twenty-three of the 29 wins have been by double digits, with just three of the nine losses coming by 10 points or more.

FALCONS VS. THE MAC
The Falcons continue to own the best record in MAC history. Entering the EMU game, BGSU has an all-time record of 391-156 (.715) in MAC regular-season contests, for the most wins and highest winning pct. 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 (754) and highest overall winning percentage (.653) of any conference school.

THE VETERANS STEP UP...
• BGSU had three seniors and one junior in uniform for last Saturday's game at Kent State. But, one of those seniors, Jasmine Matthews, played just four minutes after missing nearly all of the previous seven games due to injury, and another senior, Erica Fullenkamp, is a Falcon volleyball standout who was added to the basketball roster just two days earlier.

• The third senior, Deborah Hoekstra, and junior Miriam Justinger, however, rarely came off of the floor at KSU. Hoekstra played a career-high 38 minutes, setting a new career standard in that category for the second time in three games. And, Justinger also set a career high, playing all but the final 10 seconds of the contest vs. the Flashes.

• Hoekstra and Justinger ranked 1-2 on the Falcons in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals vs. KSU, combining for 22 points, 17 boards, six assists and five steals.

• In the NIU game, Hoekstra played 39 minutes and Justinger 32, and the duo combined for 27 points and 16 rebounds. Hoekstra had her second double-double in a three-game span. Matthews scored six points in 10 minutes vs. the Huskies, hitting a pair of three-pointers, while Fullenkamp played five minutes in her BG basketball debut.

...AND SO DO THE YOUNGSTERS
With a smaller active roster due to injuries, there has been plenty of playing time to go around in the last few games. And, a number of the youthful Falcons are taking advantage by setting new career standards in various categories...

• Freshman Haley Puk made her first collegiate start in the Bradley game. She set a career standard with seven rebounds in that game, then broke that mark with eight caroms vs. Hampton. The next day, Puk scored a career-high 12 points vs. FIU. Puk had 11 points at Akron, and set a new career high with nine boards against NIU.

• Another freshman, Rachel Myers, made the first start of her BG career at Akron. She responded by going 4-for-6 from three-point land en route to a career-high 17 points. Myers' previous single-game bests had been 10 points and two three-pointers made. She also set career standards in field goals made (six) and attempted (11) and minutes played (35) vs. the Zips. Myers scored 10 points and led the Falcons with three assists in Wednesday's win over NIU.

• Redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick scored a total of two points over her first 10 career games (five last year, five this year). Since then, however, she has averaged 5.0 ppg, with 45 points over the last nine contests off the bench. She set or tied her career highs for minutes played in each of four consecutive games, including 18 minutes on the court vs. Hampton and 21 vs. FIU. Kirkpatrick had a career-high two assists vs. HU, then doubled that mark the next day, leading BG with four helpers against FIU. Kirkpatrick played 20 minutes against both Akron and NIU, scoring six points in the latter game.

• Freshman Sarah Baer played in four of the Falcons' first eight games, seeing a total of 14 minutes of playing time in that span. Baer has posted double-digit minute totals in each of the last six games, however, including 19 minutes against both FIU and Ball State. She scored a then career-high three points vs. Hampton, then had career bests of seven points and six rebounds in the FIU contest. Baer also had the first two steals of her career in the latter game, and she blocked four shots over a four-game span. Baer scored six points on 2-for-2 shooting at Akron.

HOEKSTRA'S A REBOUNDING MACHINE
• Just three weeks ago, senior Deborah Hoekstra had never had more than six rebounds in a game. Over the last five games, however, the guard has averaged 9.6 boards per contest, and has set or tied her career-best total three times. Hoekstra had nine rebounds at FIU (Dec. 30), then matched that total against Ball State. Hoekstra had 12 rebounds vs. Akron, grabbed eight more at Kent State and pulled down a game-high 10 boards in the win over NIU.

• In MAC play, Hoekstra is nearly averaging a double-double, with 11.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game through four contests. She is tied for fourth in the MAC in rebounding in conference games.

THE FALCONS ARE/WERE ...
• 8-7 this season, after posting a 30-5 overall record last winter;
• 1-3 in MAC play. BG was 17-1 in the MAC in 2013-14, winning a division title for the ninth time in a 10-season span;
• 320-115 since Jennifer Roos came to BGSU in the summer of 2001;
• 165-50 in MAC games in that time:
• 299-80 over the last 11-plus years, with 2013-14 marking BG's MAC-record 11th-straight season of at least 20 wins;
• a staggering 278-70 in the past 10-plus years, with no fewer than 23 wins in each of the 10 seasons and eight MAC overall regular-season titles (2004-10, 2012 and again in '14, plus an East Division crown in '11);
• an eye-popping 255-62 overall, and 129-21 in the MAC regular season, in the last nine-plus years, with at least 24 wins in each of those nine seasons;
• a superb 227-59 in the last eight-plus years, including a 113-21 league ledger;
• a/an (insert your own adjective here) 196-55 overall, and 98-20 in MAC regular-season games, in the last seven-plus seasons, since Monique Rosati came to the BGSU program;
• 170-47 overall and 85-17 in MAC action over the last six-plus winters;
• 141-42, including a 70-16 MAC ledger, in the last five-plus seasons;
• 114-35 overall and 56-14 in the MAC in the last four-plus years;
• 86-30 overall, and 43-11 in MAC action, since seniors Deborah Hoekstra and Jasmine Matthews first put on a BGSU uniform;
• 62-23 overall and 29-9 in league play since Jennifer Roos became head coach, junior Miriam Justinger joined the Falcons' roster, and redshirt junior Erica Donovan transferred to BG;
• 38-12 since Donovan and sophomores Rachel Konieczki and Abby Siefker began their BGSU playing careers, and redshirt freshmen Leah Bolton and Kennedy Kirkpatrick came to campus;
• 152-26 in the last 178 games vs. MAC foes (regular-season and tournament);
• A perfect 67-0 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field since 2001;
• 255-12 when having a better FG percentage than the opposition in that time, including a 127-2 mark in the last six-plus seasons;
• 244-44 when making more free throws than the opponent in the Roos Assistant-Coach/Associate-Head-Coach/Interim-Head-Coach/Head-Coaching Era;
• 207-26 when outrebounding the opponent in that 13-plus-year span;
• 75-8 in MAC home games in the last 10-plus seasons;
• 61-14 in MAC road games over the last nine-plus years;
• 20-5 in the MAC Tournament in the last 10 years, with five titles (2005, '06, '07, '10 and '11), an additional championship-game appearance (2009), and trips to the semis in 2008, 2012 and 2014;
• 44-19 overall in the MAC Tournament since it was instituted in 1982;
• 21-7 at Gund/Quicken Loans Arena, the site of the MAC Tournament;
• 52-7 in all non-conference home games since the start of the 2003-04 season;
• 10-17 in 17 national postseason appearances (including a 3-11 record in the NCAA Championships and a 7-6 mark in WNIT trips);
• 9-10 in national postseason action since Roos arrived at BG (including a 2-5 mark in the NCAAs and a 7-5 record in the WNIT); and
• 47-10 in the Stroh Center, with seven losses coming by a total of 17 points.

MAKE IT TOUGH FOR THEM TO SCORE
Just prior to Christmas, the Falcons ranked 18th in the nation in scoring defense, as BGSU had surrendered just 53.9 points per game. Now, despite playing the last seven contests with at least 25 percent of the roster sidelined due to injuries, BG still ranks 46th in the nation in scoring defense. The Falcons have allowed 57.3 ppg heading into Saturday's game at Eastern Michigan.

DOUBLE(-DOUBLE) TROUBLE
Junior Miriam Justinger recorded the first double-double of her career in the Ball State game, with a game-high 16 points and a game- and career-best 10 rebounds. Then, at Akron four days later, senior Deborah Hoekstra posted her first career double-double, with 12 points and a career-high 12 boards against the Zips. Hoekstra made it two double-doubles in as many Wednesdays, with a team-high 14 points and a game-best 10 boards vs. Northern Illinois. Other than Justinger and Hoekstra, redshirt junior Erica Donovan is the only other member of the 2014-15 roster to have recorded a double-double in college. Donovan's six career double-doubles included three in this season's first eight games.

UP NEXT
• Following the Eastern Michigan game, the Falcons will take to the road once again, heading to Kalamazoo for a Wednesday (Jan. 21) matchup with Western Michigan. The WMU contest ends a 15-game stretch in which BG plays away from home 12 times.

• Then, the Brown and Orange will return home to face Miami on Saturday, Jan. 24, with tipoff set for 2:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center. After a trip to Northern Illinois (Jan. 28), BG ends the month of January by facing Toledo (Jan. 31) at the Stroh to begin a two-game homestand.