Syracuse University
Bowling Green
SU Rolls into Bowling Green for Round 2
3/20/2009 9:58:28 AM | Women's Basketball
Game Notes | Listen for Free | Live Stats | WNIT Bracket
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Syracuse (17-14) looks to keep its momentum going after it earned the program's first postseason victory with its 90-65 win against Canisius in the first round of the WNIT at the Carrier Dome on March 16. The victory moves SU into a second-round matchup with Mid-American Conference (MAC) power Bowling Green (28-4). Syracuse will play the Falcons at 2 p.m. Sunday in Anderson Arena. The game can also be heard live for free on SUAthletics.com and WTLA AM 1200. Live statistics and video will also be available on bgsufalcons.com. The winner of the SU-BGSU matchup would play either Dayton or Indiana sometime between March 25-27.
Second Round Bout with Bowling Green
BGSU earned the MAC's automatic berth in the WNIT by virtue of winning the league's regular-season title. The Falcons have won the MAC's regular-season crown in each of the last five seasons, and 2009 marks BG's fifth-consecutive appearance in a national postseason tournament.
This season marks the second consecutive and third time overall the Falcons have played in the WNIT. BGSU has a 1-2 record in the tourney. The Falcons hosted Butler in 1998, losing 95-90 at Anderson Arena in the team's first appearance. Last March, the BGSU picked up a home win against Dayton before losing at Michigan State, 74-66, two days later.
BGSU has posted a 13-0 record at Anderson Arena this season to date, and the Falcons' 18-game homecourt winning streak is tied for the sixth-longest such streak in the country.
The Falcons boast the 2008-09 MAC Player of the Year in sophomore guard Lauren Prochaska. Prochaska leads the club with 17.0 points a game and is second on the team with 6.2 rebounds per trip. She is also an assassin from the charity stripe, owning the country's best mark from the line with a 93.6 percent (146-156) conversion rate.
The First Time BGSU-SU Meeting
Syracuse has faced Bowling Green one time with the Orange picking up a 71-67 win (Nov. 29, 1997). The game was held in Orlando, Fla., as part of the UCF Turkey Shootout. SU went on to claim that eight-team, three-day tournament with a convincing victory against host UCF in the title game. Current BGSU head coach Curt Miller was an assistant on Syracuse's staff at the time.
Miller as an Orange
The Orange accrued a 39-70 overall mark during Miller's four seasons (1994-95 - 1997-98) at Syracuse. The Orange was 25-47 in BIG EAST play over that same stretch. Syracuse was the BIG EAST 7 Co-Champions in 1995-96.
Binding Bowling Green Ties
The Orange and Falcons have deeper connections than one might first think. For starters, BGSU current head coach Curt Miller was an assistant coach at SU for four seasons (1994-95 - 1997-98). Miller was on the Orange sideline in the only meeting (Nov. 29, 1997) between the two universities.
Current Syracuse softball head coach Leigh Ross recorded an eight-year record of 237-198-2 at Bowling Green and was the first coach in Falcon softball history to reach 200 career victories.
Syracuse softball associate head coach Kyle Jamieson spent 2003-06 as an assistant coach on Leigh Ross' staff at Bowling Green.
Abby Habicht, current softball graduate assistant coach, was a four-year starter for Ross at Bowling Green and earned All-Mid-American Conference First Team honors as a senior.
Orange Momentum
Senior guard Chandrea Jones attained her club-best 13th double-double of the season with a game-high 26 points and 12 rebounds in Syracuse's 90-65 postseason victory against Canisius. Jones, who was Syracuse's sixth player to be named to the All-BIG EAST Conference First Team, is now just three points shy of arriving at the 1,000-point plateau after her 9-of-19 (.474 percent) performance from the floor. The Baltimore, Md. native is fourth on the SU ledger for most double-doubles in a single season.
Syracuse's 90 points was the second highest aggregate this year after the Orange hung 93 points on Niagara on Dec. 14, 2008. The Orange eclipsed a season high in field-goal percentage by converting half of its attempts (34-68), including a season-best 47.6 percent (10-21) clip from behind the arc.
Sophomore guard Tasha Harris posted a career-high with six rebounds, matched a personal best with 10 points and dished out a game-best six assists in the win against the Golden Griffins. Harris also equaled a season-high with three steals (Nov. 16, 2008 at Maryland Eastern Shore) in the triumph. Freshman guard Tyler Ash tied a career-high with eight points in the victorious effort.
