Falcon Fodder

BG women’s hoops -- Scouting report on Wyoming

Here's a more in-depth look at Wyoming, the Falcons' opponent Thursday, Dec. 29, in Laramie, Wy. ...

OVERVIEW: The Cowgirls of coach Joe Legerski enter this contest with a 4-7 record but have won three of their last four overall, including the last two home contests. Last season Wyoming finished with a 24-9 record, including a 12-4 mark in the Mountain West Conference. The Cowgirls advanced to the Women's NIT last season, reaching the third round before losing in the third round. This season Wyoming, which lost four starters and six letterwinners from last season, were picked to tie for fifth place in the MWC in a pre-season league poll.

ALL-TIME MEETINGS: This is the first meeting of the two schools.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Cowgirls are led by junior forward Ashley Sickles, who averages 13.9 points per game. Sickles shoots 51.8 percent from the field and also averages 6.3 rebounds per game; she also has a team-high 11 blocked shots. ... Junior forward Chaundra Sewell is second on the team in scoring with 12.1 points per game and leads the team with 9.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per contest. Sewell averages better than four offensive rebounds per game. ... Freshman guard Kaitlyn Mileto also is in double figures in scoring with 10.4 ppg. She leads Wyoming with 18 3-pointers made. ... Freshman forward Kayla Woodward averages 8.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Woodward also has made 13 3-pointers, second-most on the team. ... Sophomore guard Chelan Landry is the Cowgirls' typical fifth starter, averaging 4.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game while adding 2.2 assists per game. ... Wyoming is shooting just 37.6 percent from the field, a number that is weighed down by 23.3 percent shooting on 3-point attempts. The Cowgirls even struggle from the foul line, connected on just 65.9 percent of their attempts. ... Wyoming's opponents are shooting better, but not by a lot, making 40.6 percent of their field goals and 34.0 percent of their 3-pointers. ... The Cowgirls are a tall team, with all five starters standing at least 5-9 -- in fact, the 5-9 Landry is the shortest person on the team. Still, Wyoming is being outrebounded by a narrow 36.5-36.4 margin. ... The turnover margin is just as close, as Wyoming has 138 turnovers and its opponents have 137.

BG KEYS TO VICTORY: 1. Keep your eyes on the prize. Both teams have struggled to shoot well from the field this season. Taking -- and making -- good shots, especially from the arc, will be important to BG, as will forcing missing from the Cowgirls, especially if it can sew the seeds of doubt for their offense. 2. Hit the boards. While Wyoming doesn't have impressive rebounding numbers, their overall team size is impressive. Rebounding must be an entire-team effort for the Falcons. 3. The best of the Rockies is yours. Playing at altitude won't be easy, since the "thin" air can fatigue a team. The entire BG roster must be ready for extended playing time, and don't be surprised if coach Curt Miller goes for frequent lineup changes and shorter "shifts" on the court.

GAME NOTES: Tipoff is at 9 p.m. local time. ... This game will not be televised but can be heard on 88.1 FM. … The Falcons are 2-2 on the road this season, while Wyoming is 3-3 at home. ... The next game for BG is on the road as the Falcons play at Colorado State on Saturday, Dec. 31. ... The next contest for BG at the Stroh Center is in the Falcons' Mid-American Conference opener against Kent State on Wednesday, Jan. 4 starting at 7 p.m.

BG men’s hoops -- Scouting report on Duquesne

Here's a more in-depth look at Duquesne, the Falcons' opponent Wednesday, Dec. 28, in Pittsburgh. ...

OVERVIEW: The Dukes of coach Ron Everhart enter this contest with a 7-5 record, having split their last eight games. Duquesne finished with a 19-13 record last season, including a 10-6 mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference. This season the Dukes were predicted to finish ninth in the A-10. Duquesne is 1-1 against MAC schools this year with a win over Akron and a loss to Western Michigan. BG is 1-1 against A-10 schools with a win over Temple and a loss to George Washington.

ALL-TIME MEETINGS: Duquesne holds a 16-9 advantage all-time over the Falcons, and the Dukes have won the last three meetings in the series. Last year Duquesne claimed a lopsided 90-54 win over BG at Anderson Arena.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Dukes are led by junior guard Sean Johnson, who averages a team-best 15.5 points and has made a team-high 17 3-pointers while shooting 37.0 percent from behind the arc, and has a fine 50.4 percent shooting mark from the field overall. ... Senior swingman B.J. Monteiro is second on the team in scoring with 13.4 points per game and leads the team with 4.8 rebounds per contest. Monteiro also is second on the team with 12 blocked shots. ... Senior guard Eric Evans also is in double figures in scoring with 11.4 ppg. He ranks third on the team with 10 3-pointers made, and he is second on the team with 34 assists. ... Sophomore guard T.J. McConnell is a fourth Dukes player scoring in double figures, averaging 10.6 points per game. McConnell leads the team with 6.0 assists per game and ranks second nationally in steals with 3.2 per contest. ... Duquesne has a solid 46.5 shooting percentage from the field but is making just 30.2 percent of its 3-pointers. The Dukes' struggles have been on defense, where opponents are making 45.9 percent of their shots and 38.4 percent of their 3's. ... Duquesne also has been outrebounded by more than eight boards per game (29.3 for the Dukes, 37.8 for opponents). ... The Dukes do a fine job of forcing turnovers, creating almost 19 per game while turning the ball over just 12 times per contest.

BG KEYS TO VICTORY: 1. Hang onto the ball. Duquesne is scoring more points than opponents not because it shoots better, but because it gets more shots -- by creating turnovers. BG needs to limit its turnovers and get the Dukes to commit more to turn the tables. 2. Pass the boards. In recent games, rebounding has been a key stat for BG: when it outrebounds the opposition, it wins, and when it doesn't, it doesn't. Duquesne has struggled on the boards, so outrebounding the Dukes gives the Falcons a chance for more points. 3. Keep it rolling. The Falcons earned their first road win of the season in their last game, and this would be a good time to keep that momentum flowing. BG can really win add a quality win to its resume with a victory over the Dukes.

GAME NOTES: Tipoff is at 7 p.m. local time. ... This game will not be televised but can be heard on 99.1 FM, 1470 AM and 1280 AM. … The Falcons are 1-4 on the road this season, while Duquesne is 4-1 at home. ... The next game for BG is on the road as the Falcons play at Texas-San Antonio on Sunday, Jan. 1. ... The next contest for BG at the Stroh Center is in the Falcons' Mid-American Conference opener against Ohio on Saturday, Jan. 7 starting at 6 p.m.

Falcon football overview: Special teams

Here is the ninth and final part of a position-by-position analysis of the Bowling Green football team following the 2011 season. The analysis for Friday, Dec. 23 takes a closer look at the special teams positions.

TWITTER POST: Falcons are strong at punter (Schmiedebusch) and in returns (Gates) and solid in kick & punt coverage; still questions about the kickers

THIS YEAR’S LEADERS: Sophomore Brian Schmiedebusch handled the punting and was voted All-MAC first team by the league’s coaches. He averaged 45.3 yards per kick, fifth-best in the country, and helped the Falcons average 40.6 yards in net punting, also fifth-best among Division I FBS schools. … Sophomore BooBoo Gates returned kickoffs and averaged 25.8 yards per return, the fifth-best average in school history. Gates was named All-MAC second team in kickoff returns. … Redshirt junior Stephen Stein took over the placekicking duties in the Miami contest. He made 24-of-25 extra points and 8-of-11 field goals, with a long of 39 yards. Stein also had six kickoffs and averaged 62 yards per kick with one touchback. … Sophomore Kyle Burkhardt started the season as the Falcons’ kicker, making 13-of-16 extra points and 1-of-2 field goals, with a long of 39 yards. He also did most of BG’s kickoffs, averaging 57.7 yards per kick with one touchback and five kicks that went out of bounds. … Redshirt junior Jerry Phillips handled eight kickoffs for BG before suffering an injury. Phillips averaged 65.9 yards per kickoff, with one going out of bounds.

LAST YEAR’S LOSSES: The Falcons blocked four kicks last season, and the three blocked punts were all blocked by seniors: Keith Morgan blocked one and Ray Hutson blocked two. … Senior Steven Dunlap was second on the team with 11 kickoffs returned for 210 yards, or 19.1 yards per kick. … Senior Eugene Cooper spent most of the season as BG’s punt returner. He returned 17 punts for 102 yards, or an average of 6.0 yards per return.

BY THE NUMBERS: Sophomore Brian Schmiedebusch ranked second in the Mid-American Conference and fifth nationally with his average of 45.3 yards per punt. His 81-yard punt against Idaho was the longest for a MAC punter all season. … Sophomore BooBoo Gates was fourth in the MAC with his average of 25.8 yards per kickoff return. Gates was one of three MAC players to return a kickoff for a touchdown. … Senior Eugene Cooper ranked seventh in the MAC with his average of 6.0 yards per punt return. … Junior Stephen Stein ranked ninth in the MAC with his average of 4.8 kick points per game. Stein’s extra-point percentage made (96.0 percent) ranked eighth in the MAC.

NEWCOMERS OF NOTE: One player who redshirted as freshman but could make an impact next fall is kicker Tyler Tate. … Several players who redshirted last season also could make an impact in the return game, most notably Travis Green.

CONSIDER THIS: With Brian Schmiedebusch returning, the punting game is solid. With sophomore BooBoo Gates returning, the kickoff and punt return games are solid. But there are two questions: First, who will take over the mantle of “special teams specialists” handled so well last season by graduated seniors such as Ray Hutson and Steven Dunlap? Second, is Stephen Stein the answer at kicker, or will Kyle Burkhardt or Tyler Tate earn the job heading into next season?

FALCON FODDER FEARLESS FORECAST:  The Falcons will continue to be strong in the punting game, and the return games will be in good hands. But the uncertainty of the place-kicking position needs to be resolved. There seems to be no movement towards signing another kicker in recruiting this season, so one of the incumbents needs to step forward and handle the duties. Falcon fans can expect that the kicking competition will be a point of emphasis in the spring.

Click here to read the Dec. 12 analysis of the quarterback position. Click here to read the Dec. 13 analysis of the running back position. Click here to read the Dec. 14 analysis of the wide receiver position. Click here to read the Dec. 16 analysis of the tight end/fullback position. Click here to read the Dec. 19 analysis of the offensive line positions. Click here to read the Dec. 20 analysis of the defensive line. Click here to read the Dec. 21 analysis of the linebackers. Click here to read the Dec. 22 analysis of the secondary and rovers.

BG men’s hoops -- Scouting report on Florida International

Here's a more in-depth look at Florida International, the Falcons' opponent Thursday, Dec. 22, in Miami, Fla. ...

OVERVIEW: The Golden Panthers of coach Isiah Thomas enter this contest with a 3-8 record, having lost four of their last five games. Thomas is a former Indiana standout (who led the Hoosiers to the 1981 NCAA title) who played in the NBA for the Detroit Pistons. Thomas was an 11-time NBA all-star who was voted one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history. His Panthers finished with a 11-19 record last season, including a 5-11 mark in the Sun Belt Conference. This season FIU was predicted to finish fifth in the East Division of the Sun Belt.

ALL-TIME MEETINGS: This is the third meeting between the Falcons and Florida International. The previous two took place in the past two seasons, and BG won both games at Anderson Arena. Dee Brown scored 20 points in the Falcons' 67-62 win two years ago, then finished with a career-high 24 in Bowling Green's 76-67 win last season.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Panthers are led by senior guard DeJuan Wright, a pre-season All-Sun Belt Conference second team choice. Wright suffered a leg injury in FIU's loss to Maryland and did not play against Dayton; he averages a team-best 15.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest. ... Sophomore guard Phil Taylor is second on the team in scoring with 14.0 points per game and leads the team with 4.5 assists per game. Taylor also leads the team with 20 3-pointers. ... Senior guard Jeremy Allen is the Panthers' other double-figures scorer with 12.2 ppg. He ranks second on the team with 19 3-pointers made, and his 32 steals is easily the team's highest total -- he has more than one-third of the team's steal total. ... Sophomore forward Dominique Ferguson averages 8.0 points per game after a career-high 20 points in the loss to Dayton. He also is second on the team in rebounding with his average of 6.6 per contest, and Ferguson leads the team in blocked shots with 12. ... Florida International is shooting 41.7 percent from the field, including 33.5 percent on 3-pointers. The problem is that opponents shoot 46.9 percent against the Golden Panthers. ... FIU is close to even with its opponents in rebounding (the Panthers average 30.4 rpg, opponents 32.2) and turnovers (FIU has 175, opponents 170).

BG KEYS TO VICTORY: 1. Score some points. The Panthers have struggled on defense, and BG needs to take advantage of that. It will be interesting to watch how FIU defends Dee Brown, who has played well against the Golden Panthers twice. 2. The "D" is the key. If the Panthers don't have DeJuan Wright, their leading scorer, things will get tougher offensively for a team that doesn't average 60 points per game. Checking the other guards on this perimeter-dominated team will be the biggest task for the BG defense. 3. 40 for 1. The Falcons need a 40-minute effort similar to the 32 strong minutes they played at Michigan State. If there isn't a letdown similar to the first eight minutes of the second half at MSU, BG has a chance to claim its first road win of the season.

GAME NOTES: Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. local time. ... This game will not be televised but can be heard on 99.1 FM, 1470 AM and 1280 AM. … The Falcons are hoping to claim their first road win of the season after four road losses. ... The next game for BG is on the road as the Falcons play at Duquesne on Wednesday, Dec. 28. On New Year's Day the Falcons face Texas-San Antonio. ... The next contest for BG at the Stroh Center is in the Falcons' Mid-American Conference opener against Ohio on Saturday, Jan. 7 starting at 6 p.m.

Falcon football overview: Defensive backs

Here is the eighth part of a position-by-position analysis of the Bowling Green football team following the 2011 season. The analysis for Thursday, Dec. 22 takes a closer look at the defensive back and rover positions.

TWITTER POST: Lots of returnees in defensive backfield for Falcons, including Gates at rover, McKoy/Hunter/Truss at corner & Foster/Ward at safety

THIS YEAR’S LEADERS: Sophomore BooBoo Gates started all 12 games at rover and finished second on the team in tackles with 73, including two tackles for loss and one sack. He also led the team with two interceptions and also had three passes broken up and two quarterback “hurries” as well as one forced fumble. … Sophomore Aaron Foster started 10 of 12 games at “whip” safety and tied for third on the team with 69 tackles. Foster also broke up three passes and forced a fumble. … Redshirt freshman Ryland Ward started all 12 games at “stud” safety and tied with Foster for third with 69 tackles. Ward also had one interception and three passes broken up. … Redshirt sophomore Cameron Truss started 10 games at cornerback and had 52 tackles, sixth-best on the team. He also had one interception and broke up a team-high eight passes. … Redshirt freshman DeVon McKoy started seven games for the Falcons at cornerback and played in eight, finishing with 34 tackles and breaking up four passes. … True freshman Darrell Hunter started six games at cornerback and played in 10, finishing with 32 tackles, one interception and five passes broken up. … Redshirt freshman Jude Adjei-Barimah played in all 12 games, started at West Virginia, and finished with 14 tackles. … True freshman Brian Sutton played in 11 games and finished with eight tackles.

LAST YEAR’S LOSSES: Senior rover Keith Morgan played in 11 games and finished ninth on the team with 35 tackles, including 3.5 for loss. Morgan also had two passes broken up and recovered a pair of fumbles. … Senior safety Jovan Leacock started two games and played all 12, finishing with 24 tackles. ... Senior Adrien Spencer, who started 19 games in his BG career, also has graduated.

BY THE NUMBERS: Sophomore BooBoo Gates ranked 33rd in the Mid-American Conference in tackles with 6.1 per game, while sophomore Aaron Foster was tied for 46th in the MAC with 5.8 tackles and redshirt freshman Ryland Ward was 50th with 5.7 tackles per game. … Redshirt sophomore Cameron Truss was 15th in the MAC with 7.0 passes defended (interceptions plus passes broken up) per contest.

NEWCOMERS OF NOTE: Two players who redshirted as freshman but could make an impact next fall are Johnny Joseph and Dernard Turner.

CONSIDER THIS: There may be some switching of positions in the defensive backfield. Sophomore BooBoo Gates moved to “stud” safety against Buffalo and will get an extended look at that position in the spring. If Gates moves, that means the Falcons will be without both of their rovers from last season, which would necessitate another position switch. Options at rover range from Aaron Foster to Jude Adjei-Barimah to Gabe Martin.

FALCON FODDER FEARLESS FORECAST:  The Falcons are young in the secondary, but there also is talent. What’s more, there is some depth, which will lead to competition – and, hopefully, improvement. One number BG needs to improve next season is the six interceptions in 12 games.

Friday, Dec. 23: Special teams.

Click here to read the Dec. 12 analysis of the quarterback position. Click here to read the Dec. 13 analysis of the running back position. Click here to read the Dec. 14 analysis of the wide receiver position. Click here to read the Dec. 16 analysis of the tight end/fullback position. Click here to read the Dec. 19 analysis of the offensive line positions. Click here to read the Dec. 20 analysis of the defensive line. Click here to read the Dec. 21 analysis of the linebackers.

BiG look at Madonna win

The BG women's basketball team claimed an easy 91-41 over Madonna Wednesday night at the Stroh Center. The Falcons rolled to an easy 42-13 lead in the first half and cruised to a 50-point victory. Let's take a closer look ...

BiG TWITTER POST: Falcons used a big defensive 1st half for 42-13 lead, then big offensive 2nd half to cruise to 91-41 win over Madonna at the Stroh Wednesday

BiG GAME STORY: This contest never was close. The Falcons scored the first 10 points of the game, then used an 8-0 run to lead 28-9 and followed up with a 10-0 run to make the score 38-11. BG led 42-13 at halftime. Bowling Green's lead hovered around 30 points until there were 10 minutes left in the second half. Then the Falcons used a 24-7 finish to build the final margin.

BiG OVERVIEW: The Falcons, who saw 12 of 13 players score, were led by 14 points from Noelle Yoder. Jessica Slagle and Danielle Havel each added 13 points. Chrissy Steffen had nine points, while three players -- Alexis Rogers, Jasmine Matthews and Jillian Halfhill -- each had seven.

BiG PLAY: There usually isn't one "big play" when a team wins by 50 points, and this contest is no exception. But here was a play that was important to the offense, and it came on the first possession of the second half. Bowling Green had missed its first nine 3-pointers and was 2-for-14 (14.3 percent) on 3-point shots in the first half. But on the Falcons' first possession of the second half, Chrissy Steffen buried a 3-pointer, and on the second Danielle Havel hit a 3-pointer. BG went on to make 11-of-17 3-pointers (64.7 percent) in the second half.

BiG PLAYER OF THE GAME: Sophomore guard Noelle Yoder was one of the team's sparkplugs off the bench in the first half, scoring five points and grabbing three rebounds in just five minutes. In the second half she exploded, adding nine points (on three 3-pointers) and adding two more rebounds in 10 minutes. That made her game totals 14 points (on 5-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-7 3-pointers) and five rebounds -- in just 15 minutes. Now that is productive.

BiG NUMBERS: There were two numbers that stood out in Wednesday's boxscore. One was the Falcons' 60-27 edge in rebounding, which came in part from 24 offensive rebounds. That number was especially impressive when you consider that Madonna had just 20 defensive rebounds -- BG grabbed more of its misses than the Crusaders did. Jill Stein had a career-high 11 boards, while Alexis Rogers and Danielle Havel had eight each. ... The other number that jumped off the page was the Falcons' 25 assists on 33 baskets. That means BG had assists on more than 75 percent of its baskets. Jillian Halfhill led the way with five assists, while Logan Pastor had four.

BiG NOTE: The last time the Falcons claimed a 50-point victory was almost exactly nine years to the date of this contest. On Dec. 22, 2002, BG defeated Savannah State 89-39.

BiG QUESTION: Can the Falcons iron out the flaws exposed in this contest? Offensive, it took the team a half to really get untracked on offense, as BG made just 39.5 percent of its first-half shots. In the second half the defense struggled early, as Madonna was 7-for-11 from the field in the first eight minutes.

MORE INFO: Click here to read the pre-game notes about the game, and click here to read halftime stats and thoughts about the game. Click here to read the game story from the contest. Click here to view a photo gallery from the contest.

Twitter feed from BG women's win over Madonna

Man, I Tweet a lot during games. Want to read what I've Tweeted, all conveniently combined in one file? Your wish is my command (earliest Tweets are at the bottom, most-recent at the top) ...

jwagnerblade JWagnerBlade

#BGSU women's hoops: FINAL from the Stroh Center ... #BG 91, Madonna 41. 12 score for #BG, which improves to 8-3 overall and 6-1 at Stroh.

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#BGSU women's hoops: #BG leads Madonna 86-37 at 3:38 media timeout. W/ back-2-back 3's by Eli, 11 #Falcons have scored.

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#BGSU women's hoops: Madonna has played better offensively in 2nd half: 10-for-19 (52.6%) FGs, 3-for-8 on 3's (37.5%), just 3 turnovers.

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#BGSU women's hoops: #Falcons lead Madonna 77-37 at 6:48 media timeout. #Falcons are 7-for-10 on 3's in 2nd half (11-for-20 FGs overall).

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#BGSU women's hoops: Coach Miller looks "subdued" on #BG bench. Saving up for final push? #Falcons lead Madonna 70-36 w/ 9:17 left in 2nd.

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#BGSU women's hoops: Better link to halftime stats & thoughts ... bit.ly/sTNEN8

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#BGSU women's hoops: #Falcons lead Madonna 64-30 at 11:57 media timeout. Havel has 13 pts, Slagle 9, Yoder 8, Rogers & Matthews 7.

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#BGSU women's hoops: Remember how #Falcons were 2-for-14 (14.3%) in 1st half? #BG is 5-for-7 (71.4%) on 3's in 2nd half ...

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#BGSU women's hoops: Madonna is 6-for-8 from field in 2nd half, including 2-for-2 on 3-pointers. In case you wondered why Miller is unhappy.

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#BGSU women's hoops: Oh by the way, #BG leads Madonna 59-28 at 14:02 media timeout in 2nd half.

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#BGSU women's hoops: Fortunately, #Falcons have scored 17 in 1st 5:35 ... #BG leads 59-28 w/ 14:25 left in 2nd half.

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#BGSU women's hoops: Remember how Crusaders had just 13 points in 1st half? They now have 15 in under 6 minutes of the 2nd half.

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#BGSU women's hoops: I'm starting to sound like Curt Miller -- picking on #Falcons as they lead Madonna 53-21.

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#BGSU women's hoops: #Falcons struggling to guard pick-and-roll ... Madonna has 8 points in first 3:36 of 2nd half ...

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#BGSU women's hoops: There's only 2 minutes left in halftime, and #BG hasn't returned from lockerroom. #wouldntwanttobeinthere

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#BGSU women's hoops: Halftime stats and thoughts from the Stroh as the #Falcons lead Madonna 42-13. bit.ly/rXrEbT

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#BGSU women's hoops: Halftime at Stroh Center ... #BG 42, Madonna 13. 10 players have scored for #Falcons, 2 for Crusaders.

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#BGSU women's hoops: #BG leads Madonna 39-13 w/ 57.9 seconds left 1st half. #Falcons are 2-13 3's (15.4%) & 6-13 FTs (46.2%).

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#BGSU women's hoops: It wasn't until 2:34 left in 1st half before 2nd Madonna player scored (Pratt); McGrath had 1st 11 points.

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#BGSU women's hoops: At 3:43 media timeout it's #BG 38, Madonna 11. Nine different players have scored for #Falcons.

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#BGSU women's hoops: #BG leads 38-11 w/ 3:55 left in 1st half. Just as bad (maybe worse) is #Falcons' 29-11 rebounding advantage.

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#BGSU women's hoops: #Falcons get 1st 3-pointer w/ 5:42 left in 1st half (Yoder); lead now 32-11

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#BGSU women's hoops: Another reason #Falcons lead by 18 points: #BG holds 22-10 advantage in rebounding.

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#BGSU women's hoops: #Falcons lead Madonna 28-11 at 6:46 media timeout. Madonna's McGrath is 5-6, 1-2 3's; rest of team is 0-for-13, 0-5 3's

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#BGSU women's hoops: #BG leads 28-9 w/ 7:26 left in 1st half ... Havel is 1st to double figures w/ 10 points.

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#BGSU leads Madonna, 24-9, with 8:21 left in 1st half. Kaylee McGrath has all 9 pts for the visitors.

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#BGSU women's hoops: #Falcons lead 24-9 as Madonna calls time w/ 8:21 left 1st half. #BG has 11 FGs so far -- & 7 assists #thatsgood

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#BGSU women's hoops: Madonna calls time w/ 10:40 left and #BG leading 18-7. 11 players have seen action for #Falcons at this point.

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RT @MikeCihon: Rogers has 4 pts, 4 rebs & 2 assists. Also a block and a steal. Media room invitee? <-- I know she'll be excited to join us

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#BGSU women's hoops: #BG leads Madonna 16-7 at 11:33 media timeout. #Falcons are 0-for-7 on 3's so far, 7-for-11 on 2's (63.6%)

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#BGSU women's hoops: No shutout tonight ... Madonna's McGrath hits 3; #BG leads 12-3 w/ 13:30 left 1st half.

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#BGSU women's hoops: At 15:58 media timeout it's #BG 7, Madonna 0. Shutout intact thanks to 0-for-4 shooting and three turnovers.

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#BGSU women's hoops: For those wondering, Slagle at point; Matthews at 2-guard; coach Miller at full alert, already standing & yelling at D.

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#BGSU women's hoops: Starting lineups for tonight's game against Madonna (and there's a switch!), w/ other info as well bit.ly/t0a9El

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RT @JohnniEnne: "Follow #BGSU's best-looking SID, @MikeCIhon, for occasional in-game Twitter updates!” #false <--Now THERE is an endorsement

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#BGSU women's hoops: Getting into the groove for tonight's game against Madonna. Here's the scouting report ... bit.ly/ubetEG

BG women's hoops -- Halftime notes from the Stroh, 12/21

It's halftime at the Stroh Center, and the Falcons are beating Madonna 42-13. Here are a few stats and thoughts ...

BOWLING GREEN STATS:  The Falcons are shooting 17-for-43 from the field (39.5 percent), including 2-for-14 on 3-pointers (14.3 percent). BG also has a dreadful 6-for-13 mark from the foul line (46.2 percent). Danielle Havel leads the Falcons with 10 points, and she is one of 10 players to score for the Falcons. BG has 38 rebounds, including 19 offensive boards, with Alexis Rogers leading the way with seven points and Jill Stein adding six. BG has six turnovers.

MADONNA STATS: The Crusaders are 6-for-29 from the field (20.7 percent), including 1-for-12 on 3-pointers (8.3 percent). Madonna is led in scoring by Kaylee McGrath with 11 points (Heather Pratt has the other two). Madonna has 15 rebounds (McGrath has seven), and the Crusaders have turned the ball over 10 times.

OFFENSIVE THOUGHTS: The Falcons haven't been great offensively. The shooting numbers are poor, especially from behind the 3-point arc. BG has kept the offense rolling with a lot of offensive boards (the Falcons have scooped up roughly two-thirds of their missed shots, which is a rediculous percentage). The shooting has to get better.

DEFENSIVE THOUGHTS: The Falcons are doing decently but not great. The shooting percentage has been good, the coverage of shots from the arc has been good (some of the shots have been from LONG range), and BG has been forcing turnovers. Bowling Green could do a better job of keeping the Crusaders off the offensive boards and force more turnovers.

FOUL TROUBLE: For Bowling Green, no one has more than one foul (there were only three BG fouls called in the first half. ... For Madonna, the only player with three fouls is Michelle Lindsey while two players have two fouls: Kaylee McGrath and Heather Pratt.

BG women's hoops -- Pre-game notes from the Stroh, 12/21

Here are some notes from before the Falcons' women's basketball game against Madonna Wednesday at the Stroh Center. This is a work in progress, so you're welcome to share comments, both good and bad, to make it the best it can be. Here we go ...

PROBABLE STARTERS:  The Falcons are going to go with Jasmine Matthews, Jessica Slagle and Chrissy Steffen at guard and Alexis Rogers and Danielle Havel along the frontline. Matthews replaces Jillian Halfhill, who has started the previous 10 games. This will be the first start of Matthews' career; she is a freshman. ... For Madonna, the starting guards will be Erin Bentley, Heather Pratt and Michelle Lindsey, with Kaylee McGrath and Becca Wojcinski at forward. This is the most-common lineup for the Crusaders this season.

INJURIES: For Bowling Green, freshman Kaila Hulls has been lost for the season with an ACL injury. She had her surgery the Friday before Thanksgiving, and is at the game tonight. ... Junior Simone Eli is in uniform despite the hand injury that caused her to not be in uniform for the first five games this season. ... senior Maribeth Giese has seen her career come to an end because of a medical problem. ... For Madonna, there were no injuries and/or scratches reported.

NOTES: Today's game is not on television but can be heard on 88.1 FM.

FOR MORE INFO: Click here to read a scouting report on Madonna.

Falcon football overview: Linebackers

Here is the seventh part of a position-by-position analysis of the Bowling Green football team following the 2011 season. The analysis for Wednesday, Dec. 21 takes a closer look at the linebacker positions.

TWITTER POST: Woods & Swan provide leadership at linebacker, while Martin & Lynch may be too talented to remain as back-ups – so they may be moved

THIS YEAR’S LEADERS: Junior Dwayne Woods started all 12 games for the Falcons and led the team in tackles with 111, including 14 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. He also had one interception, one other pass broken up and one quarterback “hurry,” forced two fumbles and recovered a pair. Woods was voted All-MAC first team. … Redshirt sophomore Paul Swan started 11 of 12 games and finished fifth on the team with 63 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack. Swan also was credited with one pass broken up and two quarterback “hurries.” … Redshirt freshman D.J. Lynch played in all 12 games and had 43 tackles, including five tackles for loss and three sacks. … Redshirt freshman Gabe Martin played in 11 games and had 25 tackles. He also had one sack, broke up a pass and had two quarterback “hurries.”

LAST YEAR’S LOSSES: At this time, none.

BY THE NUMBERS: Junior Dwayne Woods ranked seventh in the Mid-American Conference in tackles with 9.2 per game. He also tied with teammate Chris Jones for fourth in the MAC with 14 tackles for loss.

CONSIDER THIS: Junior Dwayne Woods has made 269 tackles in his career and has had back-to-back seasons leading the team with more than 100 stops. If Woods matches his total of 111 tackles this season (he had 134 as a sophomore), he will finish his career with 380 stops, which will rank among the top five in program history. What’s more, if he leads the Falcons in tackles next year, it would be the third consecutive season where he has turned that trick. There’s only one other player in school history who has turned that trick (since 1970, when tackle stats were first kept): Kevin O’Neill, who led BG from 1995-97.

FALCON FODDER FEARLESS FORECAST:  Dwayne Woods is one of the best linebackers in the MAC, and Paul Swan is solid as well. But sophomores-to-be D.J. Lynch and Gabe Martin are talented enough to earn extended playing time as well. If the Falcons can find back-ups for Woods and Swan, don’t be surprised if Lynch or Martin –- or both –- are moved to new positions to take advantage of their talent.

Thursday, Dec. 22: The rovers and defensive backs.

Click here to read the Dec. 12 analysis of the quarterback position. Click here to read the Dec. 13 analysis of the running back position. Click here to read the Dec. 14 analysis of the wide receiver position. Click here to read the Dec. 16 analysis of the tight end/fullback position. Click here to read the Dec. 19 analysis of the offensive line positions. Click here to read the Dec. 20 analysis of the defensive line positions.