Congratulations to an Outstanding Senior Class!

Seniors Tracy Pontius, Lauren Prochaska, Maggie Hennegan, Chelsea Albert, Jen Uhl and Kelly Zuercher will be playing their last game - and the last women's basketball game ever - in Anderson Arena on Wednesday, March 2nd

On February 1st, with a hard-fought 67-64 win on the road at Northern Illinois, our 2011 Senior Class of Chelsea Albert, Maggie Hennegan, Tracy Pontius, Lauren Prochaska, Jen Uhl, and Kelly Zuercher, achieved their 100th career victory. They became just the 6th class in BGSU History to achieve this milestone, and the 5th straight recruiting class of the current staff to do so.

Heading into what should be a very special, very historical evening, this senior class will be going for their 107th win. This Senior Night will not only be special because it is a chance to honor such an outstanding group of ladies in their last home game ever, but it is the last game ever to be played by the women’s basketball team in Anderson Arena. We will be saying goodbye to six unbelievable young women, and to over 60 years of incredible basketball history and tradition in one of the best places to play in the country.

Please come out this Wednesday, March 2nd, and say goodbye to the 2011 Senior Class of Chelsea Albert, Maggie Hennegan, Tracy Pontius, Lauren Prochaska, Jen Uhl, and Kelly Zuercher, and help us Close the Doors on the House that Roars for the last time!

20 Win Seasons

On February 12th, when we won a hard fought game at Eastern Michigan (with the help of an amazing show of support from our fans who made the short trek to Ypsilanti, outnumbering their fans 3 to 1!), it pushed our record to 20-4 overall – a MAC Record 8th CONSECUTIVE 20 WIN SEASON! BG, with our storied history and rich tradition, has more 20 win seasons than any other program in the MAC!

Currently, with our overall record now standing at 23-4, we have won at least 21 games in each of the last 8 seasons – and an astounding 23 wins or more in each of the last 7 seasons!
And even more impressive, over the last eight seasons, we have averaged 26 wins per year! After going 21-35 in the rebuilding phase of the program in his first two years, Coach Miller has gone 208-49 (.809 winning percentage) since then!

Twenty wins has long been a benchmark for successful programs - a goal that all teams hope to achieve come seasons’ end. Most players are lucky to achieve this mark once in their careers. Most coaches can count their total amount of 20 win seasons on one hand. Achieving a MAC record 8th straight 20-win season is a testament to not only Head Coach Curt Miller and staff, it is the legacy of a fantastic group of young women, and the unbelievable love and support of the BG Community and our fans!

Please come out this Saturday and see if we can add to that win total, as we take on Kent State for the East Division Championship! 12pm at Anderson Arena – hope to see you there!

Simply One of the Best!

From Left to Right, Jackie (Motycka) Mossing, Lauren Prochaska, and Head Coach Curt Miller, honor Lauren after breaking Jacki's 22 year old BGSU career scoring record.

This past Valentine’s Day The Atlanta Tipoff Club announced the 2010-11 finalists for the Naismith Trophy, the most prestigious individual award in women’s college basketball, awarded to its best player. Only 30 individuals of the thousands of women’s basketball players across the country have made this list, and it is with great pride and pleasure to know that BGSU Senior Lauren Prochaska has been named a finalist! Even more impressive, she one of just six players on the list named from a mid-major university. This is an incredible honor, and we are so very happy and proud of Lauren!

But not totally surprised. Let’s face it – Lauren Prochaska is one of those special players that comes along once every few decades – if you’re lucky. We, as a team and program, as well as the BGSU community and our fans, have been blessed to have Lauren as a part of our Falcon Family. On February 5, 2011, on Alumni Day, against Ball State, Lauren had a typical performance, with 21 points (on just 14 shots), with 9 rebounds (4 offensive), and led us to a big win against Ball State. But no points were bigger than the two she got mid-way through the second half, when Lauren posted up a smaller guard from Ball State and made a lay-up, giving her the ALL-TIME scoring record in BGSU history! As if it were fate, not only was this Alumni Day, but it was the presentation of the All-Anderson Team, honoring 13 of the best women’s basketball players in BG history, including Lauren. Not only that, but Jackie (Motycka) Mossing, who had held the BGSU scoring record for 22 years, was there to present Lauren with the game ball after the victory, as she too was named to the All-Andereson team. It was truly a special evening, for a very special group of women, all part of a very special basketball program.

Three regular season games, and whatever we can do in the MAC Tournament, and hopefully a post-season tournament– that’s all that remains in Lauren’s career as a BGSU Falcon. Of the three remaining regular season games, two are home games – Saturday, February 26th vs Kent State (MAC TV Game of the Week, and the East Division Championship on the line!), and Wednesday, March 2nd vs Buffalo (Senior Night). Few chances remain to see one of the greatest players in the storied history of BGSU Women’s Basketball. Don’t miss your chance to see Lauren and the Falcons press on in their effort to win an unprecedented 7th divisional championship!

Editor’s Note: The evening this blog was to be posted (2/23/11), Lauren yet again showed us just how special she is, hitting a game-winning 3 pointer at Akron to push our record to 11-3 in the MAC, 23-4 overall, and in a showdown for the East Division Championship this Saturday (2/26/11) vs Kent State!

A Special Message from Coach Miller

There may be no busier time of the year as a staff than the home stretch of the season and tournament time, but I had to take a moment to send out a huge THANK YOU to all of the fans who made the trip up to Ypsilanti on Saturday to help us to an extremely important road win! Our crowd was INCREDIBLE! A sea of orange that stretched from our bench all the way to just behind the Eastern Michigan bench, filling the entire lower bowl! An unbelievable crowd, rewarded with an unbelievable effort from senior Lauren Prochaska. Her 37 points (2nd highest in BG history!) and 12 rebounds were only part of the story, as she was just as incredible at the defensive end, shutting down one of the best players in the league in Cassie Schrock (3 pts on 1/12 shooting, and she averages over 18 points a game!).

Our players respond to our fans and feed off their energy, and there is no doubt in my mind we never would have pulled out that tough road win if it weren’t for the amazing crowd support we had behind us! This was in no small part due to the efforts of several people, but I want to give a special thanks to friend and supporter Dennis Vereb, who was the brainchild behind the efforts to get a big crowd to support us in Ypsilanti. Thank you, Dennis, for such a successful endeavor, and assist in creating a crowd that carried us to a huge win!

With the home stretch upon us, we need YOUR support in the stands more than ever! There are just 5 regular season games left to see not only one of the greatest individual players in BGSU history, but one of the best senior classes to come through the program! Our remaining schedule:

- HOME vs Ohio on Wednesday, February 16th
- Away at Miami on Saturday, February 19th
- Away at Akron on Tuesday, February 22nd
- HOME vs Kent on Saturday, February 26th
- HOME vs Buffalo on Wednesday, March 2nd

Thanks again to all the fans that came out to support us at EMU, and to Dennis for making it happen! And, PLEASE, come on out and support us as we make a run at an unprecedented 7th straight divisional championship!

Roll Along,
Head Coach Curt Miller

An Example of Why We Have the BEST Fans in Women's Basketball!

This could be the seen in Ypsilanti tomorrow at 2pm!

Justin Zenz, our Ticket Manager here at BG, sent an e-mail to us informing us that, as of yesterday, we had SOLD OUT the 150 pre-sale tickets we were given for the Eastern Michigan game at Ypsilanti! Combine this with walk-ups and the families of the players and coaches, and we will have more fans at the EMU game than a lot of MAC teams have for their home games! Just another example of why we have the BEST Fans in Women’s Basketball!

Do not fret if you haven’t gotten your ticket for the game in Ypsilanti! EMU has graciously offered that, if you go to the game and wear BG gear or even simply tell them you are supporting BG, they will give you the group rate discount of $3 a ticket! Or, if you would like to go for FREE, simply wear a RED shirt! EMU, in an effort to pack the house against us, has dubbed this game “Go Red for Green”, and, in a show of support for the American Heart Association, anyone wearing red will get into the game free! Just make sure that you’re wearing your ORANGE underneath!!

A big thanks to the 150+ who have already got their tickets and will be there to support us in a HUGE game! And please, if you haven’t already gotten your ticket, remember that you can simply wear your orange and go to the game for $3, or wear some red – with your orange underneath – and go for free! Our team THRIVES playing in front of our fans, and so the more we have that make the short trip to Ypsilanti, the better our chances of beating an outstanding EMU team that we are currently tied for 2nd with! Hope to see you tomorrow at 2pm in Ypsilanti!!

We Need Your Help!!

The support at Anderson Arena is second to none! We need YOUR help to bring this same atmosphere on the road to Ypsilanti this Saturday!

This coming Saturday (2/12/11), BGSU Women’s Basketball will be heading less than an hour north to Ypsilanti, MI, for a HUGE battle at Eastern Michigan - and we are asking for the Falcon Faithful to make the short trip and help us earn a big road win. There are many, many reasons to make the trip - here are just a few:

- It’s the shortest road trip of the season. (68 miles!)
- The BGSU Ticket Office has purchased tickets at a reduced group rate price, so tickets through our ticket office will cost just $3.
- Both BG and EMU are 7-3 in MAC play – so this game has tremendous implications for seeding for the MAC Tournament.
- We are currently tied with Kent State for the East Division title, making every game vital to our chance at winning an unprecedented 7th straight divisional title!
- Our men are playing at Central Michigan, so we’re the closest basketball game BG will have this Saturday.
- The six seniors, including Lauren Prochaska, who in the last game became the all-time leading scorer in BGSU History, have just 6 regular season games left – it’s another chance to see one of the best classes in BG History! (Just became the 6th class in history to win 100 games!)

But the most important reason to take this short trip to EMU and support the Falcons? NOTHING motivates this team more than our fans! Simply put, we have the BEST women’s basketball fans in the MAC – as good as any in the country! It’s what makes it so difficult for opponents to play at Anderson Arena, and why we have one of the best home records in the country over the last few years! With such an important road game being so close to BG, help bring that home atmosphere up to Ypsilanti! There is no doubt our players thrive playing for our fans, and so the more we can have in Ypsilanti to support us, the better our chances! And early weather reports say it's going to be a great day! (Unless you're an EMU fan!)

To summarize:
Who: BGSU at Eastern Michigan
Where: Ypsilanti, MI (68 miles north of BG)
When: 2pm this Saturday, February 12th
Cost: Tickets can be purchased through the BGSU Ticket Office for $3 (877-BGSU Ticket)

Please come out and help us beat the Eagles in this HUGE road game!