Putting the 'Student' in Student-Athlete

Putting the ‘Student’ in Student-Athlete
As proud as we are of our program’s success on the basketball court (I promise you, collecting championship rings NEVER gets old!), we are even MORE proud of what our players have accomplished in the classroom! Here are just a few of our academic highlights from the past year – not as fun to look at as our basketball highlight film (thank you Julie Baker!), but equally impressive:
- A 3.5 team GPA for the year - #6 IN THE NATION
- 6 players with a perfect 4.0 in the Fall of ‘09
- 3 players with a perfect 4.0 in the Spring of ‘10
- 14 players posted a Spring semester GPA of 3.2 or higher
- 14 players have a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher
- Maggie Hennegan and Laura Bugher were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team
- Laura Bugher was a finalist for the Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year
- Maggie Hennegan was a finalist for the Junior Scholar Athlete of the Year
- Of the 13 members of the MAC All-Academic Team, BGSU had FIVE team members; no other team had more than one
- This summer, our players posted 19 A’s out of 24 classes taken

This academic success of the student-athlete is not limited to only our program, however. Earlier this week the MAC announced that BGSU earned the 2009-10 MAC Institutional Academic Achievement Award. This annual award is presented to the MAC member who’s student-athletes have earned the highest GPA. With a GPA of 3.107 among our student-athletes, we edged the school up north for this tremendous honor, making it even that much more special!
The academic accolades don’t stop there, as on the heels of winning the MAC Institutional Academic Achievement Award for ALL our student-athletes, our female athletes continued to garner honors as it was announced that BGSU won the 2009-10 Mid-American Conference Faculty Athletic Representatives Academic Achievement Award! This award is designed to recognize the conference institution with the overall highest grade point average of student-athletes based on gender. Though this award is only three years old, our female student-athletes have won it twice!
A huge congratulations to ALL of our student-athletes for the tremendous year of success in the classroom! We are very, very proud that our athletes know they are students first!

2010-11 Non-Conference Schedule

Non-Conference Schedule Announced!
One of the most overlooked aspects of a successful program is how important and vital scheduling is. Not only is it extremely important, but very, very difficult – especially for a successful mid-major. No one wants to play you, and when you’ve won 30 straight regular season games at home, absolutely NO ONE wants to play you at your place! That is what makes the 2010-11 non-conference schedule even more special – we’ll be saying farewell to Anderson Arena with more home games in the non-conference than we’ve had in almost 30 years! Of the 13 non-conference games we’ll play in 2010-11, 7 will be at home! As Coach Miller, the architect of the schedule, says:
“I’m very excited about playing seven non-conference home games in the final season at Anderson Arena. We feel we have put together a very challenging schedule to prepare us for the grueling Mid-American Conference schedule.”
In dissecting this year’s non-conference schedule, it will be more than challenging. Six of the 13 teams on the non-conference slate advanced to national post-season play last year; eight of these 13 won at least 17 games last year, and five of these opponents won 21 or more in 2009-10.
The best coaches understand that scheduling is a vital aspect to a program’s success, and hence it’s no surprise that Coach Miller does a fantastic job scheduling games that fit the needs and goals of our team every year. As he says about the November portion of the schedule:
“We have a very heavy November schedule. We have a veteran team, with six seniors, and they will have to be ready to go right out of the gate.”
That November schedule:
November 12th - At Evansville (Missouri Valley Champions 2 of last 3 years)
November 15th – Vs Creighton (21-11, WNIT 2nd Round last year)
November 17th – Vs Youngstown St (former Akron Asst. Bob Bolden 1st yr as head coach)
November 20th – Vs Oakland (17 wins last season)
November 24th – Vs Detroit (17 wins last season)
November 26th – vs Arkansas Little Rock at Seattle Tournament (27-7 last year, advanced to NCAA 2nd round, and returns entire roster).
November 27th – vs Seattle / Montana State (Montana St winners of 18 games last year, with Seattle being the tournament host)

The UALR game will be one of the most challenging of the season, as Coach Miller says:
“The Arkansas Little Rock game is a great matchup. UALR has gotten some early accolades from various websites, and they are being recognized as one of the top mid-major teams in the country. They return almost their entire starting lineup, including a Wade Trophy watch-list player in Chastity Reed.”

December may have fewer games, but the competition is no less formidable, with three home games and three road games during the month:

December Schedule:

December 1st – Vs Vanderbilt (SEC and national power won 20+ games for the 11th straight year, and has been to the NCAA Tournament 11 straight years.)
December 4th – Vs Cal-State Fullerton (won 15 games and graduated just 2 seniors)
December 9th – at Western Kentucky (WNIT, 21-11 last year, with 11-4 home record)
December 11th – at Austin Peay (NCAA Tournament team)
December 21st – Vs Canisius (perennial MAAC power)
December 29th – at Butler (23-10, WNIT, and a 12-2 home record last year)


Vanderbilt may be the ‘big name’ on this season’s schedule, but it is the quality mid-major opponents that make this year’s non-conference schedule so challenging. As Coach Miller goes on to say:

“Our schedule is filled with some of the best mid-major programs in the country. I am pleased to be able to play a lot of games against teams that will have a great chance of winning their respective conferences.”

Our program hopes two things will come of this schedule – 1) that it will prepare us for a run at a 7th straight Mid-American Conference Regular Season Championship and a run to a MAC Tournament title, and 2) that it will get YOU as excited as we are and get you to come out and support us in Anderson Arena’s final year!

Come help us Close the Doors on the House that Roars!

Save the Date!

Sunday, September 19, 2010 will be the date for the Women's Basketball Annual Golf Outing. This is your chance to interact with head coach Curt Miller, his coaching staff, and the women's basketball student-athletes. The Falcons are looking to win their seventh straight MAC Championship in the upcoming season, so come out to help support the program while enjoying a round of golf! All of the proceeds go directly to the Women's Basketball Program, and registration information will be sent out in August.

Summer Camps

The Falcons coaching staff has been having a busy summer! Sunday, after weeks of meticulous planning and preparation, the first of two team camps the Falcons are hosting ran successfully. Teams began trickling in around 8:30a.m., with the first games starting at 9:00a.m. The Falcon players were also present at the camp, running score boards, passing out t-shirts, and helping out with any other tasks the coaches needed them for. Falcon coaches and players got a chance to see some of the top schools in the region compete, with some great games coming down to the buzzer. The final game of the day wrapped up around 9:00p.m. in Perry Field House, where most of the competitions were held. The second camp will be held on Sunday, June 27th. The coaches are finalizing game schedules for this camp, as well as working out all the other details to be ready for another great day of basketball.

Falcons Successful Both On and Off Court

With a 27-7 overall record, Mid-American Conference regular-season and tournament titles and a trip to the NCAA Championships, it is obvious that the Bowling Green State University women’s basketball team had another successful year on the court in 2009-10. And, the Falcons of head coach Curt Miller have been equally successful in the classroom again this season.

The BGSU women’s basketball student-athletes had a combined grade-point average of 3.50 during the 2009-10 academic year. In the fall semester, no fewer than six student-athletes posted a perfect 4.00 GPA. Fifteen team members had a GPA of at least 3.00 in the fall, with 14 of those 15 earning a GPA of 3.25 or higher.

In the just-completed spring semester, 15 players again had at least a 3.00 GPA, with 12 earning a GPA of 3.20 or better. Three Falcon student-athletes posted a perfect 4.00 GPA in the spring semester.

Through the spring semester, 15 student-athletes have a cumulative GPA of 3.16 or higher for their BGSU academic careers.

Of course, the Falcons have had academic accomplishments all year long. Last month, the Falcons saw a league-high five student-athletes named to the 13-player Academic All-MAC Team. Seniors Tara Breske, Laura Bugher and Tamika Nurse, redshirt junior Maggie Hennegan and junior Lauren Prochaska all were voted to the team, as BGSU was the only school with more than one player selected.

Two of those five Falcons, Bugher and Hennegan, were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team, earning second-team honors. The BGSU duo were the only two MAC student-athletes named to any of the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District teams.

Additionally, the women’s basketball team earned numerous honors when the BGSU Department of Athletics held its annual Athletics Honors Night in April. Bugher was one of three female finalists for the Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award, while Hennegan made the list of the final three Junior S-A-O-Y Award candidates.

As a team, the women’s basketball Falcons picked up a pair of awards, earning both the female team Highest GPA award and the Most Improved Award.

The Falcons’ four seniors – Breske, Bugher, Nurse and Sarah Clapper – capped off successful undergraduate careers, both on the court and in the classroom. Breske, an exercise science major at BGSU, is planning to attend chiropractic school. Bugher, an early childhood education major, is finishing her student-teaching requirements.

Clapper, a human movement sport leisure study major as an undergrad, has been accepted into graduate school at BGSU, and will be a graduate assistant in the BGSU Department of Athletics in the fall. Nurse, a broadcast journalism major, plans to pursue a broadcasting-related career.

Last summer, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced that BGSU was ranked fifth in the entire country on the 2008-09 Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll. This year’s team has a strong chance to be on the WBCA’s list as well. The WBCA announcement is expected to come in July.

On the court, as mentioned, the 2009-10 Falcons won the MAC’s regular-season title for the sixth consecutive season, and BGSU captured the MAC Tournament crown for the fourth time in the last six years. The Brown and Orange advanced to national postseason play for the sixth-straight March, earning the league’s automatic berth to the 2010 NCAA Championships.

2010 Banquet...Lots to Celebrate!

Nine different players picked up awards as the Bowling Green State University women’s basketball team celebrated another successful season Saturday night (May 1). The BGSU Women’s Basketball Awards Banquet was held at Olscamp Hall on the BGSU campus. Junior Lauren Prochaska was named the team’s Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, in a vote of team members, while senior Tara Breske was voted the Power Player of the Year for the third-straight season. Junior Tracy Pontius picked up the Playmaker of the Year Award, while classmate Kelly Zuercher was named the team’s Most Improved Player. Senior Laura Bugher was selected as the Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive season, sharing the award with junior Jen Uhl this year. Senior Tamika Nurse was the Impact Player of the Year, while senior Sarah Clapper earned the Fran and Marty Voll Senior Achievement Award. Junior Maggie Hennegan was the winner of the Falcon Award, given to the person or persons who embody qualities such as dedication, commitment, effort and being the ultimate team player. Prochaska was named the Mid-American Conference’s Player of the Year for a second consecutive season, averaging 17.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in 2009-10. She scored a school-record 609 points on the year, and also set a BGSU single-season record with 92 three-point field goals made, the second-highest total in MAC history. Prochaska, who was also the MAC Tournament MVP in 2010, has scored 1,699 points during her first three years at BGSU, ranking third in school history. Breske, a team tri-captain in 2009-10, ended her career with 916 points, 561 rebounds and 104 blocked shots, ranking third in BGSU history in the latter category. She averaged 8.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, shooting .470 from the field and leading the Falcons in both steals (1.6 spg) and blocks (1.1 bpg). Breske was named to the Academic All-MAC Team for the second-straight year, and also was named to the MAC’s All-Tournament Team. Pontius, an All-MAC Second-Team selection, started all 34 games for the Falcons in 2009-10. She finished second on the team in scoring, with 11.7 points per game, and assists, with 3.0 per contest. Pontius shot .390 from three-point range, going 70-of-179 from long distance. That total placed her second on the team and sixth on the BGSU single-season list. After just two seasons as a starter, Pontius has a career total of 998 points. Zuercher set career bests in nearly every category in ’09-10, and in most cases surpassed her totals from her first two seasons combined. She played in 30 games off the bench, averaging 2.5 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. Zuercher averaged 3.4 points and 1.7 rebounds per game in MAC contests, including a career-high 10 points vs. Eastern Michigan. After playing 10 or more minutes in just three games over her first two years, Zuercher posted double-digit minutes-played totals in 14 games as a junior, including in seven of the final eight contests of the year. Bugher played in 23 games off the bench, averaging 1.1 points and 1.3 rebounds on the year. She made 11 of her 17 shot attempts (.647) on the season. Bugher was one of just two MAC players named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team, earning second-team honors, and also was selected to the Academic All-MAC Team. Bugher, named the Falcon Club Female Junior Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2008-09, has a perfect 4.00 cumulative grade point average as an early childhood education major with an intervention specialist minor. Uhl played in all 34 games in her junior season, starting each of the last 31. She averaged 7.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, ranking second on the team in boards. Uhl shot .497 from the field and hit 23 three-point field goals on the year. She was fifth on the team in scoring and first in rebounding in MAC games, with 7.6 ppg and 6.1 rpg. Uhl scored a season-high 20 points, going 8-of-11 from the field, in a win at Buffalo, and had a team-leading three double-doubles on the season. Nurse averaged 10.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game in her lone playing season at BGSU. She started all 34 games for the Brown and Orange, and led the team in assists while ranking third in scoring. Nurse went 43-of-112 from three-point land, and was third on the team in both three-pointers made and three-point field-goal percentage (.384). She led the Falcons in free throws attempted and shot .773 from the line (133-of-172). Nurse finished third in the MAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.40). Clapper, a team tri-captain in her senior season, played in 31 games off the bench, the highest total of her career. She averaged 1.9 points in 6.5 minutes per game. Clapper shot .368 from three-point land, going 14-for-38. She scored a season-high nine points at Buffalo, including back-to-back triples midway through the second half. Clapper also made the final shot attempt of her career, hitting a three-pointer in the final minute of the Falcons’ NCAA Tournament game vs. Michigan State. For her career, Clapper played in 91 games, shooting nearly 33 percent from three-point land. Hennegan played in all 34 games in her first playing season at BGSU, making eight starts. Voted a captain by her teammates before ever playing in a game at BG, she averaged 4.5 points and 4.3 rebound per game, ranking sixth on the team in the former category and fourth in the latter. Hennegan averaged 4.7 ppg and a team-leading 7.0 rpg in the Falcons’ three MAC Tournament wins, and joined Bugher as the only two MAC players named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team. Hennegan, like Bugher, earned second-team honors. After the welcome by Master of Ceremonies Larry Weiss and the invocation by junior Chelsea Albert on Saturday evening, the crowd of several hundred banquet-goers was treated to dinner and a spectacular season video, with the latter coming courtesy of Julie Baker of BGSU Instructional Media. The team’s four seniors – Breske, Bugher, Clapper and Nurse – all had the opportunity to speak, sharing their thoughts and memories on their four years at BGSU (two years at BGSU, in Nurse’s case). Additionally, the Falcon first-year letterwinners – Hennegan, Nurse and freshmen Simone Eli, Allison Papenfuss, Chrissy Steffen and Jessie Tamerlano – were presented with their jackets. Head Coach Curt Miller also recapped the 2009-10 season and looked ahead to the 2010-11 campaign. And, the coach announced that Hennegan and Prochaska will be the team’s captains for ’10-11. The duo earned that distinction in a vote of their teammates. Hennegan will be a captain for the second-straight year. Miller also announced the formation of a team Leadership Council, a group of five players that will be involved in many of the decisions, policies, etc., regarding the program. That group will include Hennegan, Prochaska, Pontius, Zuercher and Jessica Slagle. The 2009-10 Falcons, of course, won the outright MAC regular-season championship for the sixth consecutive season, posting an overall record of 27-7 and a MAC mark of 14-2. BGSU also won the MAC Tournament for the fourth time in six seasons, advancing to the NCAA Championships. It marked BG’s sixth-straight season with a national postseason appearance. The team’s three fourth-year seniors were part of 113 wins during their time at BGSU, the second-highest win total in a four-year span school and MAC history. The Falcons went 113-24 during that time, with two NCAA Championships appearances and two trips to the Postseason WNIT. BGSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS * Player of the Year: Lauren Prochaska (Sponsored by Dan & June Long/Long’s Cleaners) * Falcon Award: Maggie Hennegan (Sponsored by Joan Slebos) * Power Player of the Year: Tara Breske (Sponsored by George & Susan Long) * Playmaker of the Year: Tracy Pontius (Sponsored by Ron Thompson) * Impact Player of the Year: Tamika Nurse (Sponsored by Bill Lloyd) * Most Improved Player: Kelly Zuercher (Sponsored by Larry & Fran Weiss) * Scholar-Athletes of the Year: Laura Bugher & Jen Uhl (Sponsored by Steve & Rhonda Melchi) * Fran & Marty Voll Senior Achievement Award: Sarah Clapper

Listen to Coach Miller...

Coach Miller recently say down with BGSU Take5 for a podcast discussing the Falcons and looking back on their incredible season. Copy and paste the link below into your browser to listen to the podcast.

www.blogs.bgsu.edu/bgsutakefive