Balance and Miller key BG success
Folks, take notice.
39 Consecutive Mid-American Conference(MAC) Victories.
18 Straight wins
29 Straight Home Wins making it the longest active home winning streak in the country
17 Straight MAC road wins
Currently, 25-2 with losses to Notre Dame in OT and a nine-point loss to #1 Duke
Three Consecutive Regular Season MAC titles
Just another walk in the park for the Falcons of Bowling Green and head coach Curt Miller as the Falcons come into this weekends game against Ohio University ranked #16 in the latest USA Today/ESPN poll. Are we seeing the a new ODU or La Tech in the making? Time will tell. BG has extremely high hopes this season after two very tough losses in the NCAA tournament. In 2005, the Falcons lost to Deb Patterson's highly ranked Kansas St program in a nail biter after the Falcons lead most of the 2nd half. In 2006, the Falcons were disrespected in the bracketing and had to battle five seed UCLA and Kathy Olivier in the first round before falling in the waning moments of the game. The Falcons finished 28-3 last season. The BG program and fans felt short handed and wanted to prove something to the NCAA tournament committee. Curt Miller improved his non-conference schedule by playing Notre Dame, Indiana, Temple, Duke, Temple, and Delaware. BG won all but two of them, and in fact embarrassed Temple by nearly 20, Indiana by nearly 40 and only lost to #1 Duke by nine...only two teams in the country have been able to keep it in single digits against Duke.The Falcons have many attributes that have contributed to their success, but balance is their #1 weapon. Bowling Green brings five different players averaging in double figures. They are led by Ali Mann's 15.8 ppg, followed by arguably the best guard in the Midwest in Kate Achter at 11.4 ppg, Carin Horne's 11.1 ppg, Liz Honneger's 10.3 ppg, and Amber Flynn's 10 ppg. Not many teams in the entire land can boast that stat line. It doesn't just stop with the offense as the Falcon's defense is spectacular considering they hold their opponents to a dismal 38% field goal percentage and a staggering 28% from long range. Lindsey Goldsberry, sophomore from the national power Dayton Chaminade-Julienne fame, comes off the bench and averages just over two steals per game.BG has overwhelmed their opponents this season with their offensive balance as most have learned they are unable to focus on one certain player. Kate Achter may be the most fluid guard in the Midwest and is impecable at setting the offense and tone. She can finish when taking the ball to the rim, has improved her outside shooting, and has eyes in the back of her head. If she is struggling, super soph Jasmine McCall takes the lead. The starting five for Coach Miller is as versatile as any team in the country as Honneger, Mann, Thorburn, and Flynn can all step outside and knock shots down. This was very successful against Duke as 6'7" Ali Bales had to roam the 3 point line chasing the quicker player of BG.While the Falcons have been ranked all season long in the top 25, they know their tournament seeding will be key for them to make a long tournament run. The Falcons deserve a #4 seed and they should finally be rewarded for their accomplishments instead of some overdone SEC or Pac-10 team. Note to all other 63 teams in the NCAA tournament---the Falcons are for real and pose a huge threat to all.
Dr. Anthony Smith, a native of Convoy, Ohio, currently resides in Perrysburg, Ohio as a physician, and is a regular contributor for Galhoopsavenue.blogspot.com. He can be reached at anthonysmith101@msn.com
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