MAC TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND • Monday, March 9 • 5:30 PM
No. 5 Western Michigan Broncos (18-11, 11-7 MAC)
vs. No. 12 Bowling Green Falcons (9-20, 2-16 MAC)
Location: Kalamazoo, Mich.
Site: University Arena (5,421)
All-Time Series Record: WMU trails, 24-35, 2-4 in MAC Tournament
Radio: Joe Roberts, 1660 AM The Fan - Listen Online
Live Video Stream: Bronco Insider
Live Stats
ROAD TO CLEVELAND STARTS MONDAY
The winner of Monday's first round game between No. 5 Western Michigan and No. 12 Bowling Green advances to the second round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament and will play the winner of No. 8 Northern Illinois and No. 9 Central Michigan Wednesday, March 11, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
SERIES NOTEBOOK
This will be the 60th ever meeting between Western Michigan and Bowling Green, with WMU trailing in the all-time series, 24-35 ... WMU has defeated Bowling Green four times in the last nine meetings, including three-straight wins in Kalamazoo, dating back to the 2011 season ... this year in the regular season, the Broncos posted the program's largest victory ever over Bowling Green, defeating the visiting Falcons by 30 points, 82-52, on Jan. 21.
WMU VS. BGSU IN MAC TOURNAMENT
Western Michigan is 2-4 against Bowling Green in the MAC Tournament ... the last time the two met in the postseason was in 2013, with the Falcons edging WMU in the second round in Cleveland, 55-53 ... the two sides also squared off in the tournament in 2004, 2001, 2000, 1995 and 1988 ... WMU's two wins were in 2000 and 1995.
ABOUT THE BRONCOS
The Broncos are chasing their third MAC title in school history, with the previous two coming in 1985 & 2003 ... the Broncos are looking to advance to Cleveland for the third straight year under head coach Shane Clipfell, WMU had not made a trip to Quicken Loans Arena in the four year's prior to his tenure ... WMU ended the regular season tied for second in the MAC West Division and fourth overall in the conference, its highest finish since 2006.
A LOOK AT BOWLING GREEN
A perennial powerhouse in the MAC for the last decade, Bowling Green enters Monday's game with an all-time record of 44-19 in the MAC Tournament and 11 MAC Tournament titles, the most of any conference institution ... the Falcons however have been bit by the injury bug this year, as five players have been sidelined by injury, resulting in the most losses in school history (20).
HOME SWEET HOME
The Broncos are 12-2 (9-2 MAC) on their home floor this season, the two losses coming to
Toledo and Buffalo ... last season, WMU was 6-3 during regular-season conference play on its on floor and won a first round MAC Tournament game against Miami, 82-72.
PROGRAM ON THE RISE
WMU's 11 MAC victories this season marked the first time the program has reached double-digit conference victories for the first time since 2006 ... the team's 18 overall wins are the most since the 2003-04 season (19-13 record).
REGULAR SEASON RECAP AGAINST BOWLING GREEN
In WMU's 82-52 victory over BGSU on Jan. 21 in Kalamazoo, Western Michigan shot a blazing 54.8 percent for the game including 59.4 percent in the second half ... WMU dominated down low, out-rebounding BGSU 44-19, and outscoring the Falcons 28-2 in second chance points and 46-18 in the paint.
Bronco junior Miracle Woods had more offensive rebounds alone than Bowling Green's entire team, grabbing eight while the Falcons had five collectively (two of which were offensive team rebounds) ... Woods capped her night with her second consecutive double-double, totaling 19 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. She shot 8-for-12 from the field and 3-for-3 from the free throw line.
Junior post Jessica Jessing recorded 11 points and eight rebounds and senior forward Marquisha Harris had 10 points, four rebounds and three assists ... the hot outside shooting of A.J. Johnson helped stretch the defense, as the senior guard downed three 3-pointers and had 15 points.
BGSU freshman guard Rachel Myers scored 21 of her team's 52 points and three other Falcons scored seven points apiece.
MORE ON THE BRONCOS
The Broncos are led by third-year head coach Shane Clipfell who has improved his win total every season at WMU ... 6-0 junior forward Miracle Woods averaged 15.4 ppg and 7.7 rpg in MAC play, shooting 52.6 percent from the floor ... senior A.J. Johnson averaged 9.4 ppg against conference opponents, followed by 7.9 ppg from junior Alex Morton ... Morton leads the team with 94 total assists, while Johnson has the most steals with 52 and a team-high 43 three-pointers ... during MAC play Western Michigan is averaged 61.2 ppg and allowed 57.2 ppg ... the Broncos finished the regular season winning two of its last three games after a three-game skid in February.
SCOUTING BOWLING GREEN
The Falcons are led by Jennifer Roos, in her third season as head coach at BGSU ... last year, BGSU posted a 30-5 overall, 17-1 MAC record and advanced to the WNIT quarterfinals ... the Falcons lost their top three players from that squad and have battled injury this season ... BGSU has lost 11 games in a row and the team's two MAC wins were both at home - over Miami (66-53) and Northern Illinois (65-59) ... 5-10 senior guard Deborah Hoekstra led the team with 12.2 ppg and 8.8 rpg in MAC play ... as a team, BGSU averaged 53.4 ppg and allowed 64.8 ppg in conference contests.
