There are many ways to motivate young athletes, and some work better than others.
Jennifer Roos, in her second season as Bowling Green’s head women’s basketball coach, may have found the
perfect motivational tool.
Roos said she would give the Falcons an extra day off if they played well in winning against Miami Sunday
in the the Stroh Center. PHOTO GALLERY

The tactic worked as Bowling Green went on a 15-0 run after Miami made the first basket of the game.
The Falcons then never looked back, posting a 91-45 victory. It was the 20th win of the season for the
Falcons, 20-3 overall and 10-1 in the Mid-American Conference.
"We challenged them the past couple of days in some unique ways,” Roos said. "I drew up the
last straw, and gave them an extra day off if they played well.
"This team has earned a well-deserved break … There was pure enthusiasm in the locker room when I
told them if we achieved some goals, what they would earn as a result," Roos added.
Roos said the Falcons would not return to the practice floor until a shoot-around Wednesday at 4 p.m.
BG’s next game is Saturday at Eastern Michigan in a 4:30 p.m. start.
The Falcons were ready from the start.
"We could tell in the locker room, even before we came out, that we were ready to go,’" said BG
sophomore Miriam Justinger. ‘"We’re excited that we get a few days off. That was an incentive to
finish strong, and just end everything on a good note going into the break."
After exploding out of the gate, the Falcons went on to take a 43-14 halftime lead, making 50 percent of
their shots from the field (16-of-32), and the 3-point arc (8-of-16).
Bowling Green also played well defensively, as Miami did not reach double-digits in the scoring column
until Kindsay Brandt made a layup with 1:00 remaining in the first half.
Justinger said Miami runs a lot of the same plays as Bowling Green does, and the Falcons knew what was
coming.
The Falcons forced 20 turnovers, leading to 34 points for the Falcons.
"Our team played well at both ends of the floor," Roos said. "Any time you play well at
one end, it seems to become contagious even at the other end.
"The better they shoot, the harder they played at the defensive end," Roos continued. "I
have no idea why those things go hand-in-hand, but they do."
The Falcons’ onslaught continued in the second half, as BG shot 56.6 percent from the field (13-of-23)
and 45.7 percent on 3-pointers (7-of-15).
"We just wanted to keep executing offense, sticking to the game plan … and basically work on things
we needed to work on,” Justinger said about the second half.
BG’s previous high for the season was 90 points, and a Justinger free throw in the final minute gave BG
its 91st point.
"It’s a good feeling when everybody is making shots," Justinger said. "I think we feed off
of each other really well. If one person gets going, it’s contagious and that’s good to see. It was
definitely contagious today."
The game was Lauren Prochaska Bobblehead day for BG’s all-time leading scorer. She was recognized on the
court during the first media time out.
"How ironic that we celebrate Lauren Prochaska … and we make 15 threes out of 31 attempts, and 22
assists on 29 field goals, and seven of nine kids make a three," Roos said.
"Everybody loves giveaways, and today may be the best giveaway in school history, in my opinion, for
a women’s game," Roos continued. ”It was an atmosphere that truly, truly resembled Anderson Arena.
It was a fun atmosphere to play in, and our kids responded."
Jillian Halfhill led the Falcons with 17 points, Erica Donovan added 14, Jasmine Matthews scored 13, and
Justinger contributed 12.
NOTES: Miami is 7-15, 3-8 … All nine Falcons scored in each half… Miami had beaten BG twice last season …
It’s the 11th straight 20-win season for the Falcons.