The shots simply aren’t falling for Bowling Green State University’s women’s basketball team.
Open looks have been common, yet so have misses. The Falcons are shooting 36 percent from the field this
season – worse yet, they’re shooting at 28-percent clip from 3-point territory, an important stat as
they’re getting just 5.4 points per game from Abby Siefker in the post.
The missed shots have cost Bowling Green at times. It missed 19 layups in a 68-55 loss to Florida
International, and after a 62-50 loss to Ball State Saturday, the Falcons are 7-5 overall and 0-1 in the
Mid-American Conference.
The troubles have been alarming and they’re not welcomed after losing three players for the season,
including leading scorer Erica Donovan (15.3 ppg). Yet head coach Jennifer Roos has remained calm and
unalarmed.
"Very good – all within our offense," Roos said of her team’s 3-point shooting after Saturday’s
loss to Ball State where the Falcons were 4-of-22 from beyond the arc. "… We’ve been shooting the
ball extremely well in practice. I want to give each kid some confidence and give them the green light
to shoot it.
"I’m concerned that it’s not going in, but I’d be more concerned if we weren’t getting good shots or
getting the looks," she added.
NEW TERRITORY: With season-ending injuries to Donovan, Lauren Webb and Leah Bolton, and with Jasmine
Matthews having played just one minute in the last six games, Bowling Green has had players playing in
unexpected situations and positions.
Freshman post Sarah Baer is seeing extended action, while senior Miriam Justinger has played numerous
minutes inside as well next to Siefker. The Falcons have used four-guard rotations and have had four
freshman on the floor at different times.
"Most of us never played together until this year," Justinger said. "We’re all playing
different positions than we thought we would in the beginning of the year. We need people to step
up."
HIGH INTENSITY: Roos has stressed the level of competition within the MAC, especially when that intensity
is geared toward the Falcons and their tradition over the last decade.
Saturday’s game was somewhat of a wake-up call for the four true freshman that grace Bowling Green’s
roster.
The intensity certainly won’t lessen when the Falcons travel to Akron (10-2, 0-1) Wednesday.
"I think the young ones kind of gathered that," Justinger said of the stingy competition of the
MAC, "that it’s a whole different level of basketball than the nonconference."
"We talked about the rivalries within the conference, especially with Ball State," Roos said.
"No matter how anybody’s nonconference is they’re going to come in and give their best shot.
"You’ve got to fail a couple times before you learn," she said. "I wouldn’t call today a
failure by any means. But you’ve got to learn the intensity of what the MAC is. And you can’t recreate
that in practice.
"There’s a difference intensity whenever you play in conference play no matter what conference it
is."