Head coach Curt Miller and the BG women’s basketball team are still reeling from a 25-point loss to Ball State last week in Muncie, Ind. Things are not going to get any easier tonight as they head to Kalamazoo, Mich. to take on the Broncos of Western Michigan.
For the second time in as many games, the Falcons will be on the road taking on a team that is undefeated in conference play. Miller enjoys playing the role of underdog in these games.
“I think we’ve enjoyed being the underdog all year,” Miller said. “We’ve actually played a little bit looser and with a little bit of attitude that we have nothing to lose because we are the severe underdogs.”
Against Ball State, the Falcons played a competitive first half, taking a three-point lead into the locker room at halftime. The second half was when the Cardinals really took it to the Falcons, outscoring them 41-16 in the final 13:23 to turn a 55-55 tie into a 96-71 Cardinal victory.
“Probably what happened that caused us the big run was that we played too long at their tempo and never could get it back to where we wanted to play,” Miller said.
Miller hopes to have better control of the tempo tonight when they take on the offensively charged Broncos.
“We’ve talked a lot about trying to keep the game at our tempo and not get into just a helter-skelter, fast-paced game,” Miller said.
The Broncos are coming off a tough three-point loss to the number nine team in the nation, North Carolina. They played this game without the services of their star forward, Kristin Koetsier, who was sidelined with a knee injury that will more than likely keep her out of tonight’s contest.
Koetsier is second on the team in scoring, averaging 18.5 points per game, and first in rebounds with an average of 6.7 rebounds per game.
Miller sees the absence of Koetsier as a boost to his team’s confidence but knows that the Broncos will still be a formidable opponent.
“I expect this team to still be playing at a championship level,” Miller said. “I don’t expect their play to suffer, but certainly it gives you a little bit of an emotional lift when the star player in the league is not in there. It has to give all of our kids a little bit of a boost in confidence, but it won’t change the fact that they are very talented.”
Picking up the slack in Koetsier’s absence will be guard Casey Rost, who leads the team in scoring with 19.6 points per game, guard Curleta Harris (13.1 points per game), forward Lori Crisman (9.7 points per game), and point guard Maria Jilian, who leads the team and the conference in assists (6.3 assists per game) and steals (3.6 steals per game).
Besides controlling the tempo, another key to victory for the Falcons will be keeping the Broncos away from the foul line.
“The one thing that Western has done this year that is a staggering statistic is they’ve been able to get to the foul line so much more than their opponents,” Miller said. “We have to make some shots but we also have to stay aggressive and try to get to the foul line and keep them off the foul line.”
Miller will be looking for continued solid play tonight from Francine Miller, who leads the team in scoring, rebounding, steals, and blocked shots, Lindsay Austin, whose solid play earned her athlete of the week honors last week, Kim Greich, team leader in three point field goals made and free throw percentage, and Stefanie Wenzel, who has been solid in both field goal and three point field goal shooting. In addition, he will be looking for a fifth player to really step up and have a big night.
“The thing we are looking for is who is going to be the surprise every game, who is going to be the spark off the bench?” Miller said. “Who is ready to take that last step and become a fifth scorer?”
Miller will find out the answer to that question tonight when the two teams square off on the Broncos homecourt. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
