MAC Women's Basketball Notebook -- January 29

CARDINALS KEEP MOVING UP IN POLL:
Ball State, on a school-record 11-game winning streak, will face another stern test in league play when it hosts Toledo on Wednesday. BSUs win streak is tied with six other teams for the second longest streak in Division I, trailing Notre Dames 19-game streak.

The Cardinals, who have also won all seven of their home contests this year and nine dating back to last season, are 8-0 in MAC play and lead the West Division by one game in the loss column over the Rockets, who are second in the division with a 6-1 ledger.

Ball State did move up six spots in the Associated Press Top-25 poll on Monday, picking up 28 points for a 28th place showing. The last MAC school to make an appearance in the AP poll was Toledo, which finished 25th in the final regular season poll in the 1998-99 season. In addition, the Cardinals are tied for 35th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll.

BOWIE SETS SCHOOL AND MAC RECORD:
Ball State sophomore forward Tamara Bowie scored a school-record 40 points in the Cardinals 100-66 win at Eastern Michigan. The 40 points by Bowie are the most by a MAC player this year and also represents the most points by a sophomore in league history. Bowie also became only the fifth player in league annals to register 40 or more points in a game and is only one of three to score 40-plus in a conference game.

Bowie, who scored the 40 points in only 29 minutes of action, also added 10 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the year, which is tied for the top spot in the MAC. She leads the league in scoring (19.9) and is only 43 points shy of equaling her scoring total from her freshman year.

MAC WOMEN IN SPORT WEEK KICKS OFF:
MAC Women in Sport Week, the conferences celebration of young girls involvement in sports, kicks off 12 days of activities surrounding National Girls and Women In Sports Day with its You Go Girl campaign starting this Saturday and running until Feb. 14.

The MAC has sponsored a poster contest which is presented by Kraft, the tournament sponsor of the womens basketball tournament. Each schools team will select a winner of the contest at a designated game and will receive four tickets to the 2001 Kraft MAC Womens Basketball championship game. In addition, the winner will also receive a gift basket courtesy of Kraft, will be recognized at halftime of the womens championship game and will have their poster displayed in Gund Arena during the tournament.

MAC TV PACKAGE STARTS SATURDAY:
The MACs 11-game womens basketball package begins this Saturday with three games televised on Fox Sports Net. Bowling Green hosts Kent State on Fox Sports Net Ohio, while the Buffalo-Marshall game will be on Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh and Empire Sports. Also, the Eastern Michigan-Northern Illinois game is slated to be on Fox Sports Net Chicago.

HOME STREAK KEEPS GOING FOR KSU:
Kent State extended its school- and MAC-record for consecutive home wins with a 85-51 win over Western Michigan last Wednesday. The Golden Flashes 40-game home winning streak is the nations longest current streak, and is also tied for the 20th longest streak in NCAA Division I history.

Along with the current 40-game home winning streak, the Golden Flashes have also won 49 consecutive home contests versus MAC schools. Kent States next home game will be Feb. 8 against Northern Illinois.

ANSWER TO A TRIVIA QUESTION:
The answer to a trivia question for years to come is Toledos Kahli Carter. The question is who was the 100th player in MAC history to register 1,000 career points. Carter reached the mark early in the first half in Saturdays game versus Western Michigan and finished with 20 points in 27 minutes of play.

Earlier in the day, Northern Illinois Michelle Johnson became the 99th player in league history and the 18th in NIU history with 14 points in the Huskies win over Central Michigan. This year, a total of six players in the league have reached the plateau.

BOWLES NABS AKRON SCORING MARK:
In last Wednesdays game with West Division-leading Ball State, Akron senior Cheryl Bowles became the schools all-time leading scorer in the first half and finished the game with a team-high 15 points. Bowles also moved into 20th place in MAC scoring history with 1,565 points in 104 career games with the Zips. The center is also 35 points short of becoming only the 19th player in MAC history to register 1,600 career points.

BELL MOVES UP THE LADDER AT UB:
Buffalos Tiffany Bell exploded for 36 points against Bowling Green, including five in overtime, and she added 24 points against Marshall to move into second place all-time on UBs career scoring chart (1,441). Bell also tied a career-high for field goals made in the BGSU contest with 12. The senior has scored 1,232 points since the Bulls have been in the MAC, which ranks 60th all-time. In addition, Bell became the schools all-time leader in field goals made with 532.

KSUS NANCE HITS MILESTONES:
Kent State senior guard Carrie Nance became just the fourth player in Kent State womens basketball history to have 1,000 points, 300 assists and 250 steals in a career. She joins Bonnie Beachy (1978-82), Darlene Wolfe (1977-81) and Dawn Zerman (1996-2000) in the exclusive club.

In the win over Miami on Jan. 17 she hit 1,000 points and currently has 1,048 points. With her first assist Jan. 22 against Bowling Green she hit 300 assists and finished the game with seven and her career total stands at 312. She is the active MAC leader with her 251 career steals.

NIUS KNAKE IN ELITE COMPANY:
Northern Illinois sophomore guard Kristan Knake tallied 16 points and 12 assists versus Central Michigan, entering elite company in the Huskie record books. Only Gena Stubbs (14 versus Minnesota in 1988) and Val Leitzen (13 versus Clemson) in 1986 have handed out more assists in one game. Knakes total was not only a career-high but the most by a Huskie since Kelly Robbins dished out 12 versus Wisconsin-Milwaukee on March 2, 1996. The sophomore posted her second career double-double. Her 16 points also marked the 13th time Knake has reached double figures in scoring this season. With 19 helpers in her last two games, Knake is now averaging 3.53 per contest for the season to go with a 12.3 ppg scoring average.

MUNZ NABS CMUS TREY MARK:
Central Michigan junior Molli Munz became the schools all-time leader in three-pointers made last Saturday in the Chippewas contest with Northern Illinois. Munz connected on seven treys last week, including three versus the Huskies, and has 130 career three-pointers. In her last three games, Munz has nailed 11 triples and is averaging 18 points a game.

BSU TIES WIN MARK OF A YEAR AGO:
Ball States 16 wins match the 1999-2000 team, Brenda Oldfields first as a head coach, for the second-highest win total in the 26-year history of BSU women's basketball. The 1974-75 team and the 1989-90 team own the school record for wins in a season with 17. The team has also matched its league win total of a year ago with eight, which ties the most MAC wins for the Cardinals since they won 11 in 1996-97.

A LOOK AT THE RPI:
In this latest installment of the College Basketball News Womens RPI Report and the WBCA Summerville RPI rankings (through games of Jan. 28), the Mid-American Conference was ranked No. 17 and No. 15, respectively among 31 conferences in both listings. The MAC has five schools in the top-150 -- four in the WBCA -- and nine in the top-200.

School -- CBN/WBCA
Toledo - 93/91
Kent State - 112/113
Ball State - 117/120
Eastern Michigan - 133/133
Buffalo - 137/140
Northern Illinois - 164/162
Western Michigan - 174/176
Bowling Green - 180/182
Miami - 186/189

A DIFFERENT FALCON HITS DOUBLE DIGITS:
Bowling Green senior Jackie Adlington recorded her first-ever double double last Saturday against Buffalo with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Adlington, who entered the week with totals of six points and 16 boards in her Falcon career, amassed 25 points and 24 caroms in three BGSU contests. The senior also became the 12th different Bowling Green player to hit double figures in scoring at least once this year.

3-POINT STREAKS AROUND THE MAC:
Toledo has currently made at least one three-point field goal in each of its last 157 contests, dating back to Jan. 24, 1996. While the Rockets current streak trails Western Michigans 169 consecutive games, Toledo has hit a three-pointer in 360 of its last 361 games. Below is a look at each of the teams present streak of consecutive games with a made three-point field goal.

Consecutive Games With A 3-Point Field Goal Made (Start of streak):
Western Michigan -- 169 (1/18/95)
Toledo -- 157 (1/24/96)
Eastern Michigan -- 120 (12/22/96)
Central Michigan -- 98 (11/29/97)
Bowling Green -- 74 (3/13/98)
Miami -- 71 (11/14/98)
Marshall -- 36 (12/29/99)
Kent State -- 35 (1/15/00)
Ball State -- 28 (2/25/00)
Buffalo -- 21 (2/25/00)
Akron -- 11 (12/8/00)
Ohio -- 8 (1/3/01)
Northern Illinois -- 5 (1/13/01)

THE ART OF THEFT, LAUGHLIN STYLE:
Ohio senior Heather Laughlin set a career high with seven steals on Saturday versus Miami. That joins her with four others as the second-most steals in a game. Laughlin now has 53 steals on the season, five shy of the yearly top 10 list, and 191 during her career, which is second in Bobcats history. Her seven thefts versus the RedHawks tied for the second most in the MAC this year.

THE NON-CONFERENCE LOOK:
The Mid-American Conference finished the regular season with a 67-76 record in non-conference action (.468), including a 2-9 slate versus nationally-ranked opponents. The MAC completed the 1999-00 season with a 62-77 non-conference record, which translated into a .446 winning percentage. That mark also included a 1-9 record against nationally-ranked opponents. In 1998-99, the MACs record in non-conference play was 59-66 (.472).

BGSU WORKING OVERTIME:
The Falcons overtime loss to Buffalo Saturday was Bowling Greens first extra-session game in nearly two years, since a 98-93 home triumph over Eastern Michigan on Feb. 20, 1999. In that game, as in the UB game, Francine Miller hit a three-pointer in the dying seconds of regulation to force the extra session. The loss to Buffalo broke a five-game BG winning streak in overtime games. The Falcons had not lost an OT contest since an 82-77 setback at Ohio in the 1996 MAC Tournaments quarterfinal round (Mar. 5, 1996).

BSU FEATURED IN DIARY ON ESPN.COM:
The Ball State womens basketball team, under the direction of second-year head coach Brenda Oldfield, will receive national attention for the remainder of the basketball season on ESPN.com. Sophomores Amy Zercher and Tamara Bowie will provide an inside look to BSU womens basketball every week by submitting a diary which will be posted on the front page of the womens college basketball site on ESPN.com. The first diary appeared on Jan. 15.

THE FRIENDLY CONFINES:
Western Michigan has played just two home games in its first six MAC games of the season, but the schedule balances out in the Broncos favor down the stretch. WMU plays six of its final 10 league games at University Arena, including three of its final five games of the year. The Broncos are 1-2 at home thus far, but WMUs numbers in Kalamazoo are much better. Western Michigan is averaging 81.7 ppg and shooting .567 from the field at home, including a .500 3-point field goal percentage. Junior Karen Deurloo is shooting an amazing .725 from the field and averaging 21.3 ppg on the homecourt. Sarah Hurrles 19.0 ppg place her second behind Deurloo at home. The senior has hit 57.9 percent of her 3-point attempts at home.

THE ROAD WARRIORS MUST RETURN:
Eastern Michigan has been a good road team under head coach Suzy Merchant. In just over two years under Merchant, EMU is 16-16 in road contests and 5-2 in neutral site games. This trend continues in the MAC, as the Eagles are 9-9 in conference road games. However, Eastern has struggled this season, as they are just 2-5 in road games, with losses at Purdue, Colorado State, Detroit, Kent State and Ohio and wins at IUPUI and Central Michigan. The Eagles open up a three-game road trip Wednesday at Akron, then face Northern Illinois on Saturday and finish with Toledo on Monday, Feb. 5.

AKRONS POST PRODUCTION:
Over Akrons last three games, the tandem of Cheryl Bowles and Jamie Scott have been putting up some consistent numbers for the Zips. Bowles is averaging 14.3 points, while Scott is averaging 16 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest. Scott had a season- and team-high 14 boards and added four steals in Akrons win over Marshall, the teams first MAC win of the year.

LOOKING FOR ONE MORE WIN:
After reeling off three straight wins to move its season total to eight, Marshall has dropped its last three contests. With one more victory, the Thundering Herd will have their most wins since joining the MAC. Marshall will try to snaps its current streak with the first of three straight home contests, beginning Wednesday with rival Ohio.

MAC TOURNEY MOVES TO GUND:
The 2001 Mid-American Conference Womens Basketball Tournament returns to Cleveland for a second consecutive year but will have a new location and a title sponsor. The MAC Womens Basketball Tournament will be held at Gund Arena, Tuesday, March 6 and Friday-Saturday, March 9-10. The league office announced in October at its media day that Kraft has signed a two-year agreement and will serve as the title sponsor of the tournament.

Five first-round games are slated for Saturday, March 3, with the two division winners and the team with the next best overall MAC record and winning percentage receiving a bye to the quarterfinals. Eight teams will convene in the Rock N Roll city for quarterfinal action on Tuesday, March 6. Two semifinal contests are set for Friday, March 9, while the championship game is slated for Saturday, March 10.

Individual game tickets for action at Gund Arena went on sale Monday, Jan. 29. General admission tickets for adults will be $10, while student general admission seating is $5.