Falcons Fall at Wisconsin, 90-78, Despite Donahue’s Monster Game

MADISON, Wis. – Johnea Donahue had a tremendous all-around game on Wednesday night (Nov. 12), but the Bowling Green State University women’s basketball team fell, 90-78, to the University of Wisconsin inside the Kohl Center.

Donahue, a sophomore, set career highs in both points and assists against the Badgers. She had 24 points, six rebounds, six assists and six steals on Wednesday, going 8-of-16 from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. As a team, the Falcons (1-2) were 20-of-22 from the stripe for a 90.9 percent success rate.

Junior Paige Kohler scored 18 points, while senior Kaia Woods had 12 points in her BGSU debut.

But, the Badgers (3-1) shot 54.5% from the floor on the night, going 36-for-66. And, the hosts made 10 three-point field goals in the win.

The Falcons had a 37-35 lead on the boards, with junior Taya Ellis tying Donahue for game honors with six caroms.

Kyrah Daniels had 21 points to pace six Badgers in double digits. Daniels was 5-of-8 from the arc.

FIRST QUARTER

• Johnea Donahue had eight points and four steals in the first quarter alone on Wednesday night. She came up with a steal on the first possession of the game, and then had a steal deep in the UW defensive end of the court, followed by a quick layup. The sophomore hit a bucket out of the media timeout, then came up with another steal.

• The Badgers went on a 7-0 run to take a 12-4 lead into that media break, with Kyrah Daniels scoring five-straight points during that stretch. But, after the aforementioned Donahue hoop, Kaia Woods – making her BGSU debut after missing the first two games due to injury – hit a free throw, and Donahue’s fourth steal led to a layup that cut BG’s deficit to three points.

• UW went on a quick 4-0 run, but Woods converted a three-point play, then took a pass from Ky’Aira Miller and hit a contested layup. Two Paige Kohler free throws with a minute to go made it a two-point game, before the hosts scored the final four points of the period for a 22-16 lead.

SECOND QUARTER

• The hosts extended the lead to 13 points with an 11-4 run to begin the quarter. Donahue’s fifth steal of the night led to a Kohler three-pointer, and two Donahue free throws made it a 35-25 game, but the Badgers got back-to-back threes, from Daniels and Shay Bollin, to take a 16-point lead.

• Kohler, however, hit a corner three, then came up with a steal and lobbed the ball inside to Kendal Moxey for a layup. A nifty fake by Joniyah Bland-Fitzpatrick freed her up for an open jumper, and the junior hit a turnaround one-hander on the next possession.

• Lauren Gerken took a Donahue pass and knocked down a three-point try with 10 seconds on the clock, cutting BG’s deficit to nine points –48-39 – at the half.

• Donahue’s first-half stat line? Fourteen points, three rebounds, four assists and five steals. Kohler had 10 points at the break.

THIRD QUARTER

• Junior Taya Ellis got to the line and hit a pair of free throws on the Falcons’ first possession of the second half, but UW hit layups on the first two trips down the floor after halftime. But, Gerken took a Donahue inbound pass and scored, and the sophomore then returned the favor, finding her classmate for a pull-up jumper. The Falcons were within seven, 45-52, as UW used a timeout.

• Kohler’s bounce pass led to an Ellis layup, and Jaedyn Cook’s baby hook got BGSU within five points. After Miller took a charge, a Donahue layup made it a 54-51 game. But, Daniels came right back with a three-pointer to double the Wisconsin lead.

• Cook got to the line and hit both shots, but a Bollin trey began a 7-0 run to extend the lead back out to double digits. Senior Emily Siesel fed Kohler for a rainbow three from the corner, but the Badgers got a third-chance bucket at the buzzer for a 66-56 lead.

FOURTH QUARTER

• Miller found Gerken for a bucket, then hit a three-pointer several minutes later, and two Donahue charity tosses cut the BG deficit to eight. But, Laci Steele hit a catch-and-shoot three, and after a Falcon shot rattled out, Gift Uchenna’s three-point play that bridged the final media timeout gave the hosts a 76-63 lead.

• The lead reached 17 after a pair of Uchenna layups, before a nifty backdoor pass from Kohler to Donahue snapped a 9-0 UW run. Woods had a defensive rebound and went coast to coast for a layup, with 2:40 to go, but Daniels answered with a three-pointer for an 83-67 UW lead.

UP NEXT

• Wednesday’s UW contest was the third of six-straight games away from home for the Orange and Brown. BGSU remains in the state of Wisconsin, heading to Milwaukee for a Friday (Nov. 14) matchup with Marquette. That contest will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET at the Al McGuire Center.

• Then, the Falcons will play a pair of games in the Great Alaska Shootout next weekend (Nov. 21-22), facing UC Irvine on day one and either St. Thomas or Alaska-Anchorage the following night.

• The Falcons’ regular-season home opener is set for Sunday, Nov. 30, when Purdue Fort Wayne comes to the Stroh Center for a 2:00 p.m. contest.

FOR MORE INFORMATION…

• For more information on all things BGSU women’s basketball, follow the Falcons on Facebook (@BGWBB), Twitter/X (@BGSU_Athletics and @BGSUWBB) and Instagram (@bgsuwbb), as well as on the web at BGSUFalcons.com.