WEDNESDAY, DEC. 18 | 7:00 P.M. | STROH CENTER | BOWLING GREEN, OHIO
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BOWLING GREEN FALCONS (5-4, 0-0 MAC) |
vs. | MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES (7-2, 0-0 Big East) |
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JUMP BALL
• The Bowling Green State University women’s basketball team will put a three-game winning streak on the line on Wednesday evening (Dec. 18), with a second-straight home game against a Big East Conference foe. Head coach Fred Chmiel and the Falcons face Marquette University, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• There are many ways to keep up with the Falcons in 2024-25…
• TV/VIDEO: Wednesday’s Marquette matchup will be streamed via ESPN+.
• RADIO/AUDIO: The Marquette contest, as is the case for all of BGSU’s 2024-25 games, is scheduled to have an audio stream thanks to BG Falcon Media Sports.
• LIVE STATS: Live stats are scheduled to be available for all games in ’24-25.
• TWITTER/X & THE ‘GRAM: In-game updates, along with other key information, can be found on the BGSU women’s basketball Twitter/X account (@BGSUWBB), with periodic updates on the program’s Instagram account (bgsuwbb) as well.
• For all of the pertinent links to any and all ways to follow the Falcons, go to BGSUFalcons.com and navigate your way to the “women’s basketball schedule” page on game day.
LAST TIME OUT: FALCONS CONQUER XAVIER, 78-59
• The Falcons seized control with a first-half run, then used several second-half surges to fight off comeback bids by Xavier in a 78-59 BGSU win (Dec. 7) at the Stroh Center.
• Four players scored in double digits for the Falcons (5-4), with veterans Amy Velasco and Erika Porter amassing 19 and 17 points, respectively. Freshman Lauren Gerken had 11 points, while classmate Johnea Donahue added 10 off the bench.
• Donahue returned to action after missing the previous three games due to injury, and the Orange and Brown saw another player return to the court in the win. Fifth-year Falcon Lexi Fleming played for the first time in nearly a year, and had nine points on the night. Fleming went 3-for-4 from three-point range vs. the Musketeers.
• BGSU scored 12 consecutive points to bridge the first quarter break, with the last five points of the opening period and the first seven points of the second. That run gave BG a 30-15 lead, and that advantage would get as high as 26 points after a 13-0 run by the Falcons in the third period.
• Xavier scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter to nudge the deficit down to 14 points. But, the Falcons answered with a 9-0 run, with a Porter layup giving the Falcons a 73-50 advantage with under four minutes to go.
LEXI’S BACK!
• As mentioned, Lexi Fleming saw her first action in nearly a year – since Dec. 22, 2023 – and had nine points against Xavier. The fifth-year Falcon had those nine points in just under 14 minutes of action, going 3-for-4 from the arc.
• Fleming has now played in 74 contests in her Falcon career. In those games, BGSU has a record of 56-18, including a 26-6 mark at the Stroh Center.
THE FLEMING FACTOR
• Lexi Fleming has been a B!G part of the Falcons’ success since arriving at BG. The MAC Freshman of the Year in 2020-21, Fleming missed the entire ’21-22 season due to injury, but returned to the court in ’22-23 and saw action in 36 games as BGSU went 31-7.
• Fleming has played in a total of 74 contests as a Falcon. BGSU has a record of 56-18 in those 74 games, including a 27-8 ledger in MAC regular-season play, a 31-10 mark in all games (regular season and tournament) against conference foes and a 26-6 record at the Stroh Center.
• Four of those 18 losses came against nationally-ranked opponents, including a game at Indiana last Dec. 22, when Fleming played just 70 seconds before leaving due to an injury.
• Heading into that IU game, Fleming led the 2023-24 team in scoring (16.7 ppg) and steals (2.7 spg), and the 5-5 guard also paced the Falcons in rebounding (5.1 rpg).
• Fleming returned to action 11-and-a-half months later, scoring nine points on three three-point field goals vs. Xavier (Dec. 7).
• In that Xavier game, she passed several former Falcons to move into the top 40 on the BGSU career scoring list. Fleming now ranks 39th in school history with 910 points. With an average of 12.3 points per game, she is 12th on that BG career chart.
• In her career, Fleming has made 135 three-point field goals, ranking 16th in school history. She is fifth on the BGSU career list for triples made per game (1.82). And, Fleming is 15th in school history in assists per game, with 2.58.
VELASCO TIED FOR 23RD ON BG SCORING LIST
• Amy Velasco has had a stellar start to her senior season. Velasco has scored in double digits in every game, with 16 or more points in each of the last nine contests.
• Velasco had a game-high 28 points at Horizon League favorite Cleveland State (Nov. 12) and again led all players in scoring at Ohio State (Nov. 24), with a 24-point effort against the nationally-ranked Buckeyes.
• Velasco is averaging a team-best 19.4 points per game this season to date. In the Falcons’ four road games – which include a pair of games against top-15 teams – Velasco is averaging 22.5 points per outing.
• She moved into the top 25 on BGSU’s career scoring list in the Falcons’ win over St. Bonaventure (Nov. 16), and vaulted past Andrea Nordmann (1,164 points from 1989-93) into 24th place during BGSU’s trip to Daytona Beach. With 1,213 career points, Velasco has tied Jacki Raterman (1995-99) for 23rd place on the school list. Velasco is 20 points away from moving into the top 20 in BGSU history. The list of BG’s top scorers can be found elsewhere in these very notes.
• Velasco has a career scoring average of 11.03 points per game, which currently places her 20th on that BGSU list.
AMY ALSO ACCUMULATES ASSISTS
• Amy Velasco, as mentioned, is now tied for 23rd on the BGSU career scoring chart, and the senior also enjoys a lofty perch on the school’s assists list. Late last season, Velasco became just the 11th player in school history to reach the 300-assist plateau.
• In the Falcons’ win over Arkansas, Velasco moved past Jaymee Wappes (387 assists from 1996-2000) and Tracy Pontius (387 dimes from 2007-11), and she now ranks seventh in school history with 394 career assists. Her next target is her former teammate, Kadie.Hempfling, who had 432 assists from 2018-23.
• Velasco currently ranks seventh in BGSU history in assists per game, with 3.58. If you were able to find the BGSU career scoring list elsewhere in these notes, you’ll have no trouble finding the complete lists of both career assists and assists per game.
PASSING THEIR BOARDS (also titled, THIS HASN’T HAPPENED IN AT LEAST 30 YEARS)
• After out-rebounding Arkansas by 18 (41-23) in the final game of November, the Falcons began December with a 45-25 advantage on the boards against Xavier.
• Single-game records prior to the 1994-95 season are incomplete, but the Arkansas/Xavier stretch marks the first time since at least then that BGSU has had a +18 rebounding margin or better in back-to-back games.
• In that 30-year span (plus nine games), BGSU has had a rebounding margin of +18 a total of 30 times, counting the Arkansas and Xavier games.
THE FALCONS – A QUICK OVERVIEW
• The Falcons are 5-4 on the season, and BGSU brings a three-game winning streak into Wednesday’s Marquette contest. The Falcons are 3-0 at home, 0-4 on the road and 2-0 in neutral-site games to date, and BG has a scoring margin of +2.6, along with a +6.0 rebounding margin.
• BGSU opened the campaign with a 71-67 win over Southern Miss at the Stroh Center, but suffered a pair of seven-point losses on the road to Horizon League foes Detroit Mercy and Cleveland State. Then, however, the Orange and Brown returned home and exploded for a 51-point win over St. Bonaventure.
• The Falcons went on the road and faced a pair of nationally-ranked teams, falling to #13/12 West Virginia and #12/11 Ohio State, but BG posted a 2-0 record over the Thanksgiving holiday, downing Stetson and Arkansas at the Daytona Beach Classic.
• The Orange and Brown flattened Stetson, 79-43 (Nov. 29), before picking up a 79-78 victory over Arkansas the following afternoon (Nov. 30), in a game that featured four lead changes in the final 30 seconds. Then, the Orange and Brown returned home and picked up a 78-59 win over Xavier (Dec. 7), before taking a break for fall semester exams.
• Three players are scoring in double digits, with three others averaging at least 7.5 points per game. Senior Amy Velasco leads the way with 19.4 ppg, and she also paces the Falcons with 5.2 assists per contest. Velasco has scored in double figures in all nine games this season and in 10-straight games, dating to last season. And, the senior has averaged 8.3 assists over the last three contests.
• Sophomore Paige Kohler has 11.6 ppg, while fifth-year collegian Erika Porter is averaging 11.3 ppg and is second on the team in rebounding, with 5.6 boards per outing. Kohler has made a team-leading 19 three-point field goals, including seven in the win over Arkansas, while Porter is shooting 54.2 percent from the field.
• Fifth-year Falcon Lexi Fleming made her return to the court in the Xavier game and had nine points, while freshman Lauren Gerken and sophomore Taya Ellis have 8.0 and 7.5 ppg, respectively. Gerken is third on the team in rebounding (4.9 rpg) and three-pointers made (14), while Ellis is averaging a BG-best 8.8 rebounds per contest and also leads the Falcons with 1.2 blocked shots per outing.
• Freshman Johnea Donahue and junior Kendal Moxey have 5.5 and 4.8 ppg, respectively. Moxey is 19-for-32 (59.4%) from the floor, while Donahue leads BGSU with 2.7 steals per game.
• The Falcons returned seven players who saw action on the 2023-24 team that went 16-15 overall and 10-8 in MAC play. BG won four of the last six regular-season games, and the Falcons advanced to national postseason play with trip to the WNIT.
• BGSU was picked to finish fourth in the MAC in the preseason coaches poll last season. Despite losing more than 120 player-games due to injury in 2023-24, the Falcons finished the regular season in a tie for fourth in the conference.
• BGSU’s other returnees from last season are junior Emily Siesel and sophomores Ellis and Keiryn McGuff. Siesel played in 26 games off the bench last winter, while Ellis saw action in 29 and ranked second on the team in blocked shots behind Porter. McGuff played in 16 games, making two starts, before suffering an injury in January and missing the rest of the season. Third-year Falcon Jasmine Fearne is back after missing the entire ’23-24 campaign due to injury.
• The Falcons’ seven newcomers include a pair of junior-college transfers in Moxey and Kristiana Kulackovska, along with five freshmen – Donahue, Gerken, Laila Harrison, Brook Simpson and Taylor Wallace.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE GOLDEN EAGLES
• Marquette is 7-2 on the season. After dropping games at UCF and Illinois to begin the season, the Golden Eagles have won the last seven contests, including six by double digits. Most recently, MU downed Milwaukee by a 69-51 count on Sunday afternoon (Dec. 15).
• Skylar Forbes leads the team in scoring and rebounding, with 15.1 ppg and 6.6 rpg. She also has made a team-high 16 three-pointers. Lee Volker is averaging 14.1 ppg and is shooting 51.5% from the floor.
• Cara Consuegra is in her first year as head coach of the Golden Eagles after spending the previous 13 seasons as head coach at Charlotte. The Golden Eagles returned five letterwinners from last season’s team that went 23-9 overall and 11-7 in the Big East Conference, adding six newcomers via the transfer portal. Marquette is one of four teams in NCAA Division I women’s college basketball to have no true or redshirt freshmen on the roster.
THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Marquette, 1-0, in the all-time series, and the lone prior meeting was a thriller. Nearly 32 years ago (Dec. 20, 1992), BGSU picked up a 105-103 win in double overtime, in a game played at the Boilermaker Classic in West Lafayette, Ind.
• BGSU has an overall record of 14-13 against the Big East Conference’s current women’s basketball-playing schools. The Falcons have faced seven of the 11 schools at least once.
DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the Marquette game, BGSU will hit the road for the next two games. The Falcons will conclude both the December and the non-conference portions of the schedule with a game at Duquesne on Saturday (Dec. 21). That matchup is scheduled for a 12:00 p.m. start at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
• Then, the Orange and Brown will begin the Mid-American Conference slate on New Year’s Day, taking on Kent State in a 1:00 p.m. start in Northeast Ohio.
• BGSU’s next home game is set for Saturday, Jan. 4, vs. Eastern Michigan.
FOR MORE INFORMATION…
For more information on BGSU women’s hoops, be sure to follow the Falcons on Facebook (@BGWBB), Twitter/X (@BGSU_Athletics and @BGSUWBB) and Instagram (@bgsuwbb), as well as on the web at BGSUFalcons.com.
This article was published by Bowling Green Falcons on 2024-12-17 14:58:00
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