SATURDAY, FEB. 15  |  2:00 P.M.  |  STROH CENTER  |  BOWLING GREEN, OHIO

JUMP BALL
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, after an impressive road non-conference win last weekend, returns to Mid-American Conference play for the remainder of the regular season, beginning Saturday (Feb. 15). Head coach Fred Chmiel and the Falcons face Central Michigan University at the Stroh Center, with tipoff set for 2:00 p.m. It will be Alumni Day for the women's basketball Falcons, with many former BGSU standouts expected to be in attendance.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• There are many ways to keep up with the Falcons in 2024-25...

• TV/VIDEO: Saturday's Central Michigan game will be streamed via ESPN+.
• RADIO/AUDIO: The CMU contest, as is the case for all of BGSU's 2024-25 games, is scheduled to have an audio stream thanks to Falcon Media Sports Network.
• 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: DONAHUE, FALCONS DOWN A-STATE IN 75-73 THRILLER
• BGSU withstood an early three-point barrage by Arkansas State, and the Falcons rallied back for a thrilling 75-73 win on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 8). The game, part of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, was held at First National Bank Arena.

• Freshman Johnea Donahue had the first double-double of her young career for the Falcons (12-11 [5-6 MAC]), with career-high totals in both points and rebounds. Donahue had 19 points and 10 boards, going 8-of-9 from the field in the win.

• Senior Amy Velasco had 15 points and eight assists, while sophomore Paige Kohler scored 14 points and added five rebounds.

• BGSU's win snapped an 11-game winning streak dating to late December for the Red Wolves (15-8 [11-1 Sun Belt]).

• A-State went 5-of-6 from three-point range to begin the game, taking a 15-5 lead with just over three minutes gone and forcing an early BGSU timeout. After going 7-of-13 from the arc in the first quarter, the Red Wolves were just 1-of-19 over the next two periods.

• BGSU had a dominant 49-28 rebounding lead, with Erika Porter pulling down 11 boards to go along with her seven points. Fellow fifth-year collegian Lexi Fleming had a season-high eight rebounds along with six points and seven assists.

• BGSU had 22 assists on 28 field goals. The Falcons shot over 50 percent (51.9%; 28-of-54) from the field for the game, making 9-of-21 shots (42.9%) from long distance.

• The Red Wolves went 27-of-71 (38.0%) overall and 11-of-39 (28.2%) from the arc. Crislyn Rose had a tremendous game for the hosts, with her 29 points including 16 in the fourth quarter alone. But, Rose was the only A-State player to score in double digits.

NUMBER 3 HAS BEEN A KEY IN BGSU'S 3 ROAD WINS
• The Arkansas State game was the Falcons' third true road win this season. Freshman Johnea Donahue has played a B!G role in each of those wins.

• Donahue had 10 points, tying her career best at the time, along with a career-high eight rebounds in the win at Ohio (Jan. 15). She also had two assists and three steals.

• At Central Michigan, she set a new career high with 12 points, and tied her career best with five assists in a comeback victory. Donahue also had five rebounds and a pair of steals.

• Then, at Arkansas State, Donahue exploded for career-high numbers in both points (19) and rebounds (10), as she went 8-of-9 from the field, including 2-of-2 from three-point range. Her lone steal came in the final minute of play with the game tied.

• In those three road wins, Donahue shot a combined 15-of-19 (78.9%) from the floor, including 3-of-3 from the arc. She averaged 13.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game in those three contests.

DOUBLE-DIGIT DEFICIT? NO PROBLEM!
• The win at Arkansas State marked the third time BG has come back from a double-digit deficit this season, and the second time in as many Saturdays. The Falcons rallied from 14 points down to post an 80-79 win over Arkansas on Nov. 30, 2024, at the Daytona Beach Classic, before recovering from a 12-point third-quarter deficit to pick up a 76-69 win in this season's first Central Michigan meeting (Feb. 1, 2025).

• The win at CMU was BGSU's largest comeback in a MAC game in nearly two years, since a victory at Western Michigan on Feb. 18, 2023. In that game, the Orange and Brown trailed by 14 points midway through the third quarter before roaring back to win by 12 (65-53).

PASSING THEIR BOARDS (AKA, THIS HASN'T HAPPENED IN AT LEAST 30 YEARS)
• BGSU had a whopping +21 advantage in rebounding at Arkansas State, with a 49-28 lead on the boards. It marked the fourth time this season that the Falcons have out-rebounded the opponent by 18 or more.

• The 2021-22 Falcons also had four such games. Prior to that, no other BG team had had four +18 games on the boards since at least 1994-95.

• 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. That had marked the first time since at least '94-95 that BGSU had a +18 rebounding margin or better in back-to-back games.

• The Falcons were +20 on the boards at Ohio (Jan. 15) before going +21 at A-State. In the aforementioned 30-year span (plus 23 games), BGSU has had a rebounding margin of +18 a total of 32 times.

EP = ELITE PERFORMER
• It's no secret that Erika Porter can shoot the ball well. How well? Very well. So well, in fact, that she has already set several school records and is on pace for another.

• Last season, Porter shot 66.3 percent from the field, making 159 of her 240 shots to set a new school single-season record in that category. In fact, she broke not only the BG record, but the MAC single-season mark as well, and she ranked second in the entire nation in field-goal percentage a year ago.

• Porter shot 68.2% from the field in MAC games last season, making 107 of her 157 attempts. She shattered that BGSU record (65.5%, Talita Scott in '92-93) and fell just shy of breaking the conference mark (68.9%, Buffalo's Heather Turner in 2006-07).

• Now, Porter is on pace to shatter another BGSU record – the school career record for field-goal pct. Entering the Central Michigan game, Porter has shot 61.2% (257 of 420) from the field in her BG tenure – well ahead of the current record of 57.0% (Jacki Raterman, 1995-99).  Hear us now and believe us later, @OldTakesExposed – Porter is a virtual lock to break this record.

• The complete list of BGSU career FG pct. leaders can be found on page 24.

PK10 GETS IT DONE
• Sophomore Paige Kohler had a monster game in the Falcons' 82-69 win over Akron (Jan. 29). Kohler had 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to lead the team in all three categories. She tied her career scoring high, and fell just two rebounds and one assist shy of matching each of those career standards.

• Then, three days later, she had a team-leading 17 points in the win at Central Michigan, including arguably the biggest bucket of the game. With under a minute to play and the Falcons leading by a single point, Kohler hit a long three-point attempt to give  BGSU a 71-67 lead with 42.0 seconds to go.

• With 15 points at Ball State, Kohler led BGSU in scoring for the third-straight game.

• Kohler, who has started all 54 of BGSU's games since her arrival on campus, heads into the Central Michigan game with impressive career totals of 639 points, 238 rebounds and 188 assists. She currently ranks 16th in BGSU history in career scoring average (11.83 ppg), and is eighth in career assists per game (3.48).

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 2022-23 and saw action in 36 games as BGSU went 31-7. She was injured in December of 2023 and missed nearly an entire year, before returning to the court for this season's Xavier game (Dec. 7).

• Fleming surpassed the 1,000-point mark last month (Jan. 18). She became the 32nd player to reach that plateau, and she did so in her 82nd career game, tying her for the ninth-fastest player to reach the millennium mark in program history.

• Entering the CMU game, Fleming has played in a total of 88 contests as a Falcon. BGSU has a record of 63-25 in those 88 games, including a 32-14 ledger in MAC regular-season play, a 36-16 mark in all games (regular season and tournament) against conference foes and a 30-8 record at the Stroh Center.

• Four of those losses have come against nationally-ranked opponents, including a game at Indiana (Dec. 22, 2023), when Fleming played just 70 seconds before leaving due to injury. Heading into that IU game, Fleming had led the 2023-24 team in scoring (16.7 ppg), rebounding (5.1 rpg for the 5-5 guard) and steals (2.7 spg).

FLEMING CONTINUES TO CLIMB CAREER CHARTS
• Lexi Fleming is in her fifth season with the Falcons, but has played the equivalent of roughly three seasons in a BG uniform. She has been moving up the BGSU career scoring list at a rapid rate since returning to the court in early December, and enters the CMU game with 1,093 career points, ranking 27th in BGSU history. With an average of 12.42 points per game, Fleming is 11th on that BG career list.

• In her career, Fleming has now made 163 three-point field goals, ranking her 13th in school history. She is fifth on the BGSU career list for triples made per game (1.85). And, Fleming is 16th in school history in assists per game, with 2.74, and 14th in career free-throw percentage (80.2%).

• Additionally, she continues to move up on the career steals list. Fleming now has 191 steals as a Falcon, tying her for 12th in BGSU history, and she is currently third in career steals per game (2.17).

VELASCO CONTINUES TO MOVE UP THE SCORING LIST AS WELL
• Amy Velasco is putting together a stellar senior season. Velasco has scored in double digits in 20 of the Falcons' 23 games to date, and is averaging a team-high 15.5 points per contest in 2024-25.

• Velasco has scored at least 20 points five times this season, including game-high totals of 28 points at Horizon League favorite Cleveland State and 24 points at nationally-ranked Ohio State.

• She recently moved into the top 20 on BGSU's career scoring list, and has continued to climb the leaderboard. With 1,394 career points, Velasco currently ranks 14th on that chart. Her next target is Tracy Pontius (1,399 points from 2007-11).

• Velasco has a career scoring average of 11.24 points per game, which currently places her 21st on that BGSU list. And, with a career total of 142 three-point field goals made, she is 17th on that BGSU chart.

• Velasco has a career free-throw rate of 82.7%, having made 302 of her 365 attempts from the stripe. She is ranked ninth on that BGSU career list.

AMY ALSO ACCUMULATES ASSISTS
• Amy Velasco, as mentioned, is now 14th on the BGSU career scoring list, and the senior also enjoys a lofty perch on the school's assists chart. In the Kent State game on New Year's Day, Velasco became just the seventh player in school history to surpass 400 career assists.

• Velasco recently moved past her former teammate, Kadie Hempfling (432 assists from 2018-23), into sixth place on the BGSU career list. Velasco now has 451 career dimes. Lindsay Austin (508 assists from 2000-04) holds down the fifth-place spot.

• Velasco currently ranks sixth in BGSU history in assists per game, with 3.64.

THE FALCONS – A QUICK OVERVIEW
• The Falcons are 12-11 on the season, and BGSU is 5-6 in MAC play. BG is tied for seventh place in the 12-team league.

• BGSU has won three of the last four games, with the lone loss in that time coming at  MAC-leading Ball State (71-51, Feb. 5). The Falcons rebounded from that setback, hitting the road and beating Arkansas State, 75-73, in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge (Feb. 8). That BG win snapped A-State's 11-game winning streak.

• The loss at BSU had snapped a two-game winning streak that included an 82-69 home win over Akron (Jan. 29) and a 76-69 victory at Central Michigan (Feb. 1).

• In addition to the Akron and CMU games, the Falcons have MAC wins over Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois at home, and Ohio on the road. BGSU also has conference losses at home against Buffalo and Western Michigan, and on the road vs. Kent State, Miami and Toledo.

• In non-league play, BG posted home wins over Southern Miss, St. Bonaventure, Xavier and Marquette, with neutral-site victories vs. Stetson and Arkansas. The losses included road contests vs. two nationally-ranked teams (#13/12 West Virginia and #12/11 Ohio State), as well as Horizon League favorite Cleveland State.

• BGSU is 7-2 at home, 3-9 on the road and 2-0 in neutral-site games this season to date. In MAC play, the Falcons are 3-2 at the Stroh and 2-4 at hostile venues.

• Overall, the Falcons have a scoring margin of +0.8 and a rebounding margin of +3.3 this year. BG has outrebounded 13 of this season's first 23 opponents, with a rebounding margin of 10 or more in seven of those games to date. That includes a school record-tying four games with a rebounding margin of +18 or better.

• Four players are scoring in double digits for the Orange and Brown. Senior Amy Velasco leads the way with 15.5 ppg, and she also paces the Falcons with 4.5 assists per contest. Velasco has scored in double figures in 20 of 23 games this season, and is second on the club with 35 three-point field goals made. She is shooting a BG-best 41.2 percent from the arc, ranking fourth in the MAC in that category. Velasco is second in the conference in both free-throw pct. (92.2%) and minutes played (35.28 mpg). She has made 89 career starts and has 71 career double-digit scoring games.

• Sophomore Paige Kohler and fifth-year Falcon Lexi Fleming have 13.1 and 12.8 ppg, respectively. Kohler also has 4.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, and has made a team-leading 53 three-point field goals. She flirted with a triple-double in the win at Ohio, with 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and had a 28-point, seven-board, seven-assist performance vs. Akron. Kohler is fifth in the MAC in assist/turnover ratio.

• Fleming had 23-point outings on the road against both Miami and Toledo, part of a five-game stretch in which she led BG in scoring four times. She has made 31 triples in her 16 games to date, and has 3.4 assists and 2.2 steals per game to rank second on the team in both categories.

• Fifth-year collegian Erika Porter is averaging 10.3 ppg, and has a team-leading 5.5 rpg. Porter also leads the Falcons and is second in the MAC in field-goal pct. (54.4%).

• Freshman Lauren Gerken has 7.2 ppg and 4.6 rpg, while classmate Johnea Donahue is scoring 6.6 ppg after her 19-point performance at A-State. Donahue leads BGSU and is fourth in the MAC with 2.35 steals per game.

• Sophomores Keiryn McGuff and Taya Ellis are averaging 4.5 and 4.1 ppg, respectively. McGuff also has 4.3 rpg, and scored in double figures in three-straight games to begin MAC play. Ellis has 4.9 rpg on the season, ranking second on the team, and she leads BGSU with 0.8 blocks per game. Junior Kendal Moxey has 3.5 ppg and has gone 29-for-56 (51.8%) from the floor.

• In MAC play, Fleming (14.5 ppg), Kohler (14.4) and Velasco (12.9) all have scored between 142 and 160 points in the 11 games to date. Porter and Kohler have 5.1 and 4.6 rpg, respectively, while Velasco (3.9 apg), Kohler (3.8) and Fleming (3.6) all are averaging over three assists per game vs. conference competition.

• Kohler is second in the MAC in assist/turnover ratio in conference games, while Fleming is third in the league in steals (2.55).

• 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's other returnees from last season are third-year Falcons Emily Siesel and Jasmine Fearne. Siesel played in 26 games off the bench last winter, while Fearne is back after missing the entire '23-24 campaign due to injury. Fearne is fourth on the Falcons with 19 successful triple tries in 2024-25 to date, and set career-high minutes totals in the back-to-back wins at Ohio (24:09) and Northern Illinois (26:02).

• The Falcons' eight newcomers include a pair of junior-college transfers in Moxey and Kristiana Kulackovska, along with six freshmen – Donahue, Gerken, Laila Harrison, Sofia Moschen, Brook Simpson and Taylor Wallace. Moschen joined the team in the first week of January.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE CHIPPEWAS
• Central Michigan is 10-13 overall, and the Chippewas, like the Falcons, are 5-6 in MAC play. CMU has topped the overall and league win totals for all of last season.

• Central has won two-straight games, including a 75-48 home win over Ohio (Feb. 5; a game in which the Chippewas led by as many as 38 points) and a 73-68 victory at Marshall (Feb. 8).

• CMU is 5-6 in home games, 4-6 in road contests and 1-1 at neutral sites this season to date. In MAC play, the Chippewas are 3-3 at home and 2-3 on the road. Central has won three of the last four road games, including double-digit wins over Akron and Western Michigan. CMU leads the MAC in rebounding margin (+9.91).

• Madi Morson has 15.7 ppg on the season, while Jess Lawson has 11.9 ppg and a team-leading 9.1 rpg. That duo combined for 43 points in this season's first meeting with the Falcons. Ayanna-Sarai Darrington has 9.7 ppg and is shooting 58.3% from the field, while Jayda Mosley has hit a team-leading 36 three-point field goals this season to date.

• Head coach Kristin Haynie, in her second season with the Chippewas, has just three returning letterwinners, including two starters, from a year ago. CMU has a total of 11 newcomers. The '23-24 Chippewas finished with records of 6-22 overall and 4-14 in the MAC.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Central Michigan, 53-23, in the all-time series, and BGSU has captured five-straight meetings, including this season's first matchup. The Falcons rallied from 12 points down to pick up a 76-69 win at McGuirk Arena in two weeks ago (Feb. 1, 2025). Last season, in the MAC opener (Jan. 3, 2024), BG rallied from nine points down for a 65-64 win, with Paige Kohler scoring a game- and career-high 28 points. The last meeting at the Stroh Center was a 101-68 BGSU triumph two years ago (Jan. 11, 2023). CMU's last victory in the series was a 77-72 decision in the championship game of the 2021 MAC Tournament in Cleveland (March 13, 2021).

• BGSU is 28-7 at home, 21-11 on the road and 4-5 in neutral-site meetings with the Chippewas through the years. Additional series information can be found elsewhere in these very notes.

DOWN THE ROAD
• The CMU game begins a stretch in which BGSU will play three of four games at home. The Falcons will head to Kalamazoo to meet Western Michigan on Wednesday night (Feb. 19), with that contest set for a 7:00 p.m. start at University Arena.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will return home to meet Toledo next Saturday night (Feb. 22), before hosting Ohio four days later (Feb. 26).

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.