BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Sophomore Paige Kohler stuffed the stat sheet Wednesday night (Jan. 29), as the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team posted an 82-69 win over the University of Akron inside the Stroh Center.

Kohler had 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to lead the Falcons (10-10, 4-5 Mid-American Conference) in all three categories. The Olmsted Falls native tied her career scoring high and fell just two rebounds and one assist shy of matching each of those career standards.

Kohler also had three steals in the win, and led all players with a +17 plus/minus rating.

Fifth-year Falcon Lexi Fleming joined Kohler in double digits in the scoring column, with 18 points, and added six assists and four steals on the night. As a team, BGSU had 20 assists on 27 baskets.

Kohler scored 20 of her points in the first half, while Fleming had 15 second-half points.

Shelbee Brown paced the Zips (9-12, 3-6 MAC) with 22 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while Zakia Rasheed and Maddie Vejsicky scored 14 and 11 points, respectively.

BGSU forced Akron into 20 turnovers, and the Falcons had 11 steals and a 25-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
 

— H. Tyler Seggerman (@TylerSeggerman) January 30, 2025

FIRST QUARTER
• The Zips took an early lead, as BGSU got off to a slow start offensively. The Falcons forced five Akron turnovers in the first 2:32 of the game, with Johnea Donahue picking up three steals in a span of just 22 seconds. But, Donahue's two free throws were BG's only points in the first three-plus minutes.
• Emily Hall's three-point play broke a 2-2 tie, with a Shelbee Brown charity toss giving the Zips an early 6-2 lead. Amy Velasco drove the baseline and found Paige Kohler for a three-pointer, and Kohler then drove and kicked the ball out to Lexi Fleming for a long-range shot and an 8-6 advantage. But, Brown hit an 'and-one' turnaround jumper, with her free throw giving UA a one-point lead midway through the quarter.
• Donahue's driving layup and a Kohler three-pointer gave the Orange and Brown a 13-11 lead, and after the Zips tied the game with a Ni'Rah Clark layup, Kohler made a driving layup, then took a Fleming pass and knocked down her third three-pointer of the quarter. Kohler had 11 points, and the Falcons had an 18-13 lead.
• But, the Zips ended the period on a 5-0 run, with an Alexus Mobley three-pointer beating the buzzer to tie the game, 18-18, after 10 minutes.

SECOND QUARTER
• A Mobley layup and a pull-up jumper by Brown gave the Zips a 9-0 run and a 22-18 lead with just over a minute gone in the second period. But, the Falcons would answer with an 11-0 run. Erika Porter's nifty bounce pass found a cutting Velasco for a layup and a three-point play, and Velasco then drove the baseline and whipped the ball to Kohler for a corner three and a 24-22 lead.
• Kohler scored on a driving layup, then after an Akron miss, Kohler grabbed the ball and threw a long pass ahead to Fleming. The ball nearly went out of bounds, but Fleming kept it in play, and flipped a pass to Laila Harrison for a layup. A Taya Ellis free throw gave the hosts a 29-22 lead.
• Maddie Vejsicky stopped the Falcons' run with a corner three, but Jasmine Fearne – who had entered the game for the first time just 12 seconds earlier – took a Kohler pass and drilled a three-point try from the top of the arc. Then, after the Falcons got a stop, Kohler fed Emily Siesel for a long-range hoop and a 35-25 Falcon lead.
• After a near turnover by the Falcons, Kohler drove in for a layup and a 37-26 advantage, but UA's Zakia Rasheed hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to cut the lead to five points. But, another driving layup by Kohler in the final minute of the period gave the Falcons a 39-32 advantage at the break.
• Kohler had nine points in the quarter and 20 in the first half.

THIRD QUARTER
• Vejsicky opened the second half with a layup, but Kohler lobbed the ball to Porter for a layup and a three-point play. Keiryn McGuff got a putback in traffic, but a Rasheed trey cut the BG lead to five points, at 44-39.
• Fleming cut along the baseline, took a Kohler pass and hit a layup, but a Liisa Taponen bucket cut the Falcons' lead to 46-42. Kohler, however, answered with a three-pointer after a Fleming steal in the UA end of the court.
• After a Rasheed triple, Donahue found Velasco for a floating jump shot and a 54-45 lead. Moments later, Porter scored a pair of buckets, with one coming after a Fleming pass and the other on a putback. BG led, 59-47, but the Zips ended the quarter on a 4-1 run, with Clark's layup getting Akron within nine points.

FOURTH QUARTER
• Velasco found Kohler for a long three-pointer to begin the fourth-period scoring, and after Brown answered with a three-point play, another Velasco pass resulted in a Fleming triple. Vesicky curled around to the top of the arc, took a pass and hit a trey, but Fleming did the same thing at the other end, taking a Kohler pass and knocking down a long-distance shot for give the Falcons a 69-57 lead.
• Brown went coast-to-coast for a layup, however, and a Vejsicky trey cut the Falcons' lead to seven. But, Kohler answered with a foul-line jumper, and after two Hall free throws, the Falcons used nearly all of the shot clock before McGuff hit a three-point try from in front of the BG bench. BGSU led by 10, 74-64, with just under three minutes to go.
• Akron got within seven points on a Hall layup, but a long pass from Kohler led to a wide-open layup for Fleming, making it a 76-67 game with just over a minute to go. BGSU sealed the game at the foul line, with Fleming (four) and Velasco (two) combining to go 6-for-6 from the stripe in the final minute of the contest.
• Fleming had 12 points in the fourth quarter, going 3-for-3 from the field (including 2-of-2 from the arc) and 4-for-4 from the line.

UP NEXT
• BGSU will begin the month of February with three-straight road games. The Falcons will face Central Michigan on Saturday (Feb. 1), in a 1:00 p.m. matchup at McGuirk Arena.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will meet league-leading Ball State in Muncie (Feb. 5), and Arkansas State in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge (Feb. 8), before hosting the Chippewas on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 15. The latter game will be BGSU's Alumni Day, with many former Falcon greats expected to be on hand at the Stroh.

NEXT FIVE GAMES (all times Eastern)
Sat., Feb. 1 | at Central Michigan | 1:00 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 5 | at Ball State | 6:30 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 8 | at Arkansas State (MAC-Sun Belt Challenge) | 3:00 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 15 | CENTRAL MICHIGAN | 2:00 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 19 | at Western Michigan | 7:00 p.m.

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 right here at BGSUFalcons.com.