FRIDAY, NOV. 29  |  1:15 P.M.  |  OCEAN CENTER  |  DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.

OPENING TIP
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team heads to Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday. Head coach Fred Chmiel and the Falcons will play a pair of games at the Daytona Beach Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla. BGSU begins with a Friday (Nov. 29) game vs. Stetson University, before the Falcons take on the University of Arkansas on Saturday (Nov. 30). Both of BG's games are scheduled to begin at 1:15 p.m. at the Ocean Center.

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

• TV/VIDEO: Both the Stetson and Arkansas matchups will be streamed via BallerTV.
• RADIO/AUDIO: The two contests in Florida, as is the case for all of BGSU's 2024-25 games, are 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.

DAYTONA BEACH CLASSIC SCHEDULE
(all games at Ocean Center; Daytona Beach, Fla.)
Thursday, Nov. 28
Ohio State vs. Old Dominion, 11:00 a.m.

Friday, Nov. 29
Oakland vs. Richmond, 11:00 a.m.
Bowling Green vs. Stetson, 1:15 p.m.
Utah State vs. Ohio State, 3:30 p.m.
Oklahoma State vs. Arkansas, 5:45 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 30
Stetson vs. Utah State, 11:00 a.m.
Bowling Green vs. Arkansas, 1:15 p.m.
Old Dominion vs. Oakland, 3:30 p.m.
Richmond vs. Oklahoma State, 5:45 p.m.

VELASCO VAULTS INTO BGSU'S TOP 25
• Amy Velasco has had a stellar start to her senior season. Velasco has scored in double digits in every game, and has reached the 20-point mark in four of BGSU's six games.

• 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 on Sunday (Nov. 24), with a 24-point effort against the nationally-ranked Buckeyes.

• Velasco is averaging a team-best 20.5 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 25th place on BGSU's career scoring list in the Falcons' win over St. Bonaventure (Nov. 16), and is now just three points shy of 24th. Velasco has 1,161 career points, just behind Andrea Nordmann (1,164 points from 1989-93).

• Velasco currently has a career scoring average of 10.85 points per game, which currently places her 21st on that BGSU list.

AMY ALSO ACCUMULATES ASSISTS
• Amy Velasco is moving up the BGSU career scoring list, and the senior also enjoys a lofty perch on the school's career assists list. Velasco reached a milestone late last season, dishing out the 300th assist of her career. She became just the 11th player in school history to reach the 300-assist plateau.

• Velasco enters the Stetson game with a total of 369 career assists. She recently moved past Cathy Koch (347 assists from 1988-92) into sole possession of ninth place, and her next targets are Jaymee Wappes (1996-2000) and Tracy Pontius (2007-11), who dished out 387 assists each.

• Velasco currently ranks seventh in BGSU history in assists per game, with 3.45. The complete lists of both career assists and assists per game can be found on page 7 of the PDF version of these notes.

FALCONS FLY TO FLORIDA
• This week will mark the Falcons' eighth trip to the state of Florida in program history. BGSU has participated in six previous tournaments, and the Falcons also played a single game at FIU in the 2005-06 season.

• In all, the Falcons are 9-5 in games played in the state, with a 3-1 record in true road games and a mark of 6-4 in neutral-site contests. 

• That 9-5 record also includes a 6-1 mark in November games and a 3-4 record in games played in the month of December. The complete list can be found in the PDF.

THE FALCONS – A QUICK OVERVIEW
• The Falcons are 2-4 on the young season. BGSU opened the campaign with a 71-67 win over Southern Miss (Nov. 4) at the Stroh Center, but suffered a pair of seven-point losses on the road to Horizon League foes Detroit Mercy (73-66; Nov. 8) and Cleveland State (75-68; Nov. 12). Then, however, the Orange and Brown exploded for a 51-point win (92-41; Nov. 16) over St. Bonaventure.

• Last week, the Falcons went on the road and suffered losses to #13/12 West Virginia (Nov. 19) and #12/11 Ohio State (Nov. 24).

• Two players are scoring in double digits. Senior Amy Velasco leads the way with 20.5 ppg, and she also paces the Falcons with 3.7 assists per contest. Velasco has amassed 20 or more points in four of BGSU's six games, including a game-high 24 points at OSU. She has scored in double figures in all six games this season and in eight-straight games, dating to last season.

• Sophomore Paige Kohler has 11.2 ppg, while fifth-year collegian Erika Porter and soph Taya Ellis have 7.8 and 7.5 ppg, respectively. Kohler has made 10 three-point field goals, just two behind Velasco's team-leading total, while Ellis is averaging a BG-best 8.8 rebounds per contest and also leads the Falcons with 1.2 blocked shots per outing. Porter is second on the club with 4.3 rpg.

• Freshmen Lauren Gerken and Johnea Donahue, have 5.7 and 4.6 ppg, respectively. Gerken is second on the team in blocked shots and fourth in rebounding, while Donahue leads BGSU with 2.4 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.

• BG was 8-5 at home, 6-9 on the road and 2-1 at neutral sites last season. In MAC play, the Falcons went 6-3 at the Stroh and 4-5 away from home.

• The Falcons got off to a 5-1 start last season, before ending pre-conference play with a 6-4 mark. Three of those four losses came to nationally-ranked teams (#4/4 Iowa, #1/1 South Carolina and #16/15 Indiana) in the month of December. 

• A total of 14 Falcons saw action last season, but only eight of the 14 players who began the season on the roster suited up for the last 10 games of the year.

• Five players scored in double digits a year ago, and four of those five return. Fifth-year Falcon Lexi Fleming, one of the many injured players, averaged 31.4 mpg over the first 10 contests of the season, before leaving the Indiana game (Dec. 22). Fleming also had averages of 15.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game, and led the Falcons in all three categories at the time of her injury. She was averaging 16.7 ppg prior to that IU game, in which she played just 1:10.

• The graduated Morgan.Sharps had 15.1 ppg and led the team with 84 three-point field goals made, while Velasco and Porter scored 14.5 and 12.6 ppg, respectively. Kohler had 10.9 ppg in her freshman campaign.

• 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 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 Kristiana Kulackovska and Kendal Moxey, along with five freshmen – Donahue, Gerken, Laila Harrison, Brook Simpson and Taylor Wallace.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE HATTERS
• Stetson is 2-3 on the season. The Hatters have wins over Fort Lauderdale, Edward Waters and Florida Atlantic, all at home, and road losses to Miami (Fla.) and UCF. The team's most recent game was a 75-63 win over FAU last Tuesday (Nov. 19).

• Four players are averaging over 8.0 ppg this season to date. Cameron Thomas leads the way with 19.4 ppg, while Mary McMillan has 11.2 ppg to date. Both players are shooting 50 percent from three-point range, and Thomas was named Atlantic Sun Conference Newcomer of the Week on Monday (Nov. 25).

• Head coach Lynn Bria returned seven players from the 2023-24 team that went 17-15 overall and finished second in the ASUN with a 12-4 league mark. Bria, a former MAC head coach (Ohio, 1999-2006), was named the ASUN Coach of the Year.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons and Stetson have never met in women's basketball. BGSU has a 10-5 record against current Atlantic Sun Conference members.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the Stetson game, BGSU will return to the Ocean Center on Saturday (Nov. 30), taking on Arkansas in another 1:15 p.m. start.

• Then, the Falcons will return to Ohio to prepare for a home game vs. Xavier on Saturday, Dec. 7. That contest will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.

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.