MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit, posting a 76-69 win over Central Michigan University on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 1) at McGuirk Arena.

All five starters scored in double digits for the Falcons (11-10, 5-5 Mid-American Conference), who have won two-straight games. Sophomore Paige Kohler had a team-leading 17 points, while Erika Porter had 14 of her 16 points in the second half.

Porter scored nine points in the fourth quarter, matching CMU's team total, and had an assist on arguably the biggest bucket of the game. With under a minute to play and the Falcons leading by a single point, Porter worked down low, drawing several defenders toward her, then kicked the ball out to Kohler for a long three-point attempt that found nothing but net. The shot gave BGSU a 71-67 lead with 42.0 seconds to go, and the Falcons went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line to seal the road win.

Lexi Fleming had 13 points, while Johnea Donahue had 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Porter also had five rebounds in the win, and she led all players with a +20 plus/minus rating.

Amy Velasco rounded out BGSU's double-digit scorers with 10 points, adding four assists and two blocked shots.

Madi Morson and Jess Lawson combined for 43 points for the Chippewas (8-13, 4-6 MAC). Morson had a game-high 23 points, including 14 of her team's 27 total points in the second half. Lawson had a double-double, with 20 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Central had a 39-26 rebounding advantage, but the Falcons forced 15 turnovers while committing just nine themselves. BGSU had just two second-half turnovers.
 

With @BGSUMBB in full force cheering on @BGSUWBB in their game at Central Michigan. pic.twitter.com/icwdqdIKB4

— Todd Simon (@CoachTsimon) February 1, 2025

Some MBB Falcons spotted taking in the action against CMU | #AyZiggy @BGSUWBB | Go Falcons!!! 🟠 pic.twitter.com/NYCVqTUf5v

— BGSU Men's Basketball (@BGSUMBB) February 1, 2025

NOTE OF THE DAY: COMEBACKS AT CENTRAL
• The Falcons rallied from a third-quarter deficit to win at Central Michigan for the second consecutive season. Last year (Jan. 3, 2024), BGSU trailed by nine points midway through the third quarter before rallying for a 65-64 win.
• On Saturday, as mentioned, the Falcons trailed by 12 points early in the third quarter before coming back.
• In the fourth quarter of those two games, the Falcons outscored the Chippewas by a combined total of 38-17 (18-8 last season, 20-9 on Saturday).
• BGSU held CMU to just four field goals in 35 attempts – a field-goal percentage of just 11.4% – in the fourth quarter of those two games.

FIRST QUARTER
• The Falcons took an early lead, as Paige Kohler came up with a steal on the game's opening possession, and Johnea Donahue's pass to a trailing Lexi Fleming led to a three-pointer. Moments later, Kohler took an Amy Velasco pass and knocked down a long-range shot of her own for a 6-2 lead.
• Donahue received Fleming's bounce pass and hit an and-one layup, with the ensuing free throw putting the Falcons up, 9-4, with under four minutes gone. But, CMU slowly battled back.
• The Chippewas scored four quick points, with a Madi Morson driving layup cutting the margin to a single point. Velasco hit a layup just before the mid-quarter media timeout, and Erika Porter worked her defender down for a layup and a 13-8 lead, but Porter was then whistled for her second foul of the game with 3:50 still remaining in the opening period.
• The hosts then went on a 7-0 run, as Morson hit a three-pointer to tie the game before Lisa Tesson's driving layup gave the Chippewas a 15-13 advantage. Donahue made a pair of free throws, and Keiryn McGuff drove inside and found Kendal Moxey for a layup. Velasco's shot in the lane gave BG a 19-17 lead.
• But, Morson threw up a shot that went in, and Jess Lawson's pull-up jumper gave the hosts the lead once again. Fleming's two charity tosss tied the score with 20.1 seconds left in the quarter, but a Lawson shot bounced off the rim and fell through the hoop in the final seconds, giving Central a 23-21 lead.

SECOND QUARTER
• Tesson's driving layup began the second-period scoring, and after Donahue scored in the paint, the Chippewas scored four-straight points, with Taylor Johnson's foul-line jumper giving CMU a 29-25 lead.
• Jayda Mosley was fouled on a three-point try and made all three of her shots at the stripe. Kohler hit a pair of free throws, and Fleming then took a return pass from Donahue and knocked down a corner three. But, the Chippewas were answering at the other end of the court. Taylor Anderson rebounded her own miss and put the ball back up and in, and when Demetria Prewitt also scored on a putback, Central had a 42-31 lead in the final minute of the half.
• Emily Siesel grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled with just 1.1 seconds on the clock, making a free trow to cut the deficit to 10 points at the half.

THIRD QUARTER
• Kohler began the second half with a driving layup, but CMU scored the game's next four points at the free-throw line, with a pair of Lawson tosses giving the hosts a 12-point lead, 46-34, early in the third quarter.
• Velasco drove around a teammate's screen and hit a layup, and the senior then whipped a nifty bounce pass to a cutting Fleming for another hoop, but Mosley knocked down a three-point try to move the lead back into double digits.
• But, back came the Falcons, Velasco found Porter for a layup, and Porter then tipped in a teammate's missed shot. When Donahue stole the ball and fired a pass ahead to Kohler for a left-wing three-pointer, the Falcons trailed by just four points 49-45. Then, Donahue drove inside and kicked the ball out to Jasmine Fearne. Fearne proceeded to hit a three-pointer from just in front of her team's bench, cutting the deficit to a single point.
• Finally, the Chippewas snapped BGSU's 10-0 run, as Morson knocked down a three-point try from the left side. Then, after the Falcons missed a shot, Morson knocked down a straightaway triple try, giving the hosts a 55-48 lead with just under two minutes left in the quarter.
• Donahue answered with a three-point play, but Morson made a long two-pointer, 
and a putback by Prewitt moments later gave the Chippewas a 59-52 advantage. Kohler made a pair of free throws with 20.8 seconds on the clock, and after Prewitt split two charity tosses, Kohler was fouled again, hitting both shots with just 0.6 seconds remaining in the quarter. After 30 minutes, the Chippewas had a 60-56 lead.

FOURTH QUARTER
• Porter took an entry pass from Fearne and hit a layup to cut the Chippewas' lead in half, and after Morson made a short left-side jumper, Porter was fouled and hit both shots at the stripe. Then, the fifth-year collegian scored inside to tie the game, 62-62, with 7:17 to go.
• Fleming was fouled on a baseline cut, hitting both subsequent shots to give the Falcons the lead. Anderson split a pair of tries, and Porter made two tosses to put BG up, 66-63. Each team came up empty on the next several possessions before Anderson's putback made it a one-point game with 3:05 to go. BGSU was called for an offensive foul, and Morson hit a pull-up jumper to put her team back on top with 2:10 remaining.
• The Falcons missed a shot, but CMU also missed a shot, and the Chippewas were called for a foul on the scramble for the ensuing rebound. McGuff went to the line and hit the tying and go-ahead free throws with 1:17 to play.
• On the next possession, Velasco knocked the ball away from Lawson as she went up to shoot. The ball went out of bounds, and after a review, it was determined that the ball was last touched by CMU. It was BG ball with 59.7 seconds left.
• The ensuing possession saw Porter draw several defenders to her before kicking the ball out to Kohler for a huge three-pointer with 42.0 seconds to go.
• Central missed a shot, with Porter grabbing the rebound and the Falcons using a timeout. Kohler inbounded the ball to Velasco, who was fouled and sank both shots with 30.7 seconds left, giving BG a 73-67 lead. CMU nearly threw the ball away, but in the ensuing scramble for the loose ball, the Falcons were whistled for a foul, with Lawson making both charity tosses.
• Central fouled before BG could inbound the ball, and Velasco made both free-throw attempts for a 75-69 lead with 26.0 seconds on the clock. After a CMU timeout, an inbounds pass was stolen by Porter, who was immediately fouled She made one free throw, Kohler rebounded a CMU miss at the other end, and the Falcons had the road win.
 

Gallery: (2-1-2025) 020125 wbk at CMU - Sydney Kline

UP NEXT
• The CMU game began a three-game road swing for the Falcons, which continues with a trip to Muncie to face league-leading Ball State on Wednesday night (Feb. 5). That game will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Worthen Arena.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will step outside of conference play for the second leg of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge next Saturday (Feb. 8). BGSU will face Arkansas State in a game scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. ET in Jonesboro, Ark.

• BGSU's next home game is against CMU on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 15. It 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)
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.
Sat., Feb. 22 | TOLEDO | 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.