SATURDAY, FEB. 1  |  1:00 P.M.  |  McGUIRK ARENA  |  MOUNT PLEASANT, MICH.

JUMP BALL
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, coming off of a home win, will spend a lot of time on the road in early February. Head coach Fred Chmiel and the Falcons begin a three-game road swing with a Saturday (Feb. 1) game against Central Michigan University. Tipoff for the Mid-American Conference matchup is set for 1:00 p.m. at McGuirk Arena.

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

• TV/VIDEO: Saturday's CMU 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: KOHLER DOES IT ALL AS FALCONS TOP ZIPS, 82-69
• Sophomore Paige Kohler stuffed the stat sheet Wednesday night (Jan. 29), as the Falcons posted an 82-69 win over Akron inside the Stroh Center.

• Kohler had 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to lead the Falcons (10-10, 4-5 MAC) 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 – tying her career high – 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.

• The game was tied, 18-18, after one quarter, and Akron scored the first four points of the second period to give the Zips a 9-0 run. But, The Falcons would proceed to score the next 11 points as part of a 17-3 surge. Emily Siesel's three-pointer capped that stretch, giving BG a 35-25 lead.

PK10 GETS IT DONE VS. THE ZIPS
• As we just mentioned, Paige Kohler did a little bit of everything in the Falcons' win over Akron. The sophomore had 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to lead BG in all three categories, and also had three steals in the win.

• Kohler, who has started all 51 of BGSU's games since her arrival on campus, now has impressive career totals of 593 points, 227 rebounds and 181 assists. She currently ranks 19th in career scoring average (11.63 ppg), and is eighth in BGSU history in career assists per game (3.55).

• Kohler, as mentioned earlier, tied her career scoring high in the Akron game. She made six three-pointers vs. the Zips, just one shy of her career best.

THE FALCONS VS. THE MAC
• Historically, the Falcons have been one of the top programs in the Mid-American Conference. Entering the CMU game, BGSU has gone 462-272 (.629) in league regular-season games. The Falcons have the second-highest winning percentage of all MAC institutions, and the second-most conference wins of all 12 programs.

• BGSU has won 15 MAC regular-season titles, which is tied for the highest total of any conference institution. And, the Falcons have won a league-best 11 MAC Tournament titles.

• BG leads the all-time series with all 11 conference foes, making the Falcons – obviously – the only team in the league with a winning record against every other school. BGSU also has the most overall victories and highest overall winning pct. of any league institution.

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).

• She recently (Jan. 18) surpassed the 1,000-point mark. Fleming 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 85 contests as a Falcon. BGSU has a record of 61-24 in those 85 games, including a 31-13 ledger in MAC regular-season play, a 35-15 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).

• The list of BGSU's leading career scorers can be found on page 22 of the PDF version of these notes, while the list of quickest Falcons to 1,000 points is on page six.

FLEMING CONTINUES TO CLIMB CAREER CHARTS
• Lexi Fleming is in her fifth season with the Falcons, but has played the equivalent of fewer than 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 kerfuffle with 1,060 career points, ranking 29th in BGSU history. With an average of 12.47 points per game, Fleming is 11th on that BG career list.

• In her career, Fleming has now made 159 three-point field goals, ranking her 14th in school history. She is fifth on the BGSU career list for triples made per game (1.87). And, Fleming is 16th in school history in assists per game, with 2.69.

• With a game-high five steals vs. Western Michigan last week (Jan. 22), Fleming moved up three spots on that career list. Heading into the CMU game, she now has 186 steals as a Falcon, ranking her 13th in BGSU history, and she is currently third in career steals per game (2.19).

VELASCO CONTINUES TO MOVE UP THE SCORING LIST
• Amy Velasco is putting together a stellar senior season. Velasco has scored in double digits in 17 of the Falcons' 20 games to date, and is averaging a team-high 15.9 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 just continued to move up. With 1,356 career points, Velasco currently ranks 16th on that chart. Her next target is former teammate Elissa Brett (1,358 points from 2019-23).

• Velasco has a career scoring average of 11.21 points per game, which currently places her 21st on that BGSU list. And, with a career total of 139 three-point field goals made, she is 17th on that BGSU chart.

AMY ALSO ACCUMULATES ASSISTS
• Amy Velasco, as mentioned, is now 16th 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.

• In last Saturday's UT contest, Velasco moved past her former teammate, Kadie Hempfling (432 assists from 2018-23), into sixth place on the BGSU career list. Velasco now has 438 career dimes.

• Velasco currently ranks eighth in BGSU history in assists per game, with 3.62. 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.

THE FALCONS – A QUICK OVERVIEW
• The Falcons are 10-10 on the season, and BGSU is 4-5 in MAC play. BG snapped a brief two-game losing streak with Wednesday night's (Jan. 29) 82-69 win over Akron at the Stroh Center. That win came after a narrow 63-60 setback against Western Michigan (Jan. 22) and an 80-68 outcome at Toledo last Saturday afternoon (Jan. 25).

• Prior to the WMU game, the Falcons had posted back-to-back wins, including a 74-53 victory at Ohio – BG's first road win of the season – and a 74-60 triumph over Northern Illinois.

• The Falcons' other MAC win came against Eastern Michigan. BGSU has conference losses against Buffalo at home and Kent State and Miami on the road.

• In non-conference play, BG posted home wins over Southern Miss, St. Bonaventure, Xavier and Marquette, with neutral-site victories against 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 a seven-point setback to Horizon League favorite Cleveland State.

• BGSU is 7-2 at home, 1-8 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 1-3 at hostile venues.

• Overall, the Falcons have a scoring margin of +1.5 and a rebounding margin of +4.3 this year. BG has outrebounded 12 of this season's first 20 opponents, with a rebounding margin of 10 or more in six of those games to date.

• Four players are scoring in double digits for the Orange and Brown. Senior Amy Velasco leads the way with 15.9 ppg, and she also paces the Falcons with 4.6 assists per contest. Velasco has scored in double figures in 17 of 20 games this season, and is second on the club with 32 three-point field goals made. Velasco is shooting a BG-best 43.8 percent from the arc, ranking her third in the MAC in that category. She is second in the conference in free-throw pct. (93.8%) and minutes played (35.06 mpg).

• Fifth-year Falcon Lexi Fleming and sophomore Paige Kohler have 13.3 and 12.8 ppg, respectively, after combining for 46 points in the win over Akron. Kohler also has 4.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, and has made a team-leading 44 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. the Zips.

• Fleming has led the Falcons or tied for the team lead in scoring in four of the last six games, including 23-point outings on the road against Miami and Toledo. She has made 27 triples in her 12 games to date, and has 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game to rank third and second, respectively, on the team.

• Fifth-year collegian Erika Porter is averaging 10.7 ppg, and has a team-leading 5.3 rpg. Porter also leads the Falcons in field-goal percentage (55.6%), ranking second in the MAC.

• Freshman Lauren Gerken has 7.2 ppg and 4.6 rpg, while classmate Johnea Donahue is scoring 5.6 ppg. Donahue leads BGSU and is fourth in the MAC with 2.4 steals per game.

• Sophomores Keiryn McGuff and Taya Ellis are averaging 4.9 and 4.5 ppg, respectively. McGuff also has 4.7 rpg, and scored in double figures in three-straight games to begin MAC play. Ellis has 5.2 rpg on the season, ranking second on the team, and she leads BGSU with 0.9 blocks per game. Junior Kendal Moxey has 3.7 ppg and has gone 28-for-55 (50.9%) from the floor.

• In MAC play, Fleming (14.8 ppg), Kohler (14.0) and Velasco (13.4) all have scored between 119 and 133 points in the eight games to date. Kohler and Porter each have 5.0 rpg, and Velasco (4.3), Kohler (also 4.3) and Fleming (3.8) all are averaging over three assists per game through nine conference contests.

• 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 18 successful triple tries in 2024-25 to date, and she set career-high totals in minutes in recent back-to-back wins (24:09 at Ohio, 26:02 vs. NIU).

• 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 8-12 overall, and the Chippewas, like the Falcons, are 4-5 in MAC play. CMU is coming off of a narrow 80-75 loss at Northern Illinois on Wednesday night (Jan. 29). Prior to that, the Chippewas went to Kalamazoo and picked up an 81-70 win over Western Michigan last weekend.

• Madi Morson has 14.9 ppg on the season, and has averaged 25.5 ppg in the last two contests. Jess Lawson has 11.1 ppg and a team-leading 8.7 rpg, after pulling down a whopping 18 rebounds at NIU. Ayanna-Sarai Darrington has 8.9 ppg, while Jayda Mosley has hit a team-leading 35 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, 52-23, in the all-time series, and BGSU has captured four-straight meetings, including last season's lone matchup. The Falcons ralied from nine points down to pick up a 65-64 win at McGuirk Arena in last season's MAC opener (Jan. 3, 2024), with Paige Kohler scoring a game- and career-high 28 points. CMU's last victory in the series was a 77-72 triumph in the championship game of the 2021 MAC Tournament in Cleveland (March 13, 2021).

• BGSU is 28-7 at home, 20-11 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
• Following the CMU game, BGSU will continue a three-game road swing 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.

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.