SATURDAY, FEB. 8  |  3:00 P.M. ET  |  FIRST NATIONAL BANK ARENA  |  JONESBORO, ARK.

JUMP BALL
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team steps outside of Mid-American Conference play this weekend, heading to Jonesboro, Ark., for the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. Head coach Fred Chmiel and the Falcons face Arkansas State University on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 8), with tipoff set for 2:00 p.m. locally (3:00 p.m. at First National Bank Arena.

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

• TV/VIDEO: Saturday's Arkansas State game will be streamed via ESPN+.
• RADIO/AUDIO: The A-State 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.

FUN BELT
• Saturday's game marks the second leg of this season's MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. BGSU is 1-2 in the challenge, which began last season. The Falcons suffered losses on the road at Texas State and at home against Troy in 2023-24, but defeated Southern Miss, 71-67, at the Stroh Center in this season's first MAC-SBC Challenge matchup.

• BGSU will enter Saturday's Arkansas State game with an overall record of 15-6 against current members of the Sun Belt Conference. A total of 15 of the 21 previous games have come against Marshall, a former MAC member.

TOUGH CROWD!
• For the Falcons, Saturday's Arkansas State game will mark the second time in four days that the team plays a road game against an opponent riding a double-digit winning streak. Ball State entered Wednesday's game against the Orange and Brown with a 10-0 MAC record and a 12-game overall winning streak.

• After a 36-point win over Georgia State on Wednesday, A-State has won 11 consecutive games since a loss in the league opener in late December.

• Ball State and Arkansas State are a combined 22-1 in conference play and 21-2 in home games. BSU is 11-1 at Worthen Arena, while A-State is 10-1 at First National Bank Arena.

COMEBACKS VS. CHIPPEWAS BECOMING COMMON
• Last weekend (Feb. 1), the Falcons rallied from a 12-point third-quarter deficit to win at Central Michigan for the second consecutive season, picking up a 76-69 win over the Chippewas.

• Last year (Jan. 3, 2024), BGSU had trailed by nine points midway through the third quarter before rallying for a 65-64 win.

• 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 the two contests.

DOUBLE-DIGIT DEFICIT? NO PROBLEM!
• The win at CMU marked the second time BG has come back from a double-digit deficit this season. The Falcons rallied from 14 points down to post an 80-79 win over Arkansas on Nov. 30, 2024, at the Daytona Beach Classic.

• Last Saturday's 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).

KOHLER DOES IT ALL IN 2-0 AKRON/CMU WEEK
• Sophomore Paige Kohler did a little bit of everything 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. 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. She scored 20 of her points in the first half alone.

• 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 has led BGSU in scoring in three-straight games.

PK10 GETS IT DONE
• As we just mentioned, Paige Kohler had a monster game against Akron, and made huge contributions to the win at CMU.

• Kohler, who has started all 53 of BGSU's games since her arrival on campus, heads into the Arkansas State game with impressive career totals of 625 points, 233 rebounds and 184 assists. She currently ranks 16th in BGSU history in career scoring average (11.79 ppg), and is eighth in career assists per game (3.47).

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 several weeks ago (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 A-State game, Fleming has played in a total of 87 contests as a Falcon. BGSU has a record of 62-25 in those 87 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).

• The list of BGSU's leading career scorers can be found on page 23 of the PDF version o' 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 A-State game with 1,087 career points, ranking 27th in BGSU history. With an average of 12.49 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 (1.87). And, Fleming is 16th in school history in assists per game, with 2.69.

• Additionally, she continues to move up on the career steals list. Fleming now has 189 steals as a Falcon, ranking her 13th 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 19 of the Falcons' 22 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 1,379 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 11.21 points per game, which currently places her 21st on that BGSU list. And, with a career total of 140 three-point field goals made, she is 17th on that BGSU chart.

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 442 career dimes. Lindsay Austin (502 assists from 2000-04) holds down the fifth-place spot.

• Velasco currently ranks seventh in BGSU history in assists per game, with 3.59. 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.

BE READY WHEN YOUR NAME IS CALLED
• The Falcons lost an estimated 126 player-games to injury last season. No fewer than 10 different players were unavailable for at least one game due to injury or illness. Despite those setbacks, BGSU, picked for fourth place in the 2023-24 MAC Preseason Poll, still tied for fourth in the final MAC standings and advanced to national postseason play.

• This season, the Falcons have lost 61 player-games heading into the Arkansas State contest. A total of eight different players have missed at least one game due to injury or illness this year to date.

THE FALCONS – A QUICK OVERVIEW
• The Falcons are 11-11 on the season, and BGSU is 5-6 in MAC play. BG is tied for seventh place in the 12-team league after Wednesday's (Feb. 5) 71-51 loss to MAC-leading Ball State.

• The loss at BSU 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-conference 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, 2-9 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 +0.7 and a rebounding margin of +2.5 this year. BG has outrebounded 12 of this season's first 22 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 15.5 ppg, and she also paces the Falcons with 4.3 assists per contest. Velasco has scored in double figures in 19 of 22 games this season, and is second on the club with 33 three-point field goals made. She is shooting a BG-best 41.8 percent from the arc, ranking third in the MAC in that category. Velasco leads the conference in free-throw pct. (93.0%) and is second in minutes played (35.19 mpg). She has made 88 career starts and has 70 career double-digit scoring games.

• Fifth-year Falcon Lexi Fleming and sophomore Paige Kohler have 13.3 and 13.0 ppg, respectively, and that duo combined for 46 points in the win over Akron. Kohler also has 4.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, and has made a team-leading 50 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. Kohler is fourth in the MAC in minutes per game and fifth 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 15 games to date, and has 3.1 assists and 2.2 steals per game to rank third and second, respectively, on the team.

• Fifth-year collegian Erika Porter is averaging 10.5 ppg, and has a team-leading 5.3 rpg. Porter also leads the Falcons and is second in the MAC in field-goal pct. (55.8%).

• Freshman Lauren Gerken has 7.2 ppg and 4.6 rpg, while classmate Johnea Donahue is scoring 5.9 ppg. Donahue leads BGSU and is fourth in the MAC with 2.42 steals per game.

• Sophomores Keiryn McGuff and Taya Ellis are averaging 4.3 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 0.9 blocks per game. Junior Kendal Moxey has 3.6 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.

• 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 RED WOLVES
• Arkansas State is 15-7 on the season, and the Red Wolves are 11-1 in Sun Belt Conference play. A-State has won 11-straight games since a loss at Appalachian State in the league opener way back on Dec. 29. The last six wins have been by an average of 19.8 points, including Wednesday morning's 86-50 obliteration of Georgia State.

• A-State is 10-1 at home and 5-6 on the road this season to date. The Red Wolves are in second place in the SBC after being picked to finish 13th in the league's preseason poll.

• Zyion Shannon leads a balanced scoring attack with 11.0 ppg. She is one of nine players averaging at least 5.5 ppg. Kennedie Montue has 9.7 ppg and has made a team-leading 51 three-point field goals. The Red Wolves are second in the entire nation in both three-pointers made (10.5) and attempted (31.8) per game.

• Head coach Destinee Rogers and the Red Wolves went 13-17 overall and 6-12 in the Sun Belt last season. 

THE SERIES
• The Falcons and Arkansas State are meeting for the first time in women's basketball. BGSU is 15-6 against current members of the Sun Belt Conference.

BGSU-ARKANSAS STATE COMMONALITIES
• Entering Saturday's game, BGSU and Arkansas State have faced three common opponents – Arkansas, Western Michigan and Xavier. The Falcons are 2-1 against that trio, with two home games and one neutral-site contest, while A-State played all three on the road and went 0-3.

• BG posted a one-point win over Arkansas at the Daytona Beach Classic, with a 21-point victory and a three-point loss, respectively, in games vs. XU and WMU at the Stroh Center.

• The Red Wolves opened the season with a 61-52 loss at WMU, then dropped a narrow 45-41 decision at XU before falling at Arkansas by a 76-60 final.

• BGSU's Kendal Moxey and A-State's Bella Weary each are in their first season at their respective schools after spending the 2023-24 season as teammates at Daytona State College.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the Arkansas State game, BGSU will play three of the next four games at home. The Falcons will face Central Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 15. That game will begin at 2:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center, and will be BGSU's Alumni Day, with many former Falcon greats expected to be on hand.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will head to Kalamazoo to meet Western Michigan (Feb. 19), before returning to Northwest Ohio to end the month with home contests against Toledo (Feb. 22) and Ohio (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.