SATURDAY, DEC. 7  |  7:00 P.M.  |  STROH CENTER  |  BOWLING GREEN, OHIO

OPENING TIP
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team will play a home game for the first time in three weeks. Head coach Fred Chmiel and the Falcons face Xavier University on Saturday evening (Dec. 7), with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center. Saturday's game is an Orange Wave, with fans encouraged to wear orange to the game.

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

• TV/VIDEO: Saturday's Xavier matchup will be streamed via ESPN+.
• RADIO/AUDIO: The XU contest, as is the case for all of BGSU's 2024-25 games, is 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.
 

— BGSU Women's Basketball (@BGSUWBB) December 3, 2024

FLY THE FLAG: FALCONS TAKE DOWN ARKANSAS
• Erika Porter's layup with eight seconds remaining lifted the Falcons to a 79-78 win over Arkansas Saturday (Nov. 30) at the Daytona Beach Classic.

• Sophomore Paige Kohler made seven three-point field goals, falling just one triple shy of the school record. Kohler, who led BGSU with 25 points, was 7-for-9 from long range, including a perfect 6-of-6 from the arc over the last three quarters.

• Porter scored 18 points, while senior Amy Velasco added 17. Each player made a go-ahead layup late in the contest. The game featured nine lead changes, including four in the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter.

• BGSU led for just 13 seconds of the game's first 34 minutes, and Arkansas led by as many as 14 points early in the third quarter. But, the Falcons took the lead on a Kohler trey with 5:55 remaining in the game, and after the lead changed hands several times, a long three-pointer by redshirt sophomore Jasmine Fearne gave the Orange and Brown a four-point advantage, 74-70, with 2:42 to go.

• Then, however, neither team scored until 1:12 remained, when Kiki Smith knocked down a three-point try. The Razorbacks got a stop, and Izzy Higginbottom made a pair of free throws with 30 seconds to go, giving her team a 75-74 lead.

• After BGSU used a timeout, Velasco drove and converted an 'and-one' layup, sinking the free throw for a 77-75 BG lead with 26 seconds on the clock. The Hogs took time, and the resulting possession saw Jenna Lawrence hit her fifth three-pointer of the game to put her team back up by a point.

• The Falcons called time with 12 seconds remaining, and Fearne got the ball inside to Porter for a layup with eight seconds left. It was the Razorbacks' turn to use a timeout, and on the ensuing play, a Lawrence three-point attempt was off the mark, and freshman Lauren Gerken grabbed the rebound as the final buzzer sounded.

• The Falcons shot 47.1 percent from the floor in the win, including an 18-of-29 (62.1%) effort in the second half. BGSU went 7-for-10 from three-point range in the second half, and shot 47.6% (10-of-21) from long distance for the game.

• Arkansas was 27-of-56 overall (48.2%) and 11-of-25 (44.0%) from the arc.

• BGSU held a dominant 41-23 rebounding advantage, and the Falcons had 16 offensive boards while holding the Razorbacks to just three.

• In addition to her team-high 25 points, Kohler had seven rebounds, while Porter had a game-high nine boards to go along with her 18 points. Velasco had nine assists vs. Arkansas, after dishing out 10 in Friday's (Nov. 29) win over Stetson.

• Gerken played all 40 minutes vs. the Razorbacks, and had seven points and six boards, while junior Kendal Moxey scored six points.

• Fearne had three points, and also had career-best totals of three rebounds and four assists. She was involved in the scoring of four of BGSU's seven fourth-quarter buckets, with her aforementioned three-pointer and three assists during the final 10 minutes.

VELASCO VAULTS INTO 24TH ON BG SCORING LIST
• 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 eight 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 (Nov. 24), with a 24-point effort against the nationally-ranked Buckeyes.

• Velasco is averaging a team-best 19.5 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 the top 25 on BGSU's career scoring list in the Falcons' win over St. Bonaventure (Nov. 16), and vaulted past Andrea Nordmann (1,164 points from 1989-93) into 24th place during BGSU's trip to Daytona Beach. With 1,194 career points, Velasco's next target is 23rd-place Jacki Raterman, who had 1,213 points from 1995-99. The list of BG's top scorers can be found on page 8 of these very notes.

• Velasco has a career scoring average of 10.95 points per game, which currently places her 21st on that BGSU list.

AMY ALSO ACCUMULATES ASSISTS
• Amy Velasco, as mentioned, now ranks 24th on the BGSU career scoring list, and the senior also enjoys a lofty perch on the school's assists list. Late last season, Velasco became just the 11th player in school history to reach the 300-assist plateau.

• In the Falcons' win over Arkansas, Velasco moved past Jaymee Wappes (387 assists from 1996-2000) and Tracy Pontius (387 dimes from 2007-11), and she now ranks seventh in school history with 388 career assists. Her next target is her former teammate, Kadie Hempfling, who had 432 assists from 2018-23.

• Velasco currently ranks seventh in BGSU history in assists per game, with 3.56. The complete lists of both career assists and assists per game can be found on page 7.

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, after being picked for fourth place in the 2023-24 MAC Preseason Poll, finished in a tie for fourth in the final MAC standings and advanced to national postseason play.

• This season, the Falcons have lost 26 player-games to injury heading into the Xavier contest. Five different players have missed at least one game due to injury this year to date. Apropos of nothing...

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 '22-23 and saw action in 36 games as BGSU went 31-7

• Fleming has played in a total of 73 contests as a Falcon. BGSU has a record of 55-18 in those 73 games, including a 27-8 ledger in MAC regular-season play, a 31-10 mark in all games (regular season and tournament) against conference foes and a 25-6 record at the Stroh Center.

• Four of those 18 losses came against nationally-ranked opponents, including a game at Indiana last Dec. 22, when Fleming played just 70 seconds before leaving due to an injury.

• Heading into that IU game, Fleming led BGSU in scoring (16.7 ppg) and steals (2.7 spg), and the 5-5 guard also paced the Falcons in rebounding (5.1 rpg).

• In her career, Fleming has made 132 three-point field goals, ranking 16th in school history. She is fifth on the BGSU career list for triples made per game (1.81).

• Fleming has 901 career points in 73 games, an average of 12.3 ppg as a Falcon. She is currently ranked 41st in career points, and will move into the top 40 the next time she scores a point.

THE FALCONS – A QUICK OVERVIEW
• The Falcons are 4-4 on the season, and BGSU brings a two-game winning streak into Saturday's Xavier contest. The Falcons are 2-0 at home, 0-4 on the road and 2-0 in neutral-site games to date, and BG has a scoring margin of +0.5, along with a +4.3 rebonding margin.

• BGSU opened the campaign with a 71-67 win over Southern Miss at the Stroh Center, but suffered a pair of seven-point losses on the road to Horizon League foes Detroit Mercy and Cleveland State. Then, however, the Orange and Brown returned home and exploded for a 51-point win over St. Bonaventure.

• The Falcons went on the road and suffered losses to #13/12 West Virginia and #12/11 Ohio State, but BG posted a 2-0 record over the Thanksgiving holiday, downing Stetson and Arkansas at the Daytona Beach Classic.

• The Orange and Brown flattened Stetson, 79-43 on Friday (Nov. 29), before picking up a 79-78 victory over Arkansas the following afternoon (Nov. 30), in a game that featured four lead changes in the final 30 seconds.

• Three players are scoring in double digits, with two others averaging at least 7.5 points per game. Senior Amy Velasco leads the way with 19.5 ppg, and she also paces the Falcons with 3.9 assists per contest. Velasco has amassed 20 or more points in four of BGSU's eight games. She has scored in double figures in all eight games this season and in nine-straight games, dating to last season. And, the senior averaged 9.5 assists in BG's two games in Daytona Beach.

• Sophomore Paige Kohler has 12.6 ppg, while fifth-year collegian Erika Porter is averaging 10.6 ppg and is second on the team in rebounding, with 5.4 per outing. Kohler has made a team-leading 18 three-point field goals, including seven in the win over Arkansas, while Porter is shooting 52.1 percent from the field.

• Freshman Lauren Gerken and sophomore Taya Ellis have 7.6 and 7.5 ppg, respectively. Gerken is third on the team in rebounding (4.5 rpg) and three-pointers made (11), while Ellis is averaging a BG-best 8.8 rebounds per contest and also leads the Falcons with 1.2 blocked shots per outing.

• Junior Kendal Moxey and freshman Johnea Donahue each have 4.6 ppg. Moxey is 16-for-26 (61.5%) from the floor, 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'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 in 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 Moxey and Kristiana Kulackovska, along with five freshmen – Donahue, Gerken, Laila Harrison, Brook Simpson and Taylor Wallace.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE MUSKETEERS
• Xavier, like BGSU, is 4-4 on the season. In the month of November alone, the Musketeers quadrupled the win total for all of last year. XU got off to a 3-1 start, with wins over Miami, Mercyhurst and Arkansas State, then lost three of the next four, including Wednesday's (Dec. 4) 82-54 setback to Creighton in the Big East Conference opener.

• Loren Christie, who began her collegiate career in the MAC at Buffalo, leads the team in scoring and rebounding, with 12.4 ppg and 6.5 rpg. She had a career-high 21 points in the Creighton game. Meri Kanerva joins her in double digits with 10.6 ppg, while four players average between 5.8 and 6.8 ppg.

• Head coach Billi Chambers returned six letterwinners from the 2023-24 team, adding eight newcomers to this year's squad. Last year's club went 1-27 overall and 0-18 in conference play.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons and Xavier are tied, 4-4, in the all-time series, and BGSU won the most recent meeting. That game saw Lexi Fleming put together a tremendous all-around performance in her hometown, as the visiting Falcons picked up a 73-64 win at the Cintas Center (Nov. 18, 2023). Fleming had 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals against the Musketeers.

• Xavier had won the prior series meeting, a 65-49 decision in Cincinnati on Nov. 29, 2018. The teams' lone previous matchup at the Stroh came the previous year (a 63-53 BGSU win on Dec. 6, 2017). Overall, the Falcons are 3-1 in home games and 1-3 in road contests against the Musketeers over the years.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the Xavier game and a break for exam week, BGSU will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 18. On that evening, the Falcons will host a second-straight Big East foe, meeting Marquette in a 7:00 p.m. start at the Stroh.

• Then, the Falcons will conclude both the December and the non-conference portions of the schedule, with a game at Duquesne on Saturday, Dec. 21. That matchup is scheduled for a 12:00 p.m. start at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

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.