DETROIT, Mich. – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team saw a furious fourth-quarter rally come up just short on Friday night (Nov. 8), as the University of Detroit Mercy held on for a 73-66 win over the Falcons at Calihan Hall.

Amy Velasco led the Falcons (1-1) with 20 points – scoring 11 in the fourth quarter alone – while Erika Porter had 14 points vs. the Titans. Taya Ellis had 11 points and nine rebounds for the second consecutive game, leading the Falcons in the latter category.

For the Titans (1-0), Myonna Hooper had 24 points to pace three double-digit scorers, with Aaliyah McQueen and Emaia O'Brien adding 16 and 12, respectively.

UDM used an 11-0 run in the second quarter to take the lead, and the Titans had a nine-point advantage at the half. The hosts extended that lead to a game-high 16 points early in the third quarter, and it was still a 15-point game early in the fourth period before the Falcons made a run.

A Velasco three-pointer one minute into the final quarter started a 13-1 run for the Falcons. Velasco scored nine points during that run, and when Lauren Gerken fed Porter for a layup, the Falcons were within three points, at 58-55. But, BG would draw no closer.

The Falcons got back-to-back stops, but could not take advantage, and Hooper hit a jumper to make it a six-point game, Gerken sank a pair of free throws with 4:30 to go, but McQueen hit a pull-up jumper, then knocked down another shot to give the hosts an eight-point advantage with 3:18 to go.

BG got as close as four points with 40 seconds remaining, but the Titans made enough free throws down the stretch to keep it from becoming a one-possession game.

Paige Kohler and Johnea Donahue had seven points apiece, with Donahue adding a game-high five steals as the Falcons forced the Titans into 25 turnovers. Gerken had five points and five rebounds, while Laila Harrison scored two points and had five boards, all at the offensive end of the court.
 

Gallery: (11-8-2024) 110824 wbk at UDM - Brenna Orton

FIRST QUARTER
• The teams each hit a three-point field goal in the game's opening minute, with Amy Velasco's triple making it a 3-3 game. The hosts scored the next four points, but Johnea Donahue's triple cut the deficit to one.
• Erika Porter grabbed a UDM miss and fired an outlet pass to Paige Kohler for a transition layup, and Lauren Gerken's 'and-1' putback, coupled with the free throw, gave the Falcons an 11-9 lead.
• Taya Ellis scored off of an inbounds pass, then hit a pair of free throws, and when Donahue threw the ball inside to Porter, the visitors had a six-point lead, 17-11.
• But, the Titans countered with a quick five points before Kristiana Kulackovska drew an offensive foul to give the ball back to BG, and Velasco sank a pair of shots at the stripe for a 19-16 Falcon lead after 10 minutes.

SECOND QUARTER
• Porter scored on the first possession of the period, but a three-pointer by Aaliyah McQueen began an 11-0 run for the hosts. Nine of the points came from the arc, before a transition layup gave the Titans a 29-21 advantage.
• The Falcons used a timeout, then got buckets from Donahue and fellow freshman Laila Harrison – the latter hoop a nifty offensive rebound and putback in traffic. But, McQueen hit another three-pointer to give UDM a 32-25 lead.
• Gerken found Ellis inside for a layup, but the Titans scored the final two buckets of the quarter for a 36-27 lead at the break.

THIRD QUARTER
• The teams traded points in the first few minutes of the quarter, with Velasco hitting a runner and Donahue hitting a pair of free throws. But, a quick 7-0 run by the hosts was capped by Myonna Hooper's three-point play that gave UDM a 45-31 lead.
• Ellis sank two charity tosses, but a floater and a transition layup put the Titans ahead by a 49-33 count. Velasco and Paige Kohler each hit driving layups, but Hooper's three-point try bounced around and finally fell through the hoop.
• Porter hit a tough layup in traffic, and Kohler took a Velasco handoff and knocked down a three-point try from in front of the BG bench. A free throw gave the Titans a 55-42 lead as the teams headed to the fourth.

FOURTH QUARTER
• The Titans opened the fourth-quarter scoring before Velasco hit a three-pointer. Harrison came up with a pair of offensive rebonds to keep a possession alive, leading to a Porter layup, and the Titans were called for a traveling violation immediately after the ensuing inbounds pass.
• Harrison grabbed yet another offensive board and flipped a pass to a cutting Velasco for a shot off glass, and when Velasco made a pair of free throws, UDM's lead was down to seven, at 58-51.
• Velasco hit two more shots from the stripe after a steal, and when the Titans turned the ball over yet again, Gerken found Porter for a layup, and UDM used a timeout as the lead had been cut to just three points with 549 to go.
• Porter tied up a UDM player for a jump ball, giving possession back to BG, and the Titans were called for an offensive foul on their next possession. But, in each case, the Falcons could not cut into the lead. Finally, Hooper knocked down a three-point try from near her team's bench, doubling the Detroit Mercy lead with 4:50 to go.
• Gerken made a pair of free throws, but McQueen hit a pull-up jumper, then somehow made a line-drive jumper. The UDM lead was nine points, 65-57, with 3:15 remaining.
• The lead reached 10 points, and after Porter hit a layup after a nifty offensive board by Ellis, the Titans answered with a bucket. Porter made two free throws, and the Falcons got a stop. An Ellis putback cut the UDM lead to six, 69-63, with a minute to go, and after the Titans turned the ball over, Velasco's runner made it a four-point game with 40.0 seconds remaining.
•  But, the Titans got a pair of free throws with 20.6 seconds left, and BG would draw no closer. Ellis hit a shot at the line, but Hooper was fouled with 12.4 seconds remaining and made both shots to cap the game's scoring.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons return to the road for a second-straight matchup with a Horizon League foe, heading to Cleveland to face Cleveland State on Tuesday (Nov. 12). That game will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Wolstein Center.

• BGSU's next home game, is Saturday, Nov. 16, when the Falcons meet St. Bonaventure at 12:00 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.