WEDNESDAY, JAN. 22  |  7:00 P.M.  |  STROH CENTER  |  BOWLING GREEN, OHIO

JUMP BALL
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team puts a two-game winning streak on the line Wednesday night (Jan. 22), facing one of the teams near the top of the Mid-American Conference standings. Head coach Fred Chmiel and the Falcons host Western Michigan University in a 7:00 p.m. start at the Stroh Center.

BLACKOUT
• Wednesday's game is a Blackout, with fans encouraged to wear black.

FREE PARKING
• Due to the weather forecast, parking in all lots will be free for Wednesday night's game.

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

• TV/VIDEO: Wednesday's game vs. WMU will be streamed via ESPN+.
• RADIO/AUDIO: The WMU matchup, 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.

LAST TIME OUT: FLEMING TOPS 1,000-POINT MARK IN WIN OVER NIU
• Lexi Fleming scored her 1,000th career point on Saturday night (Jan. 18) as the Falcons picked up a 74-60 win over Northern Illinois inside the Stroh Center.

• Fleming, in her fifth year with the Falcons (9-8, 3-3 MAC), tied for team honors with 15 points. Sophomore Paige Kohler also had 15 points, while redshirt sophomore Jasmine Fearne scored 11 points to tie her career high.

• Fearne paced a BGSU bench brigade that scored 28 points. The Falcons' plus-23 margin in bench scoring (28-5) was the team's largest of the season.

• Chelby Koker scored 16 points for the Huskies (7-10, 1-5 MAC), with Lexi Carlsen and Alecia Doyle adding 15 apiece.

• BGSU built a 15-point halftime lead, scoring the last five points of the second quarter to take a 39-24 advantage into the locker room. But, the Huskies opened the third period with 10 consecutive points, and eventually got within one point when Brooke Stonebraker's layup cut the BG lead to 42-41 midway through the quarter.

• Kohler's layup put BG up by three, and after another Stonebraker bucket, Kohler answered with a three-point shot before Amy Velasco's jumper made it a six-point game. A Fearne triple in the final minute gave BGSU a 52-45 lead after 30 minutes.

• After NIU shot 56.3 percent from the field in the third quarter, the Falcons shot 60% (9-of-15) in the fourth. Hoops by Johnea Donahue and Kohler put the home team up by 12, and after the Huskies scored the next five points, an Erika Porter layup was followed by a Fearne three-pointer to give the Orange and Brown a 62-50 advantage with just over six minutes to go.

• The Huskies crept within eight points on several occasions, but Kohler triples on back-to-back BG possessions returned the margin to 12 with just over a minute to go.

THE FALCONS – A QUICK OVERVIEW
• The Falcons are 9-8 on the season, and BGSU is 3-3 in MAC play heading into Wednesday's WMU game. The Falcons have posted back-to-back wins, including a 74-53 victory at Ohio last Wednesday night – BG's first road win of the season – and a 74-60 triumph over Northern Illinois at the Stroh Center on Saturday.

• The Falcons' other MAC win was a 90-76 home victory over Eastern Michigan at the Stroh Center (Jan. 4). After downing the Eagles, BGSU then fell to Buffalo at home (70-60; Jan. 8) and Miami on the road (78-63; Jan. 11) before besting the Bobcats.

• BG posted home wins over Southern Miss, St. Bonaventure, Xavier and Marquette during non-conference play, 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 6-1 at home, 1-7 on the road and 2-0 in neutral-site games this season to date. In MAC play, the Falcons are 2-1 at the Stroh and 1-2 at hostile venues.

• Overall, the Falcons have a scoring margin of +1.8 and a rebounding margin of +5.5 this year. BG has outrebounded 11 of this season's first 17 opponents, with a rebounding margin of 10 or more in six of those games to date.

• Four players are scoring in double digits, with two others averaging at least six points per game. Senior Amy Velasco leads the way with 16.4 ppg, and she also paces the Falcons with 4.7 assists per contest. Velasco has scored in double figures in 15 of 17 games this season, and is second on the club with 29 three-point field goals made. Velasco is shooting a BG-best 44.6 percent from the arc.

• Fifth-year Falcon Lexi Fleming has 12.6 ppg, with sophomore Paige Kohler and fifth-year collegian Erika Porter scoring 12.5 and 10.4 ppg, respectively. Kohler also has 4.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, and has made a team-leading 37 three-point field goals. As mentioned, Kohler flirted with a triple-double in the win at Ohio.

• Fleming led the team in scoring at Miami (23 points) and Ohio (19), and tied for the BG lead vs. NIU (15). She has made 21 triples in her nine games to date, and also has 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game to rank second on the team in both categories.

• Porter has 5.6 rpg to rank second on the team, and she leads the Falcons and ranks second in the MAC in field-goal percentage, at 54.7 percent.

• Freshman Lauren Gerken has 7.2 ppg and 4.6 rpg, while freshman Johnea Donahue and sophomore Keiryn McGuff are averaging 6.0 and 5.5 ppg, respectively. McGuff had a career-high 11 points at Kent State, then matched that total with 11 more points three days later vs. EMU. Donahue leads BGSU and is second in the MAC with 2.6 steals per game.

• Sophomore Taya Ellis and junior Kendal Moxey have 5.0 and 4.2 ppg, respectively. Ellis has a team-high 6.2 rpg on the season, and also leads BGSU with 1.0 blocks per game, while Moxey is 26-for-50 (52.0%) from the floor.

• In MAC play, Fleming (14.5), Kohler (14.0) and Velasco (13.2) all are averaging between 13.2 and 14.5 ppg. Porter head a BG-best 5.8 rpg, with Kohler and McGuff pulling down 5.2 and 4.8 rpg, respectively vs. the MAC. Velasco (4.7), Kohler (4.2) and Fleming (also 4.2) all are averaging over 4.0 apg through six 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 16 successful triple tries in 2024-25 to date, and she has set career-high totals in minutes in 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 BRONCOS
• Western Michigan is 7-9 overall, and the Broncos are off to a 4-2 start in MAC play. WMU is tied for second in the 12-team loop. The Broncos had won three-straight games prior to Saturday's 80-50 loss at Kent State. The team's MAC wins include two at home (vs. Ohio and Toledo) and two on the road (against Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois).

• Marina Asensio and Hannah Spitzley are averaging 13.6 and 12.4 ppg. Asensio has hit a team-high 34 three-pointers and also leads WMU with 4.9 apg. Spitzley has a Bronco-best 5.4 rpg and also leads the team in steals (2.9 spg).

• Head coach Shane Clipfell welcomed back a total of 10 players from last year's team that finished 12-18 overall and 7-11 in the MAC. 

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Western Michigan, 43-36, in the all-time series, and BGSU has won the last four meetings. The Falcons swept last season's two matchups, with a narrow 75-69 win at the Stroh Center (Jan. 6, 2024) and an 87-73 victory in Kalamazoo (March 6, 2024). All five BGSU starters scored in double digits in the latter game. WMU's last series win was a 72-64 home triumph three years ago (Feb. 16, 2022), and the Broncos' last victory at the Stroh was an 84-82 outcome six years ago (Jan. 5, 2019).

• BGSU is 23-14 at home (7-4 at the Stroh), 17-21 on the road and 3-1 in neutral-site meetings with the Broncos through the years. Additional series information can be found elsewhere in these very notes.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the WMU game, BGSU will make the short trip north to face Toledo on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 25). Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m. at Savage Arena.

• Then, the Brown and Orange will return to the Stroh Center for a midweek MAC matchup, ending the month of January with a Wednesday (Jan. 29) contest vs. Akron. That game will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.

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.