Falcons Set for Wednesday's "Battle of I-75" at the Stroh

Wednesday, January 18

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Toledo

Tickets

Nyla Hampton Morgan Sharps v Wright State - Nov 14 2022

Nyla Hampton & Morgan Sharps combined for 17 points & 6 assists in the fourth quarter alone at Akron

Photo by: Daniel Carlson, BGSU Athletics

January 17, 2023 | Women's Basketball, The Battle Of I-75

BGSU Notes Toledo Notes Tickets Parking BGSU-UT Rosters BGSU-UT Digital Game Program Watch BGSU-UT Listen (BG Falcon Media)Live Stats 2022-23 Record Book 2022-23 BGSU Media Central

BGSU faces UT in a MAC matchup of first-place teams

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN VS. TOLEDO
Wednesday, January 18, 2023 • 7:00 p.m.
Stroh Center • Bowling Green, Ohio
Video: ESPN+ • Audio: BG Falcon Media
Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com • Twitter: @BGSUwbb

• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, coming off of a come-from-behind win over the Mid-American Conference leader, returns home to face the league's preseason favorite. Head coach Robyn Fralick and the Falcons meet the University of Toledo on Wednesday evening (Jan. 18), with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.

ORANGE OUT
• Wednesday's game is an Orange Out at the Stroh, with fans encouraged to wear orange to the game.

TICKETS AND PARKING
• Tickets and parking can be purchased by clicking the links below...

TICKETS | PARKING

Credit cards are now being accepted for parking. Cash will continue to be accepted as well. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets as well as parking passes in advance.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• There are multiple ways to keep up with the Falcons in 2022-23...

• TV/VIDEO: Wednesday's game will be streamed via ESPN+.
• RADIO/AUDIO: All of BGSU's remaining 2022-23 games, both home and away, are slated to have an audio stream thanks to BG Falcon Media (the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization [BGRSO]).
• LIVE STATS: Live stats are scheduled to be available for all BGSU games in 2022-23.
• TWITTER: In-game updates, along with key graphics and information, can be found on the BGSU women's basketball twitter account, @BGSUwbb.

• 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.

Your Wednesday to-do list...

1 - Come to the Stroh
2 - Wear Orange
3 - Cheer for the team wearing Orange#AyZiggy | #RiseUp | 🟠🏀🟤
🎫 https://t.co/eTZcfcTw0M pic.twitter.com/g1yIhZdpoS
— BGSU WBB (@BGSUwbb) January 16, 2023

~~DON'T~~ CALL IT A COMEBACK
• The Falcons trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half of Saturday's (Jan. 14) game at Akron, and BGSU was down by 13 early in the fourth quarter before rallying for a 71-66 win over the previously unbeaten Zips.

• The game marked the first time BGSU won after trailing by double digits since March 20, 2021. On that date, the Falcons fell behind by 18 points in the first quarter against Dayton, but rallied for a 77-76 win in WNIT action in Rockford, Ill.

• The last time BGSU fell behind by double digits in the second half and won was 10 days prior to that UD game. On March 10, 2021, the Falcons trailed Eastern Michigan, 35-25, midway through the third quarter before rallying for a 63-47 win in MAC Tournament quarterfinal-round action.

• Prior to Saturday at Akron, when was the last time BGSU trailed by double digits in the fourth quarter and won? Five years (plus one day) earlier, at Akron. On Jan. 13, 2018, the Falcons were down by 12 points, 57-45, with under seven minutes to go, before rallying for a 66-64 win at James A. Rhodes Arena.

BRETT IS THE LATEST MILLENNIUM FALCON
• When she hit a corner three in the second quarter of Saturday's game at Akron, Elissa Brett surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her BGSU career. The fourth-year Falcon became just the 30th player in school history to reach that milestone. Brett now ranks 29th in BGSU history in career scoring with 1,010 points.

A MILLENNIUM FALCON FOURSOME
• Elissa Brett, as mentioned, has become the latest Falcon to reach the 1,000-career point mark. Kadie Hempfling reached that plateau last season, and now has 1,249 career points to rank 17th on the school career chart.

• Two other Falcons – Allison Day (1,317) and Payton Moore (1,126) – each have scored more than 1,000 points in their respective collegiate careers. Day and Moore scored the bulk of their points at Loyola Univ. Chicago and Anderson Univ., respectively.

LEAD CHANGE? WHAT IS THIS "LEAD CHANGE" YOU SPEAK OF?
• Saturday's Akron game marked the first time all season that the lead changed hands in the fourth quarter of a BGSU contest. In each of the first 15 games of the season, the team leading after three quarters did not give up the lead.

• In fact, only one of those 15 games – the Northern Kentucky matchup back on Nov. 23 – featured a lead change in the third quarter. The Norse briefly took the lead in that Thanksgiving Eve contest, before the Falcons seized the lead right back.

SHE'S A SHARPS-SHOOTER AT WINNING TIME
• On Saturday at Akron, Morgan Sharps was held scoreless through the first three quarters. But, she came up big in the fourth period.

• Sharps scored 13 points in that fourth quarter, matching Akron's entire offensive output, as BG rallied for the win. Sharps had three three-point field goals among her four baskets, and also had two assists and two steals in the quarter.

• She hit a three-pointer to begin a 9-0 run early in the period, then had eight-straight BG points as the Falcons took the lead. Her triple with 4:44 to go got BG within two, and another trey gave her team the lead with 3:12 on the clock.

• Akron countered with a bucket, but Sharps came right back, hitting a pull-up shot off glass that gave BG the lead for good with 2:42 remaining. Her free throws with 16 seconds left iced the game.

WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE
• The 2022-23 Falcons have been quite successful at forcing turnovers by the opponents, while keeping their own turnover total to a relative minimum. BGSU has had fewer turnovers than the opponent in all 16 games this season to date, and the Falcons now lead the entire nation in turnover margin (+9.94).

• BG has turned the ball over 17 times or fewer in each game, while forcing the opposition into at least 15 turnovers in every game. The Falcons have averaged 11.69 turnovers, while the foes have turned the ball over 21.63 times per game.

• BGSU committed just seven turnovers in the home opener against Wright State, tied for the fourth-lowest single-game total in school history. The Falcons turned the ball over just nine times at Akron, the team's sixth game with a single-digit turnover total this season to date.

• And, BG has turned those opponent turnovers into buckets. Through 16 games, the Falcons have outscored the opponents, 370-162, in points off turnovers.

FALCONS VS. THE MAC
• The Falcons own the second-best record in MAC history. Heading into the Toledo tussle, BGSU has an all-time record of 437-256 (.631) in MAC regular-season games, for the second-highest winning percentage of all league institutions. BG also has the second-most conference wins of all 12 programs.

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

HAMPTON = DEFENSE
• Nyla Hampton had 86 steals last season, the fourth-highest total in BGSU history. She ranked second in the MAC and 17th in the nation in that category. With 2.69 steals per contest, Hampton finished third in the league and 23rd in the country.

• This season, Hampton has a team-high 53 steals through 16 games. She tied her career high with six steals in this year's opener at SBU, had five against both Wright State and IUPUI, and again tied her career standard with six in the Eastern Michigan game. Hampton, who had at least three steals in a game 17 times last year, has had at least four steals in nine of this year's 16 games.

• Currently, she ranks eighth in the nation in steals per game (3.31) and 13th in the land in total steals. She leads the MAC in steals and is second in spg.

• Hampton now has 195 steals in 72 career games played. Her average of 2.71 career steals per game puts her on pace to obliterate the school record – no other Falcon has had more than 2.19 career spg.

• In just her third year at BGSU, Hampton has moved into 10th place on the BGSU career list for total steals. In addition to steals per game, Hampton is on pace to break the school record for total career steals.

HAMPTON = OFFENSE
• Junior Nyla Hampton is getting it done at both ends of the court. At the defensive end, as we just mentioned, she leads the MAC in both total steals and is second in steals per game.

• At the other end of the court, Hampton is averaging 12.4 points per game, good for second on the Falcons. She is ranked 13th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio and 29th in the country in field-goal percentage, leading the MAC in the latter category while ranking second in the former.

SCORE MORE
• The Falcons are currently eighth in the nation in scoring offense. BGSU is averaging 82.9 points per game. The Falcons have topped the 90-point mark six times this season – including three contests with over 100 points – and BG has scored at least 70 points in 15 of the first 16 games.

THE FALCONS – A QUICK OVERVIEW IN CASE YOU'RE JUST JOINING US
• The Falcons are 14-2 on the season, and BGSU enters Wednesday's Toledo game with a record of 3-1 in MAC play. The Falcons saw a nine-game winning streak come to an end in the conference opener (Jan. 4), with an 81-73 loss at Ball State, but has bounced back with three-straight wins since that time.

• BGSU opened the home portion of the conference slate with wins over Eastern Michigan (79-63; Jan. 7) and Central Michigan (101-68; Jan. 11). Most recently, the Orange and Brown rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit on the road to beat then league-leading Akron, 71-66, on Saturday (Jan. 14).

• The BSU game marked the Falcons' first setback since Nov. 17. BGSU won the nine games during the streak by an average of 26.44 points per game.

• BGSU has played only three games decided by single digits this season, going 2-1 in those contests. The Falcons have 12 double-digit victories and one double-figure loss this winter.

• After beating St. Bonaventure and Wright State to begin the season, the Falcons fell to then-#9/12 (and now #6) Indiana, 96-61, in Bloomington.

• BG's nine-game win streak began with victories at Southern Indiana and at home vs. Northern Kentucky and Detroit Mercy. The NKU matchup was the Falcons' only single-digit decision in BG's 12 non-conference games.

• The Falcons went a perfect 6-0 in the month of December, with the first five of those wins coming away from home. BG posted double-digit victories at Valparaiso (92-61), ETSU (82-64), IUPUI (84-70), Texas A&M-Commerce (90-61) and UTRGV (71-47). The latter two wins came at the UTRGV South Padre Island Classic.

• The Falcons ended non-conference play with a 92-51 win over Findlay at the Stroh Center (Dec. 30).

• Head coach Robyn Fralick and her staff welcomed back a total of 10 student-athletes from a year ago. That group included four starters from the 2021-22 season, plus a fifth player who started in 2020-21 before missing all of '21-22 due to injury.

• Last season, the Falcons – despite losing nearly 75 player-games to injury – won 17 games and advanced to national postseason play for the second-straight season. BGSU went 17-16 overall and 10-10 in Mid-American Conference play, and the Falcons were selected to participate in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI). BG went 2-1 in that tourney, finishing the '21-22 season with a victory.

• Kadie Hempfling returned for a fifth year with the Falcons after starting all 33 games last winter. Nyla Hampton and Amy Velasco made 32 and 30 starts, respectively, while Elissa Brett started 26 contests in 2021-22.

• BGSU's top-five scorers from a year ago – Hempfling (11.7 ppg), Velasco (10.8), Brett (10.7), Morgan Sharps (9.5) and Hampton (8.4) – all returned. Brett paced last year's team in rebounding (6.0 rpg), while Jocelyn Tate (6.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg) was second on the team in that category.

• Other returnees from last year's squad include Sophie Dziekan (2.5 ppg) and Olivia Hill (0.8 ppg). Jasmine Clerkley played in the first three games of 2021-22 before missing the remainder of the season due to injury, while Lexi Fleming – the 2020-21 MAC Freshman of the Year – was injured prior to the start of the season and missed the entire '21-22 campaign.

• Five newcomers, including a pair of transfers, joined the 10 returnees. Allison Day played four seasons at Loyola Chicago, where she started 97 games and had totals of 1,139 points and 645 rebounds.

• Payton Moore is also in her first season with the Falcons, but her fifth as a collegian. Moore played in 78 games, starting 60, at Anderson (Ind.) University, where she had 1,111 career points along with 701 rebounds.

• Three freshmen joined the Falcons for the 2022-23 campaign. That group includes Jasmine Fearne (Cairns, Australia), Emily Siesel (New Washington, Ohio) and Jaci Tubergen (Hudsonville, Mich.).

• This season, the Falcons are 6-0 at home, 7-2 in road games and 1-0 in neutral-site affairs. In MAC play, BGSU is 2-0 at the Stroh and 1-1 at opposing venues.

• Entering the UT matchup, no fewer than six players are averaging at least 8.3 ppg. Brett leads that balanced scoring attack with 13.1 ppg, with Hampton at 12.4 ppg.

• Brett, who has scored 54 points over the last three games, is second on the team in rebounding, with 5.4 boards per contest. Hampton is shooting a MAC-leading 55.7 percent from the field, and paces the Falcons in assists (3.56 apg), steals (3.31 spg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.59).

• Day and Sharps each have 11.1 ppg. Day is shooting 55.3% from the floor and has 4.3 rpg to date. Sharps has made a team-leading 41 three-pointers and is shooting 39.8% from the arc.

• Tate has 9.5 ppg, with Fleming averaging 8.3 ppg off the bench. Tate leads the Orange and Brown with 6.1 rpg and is third on the team in assists (2.8 apg).

• Dziekan and Velasco have 6.2 and 4.9 ppg, respectively. Velasco is second on the Falcons with 2.8 apg, while Dzieken is shooting 58.7% from the field, having gone 44-for-75 this year to date.

• Hempfling, a four-year starter before transitioning to a role off the bench in 2022-23, is shooting over 55% from the field this year, and she is 9-for-19 from the arc.

• Brett, Day, Hampton, Sharps and Tate each have started all 16 games this season, and all five are averaging between 22.5 and 26.5 minutes per game.

• BGSU is +18.4 in scoring margin, +2.6 in rebounding margin and +9.9 in turnover margin this season to date. The Falcons are first in the entire nation in the latter category.

• In fact, the Falcons lead the MAC in 11 statistical categories, and BG is ranked among the top 30 teams in the nation in 11 categories.

• In MAC games, Day has team-leading averages of 17.5 ppg and 6.3 rpg, and is shooting 60.8% from the floor. Brett has 14.5 ppg and has gone 13-of-29 from the arc, while Hampton and Sharps each have 12.0 ppg. Hampton also has 4.0 apg, 3.0 spg and a field-goal pct. of 58.3%.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE ROCKETS
• Toledo is 12-3 on the season, and the Rockets are part of a five-way tie for first place in the MAC with a 3-1 league ledger. UT has won nine of the last 10 games, including conference wins over Western Michigan and Ball State at home and Kent State on the road. The Rockets' lone league loss came at Northern Illinois by one point.

• Individually, Quinesha Lockett leads the team in scoring, with 16.9 ppg. She had 36 points in the win at KSU. Khera Goss has 9.7 ppg, while Sammi Mikonowicz has 9.3 ppg and leads the team with 7.7 rpg.

• Head coach Tricia Cullop's club is 7-1 at home, 4-1 on the road and 1-1 at neutral sites this season. Cullop welcomed back 11 letterwinners, including all five starters, from a 2021-22 team that went 29-6 overall and 19-1 in MAC regular-season play.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Toledo, 44-39, in the all-time series, but the Rockets captured both of last season's meetings, with a 71-67 win at the Stroh (Jan. 29, 2022) and an 80-51 victory in the Glass City (Feb. 12, 2022). That came after BGSU had swept the previous season's meetings – 69-57 in Toledo (Jan. 16, 2021) and 76-59 in BG (Jan. 30, 2021).

• The Falcons are 21-14 at home, 15-22 on the road and 8-3 at neutral sites vs. Toledo through the years.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following Wednesday's UT game, the Falcons will remain at home to take on Kent State on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 21). That contest will begin at 1:00 p.m. at the Stroh.