Falcons Host Huskies as January Schedule Concludes

Wednesday, January 31

Bowling Green, Ohio

7 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Northern Illinois

Tickets

Taya Ellis & the Falcons host NIU Wednesday night

Photo by: Brenna Orton, BGSU Athletics

January 30, 2024 | Women's Basketball

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BGSU battles NIU on Dollar Night at the Stroh Center

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BGSU vs. NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Wednesday, January 31, 2024 • 7:00 p.m.
Stroh Center • Bowling Green, Ohio
TV/Video: ESPN+ • Audio: Falcon Media Sports Network
Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com • Twitter: @BGSUwbb

JUMP BALL
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team wraps up the month of January as well as the first half of the Mid-American Conference schedule on Wednesday night (Jan. 31). The Falcons, under the direction of first-year head coach Fred Chmiel, host Northern Illinois University, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.

DOLLAR NIGHT
• Wednesday's game is Dollar Night at the Stroh. General admission tickets for the BGSU-NIU contest are just one dollar. Parking is free, and select concessions items will also be available for just a single dollar.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• There are multiple ways to keep up with the Falcons in 2023-24...

• TV/VIDEO: Wednesday's game vs. NIU will be streamed via ESPN+.
• RADIO/AUDIO: All of BGSU's 2023-24 games are scheduled to have an audio stream thanks to the Falcon Media Sports Network.
• LIVE STATS: Live stats for all games in '23-24 are available.
• TWITTER (X): In-game updates, along with key graphics and information, can be found on the BGSU women's basketball Twitter/X 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.

YOU CAN PUT THE SUITCASES AWAY FOR A WHILE
• The Falcons are playing a second-straight home game after playing three of the previous four games on the road. In fact, Saturday's (Jan. 27) Kent State contest began a stretch in which BGSU plays five of the next six games inside the Stroh Center. And, the sixth game during that time will be a same-day trip.

• Following the NIU game, the Orange and Brown will make a trip to Toledo on Saturday (Feb. 3). Then, the Falcons play three-straight home games, facing Ohio (Feb. 7), Troy (Feb. 10) and the Rockets (Feb. 17).

• After playing at Buffalo last week (Jan. 24), BGSU will not make another overnight trip for nearly a month, when the Falcons head to Northeast Ohio on Feb. 20 to face Akron the following evening (Feb. 21).

BGSU SAAC TO HOLD CLINIC FOR NGWSD ON FEB. 7
• BGSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is proud to announce a sports clinic for National Girls and Women In Sports Day next Wednesday (Feb. 7). The clinic, which will run from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m., will feature members of each of BGSU's women's athletic teams interacting and engaging with children to teach the importance of sport participation, leadership and leading a healthy and active lifestyle.

• After the event, all participants are invited to join BGSU women's basketball as the team hosts Ohio University at 7:00 p.m. Registration is limited to the first 75 children grades 1-8. More information can be found on the web at BGSUFalcons.com.

All participants will receive a complimentary ticket to the game and a bottled water for use during the clinic.

FALCONS' PLAY4KAY/PINK GAME SET FOR FEB. 10
• BGSU will host Troy on Saturday, Feb. 10, and it will be the program's annual Play4Kay/Pink Game. The Falcons are inviting Survivors, Thrivers and those standing in the gap for a loved one who is battling or has battled cancer to come to the Stroh Center for that day's game, which begins at 2:00 p.m.

• Former North Carolina State head women's basketball coach Kay Yow was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, and passed away on January 24, 2009, after facing her third bout with the disease. The vision of Play4Kay came directly from Coach Yow. Through Play4Kay, she saw a way to bring communities together and honor cancer warriors in the fight against ALL cancers affecting women.

• All fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game.

PORTER'S PERCENTAGE PACES THE MAC
• Erika Porter went 5-for-6 from the field in last Wednesday's (Jan. 24) game at Buffalo, then was 4-for-5 three days later vs. Kent State. Porter leads the MAC in field-goal percentage in conference games, having made 64.6% of her shots vs. league foes.

• Over the last five games, Porter has gone 27-of-37 (73.0%) from the floor.

A LOT OF TIME ON THE COURT
• Both Paige Kohler and Erika Porter recorded a BGSU career-high minutes total for the second consecutive game at Buffalo. Kohler played all 40 minutes against the Bulls, while Porter was on the court for 35:57.

• Kohler had played 38:17 and Porter 31:24 four days earlier, at Miami.

• Amy Velasco also set a new career standard for minutes played at UB. She was on the court for 39:54 against the Bulls.

• Then, in the Kent State game, Morgan Sharps played all 40 minutes, with Velasco (36:59), Kohler (36:46) and Olivia Hill (36:21) each playing over 36 minutes. The totals for both Sharps and Hill represented new career standards.

BE READY WHEN YOUR NAME IS CALLED
• The Falcons utilized six different starting-lineup combinations through the first 16 games this season, after employing a total of five different lineups during all of last year (38 games).

• Nine different players have started at least one game in 2023-24 to date, after a total of seven different Falcons were in the starting lineup last season.

THE FALCONS – A QUICK OVERVIEW
• The Falcons enter the Northern Illinois game with an overall record of 10-8 on the season, and BGSU is 4-4 in MAC play. Three of the Falcons' losses this season have come to nationally-ranked teams.

• BGSU is 5-2 at home, 3-6 on the road and 2-0 in neutral-site games. In MAC play, the Falcons are 3-1 at the Stroh and 1-3 in front of hostile gatherings.

• The Falcons rallied to beat Cleveland State in the season opener at the Stroh, and after a loss at Texas State, BG bounced back with four-straight wins, downing Xavier, Mercer, Lehigh and Duquesne. The latter game saw the Falcons win, 68-66, on Amy Velasco's buzzer-beater at the Stroh.

• BGSU went 1-3 in December, with all three losses coming to nationally-ranked teams (#4/4 Iowa, #1/1 South Carolina and #16/15 Indiana).

• The Falcons began the 2024 portion of the schedule with a 65-64 win at Central Michigan in the MAC opener, before returning home and picking up wins against Western Michigan (75-69; Jan. 6) and Eastern Michigan (69-57; Jan. 10).

• BGSU lost for the first time in league play on Jan. 13, falling at Ball State by a 76-61 count. The Falcons bounced back with a 70-59 home win over Akron last week (Jan. 17), before losing road games vs. Miami, (56-47; Jan. 20) and Buffalo (82-72; Jan. 24) and a home matchup with Kent State (82-74; Jan. 27).

• A total of 13 Falcons have seen action this season, with nine of those 13 averaging at least 13 minutes per contest. Nine different players have started at least one game so far in 2023-24.

• Velasco, a junior, leads the team with 35.4 minutes per game, while freshman Paige Kohler has played 32.3 mpg.

• Fourth-year Falcon Lexi Fleming averaged 31.4 mpg over the first 10 contests of the season, before leaving the Indiana game (Dec. 22) due to injury. Fleming also has averages of 15.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game, and led the Falcons in all three categories at the time of her injury. She was averaging 16.7 ppg prior to that IU game, in which she played just 1:10.

• Velasco and Morgan Sharps have scored 14.1 and 13.4 ppg, respectively. Kohler, who scored a career-high 28 points at CMU, has 10.6 points per contest, while Erika Porter has 9.9 ppg to date. Velasco went off for a career-best 28 points at Ball State before Porter scored 24 points (going 10-of-11 from the field) vs. Akron. Then, Porter had 16 points and 19 rebounds – the highest total by a Falcon in 28 years – at Miami. And, Sharps exploded for 30 points in the Kent State contest.

• Velasco paces BG with 4.4 assists per game, followed by Kohler (3.1 apg).

• Velasco has gone 29-of-71 (40.8%) from the arc to lead the Falcons in three-point accuracy, while Sharps, despite missing the first four games of the season, leads the team in triples made, having gone 38-of-102 (37.3%) from long distance.

• Olivia Hill and Sophie Dziekan have 4.7 and 3.8 ppg, respectively, this season. Dziekan made her first collegiate start at Wright State (Dec. 12) and responded with her first career double-double, as she had 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in the win. She has made five starts this season, including a pair of MAC matchups.

• Hill started the first 14 games this winter before missing the Akron and Miami contests due to injury. Since her return, she has averaged 8.0 ppg and shot 77.8% (7-for-9) from the floor. After going 0-for-1 from three-point land in her first 59 games as a Falcon, she made not one, but two, long-range shots at Xavier. Hill is now 10-for-27 from the arc this season to date.

• Velasco has a team-leading 15.5 ppg in MAC play, with Kohler and Porter averaging 13.5 and 13.1 ppg, respectively, and Sharps 12.9. Porter has a team-high 7.6 rebounds per game in MAC action, and recorded double-doubles in back-to-back games, vs. MU and UB, with freshmen Keiryn McGuff and Taya Ellis at 5.2 and 4.6 rpg, respectively.

• Velasco leads the Falcons in assists (5.3 apg) and steals (1.5 spg) in MAC games, while Porter is shooting a team- and MAC-best 64.6% (42-of-65) from the floor.

• McGuff and Ellis have seen both their minutes and their production increase in conference play. McGuff is averaging 22.6 minutes per game in league contests, with Ellis at 16.0 mpg.

• Last year, the Falcons went 31-7 overall, and 14-4 in MAC play. BGSU tied Ball State for second in the conference, earned the number-two seed for the MAC Tournament and advanced to the championship game. Then, the Orange and Brown won four games in the WNIT to advance all the way to the semifinal round of that tourney. A total of nine student-athletes returned from that team in 2023-24.

• The Falcons lost four starters from a year ago, as Allison.Day completed her eligibility and Elissa.Brett, Nyla.Hampton and Jocelyn.Tate all entered the transfer portal. Additionally, Kadie.Hempfling, the only player in school history with over 1,200 points, 800 rebounds and 400 assists, completed her eligibility.

• The Falcons' group of returnees for the 2023-24 season also included Jasmine Clerkley, Jasmine Fearne, Emily Siesel and Jaci Tubergen.

• Five newcomers joined head coach Fred Chmiel's first BGSU squad. That quintet includes Baylor transfer Porter as well as freshmen Ellis, Kohler, McGuff and Abbie Riddle.

• Chmiel's staff is comprised of assistant coaches Maggie Lucas, Nick DiPillo and Lexxus Graham-Blincoe, video coordinator Audra Clark, director of operations Tim Kjar and director of player personnel Zhaque Gray.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE HUSKIES
• Northern Illinois is 9-10 on the season, and the Huskies are 3-5 in MAC play after a narrow 61-59 loss to visiting Akron on Saturday. NIU's MAC wins have come against Miami and Central Michigan at home and Ohio on the road. Overall, the Huskies are 6-3 at home, 1-7 on the road and 2-0 in neutral-site games this season. In MAC games, NIU is 2-3 at home and 1-2 in hostile territory.

• Individually, Jayden Marable has 11.4 ppg, while Brooke Stonebraker – the daughter of former BGSU women's basketball great Jacki (Raterman) Stonebraker – has 11.2 ppg and leads the team with 8.2 rpg.

• Head coach Lisa Carlsen welcomed back 10 letterwinners, including three starters, from a 2022-23 team that finished 16-17 overall and 8-10 in conference action.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Northern Illinois, 27-21, in the all-time series, but NIU captured the most recent meeting. The visiting team won each of last season's two matchups, with BGSU picking up a 66-50 victory in DeKalb (Jan. 28, 2023), but NIU capturing an 85-81 decision several weeks later (Feb. 15, 2023) at the Stroh. BG won 13-straight meetings from 2005-15, but Northern then won nine of 10 contests before the Falcons took both games two years ago.

• The Falcons are 15-10 at home, 11-11 on the road and 1-0 at neutral sites vs. NIU through the years. Additional series information can be found on page 30.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the NIU game, the Falcons will make the short trip to the Glass City to face Toledo on Saturday (Feb. 3). Tipoff for the next edition of the 'Battle of I-75' is set for 2:00 p.m. at Savage Arena.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will return home for the next three games, facing Ohio (Feb. 7), Troy (Feb. 10) and the Rockets (Feb. 17) at the Stroh.

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 right here at BGSUFalcons.com.