Falcons Face Norse in Thursday's Road Opener

BGSU at NORTHERN KENTUCKY
Thu., December 3, 2020 • 12:00 p.m.
BB&T Arena • Highland Heights, Ky.

TELEVISION / VIDEO: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: NKUNorse.com | TWITTER: @BGSUwbb
All audio, stats & video links can be found right here at BGSUFalcons.com on game day

SETTING THE SCENE
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team begins the road portion of the 2020-21 season on Thursday afternoon (Dec. 3). Head coach Robyn Fralick and the Falcons will face Northern Kentucky University, with tipoff scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Ky.

• The Falcons are scheduled to play three of the first four games of the season at home, with the NKU matchup the lone road game during that stretch.

• Thursday's contest kicks off a six-game December schedule that also sees the Falcons host Milwaukee Sunday (Dec. 6) and Eastern Michigan (Dec. 11) and travel to face Purdue (Dec. 13) and Morehead State (Dec. 19). Following the MSU game, BG is slated to host Miami (Dec. 22) to wrap up the December schedule.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, BGSU will unfortunately not have any public attendance for women's basketball games in the 2020-21 season. However, there are multiple ways to follow the Falcons this winter...

• TV/VIDEO: All of BGSU's home games, as well as many road contests, will be streamed via ESPN3 or ESPN+.
• RADIO/AUDIO: All BGSU home games and a few road games will have an audio stream thanks to the efforts of the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO).
• LIVE STATS: Live stats will be available for all BGSU games in 2020-21.
• TWITTER: In-game updates, along with key graphics and information, can be found on the BGSU women's basketball twitter account, @BGSUwbb.

Links to any and all ways to follow the Falcons will be available on the schedule page at BGSUFalcons.com on game day.

FLEMING'S FALCON-TASTIC DEBUT
• Falcon freshman Lexi Fleming had a successful collegiate debut, to say the least. Fleming had a game-high 24 points as BGSU opened the 2020-21 season with a 70-60 win over Valparaiso at the Stroh Center on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 29).

• BGSU's statistical records go back to the mid-1970s, and in that time, no Falcon freshman had ever scored as many as 24 points in her first-ever game.

• Fleming also had six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Her first steal came on BG's first defensive possession of the game (i.e., the first of her career), as she deflected a pass, grabbed the ball and sailed in for a layup and the game's first two points.

• Fleming had 11 points in the first half, and after scoring two points in the third quarter, she had 11 more in the fourth quarter alone as BGSU went on a run to put the game away.

EYASSES (IT'S THE PLURAL OF EYAS) (LOOK IT UP)
• Two freshmen, Lexi Fleming and Kenzie Lewis, were in the lineup when the Falcons took the floor for Sunday's season opener vs. Valparaiso. It marked the first time in 13 years that BGSU had multiple freshmen in the starting lineup.

• On that day 13 years ago, BGSU actually had three freshmen in the starting five for the regular-season opener. Chelsea Albert, Crystal Murdaugh and Lauren Prochaska all were in the the starting lineup on Nov. 9, 2007, as the Falcons posted an 81-56 win over ... Valparaiso. That 25-point victory took place at venerable Anderson Arena.

QUEEN(S) CITY
• The Falcons head to the Greater Cincinnati area, one game after Cincinnati native Lexi Fleming posted the most prolific scoring debut by a freshman in program history.

• Prior to Fleming's 24-point outing on Sunday, the last Falcon freshman to score in double digits in her BG debut was Cincinnati native Sydney Lambert. Lambert had 13 points against Illinois State in a 70-52 BGSU win at the Stroh Center on Nov. 13, 2015.

• Lambert was a four-year starter for the Falcons after graduating from McAuley High School. Fleming is a graduate of Mercy McAuley H.S. Mercy McAuley formed from the 2018 merger of Mother of Mercy H.S. and McAuley H.S. and is located at the former McAuley campus.

BRETT'S A BATTLER (AND A BALLER)
• Elissa Brett ended her freshman year with several of the finest performances of her young career. And, as her sophomore season starts, it appears she has picked up right where she left off.

• Brett scored six points and tied for game honors with 10 rebounds in the Falcons' win over Valparaiso. She has had a total of 23 rebounds over her last two games, and 34 boards over the last three contests, dating to last season.

• The Adelaide, Australia, native had 11 rebounds and seven assists, the highest totals of her young career in each category, at Akron back on March 7. Then, she set a personal rebounding mark for the second time in as many games, with 13 boards at Western Michigan two days later (March 9).

• Brett had her first collegiate double-double in that WMU game, with 14 points vs. the Broncos. She has averaged 9.5 points per game over her last four games, and has averaged 10.6 rebounds per contest in her last five games.

FALCON FIRSTS
• We might have mentioned that Lexi Fleming scored 24 points in her BGSU debut on Sunday vs. Valparaiso. Fleming played a game-high 37:17 in the win, adding six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

• Fellow freshman Kenzie Lewis joined Fleming in the starting lineup for the opener. Lewis had five points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals, a blocked shot and a plus-minus rating of +23.

• Freshman Olivia Hill made her BG debut as well. She made the most of her three minutes off the bench, scoring three points and grabbing a rebound. Hill hit her only shot attempt from the field and split a pair of attempts at the free-throw line.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE NORSE
• Northern Kentucky is 0-2 after dropping a pair of road contests, vs. Cincinnati (73-67 in OT) and Akron (70-60), to begin the campaign. Ivy Turner is averaging 12.0 points per game in the early going, while Lindsey Duvall and Ally Niece are scoring 11.5 and 10.5 ppg, respectively.

• NKU was picked to finish fourth in the Horizon League in 2020-21. Niece, a junior guard, was named to the Preseason All-HL First Team after averaging a team-best 13.1 points and 3.7 assists per game last year.

• NKU is coming off of the program's first 20-win season in the Division-I era. The Norse went 20-12 overall and 12-6 in HL action a year ago. Head coach Camryn Whitaker welcomes back four starters from that team.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Northern Kentucky, 1-0, in the all-time series. The only prior meeting came nearly four decades ago. BGSU picked up a 78-50 win over the Norse in December of 1982 at venerable Anderson Arena.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the NKU game, the Falcons are slated to return home for the next two contests. BGSU faces Milwaukee at the Stroh Center on Sunday (Dec. 6) at 12:00 p.m.

• Then, the Brown and Orange will begin the Mid-American Conference schedule, hosting Eastern Michigan on Friday, Dec. 11. The Falcons and Eagles will meet in a 6:00 p.m. start.

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Elissa Brett

Lexi Fleming

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