Eagles Come to Town for Friday Evening's MAC Opener

BGSU vs. EASTERN MICHIGAN
Fri., December 11, 2020 • 6:00 p.m.
Stroh Center • Bowling Green, Ohio

TELEVISION / VIDEO: ESPN+
AUDIO: Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO)
LIVE STATS: BGSUFalcons.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 opens Mid-American Conference play Friday evening (Dec. 11). Head coach Robyn Fralick and the Falcons will face Eastern Michigan University at the Stroh Center, with tipoff scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

• Then, BGSU has a quick turnaround, as the Falcons take to the road for a Sunday (Dec. 13) contest vs. Purdue University. That game is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m start at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.

• The Falcons have begun the season with three wins for the fourth time in eight years, and the 10th time in the history of the program.

• Following the Purdue game, BGSU closes the December schedule with games at Morehead State (Dec. 19) and at home vs. Miami (Dec. 22).

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.

FOUR SCORE AND FOUR OR FIVE DAYS AGO...*
• The Falcons defeated Milwaukee, 64-62, at the Stroh Center on Sunday afternoon (Dec. 8). Just four Falcons found the scoresheet in the win, with all four scoring in double digits. Freshman Lexi Fleming scored over 20 points for the second time in as many career home games, with 22 against the Panthers.

• Sophomore Elissa Brett had a career-high 17 points, while junior Kadie Hempfling had 13. Senior Clare Glowniak rounded out the Falcons' scoring quartet with a career-high 12 points.
* depending upon when you're reading these notes

BG OFF TO A 3-0 START
• The Falcons have started the season with a 3-0 record for the third time in four years. BGSU also won three games to begin the 2017-18 season, before falling to Canisius in game number four, and the Falcons were unbeaten last year until an overtime loss at Valparaiso in the fourth game of the year.

• The last time BG won more than three-straight contests to begin the year came in 2013-14. That Falcon club started the season with a 4-0 record en route to a 30-win season and a trip to the fourth round of the WNIT.

• BG has begun the year with three or more wins in each of the following seasons: 1974-75, 1988-89, 1991-92, 1997-98, 2005-06, 2007-08, 2013-14, 2017-18, 2019-20 and 2020-21.
BGSU RECORD BOOK – BEST STARTS TO A SEASON
Wins  Season(s)
8 2005-06
6 1974-75, 1988-89, 2007-08
5 1991-92
4 2013-14
3 1997-98, 2017-18, 2019-20, 2020-21

FALCONS AMONG THE NATION'S LEADERS
• Is it early in the season? Yes. Yes it is. Nevertheless, the Falcons are listed among the national leaders in numerous categories.

• Freshman Kenzie Lewis leads the MAC and is ranked third in the nation in steals per game (5.00), and she is sixth in the country in total steals (15). Classmate Lexi Fleming is 18th in free throws made (19) and 22nd in FT attempts (24), and Fleming is ranked among the nation's top-100 in scoring and minutes played per game.

• As a team, the Falcons lead the MAC in free throws made and attempted, as well as turnovers forced and turnover margin (BGSU is tied with EMU for the MAC lead in the latter category).

• BGSU is 24th in the nation in turnover margin and 26th in steals per game, and the Falcons are ranked among the top 50 in turnovers forced (33rd), free throws made (37th), steals (43rd), free throws attempted (47th) and scoring defense (also 47th).

TURN THEM OVER AND MAKE THEM PAY
• The Falcons forced Northern Kentucky to commit 23 turnovers last Thursday (Dec. 3), with freshmen Kenzie Lewis and Lexi Fleming combining for 12 of BGSU's 15 steals in the win. Lewis had nine steals, just one shy of the school single-game record.

• BGSU had a points-off-turnovers advantage of 30-5 in the game, including a 19-0 lead in that category in the first half.

• Three days later, BGSU had an 18-6 advantage in that column in the win over Milwaukee. Through three games this season, the Falcons have scored 74 points off turnovers, compared to 28 for the opponents.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE EAGLES
• Eastern Michigan brings a 3-1 record to the Stroh Center, and the Eagles are off to a 1-0 start in conference play. Eastern has picked up three road wins, over Southern Illinois, Ball State and Southeast Missouri State. The lone loss came at home to UIC.

• Areanna Combs and Ce'Nara Skanes are averaging 21.5 and 19.0 points per game, respectively. Skanes has 8.0 rebounds per game, while Combs has 7.0 boards and 4.0 steals per outing.

• Jenna Annecchiarico has 8.8 ppg and is tied for the team steals lead with Combs. Those three players, along with Juanita Agosto (4.5 ppg) and Natalia Pineda (2.8 ppg) have started all four games for coach Fred Castro.

• Castro welcomed back a total of 11 players from last year's club. The 2019-20 Eagles finished with an overall record of 16-15 and a MAC mark of 9-9.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Eastern Michigan, 51-20, in the all-time series, and BGSU has captured 14 of the last 20 meetings. But, the Eagles have won each of the last five matchups, including both contests in the 2019-20 campaign.

• The teams met in the MAC opener last season, and the Eagles ran away with a 78-61 win in Ypsilanti (Jan. 4, 2020). Then, a month later (Feb. 12, 2020), Eastern came to the Stroh and picked up a 70-58 victory.

• BG won 13-straight meetings with the Eagles between 2005 and '15. The Falcons are 28-6 in home games, 20-13 in road contests and 3-1 in neutral-site confrontations with the Hurons/Eagles over the years.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the EMU game, the Falcons will hit the road for the next two contests, both out of conference. BGSU will head to West Lafayette for a Sunday (Dec. 13) game against Purdue, beginning at 2:00 p.m.

• Then, the Falcons will venture to Kentucky to face Morehead State on Dec. 19. The December schedule concludes with a home game vs. Miami on Dec. 22.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Players Mentioned

Elissa Brett

Lexi Fleming

Clare Glowniak

Kadie Hempfling

Kenzie Lewis

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Bowling Green State University Athletics