Akron Comes to Town for BGSU's Unity Game

BGSU vs. AKRON
Wed., January 20, 2021 • 7:00 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 here at BGSUFalcons.com on game day

SETTING THE SCENE – BGSU HOSTS ZIPS IN WEDNESDAY'S "UNITY GAME"
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, coming off a road win in the "Battle of I-75," plays three of the final four January games at home, beginning Wednesday night (Jan. 20). Head coach Robyn Fralick and the Falcons will host the University of Akron in a 7:00 p.m. start at the Stroh Center.

• Wednesday's game will be the Falcons' "Unity Game" as BGSU continues the pursuit for equity and social progress.

• After losing back-to-back games for the first time this season, BG bounced back with a 69-57 win at arch-rival Toledo on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 16). The Falcons led by 21 points with three minutes to go before a late Rocket surge produced the final margin.

• BGSU, now 5-2 in MAC play, has matched the team's conference win total for the previous two years combined. After facing the Zips, BGSU heads to Miami this weekend, before ending January with home contests vs. Western Michigan and UT.

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.

HEMPFLING LOOKING TO JOIN A SHORT LIST
• In the history of BGSU women's basketball, the list of players who have amassed both 500 rebounds and 300 assists is a short one. Kate Achter. That's it. That's the list.

• However, after nearly two and one-half seasons in a BG uniform, junior Kadie Hempfling is close to making that list twice as long. Hempfling recently pulled down her 500th rebound as a Falcon, and now has 535 career boards. And, she currently has 297 assists in her BGSU career, putting her just three away from 300.

• Achter (2004-08), a member of the BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame, had a school-record 688 assists and exactly 500 rebounds in her Falcon career.

• Hempfling has a way to go to reach the top-10 in career rebounding at BGSU, but she is on pace to get there before her stellar career is done. And, Hempfling has moved into a tie for 10th in school history in assists, with 297. She has matched the total recorded by her former teammate, Sydney Lambert (297 assists from 2015-19).

• Hempfling is currently ranked among the top-10 Falcons in school history in both per-game categories, with 7.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game in her BG career.

FANTASTIC FIRST-YEAR FALCON: FLEMING'S FIRST AMONG FRESHMEN IN THE MAC – AND THE NATION!
• Lexi Fleming is averaging a team-leading 19.8 points per game through the first 12 games of her Falcon career, leading all MAC freshmen in that category. Is that the only category in which Fleming tops all MAC frosh? No. Oh, no. Not even close.

• In the latest NCAA stats (as of Monday morning, Jan. 18), Fleming leads all MAC freshmen in no fewer than 16 categories, and she is among the top five freshmen in the entire nation in 11 of those categories.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE ZIPS
• Akron is 4-5 on the season, and the Zips are 1-5 in MAC play entering Wednesday's game at the Stroh. UA picked up an 84-77 win over Miami last Wednesday before dropping a 64-46 decision at Eastern Michigan over the weekend.

• The Zips went 3-0 in non-conference action, including victories over Northern Kentucky at home and Dayton on the road. Three of the MAC losses have been by single digits.

• Jordyn Dawson leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, with 18.2 points and 7.9 boards per contest. She also paces the Zips in assists and steals. Lonasia Brewer has 13.2 ppg and 5.6 rpg to rank second on the team on both lists.

• The Zips are 3-1 at home and 1-4 on the road this season to date. In the MAC, UA is 1-1 at the JAR and 0-4 in somewhat hostile (when there are fans) venues. Head coach Melissa Jackson has a youthful roster, with 10 players with two or fewer years of experience at the NCAA Division-I level. The 2019-20 edition of the Zips went 15-15 overall and 8-10 in the MAC.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Akron, 55-11, in the all-time series, but UA has captured each of the last four meetings, including both of last season's matchups. The Zips used a late run to pick up a 76-73 win at the Stroh Center (Jan. 11, 2020), then won a 70-61 decision in the Rubber City on the final day of the regular season (March 7, 2020).

• The Falcons won the first 26 series matchups, saw Akron take two of the next five games, then won 19 more in a row before a UA win in January of 2013.

• BGSU is 29-4 in home games, 24-7 in road contests and 2-0 in neutral-site meetings vs. the Zips over the years. Much more series information can be found on page 21 of the PDF version of these notes.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the UA game, the Falcons will return to the road to face Miami on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 23). Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m. at Millett Hall in Oxford.

• Then, the Falcons will wrap up the month of January, with a pair of home games, meeting Western Michigan (Jan. 27) and Toledo (Jan. 30) at the Stroh.

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