Saturday, January 9
Bowling Green, Ohio
12:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
8-2,4-1MAC
71
vs
78
Northern Illinois
4-5,2-2MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Northern Ill.
16
25
17
20
78
Bowling Green
16
15
19
21
71
Photo by: Larry Clapper
Huskies Deal Falcons First MAC Loss, 78-71
January 09, 2021 | Women's Basketball
Box ScoreBGSU-NIU Final StatsFleming Postgame Interview Coach Fralick Postgame Interview Photo Gallery
NIU's balanced attack offsets Fleming's 26-point outburst
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team suffered a loss in Mid-American Conference play for the first time this season. Northern Illinois University downed the Falcons, 78-71, on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 9) at the Stroh Center.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Falcons (8-2, 4-1). Freshman Lexi Fleming scored a game-high 26 points for the home team, adding eight rebounds to lead BG in that category as well. Junior Kadie Hempfling had 16 points and seven boards for the Orange and Brown.
For the Huskies (4-5, 2-2 MAC), Chelby Koker had 18 points to pace four double-digit scorers. Paulina Castro and Emily Meinert had 15 points apiece and Errin Hodges 14.
Northern shot 62.5 percent in the second quarter to take a 10-point halftime lead. BGSU got within six points on several occasions in the second half, and crept within five in the final minute of the game, but Koker and the Huskies made enough free throws down the stretch to keep the Falcons at bay.
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NOTE OF THE DAY
• Freshman Lexi Fleming, as mentioned, had a game-high 26 points on Saturday. It was her 10th double-digit effort in as many games this season. She is just the fifth player since 1993 – and the only freshman – to hit double digits in scoring in at least the first 10 games of the year.Â
• Fleming has scored more than 20 points in all five of the Falcons' home games this season to date.
QUOTING COACH FRALICK
"We've done such a good job defensively this year, but I felt like we had a lot of lapses today. Give Northern Illinois credit; I thought they shot the ball really well. But, we've got to get better moving forward."
"We didn't shoot the very well today, but every time we tried to make a run, we weren't able to get enough stops, or we would get a stop and give up a second shot. There are so many pieces that go into sustaining that momentum. When you get a stop, you've got to get another stop and another stop, and we weren't able to do that today."
FIRST QUARTER
• The Falcons took an early lead, as senior Madisen Parker kicked the ball out to freshman Lexi Fleming for a three-pointer on BG's first possession of the game. But, the Huskies responded with seven-straight points, beginning with a three-ball by Paulina Castro. An Errin Hodges layup gave the visitors a 7-3 lead with just over 90 seconds gone.
• But, back came the Falcons, as freshman Nyla Hampton laid the ball off to a cutting Kadie Hempfling, and the junior's bucket began a 6-0 BG run. Fleming stole the ball not once, but twice, during that run, and each steal resulted in an uncontested fast-break layup.
• After a pair of Huskie free throws, sophomore Olivia Trice banked home a layup after a baseline drive, and after a Riley Blackwell shot from the stripe and a Stroh-wide scoreless stretch of nearly three minutes, Parker's three-pointer gave the Brown and Orange a 14-10 lead with 2:03 left in the quarter.
• Chelby Koker's layup, however, was followed by an Emily Meinert three-pointer to give NIU the lead again. Fleming hit a floater in the paint, before an NIU free throw knotted the contest at 16-all after 10 minutes.
• Fleming had nine first-quarter points, while no other player on either team had more than three.
SECOND QUARTER
• Senior Clare Glowniak scored inside on the first possession of the second quarter, as the teams combined to score on five-straight trips. Castro hit a three  and Meinert scored in the paint for the Huskies, but Hempfling and Fleming each converted layups for BG.
• Castro's three-point try gave NIU the lead for good, however, and just under two minutes later, Blackwell banked home a three-point try to give the visitors a five-point advantage, at 27-22. The Falcons got back within three on two occasions, on a Glowniak jumper and a back-door layup by freshman Kenzie Lewis, but NIU responded each time. After the Lewis bucket, Northern scored four-straight points to go ahead by seven.
• Hempfling's free throw was followed by a Fleming floater, but Koker's three-pointer began an 8-2 run for the Huskies to end the half. Senior Angela Perry banked home a shot in the paint, but Castro hit a corner three and Hodges got a driving layup to go. NIU led, 41-31, at the break.
• The Huskies were 10-of-16 (62.5%) from the field, including 5-for-10 from the arc, in that second period.
THIRD QUARTER
• Fleming drove and kicked the ball to Hempfling for a three-pointer on BG's first possession of the half, but just as in the first quarter, Northern answered that triple with a 7-0 run. Back-to-back layups by Koker gave the Huskies a 48-34 advantage, the largest margin of the day.
• Fleming inbounded the ball to Hempfling, took a return pass and hit a corner three in front of the BG bench, and the freshman then had a baseline layup moments later. The latter bucket began a 7-0 Falcon run that cut the Northern lead to six points.
• After Fleming's initial hoop in that stretch, she grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for an layup and a three-point play. Hampton stole the ball from Hodges, took a Trice pass and hit a layup that made the score 50-44.
• But, an offensive rebound led to a second-chance three-pointer by Castro, and after Glowniak scored, four-straight NIU points pushed the lead back into double digits. Four Falcon free throws in the final minute of the quarter cut the Northern lead to 58-50.
FOURTH QUARTER
• BG looked to further narrow the margin in the early stages of the fourth quarter, as Hampton hit two more free throws and Perry scored inside. But, after a Hempfling hoop, Meinert knocked down her second three-pointer of the quarter for a 66-56 NIU lead.
• Perry and Hempfling each made shots to cut the lead to six points once again, but buckets by Hodges and Mikayla Brandon nullified those BG gains.
• The Falcons could not get any closer than eight points until just over a minute remained. After Perry's free throw at the 1:07 mark, Koker lost the ball near midcourt, and Hempfling was fouled and made a pair of charity tosses. With 53.4 seconds to go, the NIU lead was five, at 72-67.
• Koker was quickly fouled and made both shots, but Fleming rebounded her own miss, was fouled and hit two tries from the stripe with 41.0 seconds left. BG tied the Huskies up for a jump ball, but the arrow favored the visitors, and Koker would then make two more free throws.
• Fleming hit a layup with 25.0 seconds left, but the Falcons would draw no closer. Janae Poisson was fouled and split a pair of shots, and a BG shot was off the mark on the next trip down the floor, with Koker rebounding the ball, drawing a foul and hitting one-of-two shots at the line to close the scoring.
UP NEXT
• The Falcons now go back out on the road for the next two games. BGSU will head to Western New York for a Wednesday (Jan. 13) matchup with Buffalo. Tipoff is set for 5:00 p.m. at Alumni Arena.
• Then, BGSU will face Toledo in the Glass City next Saturday afternoon (Jan. 16), as part of a January stretch in which five of seven games are on the road.
• Keep it locked right here at BGSUFalcons.com for all of the latest news and updates re: the 2020-21 Falcons, and click here for the latest and most up-to-date schedule.
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• For more information on all things BGSU women's basketball, follow the Falcons on...
• Facebook | @BGWBB
• Twitter | @BGAthletics and @BGSUwbb
• Instagram | @bgsuwbasketball
• Snapchat | BGSU Falcons
ÂGallery: (1-9-2021) W.Basketball v NIU - Jan 9 2021
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#AyZiggy
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The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Falcons (8-2, 4-1). Freshman Lexi Fleming scored a game-high 26 points for the home team, adding eight rebounds to lead BG in that category as well. Junior Kadie Hempfling had 16 points and seven boards for the Orange and Brown.
For the Huskies (4-5, 2-2 MAC), Chelby Koker had 18 points to pace four double-digit scorers. Paulina Castro and Emily Meinert had 15 points apiece and Errin Hodges 14.
Northern shot 62.5 percent in the second quarter to take a 10-point halftime lead. BGSU got within six points on several occasions in the second half, and crept within five in the final minute of the game, but Koker and the Huskies made enough free throws down the stretch to keep the Falcons at bay.
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NOTE OF THE DAY
• Freshman Lexi Fleming, as mentioned, had a game-high 26 points on Saturday. It was her 10th double-digit effort in as many games this season. She is just the fifth player since 1993 – and the only freshman – to hit double digits in scoring in at least the first 10 games of the year.Â
• Fleming has scored more than 20 points in all five of the Falcons' home games this season to date.
QUOTING COACH FRALICK
"We've done such a good job defensively this year, but I felt like we had a lot of lapses today. Give Northern Illinois credit; I thought they shot the ball really well. But, we've got to get better moving forward."
"We didn't shoot the very well today, but every time we tried to make a run, we weren't able to get enough stops, or we would get a stop and give up a second shot. There are so many pieces that go into sustaining that momentum. When you get a stop, you've got to get another stop and another stop, and we weren't able to do that today."
FIRST QUARTER
• The Falcons took an early lead, as senior Madisen Parker kicked the ball out to freshman Lexi Fleming for a three-pointer on BG's first possession of the game. But, the Huskies responded with seven-straight points, beginning with a three-ball by Paulina Castro. An Errin Hodges layup gave the visitors a 7-3 lead with just over 90 seconds gone.
• But, back came the Falcons, as freshman Nyla Hampton laid the ball off to a cutting Kadie Hempfling, and the junior's bucket began a 6-0 BG run. Fleming stole the ball not once, but twice, during that run, and each steal resulted in an uncontested fast-break layup.
• After a pair of Huskie free throws, sophomore Olivia Trice banked home a layup after a baseline drive, and after a Riley Blackwell shot from the stripe and a Stroh-wide scoreless stretch of nearly three minutes, Parker's three-pointer gave the Brown and Orange a 14-10 lead with 2:03 left in the quarter.
• Chelby Koker's layup, however, was followed by an Emily Meinert three-pointer to give NIU the lead again. Fleming hit a floater in the paint, before an NIU free throw knotted the contest at 16-all after 10 minutes.
• Fleming had nine first-quarter points, while no other player on either team had more than three.
SECOND QUARTER
• Senior Clare Glowniak scored inside on the first possession of the second quarter, as the teams combined to score on five-straight trips. Castro hit a three  and Meinert scored in the paint for the Huskies, but Hempfling and Fleming each converted layups for BG.
• Castro's three-point try gave NIU the lead for good, however, and just under two minutes later, Blackwell banked home a three-point try to give the visitors a five-point advantage, at 27-22. The Falcons got back within three on two occasions, on a Glowniak jumper and a back-door layup by freshman Kenzie Lewis, but NIU responded each time. After the Lewis bucket, Northern scored four-straight points to go ahead by seven.
• Hempfling's free throw was followed by a Fleming floater, but Koker's three-pointer began an 8-2 run for the Huskies to end the half. Senior Angela Perry banked home a shot in the paint, but Castro hit a corner three and Hodges got a driving layup to go. NIU led, 41-31, at the break.
• The Huskies were 10-of-16 (62.5%) from the field, including 5-for-10 from the arc, in that second period.
THIRD QUARTER
• Fleming drove and kicked the ball to Hempfling for a three-pointer on BG's first possession of the half, but just as in the first quarter, Northern answered that triple with a 7-0 run. Back-to-back layups by Koker gave the Huskies a 48-34 advantage, the largest margin of the day.
• Fleming inbounded the ball to Hempfling, took a return pass and hit a corner three in front of the BG bench, and the freshman then had a baseline layup moments later. The latter bucket began a 7-0 Falcon run that cut the Northern lead to six points.
• After Fleming's initial hoop in that stretch, she grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for an layup and a three-point play. Hampton stole the ball from Hodges, took a Trice pass and hit a layup that made the score 50-44.
• But, an offensive rebound led to a second-chance three-pointer by Castro, and after Glowniak scored, four-straight NIU points pushed the lead back into double digits. Four Falcon free throws in the final minute of the quarter cut the Northern lead to 58-50.
FOURTH QUARTER
• BG looked to further narrow the margin in the early stages of the fourth quarter, as Hampton hit two more free throws and Perry scored inside. But, after a Hempfling hoop, Meinert knocked down her second three-pointer of the quarter for a 66-56 NIU lead.
• Perry and Hempfling each made shots to cut the lead to six points once again, but buckets by Hodges and Mikayla Brandon nullified those BG gains.
• The Falcons could not get any closer than eight points until just over a minute remained. After Perry's free throw at the 1:07 mark, Koker lost the ball near midcourt, and Hempfling was fouled and made a pair of charity tosses. With 53.4 seconds to go, the NIU lead was five, at 72-67.
• Koker was quickly fouled and made both shots, but Fleming rebounded her own miss, was fouled and hit two tries from the stripe with 41.0 seconds left. BG tied the Huskies up for a jump ball, but the arrow favored the visitors, and Koker would then make two more free throws.
• Fleming hit a layup with 25.0 seconds left, but the Falcons would draw no closer. Janae Poisson was fouled and split a pair of shots, and a BG shot was off the mark on the next trip down the floor, with Koker rebounding the ball, drawing a foul and hitting one-of-two shots at the line to close the scoring.
UP NEXT
• The Falcons now go back out on the road for the next two games. BGSU will head to Western New York for a Wednesday (Jan. 13) matchup with Buffalo. Tipoff is set for 5:00 p.m. at Alumni Arena.
• Then, BGSU will face Toledo in the Glass City next Saturday afternoon (Jan. 16), as part of a January stretch in which five of seven games are on the road.
• Keep it locked right here at BGSUFalcons.com for all of the latest news and updates re: the 2020-21 Falcons, and click here for the latest and most up-to-date schedule.
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• For more information on all things BGSU women's basketball, follow the Falcons on...
• Facebook | @BGWBB
• Twitter | @BGAthletics and @BGSUwbb
• Instagram | @bgsuwbasketball
• Snapchat | BGSU Falcons
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HASHTAG
#AyZiggy
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Team Stats
NIU
BGSU
FG%
.459
.409
3FG%
.379
.138
FT%
.647
.722
RB
46
33
TO
21
14
STL
7
12
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
26
FGM
10
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's Basketball
G
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