Falcons Finish February Schedule Saturday at Akron

BGSU at AKRON
Sat., February 27, 2021 • 2:00 p.m.
James A. Rhodes Arena • Akron, Ohio

TELEVISION / VIDEO: ESPN3
AUDIO: Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO)
LIVE STATS: GoZips.com | TWITTER: @BGSUwbb

All audio, stats & video links can be found here at BGSUFalcons.com on game day

SETTING THE SCENE – FALCONS FACE AKRON TO FINISH FEBRUARY
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, after a 10-day layoff, returns to the court in Northeast Ohio this weekend. Head coach Robyn Fralick and the Falcons, currently sitting at the top of the Mid-American Conference standings, face the University of Akron on Saturday (Feb. 27), with tipoff at 2:00 p.m. at James A. Rhodes Arena.

• The Falcons last played on Wednesday, Feb. 17, downing Central Michigan by a 76-67 count at the Stroh Center. BGSU was idle on Saturday (Feb. 20), then saw Wednesday's (Feb. 24) scheduled game at Ohio postponed due to roster issues with the Bobcat team related to COVID-19 and subsequent contact tracing.

• In that CMU game, freshman Lexi Fleming scored a game-high 20 points, with 10 in each half, while junior Kadie Hempfling had 15 of her 17 points after halftime.

• The Falcons trailed Central by seven in the third quarter, but BG scored the final 12 points of the period to take the lead for good. The Falcons had advantages of 50-36 in points in the paint and 22-4 in bench scoring vs. the Chippewas.

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.

THE FALCONS AND THE MAC RACE
• In the MAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Falcons were picked to finish 11th in the 12-team league in 2020-21. With February winding down, it is safe to say that BGSU will finish higher than 11th.

• Last week, the Falcons clinched a top-eight finish, meaning that BGSU will advance to Cleveland for the quarterfinal round of the MAC Tournament. BG has not played a league tournament game at Gund Arena / Quicken Loans Arena / Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse since 2014.

• In the regular-season race, following Wednesday's games around the conference, BGSU is two games ahead of second-place Kent State. The Falcons have anywhere from three to five regular-season games remaining. The complete league standings are on page 3 of the PDF version of these notes.

WELL THEN...
• As Jon Lovitz's character said in A League of Their Own, "Well then, this would be more, wouldn't it?" After downing Central Michigan on Feb. 17, the Falcons sport a 12-3 record in Mid-American Conference play, and BGSU currently sits in first place in the 12-team league.

• BGSU has quadrupled the program's MAC win total from last season, and the Falcons have matched the conference win total for the last four years combined. BG went 3-15 in MAC play last season, 2-16 the previous winter, 3-15 the year before that and 4-14 in league action in 2016-17.

PAINT BY (B!G) NUMBERS
• Historical records are incomplete for specialty stats, such as points in the paint. However, it's fair to say the 2020-21 Falcons have achieved a feat that no BGSU in recent memory was able to accomplish.

• In a scan of box scores, the Falcons had scored 50 points in the paint in a game only a handful of times over the last 15 years, and BG had done so a total of ZERO times in a MAC game since 2005 (full disclosure: specialty stats prior to 2005, and for the 2007-08 season, are unavailable).

• This much is known – prior to the Kent State game (Feb. 10, 2021), BGSU had not scored 50 points in the paint in a game in nearly two years (50 on Nov. 18, 2019, vs. Notre Dame College), and the Falcons had not done so against an NCAA Division-I team in over seven years (52 vs. Milwaukee on Dec. 8, 2013).

• Now, though, the Falcons have scored 50 or more points in the paint in back-to-back games. BG had a 54-26 advantage in points in the paint in the win at Kent State, and the Falcons scored 50 more points in the paint en route to the win over Central Michigan (Feb. 17).

A QUICK LOOK AT THE ZIPS
• Akron is 6-12 overall, and the Zips are 3-12 in MAC play. UA is 2-2 over the last four games, including an overtime victory at Ball State on Feb. 6 and an 84-63 decision at Miami on Wednesday evening (Feb. 24).

• Jordyn Dawson leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, with 17.1 points and 7.1 boards per game. Lonasia Brewer has 10.8 ppg and 5.2 rpg to rank second on both lists.

• The Zips are 3-5 at home and 3-7 on the road this season. In the MAC, UA is 1-5 in Akron and 2-7 away from home. 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, 56-11, in the all-time series, and BGSU captured this year's first meeting, with a 66-57 victory at the Stroh Center last month (Jan. 20, 2021). That win snapped a four-game UA series winning streak which included a 70-61 decision in the Rubber City on the final day of the regular season last year (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 30-4 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 24 of the PDF.

DOWN THE ROAD (REMAINING REGULAR-SEASON GAMES)
• BGSU at Akron | Sat., Feb. 27 | 2:00 p.m.
• BGSU vs. Kent State | Wed., March 3 | 7:00 p.m.
• BGSU vs. Buffalo | Sat., March 6 | 2:00 p.m.
• BGSU at Eastern Michigan | TBA (Postponed from Sat., Feb. 13)
• BGSU at Ohio | TBA (Postponed from Wed., Feb. 24)

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