MAC CHAMPS! Falcons Top Akron to Clinch Regular-Season Crown

Saturday, February 27

Akron, Ohio

2:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

17-4,13-3MAC

Akron

6-13,3-13MAC

Bowling Green

Akron

Photo by: Chad Welker, Akron Athletics

February 27, 2021 | Women's Basketball

Box Score BGSU-Akron Stats Coach Fralick Postgame Interview

Falcons earn 15th regular-season title in program history

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Athletics

AKRON, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team never trailed on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 27), downing the University of Akron, 79-64, at James A. Rhodes Arena. In the process, the Falcons clinched the 2020-21 Mid-American Conference regular-season championship.

Junior Kadie Hempfling scored 19 points for the Falcons (17-4, 13-3 MAC), while sophomore Elissa Brett had 18. Freshman Lexi Fleming rounded out BGSU's double-figure scorers with 14 points on the afternoon.

Fifth-year senior Clare Glowniak and freshman Kenzie Lewis had eight points apiece, with Glowniak going a perfect 4-for-4 from the field in the win.

For the Zips (6-13, 3-13 MAC), Molly Neitzel had a game-high 22 points.

BGSU led by 10 points at the half, but the Zips crept back to within three after three quarters. The Falcons, however, shot a blistering 9-for-12 from the field (75%) in the fourth quarter, outscoring the hosts by a 23-11 count in the final 10 minutes.

NOTE OF THE DAY
• The Falcons have now won 15 MAC regular-season titles, increasing the program's conference-leading total. BGSU's last regular-season crown came in 2014, capping a stretch in which the Falcons captured nine regular-season titles in 10 years.
• The 2020-21 team was picked to finish 11th in the 12-team league in the preseason coaches' poll.
(Scroll down for the complete list of BGSU's regular-season MAC championships)

QUOTING COACH FRALICK
"I am so proud of our finish in today's game. I loved our fight in the fourth quarter to close out the win."

"We found out great news after the game. Winning the regular-season championship brings me to tears for our huddle. Everyone in our program has been all in, through good and bad. I'm so proud of the kids who stayed and continued to believe, I'm so proud of the kids who came to BG and believed, and I'm so grateful to my staff for their incredible work ethic and consistency. This championship is a testament to a group of people being all in, every day, for each other."

COACH FRALICK TALKS ABOUT WINNING A MAC CHAMPIONSHIP

FIRST QUARTER
• The teams traded points over the first half of the opening quarter. BGSU never trailed, but the game was tied at 2-2, 4-4, 6-6, 8-8 and 10-10. Kadie Hempfling scored the Falcons' first six points of the day, with Elissa Brett and Lexi Fleming also recording two points during that stretch.
• But, Layne Ferrell scored four of Akron's first six points, and Molly Neitzel's second-straight bucket for the hosts tied the game at 10-all.
• After a near-turnover by the Falcons, Brett found Flaming for a three-pointer, and an 'extra' pass from Kenzie Lewis resulted in a Brett triple that gave BG a 16-10 advantage. Lonasia Brewer's trey cut the BG lead in half heading into the day's first media timeout.
• A pair of free throws got UA within a single point, but Hempfling's pass hit Brett in stride for a backdoor layup, and after Molly Neitzel answered at the other end, Hempfling converted a reverse layup, then a driving, and-1 banker. Her free throw completed the three-point play and gave the Falcons a 23-17 lead after 10 minutes.
• Hempfling went 5-of-6 from the field en route to 11 points in that opening quarter. She, Brett (seven points) and Fleming (five) combined for all 23 Falcon first-quarter points.

SECOND QUARTER
• Two quick Zip hoops made it a two-point game, as Jordyn Dawson scored inside, then found Colleen Neitzel for a transition layup. The teams traded shot-clock violations before Lewis was fouled on a drive and hit both ensuing free-throw tries.
• Those charity tosses began a 7-0 run for the Falcons, as Fleming split a pair of would-be defenders for a layup, and Brett hit foul-line jumper, then a free throw to join Hempfling in double digits.
• Clare Glowniak scored inside, but that hoop marked BG's only points during a 6-2 Akron run. After a Fleming free throw, Molly Neitzel's layup cut the Falcon lead to four points, at 33-29. But, Glowniak worked her way toward the hoop and converted off glass, and Lewis scored after a UA turnover. When Brett hit two free throws, the BG lead was 10.
• Molly Neitzel's jumper stopped that 6-0 Falcon run, but Lewis found Hempfling for a layup with a minute on the clock, and BGSU took a 41-31 lead into the half.
• Hempfling had 13 points and Brett 12 in the first half, while Molly Neitzel went 8-for-9 from the floor en route to 16 first-half points for the hosts. The rest of the Zips combined to go 6-of-23 from the floor and score 15 points in the opening half.

THIRD QUARTER
• BGSU shot 51.7% from the field in the first half, but the Falcons were just 5-of-19 (26.3%) from the floor in the third period. Akron made 8-of-16 shots during the quarter to cut into the BG lead.
• It began when Dawson twice rebounded her own missed shot before finally scoring on the opening possession of the half, and after an Emma Tecca three-pointer, BG's 10-point halftime lead was down to five with less than two minutes gone. Brett hit a corner three in front of her team's bench, but Dawson answered with a three-point play.
• The lead stayed between four and six points over the next few minutes, as seniors Angela Perry and Madisen Parker combined to make three free throws, but Colleen Neitzel's three-pointer cut the BG advantage to just three points, 47-44, midway through the quarter. Olivia Trice hit a long-range shot, and after Colleen Neitzel scored again, Perry put back a teammate's miss in traffic. Kendall Miller, however, made another trey for the Zips, prompting a BG timeout. Glowniak scored the game's next four points to push the margin to seven, but UA answered with four-straight points to make it a 56-53 game after 30 minutes.

FOURTH QUARTER
• BG had a quick start to the final quarter. Nyla Hampton saw an opening and drove for a layup just 10 seconds in, and Brett scored inside after an Akron miss. The teams traded points over the next minute or so, as Hempfling made a pair of shots, but Molly Neitzel did the same. But, with 7:29 on the clock, Hampton spotted Fleming for a three-pointer and a 67-58 lead. At that juncture, the Falcons were a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in the quarter.
• Brewer scored for the hosts, but after a Lewis free throw, Fleming's steal led to a sweet move and easy layup for Hampton, and the Falcons led by 10. After an immediate steal by Hempfling, the next possession saw Brett sink a charity toss. And, another Hempfling steal led to a three-point play by Lewis, with her free throw capping a 7-0 run and giving the Falcons a 74-60 lead with just over five minutes left.
• Rachel Martindale knocked down a three-pointer for the Zips, but UA would get no closer than that 11-point margin over the remainder of the game. Hempfling and Fleming made buckets down the stretch, with Fleming's teardrop runner providing the final 15-point margin.
• Hempfling and Fleming had six points apiece in that final quarter.

CHAMPIONSHIPS
• The Falcons, as mentioned, have won 15 MAC regular-season championships, the most of any conference school. BGSU captured three-straight league crowns in 1987, '88 and '89 under head coach Fran Voll, and Jaci Clark's teams won back-to-back MAC regular-season titles in 1993 and '94.
• Curt Miller's teams won an unprecedented eight-straight conference regular-season titles, from 2005 through 2012. BG captured seven of those eight titles outright (the Falcons won the East Division in 2011, but did not have the league's best overall record).
• Jennifer Roos guided the Falcons to a MAC regular-season trophy in 2014, and Robyn Fralick becomes the fifth different BGSU coach to lead the program to a conference regular-season crown.

BGSU'S MAC REGULAR-SEASON TITLES
• 1987-88-89-93-94-2005-06-07-08-09-10-11*-12-14-21
*MAC East Division champion (BGSU had, or will have, the best record in the MAC in each of the other 14 seasons listed)

STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• For the game, the Falcons shot 48.3% from the field, while the Zips shot 47.3% from the floor. Both teams hit five three-point field goals on the day.
• BGSU outrebounded the Zips, 36-29, with Brett pulling down eight boards to tie for game honors. The Falcons had 15 assists, with three players – Fleming, Hampton and Hempfling – dishing out four apiece.
• For the Zips, Dawson had nine points, eight rebounds and nine assists before fouling out.
• Brett led all players with a plus/minus rating of +21, while Lewis was +17, Hempfling +16, Fleming +13 and Hampton +10.
• BGSU had advantages of 17-6 in points off turnovers, 44-38 in points in the paint, 11-4 in second-chance points and 7-6 in fast-break points. Each team got 16 points from players off the bench.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons return home for a pair of games, beginning with a Wednesday (March 3) matchup vs. Kent State. BGSU battles the Golden Flashes in a 7:00 p.m. start at the Stroh Center.
• Then, the Orange and Brown will host Buffalo next Saturday (March 6), with that Senior Day contest beginning at 2:00 p.m.
• The MAC Tournament is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, March 10, in Cleveland, with four quarterfinal-round games that day. BGSU will play an opponent to be determined.
• Check BGSUFalcons.com for all of the latest news and updates re: the 2020-21 Falcons.

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