Falcons Head to NE Ohio to Face League-Leading Akron

Saturday, January 14

Akron, Ohio

2:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Akron

Tickets

Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics

January 13, 2023 | Women's Basketball

BGSU Notes Akron Notes Watch BGSU-UA Listen (BG Falcon Media)Live Stats 2022-23 Record Book 2022-23 BGSU Media Central

BGSU battles the Zips on Saturday afternoon at the JAR

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN AT AKRON
Saturday, January 14, 2023 • 2:00 p.m.
James A. Rhodes Arena • Akron, Ohio
Video: ESPN3 • Audio: BG Falcon Media
Live Stats: GoZips.com • Twitter: @BGSUwbb

• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, coming off of a pair of lopsided home wins, hits the road to face the Mid-American Conference leader this weekend. Head coach Robyn Fralick and the Falcons meet the University of Akron on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 14), with tipoff scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at James A. Rhodes Arena.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• There are multiple ways to keep up with the Falcons in 2022-23...

• TV/VIDEO: Saturday's game will be streamed via ESPN3.
• RADIO/AUDIO: All of BGSU's remaining 2022-23 games, both home and away, are slated to have an audio stream thanks to BG Falcon Media (the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization [BGRSO]).
• LIVE STATS: Live stats are scheduled to be available for all BGSU games in 2022-23.
• TWITTER: In-game updates, along with key graphics and information, can be found on the BGSU women's basketball twitter account, @BGSUwbb.

• For all of the pertinent links to any and all ways to follow the Falcons, go to BGSUFalcons.com and navigate your way to the "women's basketball schedule" page on game day.

BRETT IS SIX POINTS AWAY...
• Elissa Brett is quickly approaching a milestone. The fourth-year Falcon enters the UA game needing just six points to reach the 1,000-point mark for her BGSU career.

• Brett had 20 points in last Saturday's (Jan. 7) win over Eastern Michigan, and 18 more on Wednesday night (Jan. 11) against Central Michigan. She now ranks 30th in BGSU history in career scoring with 994 points.

MILLENNIUM FALCONS
• Elissa Brett is looking to become just the 30th player in BGSU history to reach the 1,000-career point mark. Kadie Hempfling reached that plateau last season, and now has 1,249 career points to rank 17th on the school career chart.

• Two other Falcons – Allison Day (1,303) and Payton Moore (1,126) – each have scored more than 1,000 points in their respective collegiate careers. Day and Moore scored the bulk of their points at Loyola Univ. Chicago and Anderson Univ., respectively.

TRIPLE DIGITS
• The Falcons achieved a Stroh Center first on Wednesday night. In the 101-68 win over Central Michigan, BGSU reached the 100-point mark against a MAC opponent for the first time in arena history. The building opened prior to the 2011-12 season.

• For what it's worth, the Falcons scored 101 points in the program's 101st MAC regular-season game in the venue.

(SLIGHTLY FEWER THAN) 100 FACTS ABOUT BGSU'S 100-POINT GAMES
• A few more facts about the Falcons' 101-68 win over Central Michigan...

• BGSU scored at least 100 points in a game for the 28th time in program history.

• The Falcons hit the century mark in a MAC regular-season game for the 17th time.

• BG has reached 100 points in a game three times this season to date (vs. Wright State and at Southern Indiana). It marks the first time since the 1993-94 season that the Falcons have had three 100-point contests.

• The Falcons have hit the 100-point mark twice in the first six home games this season, having scored 102 points vs. Wright State in the home opener (Nov. 14, 2022). BGSU had not posted two 100-point games at home since the 1992-93 campaign.

• Wednesday was the first time the Falcons scored 100 points against a MAC team since a 106-105 win at Ball State on Jan. 6, 1999. That game required four overtimes.

• Wednesday marked the first time BG hung 100 on a MAC opponent in regulation in 25 years (plus eight days), since a 102-69 victory over Western Michigan at venerable Anderson Arena on Jan. 3 1998.

THROW OUT THE RECORD BOOK
• Entering the 2022-23 season, the Stroh Center record for most points in a women's basketball game was 100. The record for most field goals made? 38.

• After six home games, the Falcons have surpassed the 100-point mark not once, but twice. BGSU had 102 points vs. Wright State in the home opener, before scoring 101 vs. Central Michigan.

• Believe it or not, the Falcons have surpassed the old FGM record THREE times in those six games. BG hit 41 field goals vs. Wright State, made 40 more against Findlay and hit 39 shots against the Chippewas.

Q: WERE THERE ANY STROH MILESTONES SET IN THE PREVIOUS GAME? (A: YES.)
• Last Saturday's win over Eastern Michigan was the Falcons' 100th win at the Stroh Center, which opened prior to the 2011-12 season.

• That was the program's 50th MAC victory in the venue. After the win over CMU, BG now has 51 MAC regular-season wins and 50 non-conference wins at the Stroh.

FALCONS VS. THE MAC
• The Falcons own the second-best record in MAC history. Heading into the Akron game, BGSU has an all-time record of 436-256 (.630) in MAC regular-season games, for the second-highest winning percentage of all league institutions. BG also has the second-most conference wins of all 12 programs.

• BGSU leads the all-time series with all 11 MAC foes, making the Falcons the only team in the league with a winning record against every other school. BG also has the most overall victories and highest overall winning pct. of any league institution.

WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE
• The 2022-23 Falcons have been quite successful at forcing turnovers by the opponents, while keeping their own turnover total to a relative minimum. BGSU has had fewer turnovers than the opponent in all 15 games this season to date, and the Falcons are second in the entire nation in turnover margin.

• BG has turned the ball over 17 times or fewer in each game, while forcing the opposition into at least 15 turnovers in every game. The Falcons have averaged 11.87 turnovers, while the foes have turned the ball over 21.87 times per game.

• BGSU committed just seven turnovers in the home opener against Wright State, tied for the fourth-lowest single-game total in school history. BGSU has five games with a single-digit turnover total this season to date.

• And, BG has turned those opponent turnovers into buckets. Through 15 games, the Falcons have outscored the opponents, 354-149, in points off turnovers.

HAMPTON = DEFENSE
• Nyla Hampton had 86 steals last season, the fourth-highest total in BGSU history. She ranked second in the MAC and 17th in the nation in that category. With 2.69 steals per contest, Hampton finished third in the league and 23rd in the country.

• This season, Hampton has a team-high 53 steals through 15 games. She tied her career high with six steals in this year's opener at SBU, had five against both Wright State and IUPUI and again tied her career standard with six in the Eastern Michigan game. Hampton, who had at least three steals in a game 17 times last year, has had at least four steals in nine of this year's 15 games.

• Currently, she ranks seventh in the nation in steals per game (3.53) and eighth in the country in total steals. She leads the MAC in both categories.

• Hampton now has 195 steals in 71 career games played. Her average of 2.75 career steals per game puts her on pace to obliterate the school record – no other Falcon has had more than 2.19 career spg.

• In just her third year at BGSU, Hampton has moved into 10th place on the BGSU career list for total steals. In addition to steals per game, Hampton is on pace to break the school record for total career steals.

HAMPTON = OFFENSE
• Junior Nyla Hampton is getting it done at both ends of the court. At the defensive end, as we just mentioned, she leads the MAC in both total steals and steals per game.

• At the other end of the court, Hampton is averaging 12.7 points per game, good for second on the Falcons. She is ranked seventh in the nation in assist/turnover ratio and 26th in the country in field-goal percentage, and she leads the MAC in both of those categories as well.

THE FALCONS – A QUICK OVERVIEW
• The Falcons are 13-2 on the season, and BGSU enters Saturday's Akron matchup with a record of 2-1 in MAC play. The Falcons saw a nine-game winning streak come to an end in the conference opener (Jan. 4), with an 81-73 loss at Ball State, but bounced back with last Saturday's (Jan. 7) 79-63 home win over Eastern Michigan. Most recently, the Orange and Brown topped Central Michigan, 101-68, on Wednesday evening (Jan. 11) at the Stroh.

• The BSU game marked the Falcons' first setback since Nov. 17. BGSU won the nine games during the streak by an average of 26.44 points per game.

• BGSU has played only two games decided by single digits this season, going 1-1 in those contests. The Falcons have 12 double-digit victories and one double-figure loss this winter.

• After beating St. Bonaventure and Wright State to begin the season, the Falcons fell to then-#9/12 (and now #6) Indiana, 96-61, in Bloomington.

• BG's nine-game win streak began with victories at Southern Indiana and at home vs. Northern Kentucky and Detroit Mercy. The NKU matchup was the Falcons' only single-digit decision of the season prior to the Ball State game.

• Then, the Falcons went a perfect 6-0 in the month of December, with the first five of those wins coming away from home. BG posted double-digit victories at Valparaiso (92-61), ETSU (82-64), IUPUI (84-70), Texas A&M-Commerce (90-61) and UTRGV (71-47). The latter two wins came at the UTRGV South Padre Island Classic.

• The Falcons ended non-conference play with a 92-51 win over Findlay at the Stroh Center (Dec. 30).

• Head coach Robyn Fralick and her staff welcomed back a total of 10 student-athletes from a year ago. That group includes four starters from the 2021-22 season, plus a fifth player who started in 2020-21 before missing all of '21-22 due to injury.

• Last season, the Falcons – despite losing nearly 75 player-games to injury – won 17 games and advanced to national postseason play for the second-straight season. BGSU went 17-16 overall and 10-10 in Mid-American Conference play, and the Falcons were selected to participate in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI). BG went 2-1 in that tourney, finishing the '21-22 season with a victory.

• Kadie Hempfling returned for a fifth year with the Falcons after starting all 33 games last winter. Nyla Hampton and Amy Velasco made 32 and 30 starts, respectively, while Elissa Brett started 26 contests in 2021-22.

• BGSU's top-five scorers from a year ago – Hempfling (11.7 ppg), Velasco (10.8), Brett (10.7), Morgan Sharps (9.5) and Hampton (8.4) – all returned. Brett paced last year's team in rebounding (6.0 rpg), while Jocelyn Tate (6.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg) was second on the team in that category.

• Other returnees from last year's squad include Sophie Dziekan (2.5 ppg) and Olivia Hill (0.8 ppg). Jasmine Clerkley played in the first three games of 2021-22 before missing the remainder of the season due to injury, while Lexi Fleming – the 2020-21 MAC Freshman of the Year – was injured prior to the start of the season and missed the entire '21-22 campaign.

• Five newcomers, including a pair of transfers, joined the 10 returnees. Allison Day played four seasons at Loyola Chicago, where she started 97 games and had totals of 1,139 points and 645 rebounds.

• Payton Moore is also in her first season with the Falcons, but her fifth as a collegian. Moore played in 78 games, starting 60, at Anderson (Ind.) University, where she had 1,111 career points along with 701 rebounds.

• Three freshmen joined the Falcons for the 2022-23 campaign. That group includes Jasmine Fearne (Cairns, Australia), Emily Siesel (New Washington, Ohio) and Jaci Tubergen (Hudsonville, Mich.).

• This season, the Falcons are 6-0 at home, 6-2 in road games and 1-0 in neutral-site affairs. In MAC play, BGSU is 2-0 at the Stroh and 0-1 at opposing venues.

• Entering the UA matchup, no Falcon is scoring as many as 13 points per game, but no fewer than six players are averaging at least 8.4 ppg. Brett leads that balanced scoring attack with 12.9 ppg, with Hampton right behind at 12.7 ppg.

• Brett, who has scored 38 points over the last two games, is second on the team in rebounding, with 5.4 boards per contest. Hampton is shooting a MAC-leading 57.2 percent from the field, and paces the Falcons in assists (3.53 apg), steals (3.53 spg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.79).

• Day and Sharps each have 10.9 ppg, respectively. Day is shooting 55.8% from the floor and has 4.1 rpg to date. Sharps has made a team-leading 38 three-pointers and is shooting 39.6% from the arc.

• Tate has 9.3 ppg, with Fleming averaging 8.4 ppg off the bench. Tate leads the Orange and Brown with 6.1 rpg and is third on the team in assists (2.7 apg).

• Dziekan and Velasco have 6.5 and 5.3 ppg, respectively. Velasco is second on the Falcons with 2.9 apg, while Dzieken is shooting 61.4% from the field, having gone 43-for-70 this year to date.

• Hempfling, a four-year starter before transitioning to a role off the bench in 2022-23, is shooting over 55% from the field this year, and she is 9-for-19 from the arc.

• Brett, Day, Hampton, Sharps and Tate each have started all 15 games this season, and all five are averaging between 22.3 and 26.0 minutes per game.

• BGSU is +19.3 in scoring margin, +2.7 in rebounding margin and +10.0 in turnover margin this season to date. The Falcons are second in the entire nation in the latter category.

• In fact, the Falcons lead the MAC in 11 statistical categories, and BG is ranked among the top 20 teams in the nation in 11 categories.

• In MAC games, Day has team-leading averages of 18.7 ppg and 6.0 rpg, and is shooting 64.1% from the floor. Brett has 14.0 ppg and has gone 9-of-16 from the arc, while Hampton has 13.3 ppg, 4.0 apg, 4.0 spg and a field-goal pct. of 68.0%.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE ZIPS
• Akron is 12-2 on the season, and the Zips are all alone in first place in the MAC with a 3-0 league ledger. UA's conference victims have included Ohio at home and both Miami and Eastern Michigan on the road, and the Zips picked up a 17-point win at EMU, 60-43, on Wednesday night.

• Individually, Reagan Bass leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, with 18.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per outing. Layne Farrell (11.8 ppg), Dominique Camp (11.3 ppg) and Molly Neitzel (10.9 ppg) all are scoring in double digits, and Camp, a transfer from Buffalo, is eighth in the nation with 3.50 steals per game.

• Head coach Melissa Jackson's club is 7-1 at home, 4-1 on the road and 1-0 at neutral sites this season. Last year, the Zips went 17-12 overall and 13-7 in the MAC.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Akron, 57-14, in the all-time series, but the Zips defeated BGSU no fewer than three times last season. Akron picked up a 79-69 win at the JAR (Jan. 8, 2022), a narrow 72-70 victory at the Stroh (Feb. 23, 2022) and an 81-67 win in the quarterfinal round of the MAC Tournament in downtown Cleveland (March 9, 2022). BGSU's last win over the Zips was a 79-64 triumph in the Rubber City on Feb. 27, 2021 – a win that enabled the Falcons to clinch the 2020-21 MAC title.

• The Falcons are 30-5 at home (6-5 at the Stroh), 25-8 on the road and 2-1 at neutral sites vs. Akron through the years.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following Saturday's UA clash, the Falcons will return home for the next two games, beginning with a Wednesday (Jan. 18) "Battle of I-75" matchup with Toledo. That contest will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will host Kent State next Saturday (Jan. 21) before hitting the road to face Buffalo (Wed., Jan. 25) and Northern Illinois (Sat., Jan. 28).