BGSU Battles Buffalo to Begin Two-Game Road Swing

Wednesday, January 25

Buffalo, N.Y.

6:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Buffalo

Photo by: Daniel Carlson, BGSU Athletics

January 24, 2023 | Women's Basketball

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

Falcons face the Bulls on Wednesday evening in Western New York

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN AT BUFFALO
Wednesday, January 25, 2023 • 6:00 p.m.
Alumni Arena • Buffalo, N.Y.
Video: ESPN+ • Audio: BG Falcon Media
Live Stats: UBBulls.com • Twitter: @BGSUwbb

• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team puts a five-game winning streak on the line with a midweek matchup in Western New York. Head coach Robyn Fralick and the Falcons meet the University at Buffalo on Wednesday evening (Jan. 25), with tipoff set for 6:00 p.m. at the Alumni Arena.

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

• TV/VIDEO: Wednesday's game will be streamed via ESPN+.
• 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.

YOU NEVER GET A SECOND CHANCE
• BGSU, as mentioned, has won five consecutive games, including home victories over Toledo (88-76; Jan. 18) and Kent State (66-57; Jan. 21) last week. In those two games, the Falcons gave up a total of zero second-chance points.

• BG had held just one opponent without a second-chance point over the first 16 games of the season (Findlay on Dec. 30), before blanking both the Rockets and Golden Flashes in that category.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
• BGSU players had combined to post a total of four double-doubles over the season's first 17 games, before recording two on Saturday vs. Kent State. Jocelyn Tate (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Elissa Brett (11 points, 12 boards) each had a double-double vs. the Flashes.

• Brett now has three double-doubles this season and nine in her career, tops among current Falcons. Tate's double-double vs. KSU was her second, both this season and in her collegiate career.

FALCONS VS. THE MAC
• The Falcons own the second-best record in MAC history. Heading into the Buffalo game, BGSU has an all-time record of 439-256 (.632) 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.

THE FALCONS – A QUICK OVERVIEW
• The Falcons are 16-2 on the season, and BGSU enters Wednesday's UB game with a record of 5-1 in MAC play. BG is tied with Ball State for first place.

• The Falcons saw a nine-game winning streak come to an end in the conference opener (Jan. 4), with an 81-73 loss at BSU, but have bounced back with five-straight wins since that time.

• BGSU opened the home portion of the conference slate with wins over Eastern Michigan (79-63; Jan. 7) and Central Michigan (101-68; Jan. 11). Then, the Orange and Brown rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit on the road to beat then league-leading Akron, 71-66 (Jan. 14).

• Last week, BGSU won the latest edition of the "Battle of I-75," with an 88-76 win over Toledo at the Stroh (Jan. 18), and the Falcons then topped Kent State, 66-57, on Saturday (Jan. 21).

• 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 four games decided by single digits this season, going 3-1 in those contests. The Falcons have 13 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, before reeling off the aforementioned nine-game win streak.

• Head coach Robyn Fralick and her staff welcomed back a total of 10 student-athletes from a year ago. That group included 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 MAC 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 8-0 at home, 7-2 in road games and 1-0 in neutral-site affairs. In MAC play, BGSU is 4-0 at the Stroh and 1-1 at opposing venues.

• Entering the Buffalo matchup, no fewer than six players are averaging at least 8.8 ppg. Brett leads that balanced scoring attack with 12.7 ppg, with Day and Hampton at 12.3 and 11.8 ppg, respectively.

• Brett, who had a double-double vs. Kent State, is second on the team in rebounding, with 5.7 boards per contest. Hampton is shooting 53.1 percent from the field, and paces the Falcons in assists (3.50 apg) and steals (3.11 spg).

• Day exploded for a career-high 31 points in the win over Toledo. She is shooting a MAC-leading 55.8% from the floor and has 4.3 rpg to date.

• Sharps is averaging 10.4 ppg. She has made a BG-best 41 three-pointers and is shooting 39.8% from the arc.

• Tate has 9.9 ppg, with Fleming averaging 8.8 ppg off the bench. Tate leads the Orange and Brown with 6.3 rpg and is second on the team in assists (2.8 apg). Fleming, who was a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range vs. KSU, is shooting an even 40% (26-of-65) from long distance on the year.

• Dziekan and Velasco have 5.6 and 5.3 ppg, respectively. Velasco is third on the Falcons with 2.6 apg and has an assist/turnover ratio of 2.24. Dzieken is shooting 57.7% from the field, having gone 45-for-78 this year to date.

• Hempfling, a four-year starter before transitioning to a role off the bench in 2022-23, is shooting nearly 55% from the field this year, and she is 10-for-21 from the arc.

• Brett, Day, Hampton and Tate each have started all 18 games this season, while Sharps started 17-straight games before missing the Kent State contest due to injury. All five players are averaging between 23.6 and 27.4 minutes per game.

• BGSU is +17.6 in scoring margin, +2.6 in rebounding margin and +9.3 in turnover margin this season to date. The Falcons are fourth in the entire nation in the latter category, and BG is eighth in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.50).

• In fact, the Falcons lead the MAC in 11 statistical categories, and BG is ranked among the top 20 teams in the nation in 10 categories.

• In MAC games, Day has a team-high 19.0 ppg along with 5.7 rpg, and she is shooting 59.8% from the floor. Brett has 13.0 ppg and 5.2 rpg, while in league play.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE BULLS
• Buffalo is 8-7 on the season, and the Bulls are 3-3 in the MAC after a 68-56 loss at Western Michigan on Saturday. UB is looking to snap a two-game losing streak after winning seven of the previous eight contests.

• Individually, both Re'Shawna Stone and Zakiyah Winfield are averaging 14.5 ppg, with Jazmine Young right behind at 14.2 ppg. Winfield is averaging a double-double, with 10.9 rpg, and all three players are playing over 34 minutes per game.

• Head coach Becky Burke's club is 4-3 at home and 4-4 on the road. UB is 2-1 at home and 1-2 on the road in MAC games. Burke, in her first year at UB, inherited just one player (Young) from a 2021-22 team that went 25-9 overall and 16-4 in MAC regular-season play.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Buffalo, 27-21, in the all-time series, but the Bulls have captured the last two meetings and seven of the last eight series matchups. Last season saw UB pick up an 82-66 win at the Stroh (Jan. 5, 2022) and an 81-62 victory at Alumni Arena (March 5, 2022). BGSU's last win over the Bulls came in the MAC Tournament's semifinal round in Cleveland (80-67; March 12, 2021).

• The Falcons are 12-9 at home, 13-12 on the road and 2-0 at neutral sites vs. Buffalo through the years.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following Wednesday's UB game, the Falcons return to the road for a weekend matchup in DeKalb. BGSU will face Northern Illinois on Saturday (Jan. 28), with tipoff at 2:00 p.m. ET at the Convocation Center.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will begin the month of February with home games vs. Western Michigan (Feb. 1) and Miami (Feb. 4).