Wednesday, November 22
Savannah, Ga.
12 p.m.
Bowling Green State University
vs
Mercer
Photo by: Scott W. Grau
Falcons Ready for Two Games in Savannah
November 21, 2023 | Women's Basketball
BGSU takes on Mercer, Lehigh in Thanksgiving-Week Tourney
BGSU vs. MERCER
Wednesday, November 22, 2023 • 12:00 p.m.
Enmarket Arena • Savannah, Ga.
BGSU vs. LEHIGH
Thursday, November 23, 2023 • 9:00 a.m.
Enmarket Arena • Savannah, Ga.
TV/Video: None • Audio: Falcon Media Sports Network
Live Stats: TBA • Twitter: @BGSUwbb
THE OPENING TIP
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team concludes a four-game road swing with a pair of contests in Savannah over the Thanksgiving holiday. The Falcons, under the direction of first-year head coach Fred Chmiel, meet Mercer University on Wednesday afternoon (Nov. 22), in the opening game of the Savannah Holiday Invitational. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at Enmarket Arena.
• Then, the Orange and Brown will face Lehigh University on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23), with that contest set to start at 9:00 a.m.
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• There are multiple ways to keep up with the Falcons in 2023-24...
• TV/VIDEO: The Falcons' two games in Savannah will not be streamed.
• RADIO/AUDIO: All of BGSU's 2023-24 games are scheduled to have an audio stream thanks to the Falcon Media Sports Network.
• LIVE STATS: Again this year, live stats for all games can be found on the interwebs.
• TWITTER (X): In-game updates, along with key graphics and information, can be found on the BGSU women's basketball Twitter/X 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.
LAST TIME OUT: FLEMING HAS A B!G GAME IN HER HOMETOWN
• Cincinnati native Lexi Fleming exploded for 13 points in the third quarter alone as the Falcons picked up a 73-64 win at Xavier Saturday (Nov. 18) at the Cintas Center.
• Fleming paced the Falcons (2-1) with 21 points in the win, and she also had seven rebounds, five assists and five steals on the day.
• Paige Kohler and Amy Velasco scored 15 points apiece, with Kohler dishing out a game-high six assists. Olivia Hill had a career-high 12 points in the win.
• For the Musketeers, Mackayla Scarlett scored a game-high 25 points, while Nila Blackford added 10.
• Xavier led for most of the first half, but Kohler's three-point field goal in the last minute of the second quarter gave the Falcons a 36-33 lead at the half.
• It was still a three-point game late in the third quarter when Fleming knocked down back-to-back three-point tries just 41 seconds apart. She capped her own personal 8-0 run with a steal and layup that put BG up by 11.
• Scarlett and the hosts chipped away at that lead, and a Scarlett three-pointer on the first possession of the fourth quarter made it a four-point game. But, the Falcons then held the Musketeers without a point for the next 7:36, building the lead back into double figures in the process.
The Falcons shot 52.0 percent from the field in the win, including a 75% rate (9-for-12) in the third quarter.
• Sophie Dziekan came off the bench to score four points on 2-of-2 shooting, adding three rebounds, two assists and a game- and career-high three blocked shots.
• Both Hill (30:52) and Dziekan (22:07) posted the highest minutes-played totals of their respective BGSU careers.
BIG LEX A B!G PART OF BG'S B1G SUCCESS
• Lexi Fleming has been a B!G part of the Falcons' success since arriving at BGSU. The MAC Freshman of the Year in 2020-21, Fleming missed the entire '21-22 season due to injury, but returned to the court last season and saw action in 36 games.
• Entering the Mercer game, Fleming has played in 66 games as a Falcon. BGSU has a record of 51-15 in those 66 games, including a 27-8 ledger in MAC regular-season play, a 31-10 mark in all games (regular season and tournament) against conference foes and a 24-5 record at the Stroh Center.
HILL HITS VS. XAVIER
• Senior Olivia Hill entered the Xavier game with a career scoring high of seven points. She matched that total in the first quarter alone, with seven points in the opening 10 minutes vs. the Musketeers. She finished the contest with 12 points in the victory.
• Hill had gone 0-for-1 from three-point range in her career, but on Saturday, Hill made the first long-distance shot of her career in the first quarter, then hit another three-point try in the third period. She went 2-for-3 from the arc in the win.
THE FALCONS – A QUICK OVERVIEW
• The Falcons head into the Mercer game with a 2-1 record on the young season. BGSU rallied to beat Cleveland State, 89-86, in the season opener at the Stroh Center (Nov. 7), before falling at Texas State by a 74-48 score (Nov. 11). On Saturday, the Falcons picked up the first road win of the season, with a 73-64 victory at Xavier.
• Four Falcons scored at least 16 points against CSU, led by a pair of newcomers. Paige Kohler and Erika Porter had 20 points each, and that duo combined for 33 points in the second half. Lexi Fleming scored 19 points, while Amy Velasco added 16 points and a game-high eight assists vs. the Vikings.
• Velasco was the lone Falcon in double figures at Texas State, scoring 14 points. Freshman Taya Ellis, in just her second collegiate game, had game-high totals of 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.
• Fleming had 21 points – including 13 in the third quarter alone – in the win at XU. She also had team-high totals of seven rebounds and five steals, to go along with five assists. Kohler had 15 points and six assists, with Velasco adding 15 points and Olivia Hill 12.
• A total of 12 Falcons have seen action so far this season, with nine of those 12 having played in all three games. Velasco is averaging a team-high 37.8 minutes per game, followed by Fleming (32.3 mpg) and Kohler (29.5). Eleven Falcons are averaging more then 7.3 minutes per contest.
• Fleming leads the Falcons in scoring, with 15.3 points per game, and she is followed closely by Velasco (15.0 ppg) and Kohler (13.3 ppg). BGSU's five starters all are averaging at least 7.0 points per outing.
• Ellis leads the Falcons in rebounding (7.5 rpg) and blocks (2.5 bpg), with Velasco and Kohler each averaging 4.3 assists per game.
• Last year, the Falcons went 31-7 overall, and BGSU was 14-4 in MAC play. The Falcons tied Ball State for second in the conference, and BG earned the number-two seed for the MAC Tournament and advanced to the championship game.
• Then, the Orange and Brown won four games in the WNIT to advance all the way to the semifinal round of that tourney.
• A total of nine student-athletes return from that team in 2023-24. Morgan Sharps averaged 10.4 ppg, making 41 triples in 17 games while shooting 39.8% from the arc, but she missed the final 21 games due to an injury suffered early in the Falcons' double-digit win over Toledo last Jan. 18.
• Fleming averaged 9.0 ppg on the year, and was second on the team with 51 successful long-distance shots. She started 20 of the 21 games after Sharps was injured, and was fourth on the club in assists (2.61 apg) and third in steals (1.86 spg).
• Velasco and Sophie Dziekan had 6.4 and 4.6 ppg, respectively. Dzieken shot 56.2% on the year, going 77-for-137 on the season. Velasco led the Falcons during the WNIT run, with a career-high 11 assists at Green Bay, a season-high 18 points against Florida and a 19-point game against Columbia. Velasco was second on the club with 2.97 apg and had an assist/turnover ratio of 2.17, good for second on the team behind Sharps (2.55).
• The Falcons lost four starters from a year ago, as Allison Day completed her eligibility and Elissa Brett, Nyla Hampton and Jocelyn Tate all entered the transfer portal.
• Fleming, as mentioned, made 20 starts a year ago, with Sharps starting 17 contests and Velasco five.
• The group of returnees also includes Jasmine Clerkley, Jasmine Fearne, Olivia Hill, Emily Siesel and Jaci Tubergen.
• Five newcomers have joined head coach Fred Chmiel's 2023-24 club. That quintet includes Baylor transfer Porter as well as freshmen Ellis, Kohler, Keiryn McGuff and Abbie Riddle.
• Chmiel's staff is comprised of assistant coaches Maggie Lucas, Nick DiPillo and Lexxus Graham-Blincoe, video coordinator Audra Clark, director of operations Tim Kjar and director of player personnel Zhaque Gray.
• BGSU picked up an 82-43 win over Purdue Northwest in the team's lone exhibition game (Nov. 2). All nine of the players who saw action scored at least two points, with eight scoring five points or more.
TOUGH CROWD!
• The Falcons have put together arguably the toughest non-conference schedule in program history in 2023-24. Head coach Fred Chmiel's club will face a trio of top-10 teams in Iowa, South Carolina and Indiana, along with a Cleveland State squad that won 30 games last season.
• South Carolina (first), Indiana (second) and Iowa (third) finished 1-2-3 in the nation in the final Associated Press poll of the 2022-23 season, which was announced just before the NCAA Tournament began.
• Iowa, led by consensus national player of the year Caitlin Clark, won the Big Ten Tournament and advanced all the way to the national championship game.
• South Carolina has reached the Final Four in each of the last three seasons, going 36-1 and advancing to the national semifinals in 2023 after winning the title in '22.
• Indiana went 28-4 and won the Big Ten regular-season crown last season.
• In the USA Today Sports preseason top-25 poll, Iowa checked in at No. 3 in the nation, with South Carolina fourth and Indiana ninth. The first Associated Press poll of '23-24 saw Iowa ranked third, South Carolina sixth and Indiana ninth.
• This week, South Carolina is ranked first in both polls, with Iowa second in both the AP and USA Today listings. Indiana is 17th in the USA Today top 25 and 18th on the AP chart in the latest poll.
A QUICK LOOK AT MERCER
• Mercer is 1-4 this season, with a win over Florida Atlantic and losses to Western Kentucky, Clemson, Georgia and Tulane. Stacie Jones has 11.0 points per game to lead a balanced attack. Jones also paces the Bears with 9.4 rebounds per outing.
A QUICK LOOK AT LEHIGH
• Lehigh has a perfect 4-0 record heading into a Wednesday game vs. Marist. The Mountain Hawks have wins over East Stroudsburg, Stonehill, Delaware and Yale. Individually, Ella Stemmer has 15.3 ppg, while Lily Fandre is averaging 11.0 ppg. Six players have at least 7.3 points per contest.
THE SERIES
• The Falcons trail Mercer, 1-0, in the all-time series, while BGSU and Lehigh are tied at 1-1 in that series. All three games have come in neutral-site meetings.
• BGSU's lone meeting with Mercer resulted in a 76-63 win for the Bears five years ago (Nov. 25, 2018), at the Coastal Carolina Tournament.
• The Falcons downed Lehigh, 63-55, in Coral Gables, Fla., in December of 2001. But, LU picked up a 77-74 win three years later in the Brown Classic (Dec. 4, 2004).
DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the Lehigh game, the Falcons will return home to face Duquesne at the Stroh Center on Monday (Nov. 27). That game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
FOR MORE INFORMATION...
For more information on BGSU women's hoops, be sure to follow the Falcons on Facebook (@BGWBB), Twitter/X (@BGSU_Athletics and @BGSUWBB) and Instagram (@bgsuwbb), as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.
Wednesday, November 22, 2023 • 12:00 p.m.
Enmarket Arena • Savannah, Ga.
BGSU vs. LEHIGH
Thursday, November 23, 2023 • 9:00 a.m.
Enmarket Arena • Savannah, Ga.
TV/Video: None • Audio: Falcon Media Sports Network
Live Stats: TBA • Twitter: @BGSUwbb
THE OPENING TIP
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team concludes a four-game road swing with a pair of contests in Savannah over the Thanksgiving holiday. The Falcons, under the direction of first-year head coach Fred Chmiel, meet Mercer University on Wednesday afternoon (Nov. 22), in the opening game of the Savannah Holiday Invitational. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at Enmarket Arena.
• Then, the Orange and Brown will face Lehigh University on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23), with that contest set to start at 9:00 a.m.
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• There are multiple ways to keep up with the Falcons in 2023-24...
• TV/VIDEO: The Falcons' two games in Savannah will not be streamed.
• RADIO/AUDIO: All of BGSU's 2023-24 games are scheduled to have an audio stream thanks to the Falcon Media Sports Network.
• LIVE STATS: Again this year, live stats for all games can be found on the interwebs.
• TWITTER (X): In-game updates, along with key graphics and information, can be found on the BGSU women's basketball Twitter/X 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.
LAST TIME OUT: FLEMING HAS A B!G GAME IN HER HOMETOWN
• Cincinnati native Lexi Fleming exploded for 13 points in the third quarter alone as the Falcons picked up a 73-64 win at Xavier Saturday (Nov. 18) at the Cintas Center.
• Fleming paced the Falcons (2-1) with 21 points in the win, and she also had seven rebounds, five assists and five steals on the day.
• Paige Kohler and Amy Velasco scored 15 points apiece, with Kohler dishing out a game-high six assists. Olivia Hill had a career-high 12 points in the win.
• For the Musketeers, Mackayla Scarlett scored a game-high 25 points, while Nila Blackford added 10.
• Xavier led for most of the first half, but Kohler's three-point field goal in the last minute of the second quarter gave the Falcons a 36-33 lead at the half.
• It was still a three-point game late in the third quarter when Fleming knocked down back-to-back three-point tries just 41 seconds apart. She capped her own personal 8-0 run with a steal and layup that put BG up by 11.
• Scarlett and the hosts chipped away at that lead, and a Scarlett three-pointer on the first possession of the fourth quarter made it a four-point game. But, the Falcons then held the Musketeers without a point for the next 7:36, building the lead back into double figures in the process.
The Falcons shot 52.0 percent from the field in the win, including a 75% rate (9-for-12) in the third quarter.
• Sophie Dziekan came off the bench to score four points on 2-of-2 shooting, adding three rebounds, two assists and a game- and career-high three blocked shots.
• Both Hill (30:52) and Dziekan (22:07) posted the highest minutes-played totals of their respective BGSU careers.
BIG LEX A B!G PART OF BG'S B1G SUCCESS
• Lexi Fleming has been a B!G part of the Falcons' success since arriving at BGSU. The MAC Freshman of the Year in 2020-21, Fleming missed the entire '21-22 season due to injury, but returned to the court last season and saw action in 36 games.
• Entering the Mercer game, Fleming has played in 66 games as a Falcon. BGSU has a record of 51-15 in those 66 games, including a 27-8 ledger in MAC regular-season play, a 31-10 mark in all games (regular season and tournament) against conference foes and a 24-5 record at the Stroh Center.
HILL HITS VS. XAVIER
• Senior Olivia Hill entered the Xavier game with a career scoring high of seven points. She matched that total in the first quarter alone, with seven points in the opening 10 minutes vs. the Musketeers. She finished the contest with 12 points in the victory.
• Hill had gone 0-for-1 from three-point range in her career, but on Saturday, Hill made the first long-distance shot of her career in the first quarter, then hit another three-point try in the third period. She went 2-for-3 from the arc in the win.
THE FALCONS – A QUICK OVERVIEW
• The Falcons head into the Mercer game with a 2-1 record on the young season. BGSU rallied to beat Cleveland State, 89-86, in the season opener at the Stroh Center (Nov. 7), before falling at Texas State by a 74-48 score (Nov. 11). On Saturday, the Falcons picked up the first road win of the season, with a 73-64 victory at Xavier.
• Four Falcons scored at least 16 points against CSU, led by a pair of newcomers. Paige Kohler and Erika Porter had 20 points each, and that duo combined for 33 points in the second half. Lexi Fleming scored 19 points, while Amy Velasco added 16 points and a game-high eight assists vs. the Vikings.
• Velasco was the lone Falcon in double figures at Texas State, scoring 14 points. Freshman Taya Ellis, in just her second collegiate game, had game-high totals of 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.
• Fleming had 21 points – including 13 in the third quarter alone – in the win at XU. She also had team-high totals of seven rebounds and five steals, to go along with five assists. Kohler had 15 points and six assists, with Velasco adding 15 points and Olivia Hill 12.
• A total of 12 Falcons have seen action so far this season, with nine of those 12 having played in all three games. Velasco is averaging a team-high 37.8 minutes per game, followed by Fleming (32.3 mpg) and Kohler (29.5). Eleven Falcons are averaging more then 7.3 minutes per contest.
• Fleming leads the Falcons in scoring, with 15.3 points per game, and she is followed closely by Velasco (15.0 ppg) and Kohler (13.3 ppg). BGSU's five starters all are averaging at least 7.0 points per outing.
• Ellis leads the Falcons in rebounding (7.5 rpg) and blocks (2.5 bpg), with Velasco and Kohler each averaging 4.3 assists per game.
• Last year, the Falcons went 31-7 overall, and BGSU was 14-4 in MAC play. The Falcons tied Ball State for second in the conference, and BG earned the number-two seed for the MAC Tournament and advanced to the championship game.
• Then, the Orange and Brown won four games in the WNIT to advance all the way to the semifinal round of that tourney.
• A total of nine student-athletes return from that team in 2023-24. Morgan Sharps averaged 10.4 ppg, making 41 triples in 17 games while shooting 39.8% from the arc, but she missed the final 21 games due to an injury suffered early in the Falcons' double-digit win over Toledo last Jan. 18.
• Fleming averaged 9.0 ppg on the year, and was second on the team with 51 successful long-distance shots. She started 20 of the 21 games after Sharps was injured, and was fourth on the club in assists (2.61 apg) and third in steals (1.86 spg).
• Velasco and Sophie Dziekan had 6.4 and 4.6 ppg, respectively. Dzieken shot 56.2% on the year, going 77-for-137 on the season. Velasco led the Falcons during the WNIT run, with a career-high 11 assists at Green Bay, a season-high 18 points against Florida and a 19-point game against Columbia. Velasco was second on the club with 2.97 apg and had an assist/turnover ratio of 2.17, good for second on the team behind Sharps (2.55).
• The Falcons lost four starters from a year ago, as Allison Day completed her eligibility and Elissa Brett, Nyla Hampton and Jocelyn Tate all entered the transfer portal.
• Fleming, as mentioned, made 20 starts a year ago, with Sharps starting 17 contests and Velasco five.
• The group of returnees also includes Jasmine Clerkley, Jasmine Fearne, Olivia Hill, Emily Siesel and Jaci Tubergen.
• Five newcomers have joined head coach Fred Chmiel's 2023-24 club. That quintet includes Baylor transfer Porter as well as freshmen Ellis, Kohler, Keiryn McGuff and Abbie Riddle.
• Chmiel's staff is comprised of assistant coaches Maggie Lucas, Nick DiPillo and Lexxus Graham-Blincoe, video coordinator Audra Clark, director of operations Tim Kjar and director of player personnel Zhaque Gray.
• BGSU picked up an 82-43 win over Purdue Northwest in the team's lone exhibition game (Nov. 2). All nine of the players who saw action scored at least two points, with eight scoring five points or more.
TOUGH CROWD!
• The Falcons have put together arguably the toughest non-conference schedule in program history in 2023-24. Head coach Fred Chmiel's club will face a trio of top-10 teams in Iowa, South Carolina and Indiana, along with a Cleveland State squad that won 30 games last season.
• South Carolina (first), Indiana (second) and Iowa (third) finished 1-2-3 in the nation in the final Associated Press poll of the 2022-23 season, which was announced just before the NCAA Tournament began.
• Iowa, led by consensus national player of the year Caitlin Clark, won the Big Ten Tournament and advanced all the way to the national championship game.
• South Carolina has reached the Final Four in each of the last three seasons, going 36-1 and advancing to the national semifinals in 2023 after winning the title in '22.
• Indiana went 28-4 and won the Big Ten regular-season crown last season.
• In the USA Today Sports preseason top-25 poll, Iowa checked in at No. 3 in the nation, with South Carolina fourth and Indiana ninth. The first Associated Press poll of '23-24 saw Iowa ranked third, South Carolina sixth and Indiana ninth.
• This week, South Carolina is ranked first in both polls, with Iowa second in both the AP and USA Today listings. Indiana is 17th in the USA Today top 25 and 18th on the AP chart in the latest poll.
A QUICK LOOK AT MERCER
• Mercer is 1-4 this season, with a win over Florida Atlantic and losses to Western Kentucky, Clemson, Georgia and Tulane. Stacie Jones has 11.0 points per game to lead a balanced attack. Jones also paces the Bears with 9.4 rebounds per outing.
A QUICK LOOK AT LEHIGH
• Lehigh has a perfect 4-0 record heading into a Wednesday game vs. Marist. The Mountain Hawks have wins over East Stroudsburg, Stonehill, Delaware and Yale. Individually, Ella Stemmer has 15.3 ppg, while Lily Fandre is averaging 11.0 ppg. Six players have at least 7.3 points per contest.
THE SERIES
• The Falcons trail Mercer, 1-0, in the all-time series, while BGSU and Lehigh are tied at 1-1 in that series. All three games have come in neutral-site meetings.
• BGSU's lone meeting with Mercer resulted in a 76-63 win for the Bears five years ago (Nov. 25, 2018), at the Coastal Carolina Tournament.
• The Falcons downed Lehigh, 63-55, in Coral Gables, Fla., in December of 2001. But, LU picked up a 77-74 win three years later in the Brown Classic (Dec. 4, 2004).
DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the Lehigh game, the Falcons will return home to face Duquesne at the Stroh Center on Monday (Nov. 27). That game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
FOR MORE INFORMATION...
For more information on BGSU women's hoops, be sure to follow the Falcons on Facebook (@BGWBB), Twitter/X (@BGSU_Athletics and @BGSUWBB) and Instagram (@bgsuwbb), as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.
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