Falcons Ready for Tuesday-Morning Matchup with Wright State

Tuesday, December 12

Dayton, Ohio

11 a.m.

Bowling Green State University

Wright State

Tickets

Paige Kohler v Cleveland State - Nov. 7, 2023

Photo by: Scott W. Grau

December 11, 2023 | Women's Basketball

BGSU Notes (PDF)WSU Women's Basketball Support BGSU Women's Basketball

BGSU faces the Raiders in an 11:00 a.m. start

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BGSU at WRIGHT STATE
Tuesday, December 12, 2023 • 11:00 a.m.
Nutter Center • Dayton, Ohio
TV/Video: ESPN+ • Audio: Falcon Media Sports Network
Live Stats: WSURaiders.com • Twitter: @BGSUwbb

THE OPENING TIP
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team continues a challenging December schedule with a second-straight road game to begin the month. The Falcons, under the direction of first-year head coach Fred Chmiel, face Wright State University on Tuesday (Dec. 12), with tipoff at 11:00 a.m. at the Nutter Center.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• There are multiple ways to keep up with the Falcons in 2023-24...

• TV/VIDEO: Tuesday's WSU game will be streamed on ESPN+.
• 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: FALCONS FALL AT #4 IOWA
• Lexi Fleming scored 24 points to tie for game honors, but the Falcons fell, 99-65, to Iowa in a nationally-televised game at a sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

• On the road against the fourth-ranked team in the country, Fleming fell just two points shy of tying her career high, and the 5-5 guard also led the Falcons in rebounding, with seven boards.

• Amy Velasco joined Fleming in double digits in the scoring column, with 11 points, and Velasco dished out a team-leading six assists. Sophie Dziekan and Morgan Sharps each came off the bench to score nine points.

• Caitlin Clark had 24 points to lead five double-digit scorers for the Hawkeyes.

• The Hawkeyes used an early run to take a big lead and threatened to run away with the game, but the Falcons battled back. BGSU matched Iowa bucket-for-bucket for much of the first 30 minutes, before the hosts used another run late in the third quarter to push the margin to 20 for the first time on the afternoon.

• BGSU held Clark to just a 2-for-11 effort from three-point range on the day, with the Falcons hitting eight triples to the Hawkeyes' six. But, Iowa had a huge advantage in points in the paint in the contest.

THE FLEMING FACTOR
• 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 Wright State game, Fleming has played in 70 games as a Falcon. BGSU has a record of 54-16 in those 70 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 25-5 record at the Stroh Center.

FLEMING ON FIRE DURING BG'S LAST FIVE GAMES
• Lexi Fleming has helped the Falcons in multiple ways this season. She currently leads BGSU in scoring and steals, and the 5-5 guard also paces the Falcons in rebounding.

• In those five games – wins vs. Xavier, Mercer, Lehigh and Duquesne and a loss at #4 Iowa – Fleming has averaged 20.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.6 steals. She had 21 points against Xavier, including 13 in the third quarter alone, and scored 22 points vs. Lehigh.

• Fleming had 19 points and seven rebounds in the Duquesne game, and tied her career best with four three-point field goals made. Then, she scored a season-high 24 points at Iowa – tying for game scoring honors in a game that also included reigning national player of the year Caitlin Clark – hitting four more three-pointers and pulling down seven more rebounds.

FIVE FUN FLEMING FACTS
• Lexi Fleming, as mentioned, had 24 points at Iowa, just two away from her career high. It marked her third 20-point game of the season and the 11th of her career.

• Fleming has led BGSU in scoring in each of the last five games, and has paced the Falcons in rebounding in three of those five games.

• On the season, she leads the team in scoring (17.9 ppg), rebounding (5.1 rpg) and steals (3.0 spg), and ranks third in assists (3.3 apg).

• At Iowa, Fleming made four three-point field goals in a game for the ninth time in her career. She now has made 129 career triples, and ranks 15th in school history on that list.

• Fleming now has 876 career points in 70 games, an average of 12.5 ppg as a Falcon.

THE FALCONS – A QUICK OVERVIEW
• The Falcons enter the Wright State game with a 5-2 record on the young season. BGSU is 2-0 at home, 1-2 on the road and 2-0 in neutral-site games.

• The Falcons 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). The Falcons have bounced back by winning the last four games. BG picked up the first road win of the season, with a 73-64 victory at Xavier on Nov. 18, before going to Savannah, Ga., and posting a pair of neutral-site victories in the Savannah Hoops Invitational.

• The Falcons topped Mercer by a 59-38 final (Nov. 22), and BGSU returned to the court on Thanksgiving Day and defeated Lehigh, 85-73. BGSU picked up a 68-66 win over Duquesne at the Stroh on a last-second shot (Nov. 27), before opening the December slate with a 99-65 loss at fourth-ranked Iowa.

• A total of 13 Falcons have seen action so far this season, with nine of those 13 averaging over 10 minutes per contest. Amy Velasco leads the team with 36.1 minutes per game, followed by Lexi Fleming (34.6 mpg) and Paige Kohler (29.8).

• Fleming leads the Falcons in scoring, with 17.9 points per game, with Velasco and Morgan Sharps at 13.7 and 11.7 ppg, respectively. Kohler rounds out BGSU's double-digit scorers with 10.3 ppg, while Erika Porter has 7.7 ppg to date.

• Fleming – a 5-5 guard – leads the Falcons in rebounding (5.1 rpg) and steals (3.0 spg). Kohler paces BG with 4.1 assists per game, followed closely by Velasco (3.9 apg) and Fleming (3.3 apg).

• 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. 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 on Jan. 18.

• Fleming averaged 9.0 ppg last 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, last winter. 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. Additionally, Kadie Hempfling, the only player in school history with over 1,200 points, 800 rebounds and 400 assists, completed her eligibility.

• 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 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.

THREE-MENDOUS
• A pair of Falcons have moved into the top 20 on the BGSU career list for three-point field goals made. Lexi Fleming now has 129 career triples, ranking her 15th on the school list. Morgan Sharps has hit 121 long-distance shots in her Falcon career, tying her for 18th on the BG chart.

• More impressively, both players currently rank among the top-five Falcons in school history in three-pointers made per game. Sharps currently is second in that category with 2.28 triples per game, trailing only the legendary Lauren Prochaska (2.30 three-pointers per game from 2007-11). Fleming currently ranks fifth on that list, having made 1.84 treys per contest.

• The complete lists of three-point records can be found in the PDF version of these very notes.

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 faces 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 was fourth on both the Associated Press and USA Today polls when the Falcons faced the Hawkeyes in Iowa City. Currently, South Carolina is first in both polls, while Indiana is ranked 16th by AP and 15th by USA Today.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE RAIDERS
• Wright State brings a 6-3 record into Tuesday morning's game. The Raiders have won six of the last seven games after an 0-2 start to the season, including an 81-67 victory over Eastern Illinois on Saturday (Dec. 9). Wright State is 5-0 at home this season to date.

• Individually, Alexis Hutchison leads the team in scoring, with 18.7 ppg, while Kacee Baumhower and Layne Ferrell have 11.8 and 11.4 ppg, respectively.

• Head coach Kari Hoffman's Raiders are just two wins shy of matching the total for all of last season, as the 2022-23 team went 8-24 overall and 6-14 in the Horizon League.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Wright State, 5-3, in the all-time series, and BGSU won the most recent meeting. The Orange and Brown picked up a 102-72 victory at the Stroh Center last season (Nov. 14, 2022). Prior to that contest, the teams had not met since December of 2001, and BG has not ventured to the Nutter Center since December of 2000.

• The Falcons are 4-1 at home (1-0 at the Stroh) and 1-2 on the road vs. the Raiders over the years.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the WSU game, the Falcons will return home to face South Carolina on Dec. 19. The Gamecocks are currently the number-one team in the nation. That game, which is on track to be a sellout, will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will return to the road to face another nationally-ranked team, as BGSU will take on Indiana in Bloomington on Friday, Dec. 22.

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.