Falcons Ready for Midweek MAC Matchup in Mid-Michigan

BOWLING GREEN AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Wednesday, February 22, 2023 • 1:00 p.m.
McGuirk Arena • Mount Pleasant, Mich.
Video: ESPN+ • Audio: BG Falcon Media
Live Stats: CMUChippewas.com • Twitter: @BGSUwbb

• With four games remaining in the regular season, the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team is part of a three-way tie at the top of the Mid-American Conference standings. Head coach Robyn Fralick and the Falcons will play a midweek MAC matchup in Mid-Michigan, heading to Mount Pleasant for a Wednesday (Feb. 22) meeting with Central Michigan University. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at McGuirk Arena.

(NOTE THE TIME CHANGE -- due to anticipated inclement weather, the start time has been changed from 7:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.)

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

• TV/VIDEO: Wednesday's CMU 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.

FALCONS STEAL A WIN AT WESTERN
• BGSU picked up a 65-53 win at Western Michigan on Saturday (Feb. 18), rallying from a 14-point third-quarter deficit with a stellar defensive effort. The Falcons forced seven Bronco turnovers in the final three minutes of that third period, including five in a span of just 73 seconds.

• BGSU cojoled WMU into 29 turnovers on the afternoon, including 19 in the second half alone. The Falcons had 20 steals as a team – just one shy of the school single-game record – with Nyla Hampton and Jocelyn Tate coming up with seven apiece.

• Saturday marked the first time in school history that two Falcons have had seven or more steals in the same game.

RUNNING WITH THE FALCONS
• BGSU and Western Michigan were tied on several occasions in Satuday's contest in Kalamazoo. The Broncos took a 51-49 lead on a Taylor Williams layup with 7:26 to go, but Western would not score again until literally the game's final second.

• After that Williams bucket, BG went on a 16-0 run, with Amy Velasco (10) and Elissa Brett (six) accounting for all of the points during that time. Brett had a career-high 27 points in the win, with Velasco scoring 16.

• The Falcons, after shooting just 27 percent in the first three quarters, went 9-for-13 (69.2%) in the fourth. Brett and Velasco were a combined 8-of-9 from the floor in the final 10 minutes.

PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF IT
• The Falcons' game vs. Ball State next Wednesday (March 1) has been selected by ESPN for a national broadcast. The game will air on ESPNU, with the start time moved to 5:00 p.m.

• The BSU game will be BGSU's first nationally-televised contest since the 2021 MAC Tournament championship game, which was aired by CBS Sports Network (March 13, 2021). It will be the Falcons' first regular-season game to be televised nationally in over 14 years, since a game at Western Michigan aired on ESPNU on Feb. 7, 2009.

COMEBACK KIDS
• The win at Western Michigan marked the second time this season that BGSU has rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to win a MAC road game. On Jan. 14, the Falcons trailed Akron by 14 points midway through the third quarter, and by 13 early in the fourth, before picking up a 71-66 win.

• BGSU trailed WMU by double digits in both 2022-23 meetings. The Broncos led by 11 points after one quarter of play in the teams' game at the Stroh Center (Feb. 1), before BG outscored Western, 60-31, over the final 30 minutes.

DEATH. TAXES. KADIE HEMPFLING ON THE COURT.
• Kadie Hempfling's name can be found on multiple lists in the BGSU record book, and the fifth-year Falcon is poised to move to the top of one of those lists. Hempfling has played in a total of 148 games in a BGSU uniform. The next time she takes the floor, she will tie her former teammate, Madisen Parker, for the most games played in program history.

• If Hempfling sees action in both games this week, she will set a new BGSU record – and will play in her 150th career game – on Saturday (Feb. 25), which will be Senior Day at the Stroh Center.

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

• This season, Hampton has a team-high 81 steals, giving her two of the top-five single-season totals in program history. She had at least three steals in a game 17 times last year, and this season, she has had at least four steals on 12 occasions. That includes seven contests with at least five steals.

• Hampton, who had a career-high seven steals at WMU, currently ranks 10th in the nation in total steals and 11th in the country in steals per game (3.12). She leads the MAC in both categories.

• Hampton is on pace to shatter the school records for total steals and steals per game in a career. She now has 223 steals in 82 career games played. In just her third year with the Falcons, she has moved into third place on the BGSU career steals list.

• Her average of 2.72 career steals per game puts her on pace to obliterate the school record – no other Falcon has had more than 2.19 career spg. All of the aforementioned lists are on page 8.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE CHIPPEWAS
• Central Michigan is 6-19 on the season, and the Chippewas are 4-10 in the MAC. CMU posted back-to-back wins over Buffalo and Miami at McGuirk Arena, before suffering an 83-75 loss at Ohio on Saturday.

• Individually, Sydney Harris is averaging 16.9 ppg and has hit a team-leading 77 three-point field goals, while Bridget Utberg has 12.1 ppg and has knocked down 46 long-range shots. Rochelle Norris has 8.8 ppg and a CMU-best 6.9 rpg to date.

• Head coach Heather Oesterle's club is 6-6 at home and 0-11 on the road this season. CMU is 4-3 at home and 0-7 on the road in MAC games. Oesterle welcomed back five letterwinners, including three starters, from a 2021-22 team that went 4-25 overall and 2-18 in the MAC.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead CMU, 50-23, in the all-time series, and BGSU has won the last two meetings. BG won this season's first matchup, with a 101-68 victory at the Stroh (Jan. 11, 2023). BG also captured last season's lone encounter, with a 92-68 home decision (Jan. 19, 2022). CMU's last series win was a 77-72 triumph in the MAC Tournament's championship game in Cleveland (March 13, 2021). The teams have not met in Mount Pleasant since Feb. 15, 2020, when the Chippewas picked up an 82-75 victory.

• The Falcons are 28-7 at home, 18-11 on the road and 4-5 at neutral sites vs. CMU through the years.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following Wednesday's CMU matchup, the Falcons will return home for the next two contests. BGSU will battle Buffalo on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 25). That game begins at 1:00 p.m., with Senior Day festivities taking place prior to tipoff.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will begin the month of March by hosting Ball State next Wednesday (March 1). That game will begin at 5:00 p.m. at the Stroh, and will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

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Elissa Brett

Nyla Hampton

Kadie Hempfling

Madisen Parker

Jocelyn Tate

Amy Velasco

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