Saturday, January 13
Muncie, Ind.
1 p.m.
Bowling Green State University
at
Ball State
Photo by: Brenna Orton, BGSU Athletics
BGSU Battles Ball State in Matchup of MAC Unbeatens
January 12, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Falcons, Cardinals each put a 3-0 conference record on the line in Muncie
BGSU at BALL STATE
Saturday, January 13, 2024 • 1:00 p.m.
Worthen Arena • Muncie, Ind.
TV/Video: ESPN+ • Audio: Falcon Media Sports Network
Live Stats: BallStateSports.com • Twitter: @BGSUwbb
JUMP BALL
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, off to a 3-0 start in Mid-American Conference play, enters the weekend as part of a four-way tie for first place in the league standings. The Falcons, under the direction of first-year head coach Fred Chmiel, head to Muncie, Ind., to face one of the other teams tied at the top. BGSU battles Ball State University on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 13), with tipoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m. inside Worthen Arena.
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• There are multiple ways to keep up with the Falcons in 2023-24...
• TV/VIDEO: Saturday's BSU game will be streamed via 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 will be available.
• 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.
FOUR TEAMS TIED AT THE TOP
• After the first week of MAC play, only four teams remained unbeaten in the conference. And, on Wednesday night (Jan. 10), each of those four teams picked up a win to improve to 3-0. That quartet includes BGSU, Ball State, Kent State and Toledo.
BGSU TO FACE A FORMER FALCON
• Former BGSU student-athlete Nyla.Hampton is now a member of the Ball State women's basketball program. Hampton transferred to BSU following the 2022-23 campaign, after three seasons as a member of the Falcons.
LAST TIME OUT: BG LEADS FROM WIRE TO WIRE, COMPLETES MICHIGAN SWEEP
• The Falcons led from wire to wire on Wednesday night (Jan. 10), remaining unbeaten in MAC play with a 69-57 win over Eastern Michigan at the Stroh Center.
• Four players scored in double digits for the Falcons, who completed a sweep of the MAC's three Michigan-based schools in the first three games of conference action.
• Paige Kohler led BG's balanced attack with 15 points, while Morgan Sharps added 14 and Amy Velasco 13.
• Freshman Taya Ellis rounded out BGSU's double-digit scorers with 10 points, the highest total of her young career. Ellis made her first five shot attempts and finished 5-of-6 from the floor on the night.
• Erika Porter just missed a double-double, with nine points and a team-leading 10 rebounds in the win. Velasco (six) and Sharps (five) combined for 11 assists, and Velasco also had a game-high four steals.
• Tayra Eke led the Eagles with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Cali Denson and Lachelle Austin each added nine points.
DEFENSE NEVER GOES OUT OF STYLE
• In each of BGSU's first two MAC games, the Falcons rallied from deficits, turning up the defensive intensity in the latter stages of the game. In the conference opener at Central Michigan, BG did not allow a field goal in the final 8:20, rallying from nine points down for the win. Central went just 1-of-19 (5.3%) from the field in the fourth quarter.
• Then, against Western Michigan, the Falcons held the Broncos without a point for the game's final 2:37, scoring six-straight points to break a tie and go on to victory.
• On Wednesday, BGSU allowed Eastern Michigan to go just 2-of-16 (12.5%) from the floor in the fourth period, keeping the Eagles at bay en route to a third consecutive win.
• BGSU allowed just eight points in the fourth quarter vs. both Central and Eastern, and the Falcons are allowing an average of just 11.7 points in the fourth quarter of MAC games this season to date.
ELLIS EXPLODES AGAINST EASTERN
• Entering Wednesday night's game vs. Eastern Michigan, freshman Taya Ellis had scored a total of 12 points on the season. Ellis nearly matched that total against the Eagles, with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field.
• Ellis had eight points in the second quarter alone vs. EMU, as she accounted for BGSU's first four successful field goals of the period.
• After averaging 0.9 points per game during the non-conference portion of the schedule, Ellis has 4.7 ppg in the three MAC games to date.
THE FALCONS VS. THE MAC
• Historically, the Falcons have been one of the top programs in the Mid-American Conference. Entering Saturday's BSU matchup, BGSU has gone 451-259 (.635) in league regular-season games. The Falcons have the second-highest winning percentage of all MAC institutions, and the second-most conference wins of all 12 programs.
• BGSU has won 15 MAC regular-season titles, which is the highest total of any conference institution. And, the Falcons have won a league-best 11 MAC Tournament titles.
• BG leads the all-time series with all 11 conference foes, making the Falcons – obviously – the only team in the league with a winning record against every other school. BGSU also has the most overall victories and highest overall winning pct. of any league institution.
THE FALCONS – A QUICK OVERVIEW
• The Falcons enter the Ball State game with an overall record of 9-4 on the season, and BGSU is off to a 3-0 start in MAC play. Three of the four losses have come to nationally-ranked teams, and the four teams who have beaten BGSU currently have a combined record of 55-8.
• BGSU is 4-1 at home, 3-3 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, and after a loss at Texas State, BG bounced back with four-straight wins. The victims during that stretch included Xavier on the road, Mercer and Lehigh at a neutral site (Savannah, Ga.) and Duquesne at the Stroh. The latter game saw the Falcons win, 68-66, on Amy Velasco's buzzer-beater.
• BGSU went 1-3 in December, with all three losses coming to nationally-ranked teams (#4/4 Iowa, #1/1 South Carolina and #16/15 Indiana).
• The Falcons began the 2024 portion of the schedule with a 65-64 win at Central Michigan in the MAC opener, before returning home and picking up wins against Western Michigan (75-69; Jan. 6) and Eastern Michigan (69-57; Jan. 10).
• A total of 13 Falcons have seen action this season, with nine of those 13 averaging over 10 minutes per contest. Velasco leads the team with 35.0 minutes per game, while Paige Kohler has played 30.7 mpg.
Lexi Fleming averaged 31.4 mpg over the first 10 contests of the season, before leaving the Indiana game (Dec. 22) due to injury. Fleming also has averages of 15.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game, and led the Falcons in all three categories at the time of her injury. She was averaging 16.7 ppg prior to that IU game, in which she played just 1:10.
• Morgan Sharps and Velasco have scored 13.8 and 12.4 ppg, respectively. Kohler, who scored a career-high 28 points at CMU, has 10.5 points per contest, while Erika Porter has 8.3 ppg to date. Sharps (19) and Porter (18) combined for 37 points in the win over Western.
• Velasco paces BG with 4.1 assists per game, followed by Kohler (3.3 apg).
• Sharps is shooting nearly 47 percent from three-point range, having gone 27-for-58 (46.6%) from the arc in her nine games. Velasco has made 41.9% (18-of-43) of her long-distance tries.
• Olivia Hill and Sophie Dziekan have 4.4 and 4.2 ppg, respectively. Dziekan made her first collegiate start at Wright State (Dec. 12) and responded with her first career double-double, as she had 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in the win. She started five-straight games before missing the EMU contest.
• Hill is one of three Falcons (joining Kohler and Velasco) who have started all 13 games this winter. After going 0-for-1 from three-point land in her first 59 games as a Falcon, she made not one, but two, long-range shots at Xavier. Hill is now 8-for-22 (36.4%) from the arc this season to date.
• Freshmen Taya Ellis and Keiryn McGuff have seen both their minutes and their production increase in conference play. Entering the MAC opener at CMU, Ellis and McGuff were averaging 1.9 and 1.7 ppg, respectively. The duo combined for 15 points in the Falcons' first 10 games, but have teamed up for 25 over the last three contests while providing a lift at the defensive end of the floor as well.
• Kohler has a team-leading 18.0 ppg in MAC play, with Sharps averaging 13.0 ppg, Porter 11.7 and Velasco 10.3. Ellis has a team-high 5.3 rpg in league action. Velasco is second on the Falcons in rebounding (5.0 rpg) in conference games, and she leads the Falcons in assists (5.0 apg) and steals (3.0 spg).
• Last year, the Falcons went 31-7 overall, and 14-4 in MAC play. BGSU tied Ball State for second in the conference, 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 returned from that team in 2023-24.
• The Falcons lost four starters from a year ago, including three players who entered the transfer portal and went to Michigan, Ball State and Michigan State, respectively. Additionally, Kadie Hempfling, the only player in school history with over 1,200 points, 800 rebounds and 400 assists, completed her eligibility.
• Fleming made 20 starts last season, with Sharps starting 17 games and Velasco five.
• The Falcons' group of returnees for the 2023-24 season also includes Jasmine Clerkley, Jasmine Fearne, Emily Siesel and Jaci Tubergen.
• Five newcomers joined head coach Fred Chmiel's first BGSU squad. That quintet includes Baylor transfer Porter as well as freshmen Ellis, Kohler, 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.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE CARDINALS
• Ball State is 13-2 on the season, and the Cardinals, like the Falcons, are 3-0 in MAC play to date. The Cards won road games over Western Michigan and Akron, and picked up a 67-62, come-from-behind win over Buffalo on Wednesday. BSU is 4-1 at home, 7-1 on the road and 2-0 at neutral sites to date. The team's only two losses this season have come against Notre Dame and UConn.
• Individually, Madelyn Bischoff has 13.9 ppg, while Ally Becki has 12.6 ppg and a team-best 5.2 rpg. Annie Rauch and Nyla.Hampton average 9.3 and 8.1 ppg, respectively.
• Head coach Brady Sallee and the Cardinals were picked to finish second in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll, after finishing with records of 26-9 overall and 14-4 in the league in 2022-23.
THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead BSU, 48-26, in the all-time series, and BGSU has won the last two meetings. Last season, the teams split their two regular-season matchups, with the Cardinals capturing an 81-73 outcome in Muncie (Jan. 4, 2023) and the Falcons winning an overtime thriller, 81-76, at the Stroh Center two months later (March 1, 2023). Then, the teams met in the MAC Tournament's semifinal round, with BG coming away with a 70-61 win in downtown Cleveland (March 10, 2023). The Falcons have lost two-straight games in Muncie since an 89-55 victory at Worthen Arena three years ago (Jan. 2, 2021).
• The Falcons are 26-7 at home, 19-16 on the road and 3-3 at neutral sites vs. the Cardinals through the years. Additional series information can be found on page 28 of the PDF.
DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the BSU contest, BGSU returns home to face Akron on Wednesday night (Jan. 17). That contest will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.
• Then, the Orange and Brown will return to the road for the next two games, beginning with a matchup vs. Miami on Saturday, Jan. 20. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Millett Hall.
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.
Saturday, January 13, 2024 • 1:00 p.m.
Worthen Arena • Muncie, Ind.
TV/Video: ESPN+ • Audio: Falcon Media Sports Network
Live Stats: BallStateSports.com • Twitter: @BGSUwbb
JUMP BALL
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, off to a 3-0 start in Mid-American Conference play, enters the weekend as part of a four-way tie for first place in the league standings. The Falcons, under the direction of first-year head coach Fred Chmiel, head to Muncie, Ind., to face one of the other teams tied at the top. BGSU battles Ball State University on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 13), with tipoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m. inside Worthen Arena.
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• There are multiple ways to keep up with the Falcons in 2023-24...
• TV/VIDEO: Saturday's BSU game will be streamed via 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 will be available.
• 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.
FOUR TEAMS TIED AT THE TOP
• After the first week of MAC play, only four teams remained unbeaten in the conference. And, on Wednesday night (Jan. 10), each of those four teams picked up a win to improve to 3-0. That quartet includes BGSU, Ball State, Kent State and Toledo.
BGSU TO FACE A FORMER FALCON
• Former BGSU student-athlete Nyla.Hampton is now a member of the Ball State women's basketball program. Hampton transferred to BSU following the 2022-23 campaign, after three seasons as a member of the Falcons.
LAST TIME OUT: BG LEADS FROM WIRE TO WIRE, COMPLETES MICHIGAN SWEEP
• The Falcons led from wire to wire on Wednesday night (Jan. 10), remaining unbeaten in MAC play with a 69-57 win over Eastern Michigan at the Stroh Center.
• Four players scored in double digits for the Falcons, who completed a sweep of the MAC's three Michigan-based schools in the first three games of conference action.
• Paige Kohler led BG's balanced attack with 15 points, while Morgan Sharps added 14 and Amy Velasco 13.
• Freshman Taya Ellis rounded out BGSU's double-digit scorers with 10 points, the highest total of her young career. Ellis made her first five shot attempts and finished 5-of-6 from the floor on the night.
• Erika Porter just missed a double-double, with nine points and a team-leading 10 rebounds in the win. Velasco (six) and Sharps (five) combined for 11 assists, and Velasco also had a game-high four steals.
• Tayra Eke led the Eagles with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Cali Denson and Lachelle Austin each added nine points.
DEFENSE NEVER GOES OUT OF STYLE
• In each of BGSU's first two MAC games, the Falcons rallied from deficits, turning up the defensive intensity in the latter stages of the game. In the conference opener at Central Michigan, BG did not allow a field goal in the final 8:20, rallying from nine points down for the win. Central went just 1-of-19 (5.3%) from the field in the fourth quarter.
• Then, against Western Michigan, the Falcons held the Broncos without a point for the game's final 2:37, scoring six-straight points to break a tie and go on to victory.
• On Wednesday, BGSU allowed Eastern Michigan to go just 2-of-16 (12.5%) from the floor in the fourth period, keeping the Eagles at bay en route to a third consecutive win.
• BGSU allowed just eight points in the fourth quarter vs. both Central and Eastern, and the Falcons are allowing an average of just 11.7 points in the fourth quarter of MAC games this season to date.
ELLIS EXPLODES AGAINST EASTERN
• Entering Wednesday night's game vs. Eastern Michigan, freshman Taya Ellis had scored a total of 12 points on the season. Ellis nearly matched that total against the Eagles, with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field.
• Ellis had eight points in the second quarter alone vs. EMU, as she accounted for BGSU's first four successful field goals of the period.
• After averaging 0.9 points per game during the non-conference portion of the schedule, Ellis has 4.7 ppg in the three MAC games to date.
THE FALCONS VS. THE MAC
• Historically, the Falcons have been one of the top programs in the Mid-American Conference. Entering Saturday's BSU matchup, BGSU has gone 451-259 (.635) in league regular-season games. The Falcons have the second-highest winning percentage of all MAC institutions, and the second-most conference wins of all 12 programs.
• BGSU has won 15 MAC regular-season titles, which is the highest total of any conference institution. And, the Falcons have won a league-best 11 MAC Tournament titles.
• BG leads the all-time series with all 11 conference foes, making the Falcons – obviously – the only team in the league with a winning record against every other school. BGSU also has the most overall victories and highest overall winning pct. of any league institution.
THE FALCONS – A QUICK OVERVIEW
• The Falcons enter the Ball State game with an overall record of 9-4 on the season, and BGSU is off to a 3-0 start in MAC play. Three of the four losses have come to nationally-ranked teams, and the four teams who have beaten BGSU currently have a combined record of 55-8.
• BGSU is 4-1 at home, 3-3 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, and after a loss at Texas State, BG bounced back with four-straight wins. The victims during that stretch included Xavier on the road, Mercer and Lehigh at a neutral site (Savannah, Ga.) and Duquesne at the Stroh. The latter game saw the Falcons win, 68-66, on Amy Velasco's buzzer-beater.
• BGSU went 1-3 in December, with all three losses coming to nationally-ranked teams (#4/4 Iowa, #1/1 South Carolina and #16/15 Indiana).
• The Falcons began the 2024 portion of the schedule with a 65-64 win at Central Michigan in the MAC opener, before returning home and picking up wins against Western Michigan (75-69; Jan. 6) and Eastern Michigan (69-57; Jan. 10).
• A total of 13 Falcons have seen action this season, with nine of those 13 averaging over 10 minutes per contest. Velasco leads the team with 35.0 minutes per game, while Paige Kohler has played 30.7 mpg.
Lexi Fleming averaged 31.4 mpg over the first 10 contests of the season, before leaving the Indiana game (Dec. 22) due to injury. Fleming also has averages of 15.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game, and led the Falcons in all three categories at the time of her injury. She was averaging 16.7 ppg prior to that IU game, in which she played just 1:10.
• Morgan Sharps and Velasco have scored 13.8 and 12.4 ppg, respectively. Kohler, who scored a career-high 28 points at CMU, has 10.5 points per contest, while Erika Porter has 8.3 ppg to date. Sharps (19) and Porter (18) combined for 37 points in the win over Western.
• Velasco paces BG with 4.1 assists per game, followed by Kohler (3.3 apg).
• Sharps is shooting nearly 47 percent from three-point range, having gone 27-for-58 (46.6%) from the arc in her nine games. Velasco has made 41.9% (18-of-43) of her long-distance tries.
• Olivia Hill and Sophie Dziekan have 4.4 and 4.2 ppg, respectively. Dziekan made her first collegiate start at Wright State (Dec. 12) and responded with her first career double-double, as she had 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in the win. She started five-straight games before missing the EMU contest.
• Hill is one of three Falcons (joining Kohler and Velasco) who have started all 13 games this winter. After going 0-for-1 from three-point land in her first 59 games as a Falcon, she made not one, but two, long-range shots at Xavier. Hill is now 8-for-22 (36.4%) from the arc this season to date.
• Freshmen Taya Ellis and Keiryn McGuff have seen both their minutes and their production increase in conference play. Entering the MAC opener at CMU, Ellis and McGuff were averaging 1.9 and 1.7 ppg, respectively. The duo combined for 15 points in the Falcons' first 10 games, but have teamed up for 25 over the last three contests while providing a lift at the defensive end of the floor as well.
• Kohler has a team-leading 18.0 ppg in MAC play, with Sharps averaging 13.0 ppg, Porter 11.7 and Velasco 10.3. Ellis has a team-high 5.3 rpg in league action. Velasco is second on the Falcons in rebounding (5.0 rpg) in conference games, and she leads the Falcons in assists (5.0 apg) and steals (3.0 spg).
• Last year, the Falcons went 31-7 overall, and 14-4 in MAC play. BGSU tied Ball State for second in the conference, 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 returned from that team in 2023-24.
• The Falcons lost four starters from a year ago, including three players who entered the transfer portal and went to Michigan, Ball State and Michigan State, respectively. Additionally, Kadie Hempfling, the only player in school history with over 1,200 points, 800 rebounds and 400 assists, completed her eligibility.
• Fleming made 20 starts last season, with Sharps starting 17 games and Velasco five.
• The Falcons' group of returnees for the 2023-24 season also includes Jasmine Clerkley, Jasmine Fearne, Emily Siesel and Jaci Tubergen.
• Five newcomers joined head coach Fred Chmiel's first BGSU squad. That quintet includes Baylor transfer Porter as well as freshmen Ellis, Kohler, 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.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE CARDINALS
• Ball State is 13-2 on the season, and the Cardinals, like the Falcons, are 3-0 in MAC play to date. The Cards won road games over Western Michigan and Akron, and picked up a 67-62, come-from-behind win over Buffalo on Wednesday. BSU is 4-1 at home, 7-1 on the road and 2-0 at neutral sites to date. The team's only two losses this season have come against Notre Dame and UConn.
• Individually, Madelyn Bischoff has 13.9 ppg, while Ally Becki has 12.6 ppg and a team-best 5.2 rpg. Annie Rauch and Nyla.Hampton average 9.3 and 8.1 ppg, respectively.
• Head coach Brady Sallee and the Cardinals were picked to finish second in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll, after finishing with records of 26-9 overall and 14-4 in the league in 2022-23.
THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead BSU, 48-26, in the all-time series, and BGSU has won the last two meetings. Last season, the teams split their two regular-season matchups, with the Cardinals capturing an 81-73 outcome in Muncie (Jan. 4, 2023) and the Falcons winning an overtime thriller, 81-76, at the Stroh Center two months later (March 1, 2023). Then, the teams met in the MAC Tournament's semifinal round, with BG coming away with a 70-61 win in downtown Cleveland (March 10, 2023). The Falcons have lost two-straight games in Muncie since an 89-55 victory at Worthen Arena three years ago (Jan. 2, 2021).
• The Falcons are 26-7 at home, 19-16 on the road and 3-3 at neutral sites vs. the Cardinals through the years. Additional series information can be found on page 28 of the PDF.
DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the BSU contest, BGSU returns home to face Akron on Wednesday night (Jan. 17). That contest will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.
• Then, the Orange and Brown will return to the road for the next two games, beginning with a matchup vs. Miami on Saturday, Jan. 20. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Millett Hall.
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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