BGSU Begins Two-Game Road Swing With Miami Matchup

Saturday, January 20

Oxford, Ohio

1 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Miami (OH)

Photo by: Daniel Carlson

January 19, 2024 | Women's Basketball

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

Falcons face RedHawks Saturday afternoon in Oxford

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BGSU at MIAMI
Saturday, January 20, 2024 • 1:00 p.m.
Millett Hall • Oxford, Ohio
TV/Video: ESPN+ • Audio: Falcon Media Sports Network
Live Stats: MiamiRedHawks.com • Twitter: @BGSUwbb

JUMP BALL
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, off to a 4-1 start in Mid-American Conference play, hits the road for the next two games, beginning this weekend. The Falcons, under the direction of first-year head coach Fred Chmiel, meet Miami University on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 20), with tipoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Millett Hall in Oxford, Ohio.

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

• TV/VIDEO: Saturday's MU 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.

LAST TIME OUT: FALCONS TOP AKRON, 70-59
• Erika Porter displayed deadly accuracy from the field, and Keiryn McGuff and her BGSU teammates played lock-down defense as the Falcons topped Akron, 70-59, on Wednesday night (Jan. 17) at the Stroh Center.

• Porter went 10-of-11 from the field en route to a game-high 24 points for the Falcons (10-5, 4-1 MAC). Amy Velasco and Morgan Sharps joined Porter in double figures with 16 and 14 points, respectively.

• McGuff, making the first start of her young career, led the way defensively, as BGSU held Reagan Bass below her scoring and rebounding averages. Bass entered the game averaging 19.6 points and 11.6 rebounds per game for the Zips (6-9, 1-4 MAC), but had 12 points and eight boards on Wednesday.

• Paige Kohler had nine points for the Falcons, while McGuff had four points and six rebounds to tie Porter for the team lead in the latter category.

• BGSU trailed for nearly all of the first half, but after the game was tied at the intermission, the Falcons outscored the Zips by a 24-16 count in the third quarter. Porter had 12 points in the third period alone, including the free throws that gave the home team the lead for good with just over six minutes left in the quarter.

PORTER'S PROLIFIC PERFORMANCE
• Erika Porter, as mentioned, was 10-of-11 from the field en route to a game- and career-high 24 points in the Falcons' win over Akron. Porter's field-goal percentage (90.9%) is tied for the fifth-best performance in a game in BGSU history. The list follows...
BGSU RECORD BOOK – HIGHEST FIELD-GOAL PCT., GAME
(minimum 8 FGM)
1. Michelle Terry vs. Eastern Michigan   Feb. 14, 1996   1.000 (11-11)
2. Kate Achter vs. Temple Nov. 24, 2006    1.000 (8-8)
   Kate Achter vs. Youngstown State Nov. 30, 2004    1.000 (8-8)
4. Lori Albers vs. Cincinnati Jan. 4, 1993   .923 (12-13)
5. Erika Porter vs. Akron Jan. 17, 2024    .909 (10-11)
   Whitney Taylor vs. Kent State Jan. 16, 2008    .909 (10-11)
Joelyn Shoup vs. Eastern Michigan Feb. 20, 1985    .909 (10-11)
8. Jacki Raterman vs. Northern Illinois  Jan. 2, 1999   .857 (12-14)
9. Angela Perry vs. Marshall Dec. 7, 2019   .846 (11-13)
   Melissa Chase vs. Wayne State Jan. 30, 1980    .846 (11-13)

FRESHMEN FLOURISH IN FIRST FORAY(S) IN THE MAC
• Three BGSU freshmen have seen action during the conference portion of the schedule, and all three have made significant contributions in the Falcons' first five forays in the MAC.

• Paige Kohler has started every game this season, and has averaged 10.9 points and 31.1 minutes per game. In MAC contests, she has scored a team-high 16.2 ppg and is second on the Falcons with 34.1 mpg.

• Two other freshmen, Keiryn McGuff and Taya Ellis, played sparingly during the non-conference schedule, but have seen their minutes – and their production – increase during league play.

• That duo combined to score a total of 15 points in the Falcons' first 10 games of the season, but McGuff is averaging 3.6 ppg and Ellis 3.0 in MAC action to date.

• Ellis played more than 12 minutes in just two of BG's first 10 games, but is averaging 17.1 minutes per game in MAC games. Similarly, McGuff played more than 13 minutes just once during the pre-conference schedule, and is averaging 24.7 mpg, good for fourth on the team, during the league campaign so far.

• The trio combined for 38 of the Falcons' 65 points in the MAC-opening win at Central Michigan. Kohler led the way with a game- and career-high 28 points. Additionally, all three players were on the court during key stretches of the fourth quarter as the Falcons held the Chippewas without a field goal for the final 8:20.

• Against Western Michigan, Ellis played nearly 23 minutes, with McGuff playing 24 and Kohler 35. BGSU held WMU scoreless for the final 2:37, and – with the Falcons leading by two points and just 10 seconds left – Ellis blocked a potential game-tying layup attempt by the Broncos.

• In the Eastern Michigan game, Kohler led the Falcons with 15 points, while Ellis had a career-high 10, including four-straight BG buckets in the second quarter. The trio combined for 26 points and 14 rebounds in that win.

• Kohler had 18 points at Ball State, with McGuff pulling down a career-high 11 rebounds. Then, on Wednesday (Jan. 17), McGuff earned the first start of her young career, and played a career-high 35 minutes, helping to keep one of the league's top players, Akron's Reagan Bass, well under her scoring and rebounding averages.

THE FALCONS VS. THE MAC
• Historically, the Falcons have been one of the top programs in the Mid-American Conference. Entering Saturday's Miami matchup, BGSU has gone 452-260 (.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.

BE READY WHEN YOUR NAME IS CALLED
• The Falcons have utilized six different starting-lineup combinations through 15 games this season, after employing a total of five different lineups during all of last year (38 games).

• Nine different players have started at least one game in 2023-24 to date, after a total of seven different Falcons were in the starting lineup last season.

THE FALCONS – A QUICK OVERVIEW
• The Falcons enter the Miami game with an overall record of 10-5 on the season, and BGSU is off to a 4-1 start in MAC play. Three of the Falcons' losses have come to nationally-ranked teams, and the five teams who have beaten BGSU currently have a combined record of 74-12.

• BGSU is 5-1 at home, 3-4 on the road and 2-0 in neutral-site games. In MAC play, the Falcons are 3-0 at the Stroh and 1-1 in front of hostile gatherings.

• 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).

• Last Saturday (Jan. 13), BGSU lost for the first time in league play, falling at Ball State by a 76-61 count. But, the Falcons bounced back with a 70-59 win over Akron on Wednesday evening (Jan. 17) at the Stroh.

• A total of 13 Falcons have seen action this season, with nine of those 13 averaging at least 13 minutes per contest. Nine different players have started at least one game so far in 2023-24.

• Velasco leads the team with 35.3 minutes per game, while Paige Kohler has played 31.1 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.

• Velasco and Morgan Sharps have scored 13.7 and 12.7 ppg, respectively. Kohler, who scored a career-high 28 points at CMU, has 10.9 points per contest, while Erika Porter has 9.3 ppg to date. Sharps (19) and Porter (18) combined for 37 points in the win over Western, and Velasco went off for a career-best 28 points at Ball State before Porter scored 24 points (going 10-of-11 from the field) vs. Akron.

• Velasco paces BG with 3.9 assists per game, followed by Kohler (3.1 apg).

• Velasco has gone 23-of-50 (46.0%) from the arc, while Sharps has made 40.8% (29-of-71) of her long-distance tries.

• Olivia Hill and Sophie Dziekan have 4.2 and 4.0 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 has made five starts this season, including a pair of MAC matchups.

• Hill started the first 14 games this winter before missing the Akron contest due to injury. 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-24 from the arc this season to date.

• Kohler has a team-leading 16.2 ppg in MAC play, with Velasco averaging 15.0 ppg, Porter 13.4 and Sharps 11.0. Keiryn McGuff leads the team with 6.2 rebounds per game in MAC action, with four of her teammates averaging between 4.2 and 4.8 rpg in those five contests.

• Velasco leads the Falcons in assists (4.2 apg) and steals (2.0 spg) in MAC games, while Porter is shooting a team-high 65.9% (27-of-41) from the floor..

• Freshmen McGuff and Taya Ellis have seen both their minutes and their production increase in conference play. McGuff had a career-high 11 rebounds at Ball State, and as mentioned, leads the Falcons in rebounding in MAC games. McGuff is averaging 24.7 minutes per game in league contests, with Ellis at 17.1 mpg.

• 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.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE REDHAWKS
• Miami is 3-12 on the season, and the RedHawks are 1-4 in MAC play to date. MU picked up a double-digit road win against Western Michigan, 64-50, last Saturday, before suffering a narrow 53-48 loss at Eastern Michigan on Wednesday night. Miami has also faced Toledo and Kent State at home and Northern Illinois on the road in MAC action so far. The RedHawks are 1-4 at home and 2-8 on the road to date.

• Individually, Jadyn Scott leads the team with 11.3 ppg, with three of her teammates – Amber Tretter, Katey Richason and Lakresha Edwards – scoring between 7.3 and 7.9 points per outing. Richason has 6.2 rpg and Tretter 5.3.

• Head coach Glenn Box is in his first season with the RedHawks. MU returned just four letterwinners from the 2022-23 team that finished 12-19 overall and 7-11 in conference action.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Miami, 57-34, in the all-time series, and BGSU has won the last six meetings. In last season's lone matchup, the Falcons picked up an 88-59 victory at the Stroh Center (Feb. 4, 2023). BGSU's last trip to Oxford saw the Orange and Brown come away with an 81-76 victory two years ago (Feb. 26, 2022). Prior to the Falcons' current six-game series win streak, the RedHawks had captured six-straight matchups.

• The Falcons are 27-16 at home, 24-17 on the road and 6-1 at neutral sites vs. Miami through the years. Additional series information can be found on page 29.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the Miami contest, BGSU heads to Western New York for a Wednesday-morning (Jan. 24) matchup with Buffalo, beginning at 11:00 a.m. at Alumni Arena.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will return home to face Kent State three days later (Sat., Jan. 27). The KSU game is set for a 4:00 p.m. tip, on Alumnae Day at the Stroh.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Sat., Jan. 20 – at Miami, 1:00 p.m.
Wed., Jan. 24 – at Buffalo, 11:00 a.m.
Sat., Jan. 27 – KENT STATE, 4:00 p.m. (Alumnae Day)
Wed., Jan. 31 – NORTHERN ILLINOIS, 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.