Rockets Hold Off BGSU’s Second-Half Comeback Bid, 82-70

Saturday, February 3

Toledo, Ohio

2 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

11-9,5-5MAC

Toledo

16-4,9-1MAC

Bowling Green

Toledo

Freshman Paige Kohler had a game-high 22 points & played all 40 minutes in her first-ever 'Battle of I-75'

Photo by: Daniel Carlson, BGSU Athletics

February 03, 2024 | Women's Basketball

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Kohler scores a game-high 22 points in her first-ever ‘Battle of I-75’

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

TOLEDO, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team battled back from a double-digit halftime deficit on the road, but the University of Toledo was able to hold off the Falcons' comeback bid Saturday (Feb. 3) afternoon. The Rockets picked up an 82-70 victory in Mid-American Conference action at Savage Arena.

BG trailed by as many as 19, but got within seven points on several fourth-quarter occasions.

In her first-ever 'Battle of I-75,' Falcon freshman Paige Kohler played all 40 minutes and scored a game-high 22 points. Erika Porter, also playing in her first-ever BG-UT matchup, had 18 points, while Morgan Sharps scored 12 for the Falcons (11-9, 5-5 MAC)

Sophia Wiard had 18 points to pace four double-digit scorers for the Rockets (16-4, 9-1 MAC).

Toledo went on a 10-0 late in the first half to build the lead to double digits, with Soleil Barnes scoring eight of those 10 points. A pair of Porter free throws in the final seconds cut the Rockets' lead to 37-22 at the half.

UT began the second half with a four-point possession to take a 19-point advantage, the largest of the game, and the teams essentially traded points over the remainder of the third quarter.

In the fourth period, however, BGSU slowly chipped away at the Rockets' lead. Kohler hit a pair of free throws to make it an 11-point game with 6:27 to go, and a Sophie Dziekan putback cut the deficit to eight as the teams reached the game's final media timeout.

The margin was trimmed to seven on a pair of Dziekan charity tosses with 4:29 remaining, and the Falcons got a stop. But, BG could not cut into the UT lead any further, and a Khera Goss three-point play gave the hosts a 75-65 lead with 3:42 remaining.

An NBA-range three-pointer by Kohler made it a seven-point game once again, but the Rockets got a Quinesha Lockett jumper with just over two minutes to go, and BG would draw no closer.

The teams shot nearly the same percentage from the floor, as Toledo had a 47.4 percent success rate to BGSU's 47.3%. The Falcons went 7-for-15 from the arc (46.7%) while UT was 5-for-14 (35.7%) from long distance. The Falcons had a 34-28 rebounding advantage, with 14 offensive boards in the game.

But, Toledo shot 28 free throws to the Falcons' 14, as three BGSU players fouled out in the game. UT made 23 of those 28 tosses, while BG was 11-of-14 from the stripe.

Gallery: (2-3-2024) 020324 wbk at Toledo - Carlson

FIRST QUARTER
• The Rockets never trailed, and after a Morgan Sharps jumper tied the score at 2-2 early, UT went on a 7-0 run, with Nan Garcia banking home a three-point try during that stretch. Erika Porter took a Sharps pass and hit a layup, but UT scored the next four points, with a pair of free throws by Cadence Dykstra giving the hosts a 13-4 lead.
• Paige Kohler knocked down a three-point try, and an Olivia Hill steal led to a Sharps triple that cut the UT advantage to 15-10. But, after BG got a stop, a Khera Goss steal and layup gave the hosts a seven-point lead. Kohler hit a floater in the final minute of the quarter to make it a 17-12 game.
• BGSU was within five points despite committing seven first-quarter turnovers. The Falcons had just eight turnovers in the final three quarters.

SECOND QUARTER
• A nifty bounce pass by Porter led to a Kohler layup, and Kohler fed Porter for a bucket that cut the Falcons' deficit to just one point, at 17-16.. But, Goss hit a layup, and a steal and bucket gave UT a five-point margin. Porter scored inside once again, but a pair of Sophia Wiard hoops gave the hosts a 25-18 lead.
• Sammi Mikonowicz scored to make it a nine-point game, and after still another nifty move by Porter resulted in still another layup, the Rockets would score the next 10 points. Soleil Barnes had the last eight of those points, including a pair of triples that put the Gold and Midnight Blue on top by a 37-20 count. Porter drew a foul and knocked down both free-throw tries with 7.7 seconds left to cap the first-half scoring, and Emily Siesel stole the ball from Wiard at the other end of the court, just before the buzzer sounded.

Gallery: (2-3-2024) 020324 WBK at Toledo - Kate Laney

THIRD QUARTER
• The Rockets were bailed out by a foul as the shot clock was about to expire, and after Wiard split a pair of free throws, a UT offensive rebound led to a three-pointer and a 41-22 lead.
• Amy Velasco, who saw her first-half playing time severely limited due to foul trouble, made back-to-back driving layups. But, the junior guard was whistled for another foul just two minutes into the quarter, with Kohler assessed her third foul less than a minute later.
• Hill drilled three-pointers on back-to-back possessions, however, cutting the UT lead to 13, and a pull-up jumper by Sharps several minutes later made it a 12-point game.
• Porter hit a layup and Velasco made a floater, then a pair of free throws. Sharps knocked down a jumper at the shot-clock buzzer, and Kohler broke a would-be defender's ankles (figuratively, not literally) and drained a jumper just before the end of the period. But, the teams had been trading points during that entire time, and Kohler's jumper still left the Falcons down by 16, 63-47.
• BG, as mentioned, was 11-of-14 from the free-throw line in Saturday's game. Toledo was 11-for-14 from the stripe in the third quarter alone.

FOURTH QUARTER
• Kohler hit a three-pointer, then a driving layup, within the first moments of the final quarter. But, a three-point play at the other end restored the hosts' 16-point lead. A Velasco inbounds pass led to a Sharps trey, and Porter's layup made it a 70-57 game.
• But, Velasco and Porter each received their fifth foul of the game less than a minute apart. Kohler was fouled and sank both shots to get BGSU within 11 points, 71-60, and another Kohler charity toss just over a minute later cut the UT lead to 10. Kohler missed her second shot, but an offensive rebound by Hill kept the possession alive, and Sophie Dziekan capped that possession with an offensive board of her own, followed by a layup that cut the UT lead to 71-63 with just over five minutes to go.
• Moments later, Dziekan had another offensive carom, was fouled and hit a pair of shots at the stripe. BG was within seven, but a Khera Goss three-point play put the hosts up, 75-65, with 3:42 on the clock.
• But, Kohler hit a long three-point try, and Siesel drew a charge against Wiard at the other end, giving the ball back to BG. the Falcons could not take advantage, however, and a Lockett bucket was followed by an offensive foul call on the visitors, then another foul against the Orange and Brown at the other end. Two UT free throws with 1:47 remaining made it an 11-point game, and a Kohler jumper in the last minute was as close as BG could get thereafter.

UP NEXT
• BGSU begins a season-long three-game homestand on Wednesday (Feb. 7), as the Falcons host Ohio in a 7:00 p.m. start at the Stroh. Prior to the game, there will be a National Girls and Women In Sports Day youth clinic from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m., which will feature members of each of BGSU's women's athletic team.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will host Troy next Saturday (Feb. 10), in a 12:00 p.m. start. That will be the Falcons' Play4Kay/Pink game. BGSU then meets the Rockets in a 'Battle of I-75' rematch on Saturday, Feb. 17.

FOR MORE INFORMATION...
• For more information on all things BGSU women's basketball, follow the Falcons on Facebook (@BGWBB), Twitter/X (@BGSU_Athletics and @BGSUWBB) and Instagram (@bgsuwbb), as well as right here at BGSUFalcons.com.