Falcons Host NIU in Saturday's Play4Kay/Pink Game

Saturday, January 18

Bowling Green, Ohio

7 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Northern Illinois

Photo by: Avery Zuercher, BGSU Athletics

January 17, 2025 | Women's Basketball

BGSU Notes NIU WBB BGSU-NIU Rosters Support BGSUWBB 2024-25 Record Book

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

SATURDAY, JAN. 18 | 7:00 P.M. | STROH CENTER | BOWLING GREEN, OHIO

BOWLING GREEN
FALCONS
(8-8, 2-3 MAC)

vs.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS
HUSKIES
(7-9, 1-4 MAC)


WATCH: ESPN+ \| LISTEN: BG Falcon Media \| LIVE STATS: View \| TWITTER/X: @BGSUwbb \| INSTAGRAM: bgsuwbb

JUMP BALL
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team returns to the Stroh Center for three of the next four games, beginning Saturday night (Jan. 18). Head coach Fred Chmiel and the Falcons host Northern Illinois University in Mid-American Conference action, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

PLAY4KAY/PINK GAME
• Saturday's NIU contest is the Falcons' annual Play4Kay/Pink game, to raise awareness and support for the fight against breast cancer. The Falcons are inviting Survivors, Thrivers and those standing in the gap for a loved one who is battling or has battled cancer to come to the Stroh Center for the game, and all fans are encouraged to wear pink.

• Participants in the Play4Kay game will be recognized during the event, whether as survivors, in honor of loved ones lost, or as healthcare providers standing in for their patients. Those who take part will receive a commemorative t-shirt, tickets to the game, and other small gifts, including a special recognition before tip-off at center court. The registration link can be accessed at BGSUFalcons.com.

• Additionally, the BGSU players will wear special themed shooting shirts for the game. Fans interested in bidding on one of the shirts and/or making a donation to the Falcons' Play4Kay fund can do so at BGSUFalcons.com. The link is below...

Play4Kay/Pink Game Information

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• There are many ways to keep up with the Falcons in 2024-25...

• TV/VIDEO: Saturday's game vs. NIU will be streamed via ESPN+.
• RADIO/AUDIO: The NIU matchup, as is the case for all of BGSU's 2024-25 games, is scheduled to have an audio stream thanks to BG Falcon Media Sports.
• LIVE STATS: Live stats are scheduled to be available for all games in '24-25.
• TWITTER/X & THE 'GRAM: In-game updates, along with other key information, can be found on the BGSU women's basketball Twitter/X account (@BGSUWBB), with periodic updates on the program's Instagram account (bgsuwbb) as well.

• 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.

ONE. POINT. AWAY.
• Lexi Fleming scored a team-leading 19 points in Wednesday's (Jan. 15) win at Ohio, and now has 999 total points in her Falcon career. Fleming needs just one more point to become the 32nd player in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career.

• Fleming is in her fifth year with the Falcons, but has played the equivalent of less than three seasons due to injuries. If she reaches the 1,000-point mark in the NIU game, she will become one of the 10 fastest players to that milestone in school history.

• The list of BGSU's leading career scorers can be found on page 21 of the PDF version of these notes, while the list of quickest Falcons to 1,000 points is on page six.

LAST TIME OUT: FALCONS HELP THEMSELVES (AND EACH OTHER) TO A WIN AT OHIO
• The Falcons shared the basketball, to say the least, on Wednesday night (Jan. 15), as BGSU rolled to a 74-53 victory over Ohio at the Convocation Center.

• BG had 23 assists on 26 field goals in the victory, with four players scoring in double digits and five different players dishing out at least two assists.

• Fifth-year Falcon Lexi Fleming led the team in scoring, with 19 points, and now has a career total of 999 points. Paige Kohler flirted with a triple-double, as the sophomore had 18 points, along with eight rebounds and a game- and career-high eight assists. Senior Amy Velasco and freshman Johnea Donahue scored 14 and 10 points, respectively.

• Bailey Tabeling had a game-high 26 points for the Bobcats (3-12, 1-4 MAC), but was the only player to score in double digits for the hosts.

• BGSU nearly doubled up the Bobcats on the boards, with a 42-22 rebounding advantage. The Falcons shot 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from the field, including a 12-of-29 (41.4%) effort from the arc.

• The Falcons held Ohio to a 32% field-goal rate, as the 'Cats went 16-of-50.

• BGSU used a 10-0 scoring run to take a 24-7 lead late in the first quarter. The Bobcats hit a three-pointer just before the quarter ended, beginning a 17-3 run that cut the Falcons' lead to just three points, 27-24. But, BG ended the first half on a 9-2 run to take a 36-26 lead into the intermission, and the margin remained in double digits for the remainder of the night.

LENDING AN ASSIST
• In the Ohio game, as mentioned, BGSU 23 assists – a season-high total – on 26 field goals. BG's assist total was the Falcons' highest since the last meeting with the Bobcats, on Feb. 7, 2024, at the Stroh Center.

• On Wednesday night, the Falcons had 12 assists on 12 first-half buckets, and each of BGSU's first 17 field goals of the night came with an assist. Sophomore Keiryn McGuff grabbed a teammate's missed shot and laid the ball back up and in with 3:38 remaining in the third quarter, for the Falcons' first unassisted hoop of the night.

THE FALCONS VS. THE MAC
• Historically, the Falcons have been one of the top programs in the Mid-American Conference. Entering the NIU contest, BGSU has gone 460-270 (.630) 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 tied for 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 FLEMING FACTOR
• Lexi Fleming has been a B!G part of the Falcons' success since arriving at BG. The MAC Freshman of the Year in 2020-21, Fleming missed the entire '21-22 season due to injury, but returned to the court in 2022-23 and saw action in 36 games as BGSU went 31-7. She was injured in December of 2023 and missed nearly an entire year, before returning to the court for this season's Xavier game (Dec. 7).

• Entering the NIU game, Fleming has played in a total of 81 contests as a Falcon. BGSU has a record of 59-22 in those 81 games, including a 29-11 ledger in MAC regular-season play, a 33-13 mark in all games (regular season and tournament) against conference foes and a 28-7 record at the Stroh Center.

• Four of those losses have come against nationally-ranked opponents, including a game at Indiana (Dec. 22, 2023), when Fleming played just 70 seconds before leaving due to injury. Heading into that IU game, Fleming had led the 2023-24 team in scoring (16.7 ppg), rebounding (5.1 rpg for the 5-5 guard) and steals (2.7 spg).

FLEMING CLIMBS CAREER CHARTS
• Lexi Fleming is in her fifth season with the Falcons, but has played the equivalent of fewer than three seasons in a BG uniform. Fleming, who has seen action in 81 career games, has been moving up the BGSU career scoring list since returning to the court in early December. After scoring 19 points at Ohio on Wednesday night (Jan. 15), she now ranks 32nd in school history with 999 points. With an average of 12.33 points per game, Fleming is 12th on that BG career list.

• In her career, Fleming has now made 150 three-point field goals, ranking her 14th in school history. She is fifth on the BGSU career list for triples made per game (1.85). And, Fleming is 15th in school history in assists per game, with 2.65.

• With a game-high four steals vs. Eastern Michigan (Jan. 4), Fleming moved into the top 20 on that career list. She now has 171 steals as a Falcon, ranking her 17th in BGSU history, and she is fourth in career steals per game (2.11).

VELASCO CONTINUES TO MOVE UP THE SCORING LIST
• Amy Velasco has had a stellar start to her senior season. Velasco has scored in double digits in 15 of 16 games, and is averaging a team-high 16.8 points per contest in 2024-25.

• Velasco has scored at least 20 points five times this season, including game-high totals of 28 points at Horizon League favorite Cleveland State (Nov. 12) and 24 points against nationally-ranked Ohio State (Nov. 24).

• She recently moved into the top 20 on BGSU's career scoring list, and has continued to move up. With 1,307 career points, Velasco currently ranks 17th on that chart. Her next target is Carin Horne (1,341 points from 2003-07). The list of BG's top scorers can be found elsewhere in these very notes.

• Velasco has a career scoring average of 11.17 points per game, which currently places her 19th on that BGSU list. And, with a career total of 136 three-point field goals made, she is 17th on that BGSU chart.

AMY ALSO ACCUMULATES ASSISTS
• Amy Velasco, as mentioned, is now 17th on the BGSU career scoring chart, and the senior also enjoys a lofty perch on the school's assists list. In the Kent State game on New Year's Day, Velasco became just the seventh player in school history to surpass 400 career assists.

• Velasco enters the NIU contest with 421 career assists. Her next target on that list is her former teammate, sixth-place Kadie Hempfling (432 assists from 2018-23).

• Velasco also ranks seventh in BGSU history in assists per game, with 3.60. If you were able to find the BGSU career scoring list elsewhere in these notes, you'll have no trouble finding the complete lists of both career assists and assists per game.

THE FALCONS – A QUICK OVERVIEW
• The Falcons are 8-8 on the season, and BGSU is 2-3 in MAC play heading into Saturday's NIU game. The Falcons are coming off of a 74-53 victory at Ohio on Wednesday night, BG's first road win of the season.

• The Falcons' other MAC win was a 90-76 home victory over Eastern Michigan at the Stroh Center (Jan. 4). After downing the Eagles, BGSU then fell to Buffalo at home (70-60; Jan. 8) and Miami on the road (78-63; Jan. 11) before besting the Bobcats.

• BGSU posted home wins over Southern Miss, St. Bonaventure, Xavier and Marquette during non-conference play, with neutral-site victories against Stetson and Arkansas. The losses included road contests vs. two nationally-ranked teams (#13/12 West Virginia and #12/11 Ohio State), as well as a seven-point setback to Horizon League favorite Cleveland State.

• BGSU is 5-1 at home, 1-7 on the road and 2-0 in neutral-site games to date, and the Falcons have a scoring margin of +1.1 and a rebounding margin of +5.9 this year. BG has outrebounded 11 of this season's first 16 opponents, with a rebounding margin of 10 or more in six of those games to date.

• Four players are scoring in double digits, with two others averaging more than six points per game. Senior Amy Velasco leads the way with 16.8 ppg, and she also paces the Falcons with 4.6 assists per contest. Velasco has scored in double figures in 15 of 16 games this season, and is second on the club with 29 three-point field goals made. Velasco is shooting a BG-best 46 percent from the arc.

• Sophomore Paige Kohler has 12.4 ppg, while fifth-year collegians Lexi Fleming and Erika Porter have 12.3 and 10.6 ppg, respectively. Kohler also has 4.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, and has made a team-leading 34 three-point field goals. Kohler flirted with a triple-double in the win at Ohio.

• Fleming led the team in scoring at both Miami (23 points) and Ohio (19), and has made 18 triples in her eight games to date. She also has 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game to rank third and second, respectively, on the team.

• Porter has 5.6 rpg to tie for second on the team, and she leads the Falcons and ranks second in the MAC in field-goal percentage, at 54.5 percent.

• Freshman Lauren Gerken has 7.2 ppg and 4.6 rpg, while sophomore Keiryn McGuff and freshman Johnea Donahue are averaging 6.3 and 5.8 ppg, respectively.McGuff had a career-high 11 points at Kent State, then matched that total with 11 more points three days later vs. EMU. Donahue leads BGSU and is second in the MAC with 2.5 steals per game.

• Sophomore Taya Ellis and junior Kendal Moxey have 5.0 and 4.4 ppg, respectively. Ellis has a team-high 6.8 rpg on the season, and also leads BGSU with 1.1 blocks per game, while Moxey is 25-for-49 (51.0%) from the floor.

• In MAC play, Fleming (14.4), Velasco (14.0) and Kohler (13.8) all are averaging between 13.8 and 14.4 ppg. Porter head a BG-best 6.0 rpg, with Kohler and McGuff each pulling down 5.2 rpg vs. the MAC. Velasco (4.4), Kohler (4.2) and Fleming (4.0) all are averaging at least 4.0 apg through five conference contests.

• The Falcons returned seven players who saw action on the 2023-24 team that went 16-15 overall and 10-8 in MAC play. BG won four of the last six regular-season games, and the Falcons advanced to national postseason play with trip to the WNIT.

• BGSU's other returnees from last season are third-year Falcons Emily Siesel and Jasmine Fearne. Siesel played in 26 games off the bench last winter, while Fearne is back after missing the entire '23-24 campaign due to injury. Fearne is fifth on the Falcons with 13 successful triple tries in 2024-25 to date, and she played a career-high 24 minutes in the win at Ohio.

• The Falcons' eight newcomers include a pair of junior-college transfers in Moxey and Kristiana Kulackovska, along with six freshmen – Donahue, Gerken, Laila Harrison, Sofia Moschen, Brook Simpson and Taylor Wallace. Moschen joined the team in the first week of January.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE HUSKIES
• Northern Illinois is 7-9 overall, and the Huskies bring a 1-4 MAC record into Saturday's game. NIU picked up a 59-58 win at Toledo in the MAC opener, but the Huskies are looking to snap a four-game losing streak. Most recently, Northern suffered a 73-52 setback to visiting Miami on Wednesday.

• Chelby Koker and Brooke Stonebraker each are averaging 11.6 ppg, with Alecia Doyle scoring 11.2 ppg. Stonebraker, the daughter of former BGSU great Jacki (Raterman) Stonebraker, leads the team with 7.2 rpg and 1.1 bpg, while Koker has an NIU-best 4.9 apg.

• Head coach Lisa Carlsen welcomed back seven letterwinners, including two starters, from last year's team that finished 15-16 overall and 8-10 in the MAC.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Northern Illinois, 29-21, in the all-time series, and BGSU has won the last two meetings. The Falcons swept last season's two matchups, with a 72-54 win at the Stroh Center (Jan. 31, 2024) and an 82-73 victory in DeKalb (Feb. 24, 2024). Amy Velasco had a career-high 32 points in the latter game. NIU's last series win was an 85-81 triumph in the Stroh two years ago (Feb. 15, 2023).

• BGSU is 16-10 at home (5-5 at the Stroh), 12-11 on the road and 1-0 in neutral-site meetings with the Huskies through the years. Additional series information can be found in the PDF version of these very notes.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the NIU game, BGSU will host Western Michigan on Wednesday (Jan. 22). That game, which will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center, is a blackout, with fans encouraged to wear black.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will make the short trip north to face Toledo on Saturday, Jan. 25. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m. at Savage Arena.

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 at BGSUFalcons.com.