BGSU Readies for Great Alaska Shootout

Friday, November 21

Anchorage, Alaska

9:15 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

UC Irvine

Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics

November 20, 2025 | Women's Basketball

BGSU Notes BGSU WBB Media Central Support BGSU WBB UC Irvine WBB St. Thomas WBB UAA WBB

Falcons to play a pair of games in Anchorage

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2025 | 9:15 P.M. ET | ALASKA AIRLINES CENTER | ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

BOWLING GREEN
FALCONS
(1-3, 0-0 MAC)

vs.

UC IRVINE
ANTEATERS
(2-2, 0-0 Big West)


WATCH: GNAC Network \| LISTEN: Falcon Media Sports \| LIVE STATS: BGSUvUCI \| TWITTER/X: @BGSUwbb \| INSTAGRAM: bgsuwbb

WHAT, WHEN & WHERE
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team concludes a six-game road swing with a pair of games in Alaska this weekend. Head coach Fred Chmiel – a native of Palmer, Alaska – and the Falcons are in Anchorage for the ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout. BGSU meets UC Irvine on Friday night (Nov. 21) at 9:15 p.m. ET, and the Orange and Brown will face either St. Thomas or Alaska Anchorage on Saturday night (Nov. 22) at the Alaska Airlines Center.

WHERE TO WATCH / LISTEN
• All games in the Great Alaska Shootout will be streamed via the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Network (fee required). All 2025-26 games will have an audio stream as well, thanks to Falcon Media Sports Network. Cheechako Lucas Kleimeyer will handle play-by-play duties this weekend in Alaska.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
CLICK HERE

STATS & SOCIAL MEDIA
• Links to audio, video and live stats for all 2025-26 games can always be found on the web at BGSUFalcons.com – both on the women's basketball schedule page and in the right column on the main page – on game day.

GONE TILL NOVEMBER (30TH)
• The Falcons are racking up the frequent flyer miles during the month of November, as BGSU opens the 2025-26 season with six consecutive games away from home.

• The Falcons played (and won) the season opener in the state of Louisiana, then returned to the road to face #2/2 South Carolina (Nov. 7), Wisconsin (Nov. 12) and Marquette (Nov. 14). The road odyssey continues with a trip to Alaska for the ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout.

• BGSU's regular-season home opener is a week from Sunday, Nov. 30, when Purdue Fort Wayne comes to the Stroh Center.

DONAHUE IS DOMINANT
• Sophomore Johnea Donahue had one of the best games of her young career last Wednesday night (Nov. 12) at Wisconsin. The guard set career bests in both points and assists, and stuffed the stat sheet in several other categories as well.

• Donahue led all players in scoring (24), rebounding (six – tied for game honors with Taya Ellis), assists (six) and steals (six). She went 8-for-16 from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.

• Two nights later, Donahue again led the Falcons in scoring, with 16 points at Marquette. She added four rebounds and three assists vs. the Golden Eagles.

• Through four games this season, Donahue is averaging 3.50 steals per game, which leads the MAC and ranks her 27th in the nation.

KOHLER NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-MAC TEAM
• Junior Paige Kohler was named to the 2025-26 Preseason All-Mid-American Conference First Team, which was determined via voting by the league's 13 head coaches.

• Kohler, a native of Olmsted Falls, Ohio (Olmsted Falls), earned All-MAC Honorable mention last season, and also was named to both the Academic All-MAC Team and the Academic All-District® Team, selected by College Sports Communicators. The guard started all 31 games, and averaged 35.0 minutes per contest. She finished second on the Falcons in both scoring and rebounding, with 13.6 points and 4.6 boards per game.

• Kohler made a team-leading 76 three-point field goals last winter, shooting 36.7% from the arc. She averaged 3.58 steals and had a 1.82 assist/turnover ratio, ranking second on the Falcons in both areas. Kohler was second in the entire MAC in both minutes per game and three-pointers made per game (2.5).

• In her first two seasons at BGSU (plus four games), Kohler has compiled impressive totals of 809 points, 291 rebounds, 237 assists and 122 three-point field goals made. She is currently ranked on the BGSU career lists for points per game (13th, 12.26), assists per game (eighth, 3.59), three-pointers made (20th) and three-pointers made per game (sixth, 1.85).

• Kohler has been in the starting lineup for all 66 of BGSU's games since she arrived on campus.

THE FALCONS: A QUICK OVERVIEW
• Head coach Fred Chmiel and his staff returned a total of nine players, including eight letterwinners, from last season's roster. The Falcons went 18-13 overall last season, finishing with an 11-7 record in Mid-American Conference play. BGSU ended the 2024-25 regular-season schedule by winning nine of 11 games.

• The list of returnees includes junior Paige Kohler, who was named to the Preseason All-MAC First Team. Kohler finished second on the Falcons in both scoring and rebounding, with 13.6 points and 4.6 boards per game a year ago.

• Sophomore Johnea Donahue also returns after starting 17 contests last season. Donahue was named to the MAC's All-Freshman Team last season, and also was chosen to the MAC All-Defensive Team in her first year in the Orange and Brown. She led the entire conference in steals per game (2.46 spg).

• Other returnees include a pair of fourth-year Falcons in senior Emily Siesel and redshirt junior Jasmine Fearne. Siesel and Fearne each played in 28 of BGSU's 31 games off the bench, and Fearne finished fourth on the team with 20 three-point field goals made. Another senior, Kendal Moxey, is back for her second season in the Orange and Brown. She shot an even 50 percent from the field last winter.

• Junior Taya Ellis started five games last year, averaging nearly four points and leading the Falcons in blocked shots, while sophomore Laila Harrison was penciled into the starting lineup four times in her freshman campaign. Another sophomore, Lauren Gerken, returns after averaging 7.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per contest in 10 games last year. Gerken had a 20-point game in a win over Stetson, and started her final five games before suffering an injury in December and missing the remainder of the season.

• Redshirt freshman Sofia Moschen is back after joining the team for the Spring 2025 semester. She did not see game action in '24-25.

• BGSU's four newcomers include three transfers and a freshman. Senior Kaia Woods began her career at Washington State, and played for fellow MAC member Akron two years ago. Junior Joniyah Bland-Fitzpatrick spent the last two seasons at Seton Hall, playing in a total of 37 games for the Pirates, while fellow junior Jaedyn Cook spent the 2024-25 season at Odessa (Texas) College after beginning her career at East Carolina.

• Ky'Aira Miller, a Cincinnati native and the lone true freshman on the 2025-26 roster, joins the Falcons after helping Purcell Marian H.S. to four state championships and graduating as the program's assists leader.

• On the bench, assistant coaches Maggie Lucas and John Nicolais return for their third and second seasons, respectively, with the Falcons. They are joined by former Falcon great Kadie Hempfling.

• Four games into the season, Donahue paces the Falcons in scoring, with 14.5 points per game, and she also leads BGSU in steals, at 3.50 per contest. Donahue also has 4.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per outing.

• Kohler and Woods have 12.5 and 9.5 ppg, respectively. Kohler also has 4.0 rpg and a team-leading 3.5 apg.

• Bland-Fitzpatrick, Gerken and Miller all have 5.3 ppg, while Cook has 4.5 ppg. Ellis has 4.3 ppg and a team-leading 5.8 rpg.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE ANTEATERS
• UC Irvine is 2-2 on the young season. The Anteaters have posted home wins over San Diego and Northern Arizona, with road losses to Arizona and Idaho State.

• Jada Wynn is averaging 13.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game to lead the team in all three categories. Hunter Hernandez is second in points (12.8) and rebounds (6.8) per contest. Head coach Tamara Inoue welcomed back seven letterwinners from the 2024-25 team that went 21-10 overall and 15-5 in the Big West Conference.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead UC Irvine, 1-0, in the all-time series. The lone previous meeting was a 62-54 BGSU victory in the opening round of the DoubleTree LA Westside Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by Loyola Marymount. BG led from wire to wire, with Erica Donovan recording a double-double (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Rachel Myers adding 10 points off the bench.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the UC Irvine matchup, the Falcons will return to the Alaska Airline Center on Saturday (Nov. 22). BGSU will face either St. Thomas or Alaska Anchorage, with the third-place game beginning at 9:15 p.m. ET, and the championship set to get underway at 11:30 p.m. ET.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will prepare for the home opener, which is against Purdue Fort Wayne on Sunday, Nov. 30. That game will begin at 2:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.

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.