Falcons Top Louisiana, 82-67, in Season Opener

Monday, November 3

Lafayette, La

7 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

1-0,0-0MAC

Louisiana

0-1,0-0Sun Belt

Bowling Green

Louisiana

Photo by: Ben Massey/Louisiana Athletics

November 03, 2025 | Women's Basketball

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BGSU Wins Third Consecutive MAC-Sun Belt Challenge Game

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

LAFAYETTE, La. – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team began the second half on a 9-0 run to take control on Monday night (Nov. 3), as the Falcons went on to defeat the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, 82-67. The game, part of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, was held at the Cajundome.

Paige Kohler led all players with 18 points in the regular-season opener for both teams, while Lauren Gerken had a double-double, with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Taya Ellis also had 11 points and pulled down seven boards, while Johnea Donahue and Ky'Aira Miller had nine points apiece.

BGSU scored on the first four possessions of the second half to turn a two-point halftime lead into a double-digit advantage. The lead stayed between eight and 11 points for most of the remainder of the third period, before a Miller three-pointer put the Falcons ahead by 13 in the final minute.

In the fourth quarter, the lead grew as high as 20 points on two Kohler free throws with 4:16 to go. The Ragin' Cajuns responded with nine-straight points, but Miller hit a pair of free throws, then hit a layup to put BG back up by 15.

Amijah Price led the hosts with 17 points, while Mikayla Manley scored 15 and Jazmyne Jackson 13.

The Falcons shot 52 percent from the field in the win, going 27-for-52. BGSU overcame a 22-turnover night by getting to the free-throw line as well as forcing UL into 20 turnovers of their own.

Led by Kohler's 12-of-14 performance, BGSU was 23-of-29 from the line, while the Cajuns went 7-for-14.

A total of 12 players saw action for the Falcons in the win, with 11 finding the scoresheet. BG had advantages in rebounding (36-34), points in the paint (44-34) and bench scoring (34-26).

NOTEWORTHY
• The Falcons are now 3-2 in MAC-Sun Belt Challenge games, and BGSU has won the last three such contests. BG downed Southern Miss at home and Arkansas State on the road in last year's meetings with Sun Belt Conference foes.
• BGSU now has an all-time record of 17-6 vs. SBC schools.

FIRST QUARTER
• The first 10 minutes saw a total of 14 fouls called, with each team whistled for seven. The Rajin' Cajuns scored the game's first five points before Johnea Donahue hit an and-one floater.
• Donahue had the Falcons' first five points of the game, and Jaedyn Cook hit back-to-back buckets to get BG within a point at 12-11, but the hosts then scored the game's next five points.
• Lauren Gerken grabbed an offensive rebound and laid the ball up and in, and a Taya Ellis layup late in the period cut the BG deficit to 20-16 after 10 minutes.

SECOND QUARTER
• Cook kicked the ball out to Jasmine Fearne for a three-pointer on the first possession of the quarter, but a Jazmyne Jackson three-ball bounced in at the other end. Cook, however, worked inside and scored, and Paige Kohler knocked down a pair of free throws.
• Then, Fearne grabbed a defensive board, headed downcourt and took a pass from Kohler for a trailing three. BGSU had a 7-0 run and a 26-23 lead as the Cajuns used a timeout.
• Gerken found Cook for a layup, and Gerken then stole the ball and hit a layup of her own for a 30-25 advantage. Emily Siesel's corner three gave BG a 33-29 lead, but the hosts sandwiched a pair of long-range shots around a Kendal Moxey layup, tying the game at 35.
• Kohler drove and hit a floater, and after a UL bucket, Laila Harrison drove for a layup in the final minute to give BG a 39-37 lead at the half.
• BGSU shot 56 percent from the floor in the first half, but committed 12 turnovers to UL's six. The Cajuns attempted 11 more shots than the Falcons in the opening 20 minutes.

THIRD QUARTER
• The Falcons scored the first nine points of the second half, converting on four-straight possessions to turn a two-point lead into a double-digit advantage.
• Ellis made a nifty move inside to score off of a Donahue feed, and Kohler hit a driving layup. Donahue fed Gerken for a three-pointer, and the Cajuns used a timeout just 85 seconds into the period.
• Out of the timeout, however, the BG defense forced a shot-clock violation, and Kohler's layup gave the Orange and Brown a double-digit lead, 48-37. That capped an overall 11-0 surge that had begun with Harrison's second-quarter hoop.
• A nifty driving layup by Harrison made it a 52-41 game midway through the period, and BG scored most of the remaining points of the quarter at the free-throw line. In the final minute, however, Kohler found Ky'Aira Miller at the top of the arc for a three-ball and a 61-48 lead.

FOURTH QUARTER
• BG scored the first four points of the final period, as Donahue found Miller for an easy layup after the Falcons broke the press, and Miller then paid it forward, spotting Gerken for a layup and a 67-50 lead.
• Donahue's floater just before the shot-clock horn gave BG a 69-53 advantage, before Ellis spun and hit a layup in transition. The lead was 18, and midway through the period, two Kohler free throws upped the margin to 20.
• The hosts responded by scoring nine consecutive points, with a layup by Amijah Price cutting the hosts' deficit to 76-65 with just over two minutes to go.
• The Cajuns got a stop, but a diving steal by Donahue gave the ball back to the Falcons, and Miller was fouled and hit a pair of charity tosses with 1:24 left. Then, BG got a stop and used the clock before Miller drove the baseline and hit a floater for an 80-65 lead in the final minute of play.

UP NEXT
• Monday's contest was the first of six-straight games away from home for the Orange and Brown. BGSU's next game is on the road against the number-two team in the country, South Carolina, on Friday night (Nov. 7). Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at Colonial Life Arena.
• Then, the Falcons will travel to face Wisconsin (Nov. 12) and Marquette (Nov. 14), before playing a pair of games in the Great Alaska Shootout (Nov. 21-22).
• The Falcons regular-season home opener is set for Sunday, Nov. 30, when Purdue Fort Wayne comes to the Stroh Center for a 2:00 p.m. contest.

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.