Falcons Stop Purdue Fort Wayne, 56-53, in Sunday's Home Opener

Sunday, November 30

Bowling Green, Ohio

2 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

3-4,0-0MAC

Purdue Fort Wayne

4-4,0-0Horizon

Purdue Fort Wayne

Bowling Green

Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics

November 30, 2025 | Women's Basketball

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By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team made key plays down the stretch on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 30), and the Falcons posted a 56-53 win over Purdue Fort Wayne at the Stroh Center.

Sophomore Johnea Donahue made many of those key plays for the Falcons (3-4), with a pair of defensive rebounds, two free throws and a steal in the final 35 seconds of the game. On the afternoon, the Fort Wayne native had 12 points, five rebounds, and game-high totals of five assists and six steals.

Junior Paige Kohler paced the Falcons with 15 points in the win. Both Kohler and Donahue hit a pair of charity tosses down the stretch.

Destiny Macharia's layup gave the Mastodons (4-4) a 53-52 lead with 1:15 to go, before Kohler was fouled and knocked down a pair of shots at the stripe with 54.4 seconds remaining. The 'Dons missed two shots on the next possession, with Donahue rebounding the second miss, but BGSU was unable to extend the lead, as a missed layup was boarded by the visitors' Alana Nelson with 25.5 seconds on the clock.

BGSU again got a stop, however, as a Macharia three-point try was off the mark and Donahue corralled the rebound. She was fouled with 5.9 seconds remaining, and the foul was just PFW's third of the fourth quarter. BGSU twice inbounded the ball, leading to quick fouls by the visitors. The final foul in that sequence sent Donahue to the line with 3.5 ticks on the clock, and she sank both shots to give BGSU a three-point lead.

After taking a timeout, the 'Dons inbounded the ball at midcourt, with Jordan Reid finding Lili Krasovec with a pass. Donahue, however, deflected the return pass to Reid, allowing the final seconds to tick away without the visitors getting a shot off.

Both Krasovec and Nelson had 13 points for the Mastodons, while Rylee Bess had 11. Reid scored nine points and had a game-high 11 rebounds.

For the Falcons, Lauren Gerken had eight points off the bench, while Jaedyn Cook and Taya Ellis each had six. Ellis led the Brown and Orange with nine rebounds.

Some of the sights & sounds from the Stroh today!#AyZiggy | #EarnIt pic.twitter.com/ziYB8S3cfy
— BGSU Women's Basketball (@BGSUWBB) December 1, 2025

FIRST QUARTER
• The Falcons jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first four-plus minutes. Paige Kohler began the afternoon's scoring with a three-pont field goal off of an Emily Siesel assist, and after Jordan Reid countered with a layup for the Mastodons, the home team scored six-straight points.
• That run saw Taya Ellis convert a third-chance layup, before Johnea Donahue and Jasmine Fearne hit a layup and a mid-range jumper, respectively.
• The visitors clawed back to within two points, but BGSU ended the quarter on another 6-0 run. Kaia Woods hit a pair of free throws, and Donahue took a Gerken pass and made a floating jumper in the paint with 1:16 on the clock. Siesel lobbed the ball inside to Jaedyn Cook for a layup in the final minute, giving the Falcons a 19-11 lead.

SECOND QUARTER
• The Falcons went 7-of-14 from the field in the first period, but the Falcons went cold in the second. The 'Dons scored the first 12 points of the period, holding BG without a point for nearly seven minutes.
• Lili Krasovec scored seven of PFW's 12 points during that run, including back-to-back and-one layups. She missed the free throw after the first bucket in that sequence, but hit the charity toss after the second, giving the visitors a 23-19 lead.
• Donahue found Kendal Moxey for a layup with 3:10 to go before the half, however, and Kohler's three-ball gave the Falcons a 24-23 lead with 1:12 on the clock. The 'Dons scored the final four points of the period, with an Alana Nelson triple giving the visitors a 27-24 lead at the break.

THIRD QUARTER
• Jasmine Fearne's long-distance shot on the first possession of the second half tied the score, and after Krasovec scored four-straight points, Kohler answered with back-to-back layups to make it a 31-31 game.
• The back-and-forth scoring continued, as BG answered a quick 3-0 PFW surge with a Lauren Gerken putback in traffic, followed by a Donahue steal and score. The teams traded buckets, with an Ellis layup giving the Orange and Brown a 37-36 lead after 30 minutes.

FOURTH QUARTER
• Donahue found Gerken for a three-pointer just over a minute into the final quarter, and Donahue's layup gave the Falcons a 42-36 lead. Back came the visitors, with Rylee Bess scoring five consecutive points before Destiny Macharia capped an 8-0 run with a go-ahead triple with 6:06 to go.
• Kohler, however, hit a three-pointer, and after Nelson answered with a long-range make, Kohler fed Gerken for a corner three with 3:56 on the clock. The Falcons had a 48-47 lead.
• Cook's layup with 2:45 to go put BG up, 50-48, but Bess was fouled on a three-point try, making all three shots with 2:31 remaining. Cook's baby hook put BG back on top with 2:05 on the clock, but Macharia's layup with 1:15 left gave PFW a 53-52 lead.
• Kohler, however, was fouled and sank a pair of free-throw tries, putting BG up by a 54-53 count and setting the stage for the frenetic finish.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons' season-long six-game homestand continues Wednesday night (Dec. 3), when Kentucky State comes to the Stroh Center for a 7:00 p.m. matchup.
• BGSU will host Defiance (Dec. 7), Lourdes (Dec. 14), Le Moyne (Dec. 16) and Kent State (Dec. 20) during the homestand as well. The KSU game marks the Falcons' Mid-American Conference opener.

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 on the web at BGSUFalcons.com.