Falcons Head to Columbia to Face #2/2 Gamecocks

Friday, November 7

Columbia, S.C.

7 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

South Carolina

Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics

November 06, 2025 | Women's Basketball

BGSU Notes (PDF)Support BGSU WBB South Carolina WBB

BGSU battles South Carolina Friday evening

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Athletics

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2025 | 7:00 P.M. | COLONIAL LIFE ARENA | COLUMBIA, S.C.

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

#2/2 SOUTH CAROLINA
GAMECOCKS
(1-0, 0-0 SEC)


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

WHAT, WHEN & WHERE
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, coming off of a season-opening win, will return to the road to face one of the top teams in the nation. Head coach Fred Chmiel and the Falcons face the number-two team in the country on Friday night (Nov. 7), taking on the University of South Carolina. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at Colonial Life Arena.

WHERE TO WATCH / LISTEN
• Friday's South Carolina game will be streamed via SEC Network+. All 2025-26 games will have an audio stream as well, thanks to Falcon Media Sports Network. Lucas Kleimeyer will handle play-by-play duties Friday evening.

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.

FALCONS FACE THE NATION'S ELITE
• In BGSU coach Fred Chmiel's first two-plus seasons at the helm, the Falcons have tested themselves against some of the top teams in the nation. In his first season, BGSU faced three nationally-ranked squads in a three-week span, traveling to #4/4 Iowa and #16/15 Indiana, and hosting Dawn Staley's #1/1 South Carolina team in December of 2023.

• Last year, the Orange and Brown took on #13/12 West Virginia and #12/11 Ohio State in the same week. Friday's SC matchup is the Falcons' sixth against a top-25 team – and the third against a top-five club – in the Chmiel Era.

ROAD WARRIORS
• 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, and after South Carolina, the Orange and Brown will head to Wisconsin for a pair of games next week. Then, BGSU will end the road odyssey with a trip to Alaska for the Great Alaskan Shootout.

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

TEST YOURSELVES AGAINST THE BEST: THE FALCONS VS. THE TOP 25
• Entering the South Carolina game, the Falcons have an all-time record of 5-41 against teams ranked in the top 25 in the Associated Press and/or USA Today polls. BGSU is 3-5 at home (1-2 at the Stroh Center), 1-26 on the road and 1-10 in neutral-site games vs. ranked opponents.

• BGSU is 2-14 against teams ranked in the top 10 of at least one poll. The wins came at home (Anderson Arena) vs. #10/10 Purdue in 1991, and against #7/8 Vanderbilt in the second round of the 2007 NCAA Championships in East Lansing, Mich.

• Of BGSU's five total victories over nationally-ranked teams, three have come over Vanderbilt, with BGSU downing Purdue and Dayton once each.

• Vanderbilt is the highest-ranked team the Falcons have ever defeated, as BGSU topped the #7/8 Commodores in the aforementioned 2007 game.

• In addition to the win over Purdue in '91, the Falcons' other home victory over a nationally-ranked team was a 65-40 triumph against #15/14 Dayton at the Stroh Center on Dec. 30, 2012. That UD game is the Falcons' most recent win over a top-25 team, and is also BG's largest margin of victory against a nationally-ranked club.

• Friday night marks the 10th time in school history that BGSU has faced a team ranked fifth or better in at least one poll, and the third time since Fred Chmiel took the Falcons' helm.

• The complete list of BGSU's game-by-game results vs. top-25 foes can be found in the PDF version of these notes.

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 one game), Kohler has compiled impressive totals of 777 points, 281 rebounds, 227 assists and 116 three-point field goals made. She is currently ranked on the BGSU career lists for points per game (13th, 12.33), assists per game (eighth, 3.60) and three-pointers made per game (sixth, 1.84).

LAST TIME OUT: BGSU DOWNS LOUISIANA, 82-67, IN SEASON OPENER
• BGSU 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 her first collegiate 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. After that run (which was actually an 11-0 run that began with the final bucket of the first half), 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).

FUN BELT
• 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. A total of 15 of those 23 contests came against Marshall, a former member of the MAC.

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.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE GAMECOCKS
• South Carolina, like BGSU, opened the 2025-26 season on Monday, and the Gamecocks rolled to a 94-54 victory over visiting Grand Canyon. SC, as mentioned earlier, is ranked number-two in the nation. Among the plethora of honors earned by the program, both Ta'Niya Latson and Joyce Edwards were named to Preseason All-America Teams. Latson, a transfer from Florida State, led the entire nation in scoring last season, at 25.2 ppg.

• The Gamecocks have gone 92-2 at home over the last six seasons (plus one game). Legendary coach Dawn Staley welcomed back seven letterwinners, including two starters, from a 2024-25 team that went 35-4 overall and tied for first in the Southeastern Conference with a 15-1 league ledger. The Gamecocks advanced to the national championship game last season, after winning the national title the previous year.

PERHAPS YOU'VE HEARD?
• BGSU head coach Fred Chmiel came to Northwest Ohio after spending eight seasons on Dawn Staley's staff at South Carolina. During that time, the Gamecocks went 247-32 overall and 116-12 in SEC action, winning two national championships.

• South Carolina was that duo's third partnership, as Chmiel also was an assistant coach on Staley's staff at Temple. And, he was an assistant coach for the WNBA's Charlette Sting in 2005, when Staley was on the roster.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons trail South Carolina, 2-0, in the all-time series. The Gamecocks picked up a 93-50 over visiting BG in the first round of the 1990 NCAA Championships (March 14, 1990). Two years ago, the number-one Gamecocks came to the Stroh Center and posted a 93-62 victory in Fred Chmiel's first season at the BGSU helm.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the South Carolina game, the Falcons will prepare for a Wednesday (Nov. 12) game at Wisconsin. That contest will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET at the Kohl Center and will be streamed via Big Ten Network +.

• BGSU then will face Wisconsin (Nov. 12) and Marquette (Nov. 14), before heading to the Great Alaska Shootout. The Falcons' first game in Alaska will be against UC Irvine (Nov. 21), and the Brown and Orange will meet either St. Thomas or the host school, Alaska-Anchorage, the following night (Nov. 22).

• The home opener is set for Sunday, Nov. 30, vs. Purdue Fort Wayne. 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.