Falcons Face Flashes in Saturday's MAC Opener

Saturday, December 20

Bowling Green, Ohio

2 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Kent State

Paige Kohler, Emily Siesel | Dec. 16, 2025, v Le Moyne

Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics

December 19, 2025 | Women's Basketball

BGSU Notes Kent State WBB BGSU-KSU Rosters BGSU WBB Media Central Support BGSU WBB

Preseason conference favorites come to the Stroh for a 2 p.m. matchup

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2025 | 2:00 P.M. | STROH CENTER | BOWLING GREEN, OHIO

BOWLING GREEN
FALCONS
(7-4, 0-0 MAC)

vs.

KENT STATE
GOLDEN FLASHES
(5-6, 0-0 MAC)


WATCH: ESPN+ \| LISTEN: Falcon Media Sports \| LIVE STATS: BGSU-KSU \| TWITTER/X: @BGSUwbb \| INSTAGRAM: bgsuwbb

WHAT, WHEN & WHERE
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team closes a six-game homestand and also begins the conference schedule on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 20). Head coach Fred Chmiel and the Falcons face preseason Mid-American Conference favorite Kent State University in a 2:00 p.m. start at the Stroh Center.

• The current six-game homestand is the longest in program history.

WHERE TO WATCH / LISTEN
• Saturday's Kent State kerfuffle – as is the case with all of BGSU's home games – will be streamed via ESPN+. Additionally, all 2025-26 games will have an audio stream, thanks to Falcon Media Sports Network, with the KSU game airing on WBGU-FM 88.1 as well.

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.

THE FALCONS VS. THE MAC
• Historically, the Falcons have been one of the top programs in the Mid-American Conference. Entering the Kent State contest, BGSU has gone 469-274 (.631) 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 13 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.

• BGSU leads the all-time series with all 12 conference foes, making the Falcons – obviously – the only team in the league with a winning record against every other school. BG also has the most overall victories and highest overall winning pct. of any league institution.

B!G WINS
• The Falcons broke at least one individual or team record in three-straight games to begin the month of December. BGSU picked up a 103-32 win over Kentucky State on Dec. 3, and the 71-point margin of victory was the largest in school history, by 13 points. The previous record was a 58-point win over Taylor, 44 years ago.

• Then, the Falcons broke that four-day-old record with an 83-point win, topping Defiance by a 118-35 final (Dec. 7). The list of largest margins of victory in school history...
B!G WINS: BGSU'S LARGEST MARGINS OF VICTORY
Date Opponent (Site) Margin   Result
Dec. 7, 2025   Defiance (H)    83   W 118-35
Dec. 3, 2025   Kentucky State (H)   71   W 103-32
Dec. 5, 1981   Taylor (N) 58   W 94-36
Feb. 11, 1975 Ohio Northern (H) 52   W 77-25
Dec. 12, 2021 Notre Dame Coll. (H) 52   W 100-48
1973-74 Wayne State (Unknown) 51   W 77-26
Nov. 16, 2024 St. Bonaventure (H) 51   W 92-41
On Four Occasions... 50

A TRIPLE-DOUBLE – THE FIRST ONE EVER! – FOR PK10
• While BGSU set team marks in the Kentucky State and Defiance games, junior Paige Kohler set an individual record in Sunday's (Dec. 14) Lourdes matchup. Kohler recorded the first triple-double in BGSU women's basketball history, with 17 points along with game- and career-high totals of 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

• Sunday's game was the 1,491st in program history.
BGSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TRIPLE-DOUBLES
Player Date & Opponent       Statistics
Paige Kohler Dec. 14, 2025, vs. Lourdes   17 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists
That's it. That's the list.

CENTURY MARK(S) (AND STROH RECORD[S])
• In the win over Kentucky State, BGSU reached the 100-point mark for the first time since January of 2023, and the 29th time in school history. Then, the Falcons made it 30 such games with the victory against Defiance, and 31 with Sunday's (Dec. 14) triumph over Lourdes.

• BGSU's 103 points vs. the Thorobreds marked the Falcons' highest-ever point total at the Stroh Center, and the highest total in any game in over two decades (since a 115-84 win at then-IPFW in November of 2004). BG had not scored as many as 103 points in a home game in more than 30 years (since a 108-91 win over Kent State in January of 1994 at venerable Anderson Arena).

• Then, BGSU amassed a total of 118 points vs. Defiance, setting a Stroh Center record for the second time in under a week. The 118-point total is the third-highest in school history.

• The school record for points in a game is 127, vs. Valparaiso in January of 1992 at "The House That Roars," and BGSU had a 121-point output in a win over Kent (Feb. 23, 1991) at Anderson.

• The complete list of BG's 100-point games can be found on page 15 of these notes.

CENTURY CLUB
• In the first 200 games the Falcons played at the Stroh Center, BGSU never scored more than 102 points in a contest. Now, BG has surpassed that total in three consecutive games in the building.

• The Falcons had 103 points vs. Kentucky State on Dec. 3, setting a new arena record for points in a game. Then, four days later, BGSU shattered that four-day-old record with 118 points against Defiance.

• On Sunday, BG scored 104 points vs. the Gray Wolves, marking the Falcons' third-straight triple-digit scoring game.

THREE IN A ROW
• BGSU's recent streak marks just the second time in school history that the Falcons have scored at least 100 points in three consecutive games. BG picked up a 109-96 win at Kent State on Jan. 30, 1988, then had 101 points in back-to-back home victories, against Central Michigan (101-78; Feb. 3, 1988) and Eastern Michigan (101-67; Feb. 6, 1988).

UNPACK THOSE BAGS
• The Falcons definitely racked up the frequent flyer miles during the month of November, as BGSU opened the 2025-26 season with six consecutive games away from home.

• That six-game odyssey included trips to the states of Louisiana, South Carolina (to face the #2/2-ranked Gamecocks), and Wisconsin, before BGSU headed all the way to Alaska for a pair of games in the ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout.

• Now, the Falcons are playing six consecutive home games, the longest regular-season homestand in program history. BGSU has defeated Purdue Fort Wayne (Nov. 30), Kentucky State (Dec. 3), Defiance (Dec. 7), Lourdes (Dec. 14) and Le Moyne (Dec. 16) to begin the homestand, with Saturday's (Dec. 20) Kent State game wrapping up that six-game stretch.

• BGSU did play six-straight games at the Stroh in 2014, but the first four came in the WNIT in March of that year, before the Falcons began the 2014-15 regular-season schedule with a pair of November home games.

• Prior to this season, the Falcons' longest-ever regular-season homestand was five games, which occurred on two occasions – Jan. 22 to Feb. 3, 1982; and Dec. 30, 2012, to Jan. 16, 2013.

DONAHUE IS DOMINANT
• Sophomore Johnea Donahue has had several well-rounded games, to say the least, in the early portion of the 2025-26 campaign. Donahue had one of the best games of her young career when the Falcons took on Wisconsin (Nov. 12). The guard set career bests in both points (24) and assists (six), and stuffed the stat sheet in several other categories as well, with six rebounds and six steals.

• Donahue again led the Falcons in scoring two nights later, with 16 points at Marquette, and had impressive stats lines in each of BGSU's two games in Alaska as well, averaging 12.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.5 apg and 2.5 spg vs. UC Irvine and Anchorage.

• She scored 12 points and added five boards, five dimes and seven steals against Purdue Fort Wayne in the home opener (Nov. 30). Donahue had a pair of key defensive rebounds as BGSU got back-to-back stops with a one-point lead in the final minute. Then, she made two free throws with 3.5 seconds to go, and deflected a pass to prevent the Mastodons from attempting a game-tying shot.

• Then, Donahue had 13 points, six assists and eight steals – with all eight coming in the first half – against Kentucky State (Dec. 3), before amassing nine points, eight boards, five assists and three blocked shots against Defiance.

• Donahue, who sat out the Lourdes and Le Moyne games, is averaging 3.89 steals per game, which leads the MAC and ranks sixth in the entire nation. And, she is ranked among the MAC leaders in total steals (first), scoring (11th), assists (seventh), free-throw percentage (third) and assist/turnover ratio (fifth) as well.

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 in 2024-25, 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).

• This season, Kohler leads the Falcons in scoring, with 14.8 ppg, and she is second in assists (4.0 apg). She is listed among the MAC leaders in scoring (sixth), assists (eighth), three-pointers (also eighth), assist/turnover ratio (third) and minutes (sixth).

• In her first two seasons at BGSU (plus 11 games), Kohler has compiled impressive totals of 922 points, 325 rebounds, 267 assists and 136 three-point field goals made. She is currently ranked on the BGSU career lists for points per game (10th, 12.63), assists per game (seventh, 3.66), three-pointers made (18th) and three-pointers made per game (sixth, 1.86).

• Kohler has been in the starting lineup for all 73 of BGSU's games since she arrived on campus.

SPEAKING OF THE STARTING LINEUP
• When BGSU took the court on Tuesday morning (Dec. 16) vs. Le Moyne, junior Jaedyn Cook was in the starting lineup for the first time this season. Tuesday marked the sixth different starting lineup the Falcons have had in 11 games this year, after the Brown and Orange had five different lineups during all of last season.

• A total of 10 players have started at least one game this year to date. That group includes a pair of fourth-year Falcons (senior Emily Siesel and redshirt junior Jasmine Fearne) who had never started a collegiate contest prior to Nov. 22. Junior Paige Kohler is the only player who has started all 11 games this season, while classmate Taya Ellis and sophomore Johnea Donahue have made 10 and nine starts, respectively.

BGSU TABBED FOR SIXTH
• The Falcons were picked to finish sixth in the conference in 2025-26, according to the league's preseason poll, which was the result of voting by the head coaches.

• Kent State was the choice of the coaches to win the MAC regular-season crown in '25-26. The Golden Flashes received 133 points and five of the 13 first-place votes. Toledo garnered 118 points and two first-place votes, followed by MAC newcomer Massachusetts (115 points, three first-place votes), Ball State (112, three), Central Michigan (105) and the Falcons (101).

• The complete poll, as well as the Preseason All-MAC Team, can be found elsewhere in these notes.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE GOLDEN FLASHES
• Kent State heads into Saturday's game with a 5-6 record, and the Golden Flashes are coming off of a 117-37 win over Davis & Elkins on Monday (Dec. 15). KSU is 3-0 at home, 1-5 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site games.

• Mya Babbitt has a team-leading 15.7 points per game, as seven players have scored at least 6.9 ppg to date. Riley Rismiller leads the team with 7.3 rebounds per outing, and the Flashes have shot 40.8 percent from the field and an impressive 78.7% from the free-throw line, ranking 19th in the nation in the latter category.

• Head coach Todd Starkey welcomed back eight letterwinners, including three starters, from the 2024-25 team that went 21-12 overall and 12-6 in the MAC. Both Babbitt and Janae Tyler were named to the Preseason All-MAC Team for '25-26.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Kent State, 63-39, in the all-time series, and the teams split their 2024-25 meetings. The Golden Flashes captured an 81-71 decision on New Year's Day in the MAC opener in Kent (Jan. 1, 2025), with the Falcons picking up an 84-61 win at the Stroh Center two months later (March 5, 2025).

• KSU has won two of the last three meetings after BGSU had captured six-straight contests from 2021-23. Overall, the Falcons are 32-14 at home, 24-23 on the road and 7-2 in neutral-site meetings with the Flashes over the years. More information can be found on page 21 of the PDF version of these very notes.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the KSU contest, the Falcons will take a break for the holidays before head to Ypsilanti, Mich., for the conference road opener vs. Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, Dec. 30. That game will begin at 5:00 p.m. at the George Gervin GameAbove Center.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will return home to face Central Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 3, with tipoff set for 2:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.

STORIES & LINKS
Dec. 18 - Lorain Morning Journal - Olmsted Falls Grad Kohler Looks to Lead Falcons
Nov. 25 - Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum - Walk-on to Captain: Siesel's Patience Pays Off at Bowling Green

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.