Eagles Snap BGSU's Seven-Game Winning Streak, 86-76

Tuesday, December 30

Ypsilanti, Mich.

5 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

8-5,1-1MAC

Eastern Michigan

7-5,1-1MAC

Bowling Green

Eastern Mich.

Paige Kohler at South Carolina | Nov. 7, 2025

Photo by: Juan Blas/BGSU Athletics

December 30, 2025 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Support BGSU WBB

Four Falcons score in double figures in Ypsilanti on Tuesday evening

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

YPSILANTI, Mich. – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team saw a seven-game winning streak come to an end on Tuesday (Dec. 30), as the Falcons fell at Eastern Michigan University, 86-76, in Mid-American Conference action at the George Gervin GameAbove Center.

Sophomore Johnea Donahue had a double-double for the second-straight game, with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Falcons (8-5, 1-1 MAC). Four players scored in double digits for the Orange and Brown, led by junior Paige Kohler with 18. Senior Kaia Woods had 15 points and a team-leading four assists, while sophomore Lauren Gerken, like Donahue, scored 10 points.

Three players scored at least 20 points apiece for the Eagles (7-5, 1-1 MAC). Fernanda Ovalle led the way with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Peyton Hill had 22 points and Sisi Eleko 20. Ainhoe Cea scored 10 points and also had game-high totals of six assists and three steals.

The game saw the teams whistled for a combined 54 fouls and shoot a total of 81 free throws. The Eagles took 48 shots at the line, making 37 for a 77.1 percent success rate.

The Falcons went 27-of-33 (81.8%) at the stripe.

The game also featured 13 ties and a whopping 21 lead changes. After a first half in which neither team led by more than four points, the Eagles answered a 4-0 run by the Falcons with a 7-0 run of their own midway through the third period. The latter run included a pull-up jumper by Hill that broke a 43-43 tie, and the hosts never trailed again.

EMU had a 38-32 rebounding lead, and also had slim advantages in points in the paint (34-28) and points off turnovers (16-10). BGSU had a 17-2 lead in bench scoring.

NOTE OF THE NIGHT
• With her team-high total of 18 points on Tuesday, junior Paige Kohler now has 954 points in her BGSU career. She has moved into 35th place on the school's career scoring list, and is now 46 points away from becoming the 33rd Falcon in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark.

FIRST QUARTER
• The first quarter featured nine lead changes. Johnea Donahue opened the scoring with a pair of free throws, and Kaia Woods hit two layups as the lead changed hands and the Falcons took a 6-5 lead.
• Lauren Gerken took a pass from Paige Kohler and drained a three-point try for a 9-7 BG advantage, and Taya Ellis came up with a steal and hit a jumper on the ensuing possession for a 12-8 Falcon lead.
• The Eagles, however, answered with a 7-0 run that included a three-point play by Fernanda Ovalle and a pair of tosses by Sisi Eleko. Woods knocked down a long-distance shot to tie the game at 15-15, and two Donahue free throws made it a 17-all game.
• Ky'Aira Miller found Gerken for another three-pointer, before the Eagles closed the period with four points to take a 21-20 lead.

SECOND QUARTER
• Donahue knocked down a pair of free-throw attempts on the first possession of the period, and Ovalle answered with a layup to give EMU a 23-22. After the latter shot, neither team would hit a field goal for more than five minutes.
• Nine of the quarter's first 11 points came at the stripe before Ellis grabbed an offensive rebound and hit a nifty layup to tie the score, 27-27, with 4:12 left in the half.
• Woods made a layup, then found Jasmine Fearne for a three-pointer and a 32-29 lead. The Eagles scored four consecutive points, with a Brooklyn Thrash layup giving the hosts the lead, but Kohler knocked down a long-distance shot, and after Ovalle answered from the arc, Ellis hit two charity tosses. Kendall Moxey's turnaround one-hander in the final seconds gave the Orange and Brown a 39-37 lead at the intermission.

THIRD QUARTER
• The fouls began to accumulate for each team in the third quarter. Gerken and Ellis each were whistled for their third foul of the game within the first 25 seconds of the period. Woods hit a pull-up jumper, and Kohler drew Ovalle's third foul, with the ensuing free throws giving the Falcons a 43-40 lead.
• But, Eleko answered with a three-point play, and a Peyton Hill jumper was followed by two Eleko free throws, with the 7-0 run giving the hosts a 47-43 lead.
• Ellis, however, backed Eleko into the paint before drawing the EMU post's third foul, and Ellis hit the resulting free throws. But, Ellis would be assessed her fourth foul moments later and two Eleko tosses were followed by an Ovalle layup and a six-point lead. Moxey hit a nifty reverse layup, but the EMU lead would reach nine points in the final minute of the quarter, after a Hill three-pointer. Emily Siesel's free throws made it a 56-49 score after 30 minutes.
• Heading into the fourth quarter, three BGSU players and four EMU starters each had at least three fouls.

FOURTH QUARTER
• The Falcons cut the deficit to just three points on layups from Donahue and Kohler, with Eleko drawing her fourth foul during that time. But, after EMU hit two free throws (in five attempts) over the next 30 seconds, Hill's and-one layup and free throw put the hosts back up by eight, 61-53.
• Donahue answered with a layup, and Jaedyn Cook's jumper got BG within four, but Thrash hit a corner three. Woods converted a layup in traffic, and Gerken made a pair of free throws out of the media timeout, cutting the EMU lead to 66-61, but the Falcons would draw no closer.
• After an Ovalle layup, Woods drove and drew Eleko's fifth foul, with the resulting free throws making it a 68-63 game, but Ovalle answered with a corner three. Kohler drilled a long-range shot, but after a pair of Hill free throws with just over two minutes to go, EMU rebounded a BG miss, and Ovalle's two tosses gave the Eagles a 75-66 lead with 1:22 to go.
• With the exception of a late Kohler three-point play, the bulk of the final 82 seconds was an extended parade to the free-throw line.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons will begin the 2026 portion of the schedule at home on Saturday (Jan. 3), taking on Central Michigan in a 2:00 p.m. start at the Stroh Center.
• Then, the Orange and Brown will return to the road for the following two games, against Northern Illinois (Sat., Jan. 10) and Western Michigan (Wed., Jan. 14), before coming back home to face Miami on Saturday, Jan. 17).

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.