Third-Quarter Run Propels Falcons to Wednesday-Night Win at Western, 61-54

Wednesday, January 14

Kalamazoo, Mich.

7 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

10-6,3-2MAC

Western Michigan

5-10,2-3MAC

Bowling Green

Western Mich.

Kaia Woods | Nov. 14, 2025, at Marquette

Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics

Third-Quarter Run Propels Falcons to Wednesday-Night Win at Western, 61-54

January 14, 2026 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)BGSU Highlights Support BGSU WBB

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team ended the third period on a double-digit run, then held off a spirited fourth-quarter comeback attempt by Western Michigan University on Wednesday evening (Jan. 14). The Falcons downed the Broncos, 61-54, in Mid-American Conference action at University Arena.

Sophomore Lauren Gerken and senior Kaia Woods each scored 15 points for the Falcons (10-6, 3-2 MAC), while junior Paige Kohler added 13. Gerken knocked down four three-point field-goal attempts as BG went 9-of-24 from the arc.

BGSU scored the final 11 points of the third period to take a 48-34 lead, and the Falcons still led by 13 points after Jaedyn Cook's baby hook with just over four minutes remaining in the game. The Broncos (5-10, 2-3 MAC) scored the next eight points to get within five with 1:12 left, but Western would draw no closer.

Sophomore Johnea Donahue scored eight points and had five assists and three steals. Junior Taya Ellis also had three steals, including one in the late stages of the game to douse any hopes the Broncos had for a miracle finish.

Kailey Starks (20) and Alli Carlson (18) combined for 38 of WMU's 54 points on the night.

NOTE OF THE NIGHT
• With 13 points in Wednesday's win at Western, junior Paige Kohler now has 988 career points at BGSU. She needs just 12 more points to become the 33rd player in program history to score 1,000 career points.
• Kohler currently is tied for 33rd in BGSU history in career points, and she is 10th on the school career list for points per game (12.67).

FIRST QUARTER
• Lauren Gerken, Kaia Woods and Paige Kohler all connected from behind the three-point line within the first four minutes of the contest, with Kohler's triple giving the Falcons a 9-7 lead. But, WMU's Alli Carlson then knocked down her second long-distance shot of the game, before a layup gave the Broncos a 12-10 lead at the evening's first media timeout.
• Woods tied the game on a nifty driving, spinning layup, and the speedy senior then drove the length of the court and found Kendal Moxey for a layup and a 14-12 lead. Moxey scored off of a Kohler inbound pass to make it a 6-0 run and a 16-12 lead with a minute to go in the period.
• Gerken was the victim of an over-the-back foul on a defensive rebound and hit a pair of free throws, before Alli Harness snapped BG's 8-0 run with a layup in the final seconds of the period, cutting the Falcons' lead to 18-14.

SECOND QUARTER
• Donahue opened the second-period scoring with a driving layup just over a minute into the quarter, hitting a free throw to complete the three-point play. That would be the only scoring by either team for the first three and a half minutes of the period.
• WMU's Kailey Starks stopped an 11-2 run with a corner three, but Woods found Gerken for a corner three of her own at the other end of the court, giving the Falcons a 24-17 lead. Moments later, Emily Siesel grabbed an errant WMU pass, took a return pass from Donahue and knocked down a trailing three for a 27-19 lead.
• But, Starks made a pair of charity tosses, then hit a layup for a three-point play, with the ensuing free throw cutting BG's lead to three points in the final minute of the half. And, after a foul with 15.4 seconds left in the half, Starks went back to the stripe and converted twice, making it a 27-26 game at the intermission.

THIRD QUARTER
• Carlson's three-pointer opened the second-half scoring to give the hosts a two-point lead. But, Woods tied the game with a driving layup on the ensuing possession, then hit a turnaround jumper in the paint on BG's next trip down the floor.
• After Carlson answered with a layup, Gerken's corner three gave BG a 34-31 lead. That began a sequence where sophomore then swatted a Harness shot into the crowd at the other end of the court, grabbed the rebound after a WMU miss one second later, and knocked down a shot from the other corner to put the Falcons up by six.
• Harness cut the lead in half, but Kohler hit a triple to apparently put BG back up by six heading into the media timeout. Upon review at the timeout, however, it was ruled that the shot came just after the shot clock expired.
• Two Woods free throws, though, were followed by a Kohler three-ball that did count, and the Falcons had a 7-0 run and a 44-34 lead as the Broncos used a timeout with 1:55 left in the period.
• The Falcons forced a turnover, and Woods hit a long two-pointer. Then, Woods found Donahue ahead of the pack for a layup and a 48-34 lead in the final minute of the period. BGSU had a 21-8 scoring advantage in the third quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER
• After two Bronco free throws, Starks was the recipient of a friendly bounce after a missed shot, and she laid the ball back up and in to get Western within 10 points. But, Kohler worked her way along the baseline and hit a nifty reverse layup.
• Carlson answered at the other end, but Woods hit an and-one jumper in the lane. Moments later, Kohler took a Gerken handoff and drained a shot from the top of the arc for a 55-42 BG lead.
• Jaedyn Cook picked up a pair of offensive rebounds on a possession that ended with the junior hitting a baby hook. BGSU's lead was 57-44 with 4:07 to go, but the hosts proceeded to mount a comeback.
• A Carlson jumper was followed by a Mary Clare Brusek three-pointer. The Broncos split a pair of free throws, then after a Gerken three-point try was halfway down but somehow did not drop, the hosts converted a pair of charity tosses to cut the BG lead to 57-52 with 1:12 remaining.
• The teams traded scoreless possessions before Donahue was fouled and hit both shots from the stripe with 33.7 seconds left. Carlson made a layup 13 seconds later, but after a timeout, BGSU inbounded the ball to Gerken, who was fouled and hit one free throw. Donahue contested a would-be Starks pass, forcing the WMU guard into a double-dribble.
• After a foul, two BG free-throw tries did not go, but Ellis stole a Bronco pass and was fouled with just 5.3 ticks remaining.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons will return home for the next two games, beginning with a contest against Miami on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 17). That game will begin at 4:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center, and it will be Alumni Day, with numerous former Falcon greats expected to be on hand.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will face Ohio next Wednesday (Jan. 21). That matchup is set for a 7:00 p.m. start at the Stroh.

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.