BGSU Heads to Muncie for Valentine's Day Matchup with Cardinals

Saturday, February 14

Muncie, Ind.

11 a.m.

Bowling Green State University

Ball State

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Johnea Donahue | Feb. 10, 2026, v Buffalo

Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics

February 13, 2026 | Women's Basketball

BGSU Notes Ball State WBB Support BGSU WBB BGSU WBB Media Central

BGSU Battles Ball State in an 11:00 a.m. start at Worthen Arena

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2026 | 11:00 A.M. | WORTHEN ARENA | MUNCIE, IND.

BOWLING GREEN
FALCONS
(13-11, 5-7 MAC)

BALL STATE
CARDINALS
(20-5, 11-1 MAC)


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

WHAT, WHEN & WHERE
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, riding a two-game winning streak, hits the road to face one of the top teams in the Mid-American Conference this weekend. Head coach Fred Chmiel and the Falcons face Ball State University on Saturday morning (Feb. 14), with tipoff set for 11:00 a.m. at Worthen Arena in Muncie.

WHERE TO WATCH / LISTEN
• Saturday's Ball State bout will be streamed via ESPN+. Additionally, all 2025-26 games will have an audio stream, thanks to BG Falcon Media Sports.

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.

LAST TIME OUT: BGSU BESTS BUFFALO, 72-61, TUESDAY NIGHT
• Junior Paige Kohler scored a season-high 26 points on Tuesday evening (Feb. 10), leading the Falcons to a 72-61 win over Buffalo inside the Stroh Center.

• Kohler was 6-of-7 from the three-point arc for the Falcons (13-11, 5-7 MAC), and both her overall point total and her three-point field goal total were BGSU season bests. She had a team-leading nine rebounds on the night.

• Sophomore Lauren Gerken had 12 points to join Kohler in double digits, while senior Kaia Woods had nine points and five rebounds, and tied for game honors with six assists and three steals.

• Meg Lucas had a double-double for the Bulls (2-22, 0-12 MAC), with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Three of her teammates hit double digits in the scoring column as well, as Aniya Rowe scored 13 points, Ella Corry 12 and Diann Jackson 10.

• Kohler was a perfect 4-for-4 from downtown in the opening quarter, and the Falcons then held the Bulls to just five second-quarter points. BG led by a game-high 22 points late in the half before taking a 41-20 lead into the locker room.

• The lead was 22 points late in the third period before the Bulls mounted a comeback. A 23-7 run got the visitors as close as six points with just over four minutes to go, before junior Joniyah Bland-Fitzpatrick knocked down a three-point try. The lead reached 11 points when Gerken connected from the arc with 3:25 remaining, and after UB got within eight with 1:42 on the clock, four BGSU free throws made it a double-digit game once again.

• The Bulls had a 46-18 lead in points in the paint, but the Falcons had a 33-6 lead in points from the arc, hitting 11 three-pointers to UB's two.

MILLENNIUM FALCON: PK MOVING UP BGSU SCORING LIST
• Junior Paige Kohler reached the 1,000-point mark for her career on Jan. 21, and with a BGSU season-high 26 points on Tuesday (Feb. 10) vs. Buffalo, Kohler has now surpassed the 1,100-point plateau.

• Kohler became the 33rd player in program history to reach the millennium mark. And, she is tied for the seventh-fastest player to get to the 1,000-point plateau, having done so in her 80th career game in the Orange and Brown. The list of fastest Falcons to 1,000 points can be found on page 7 of these very notes.

• Kohler has moved into 27th place on the BGSU career scoring list, with 1,105 career points at BG entering the Ball State game.

SCHOOL. RECORD.
• The Falcons had 23 steals against Coastal Carolina on Saturday (Feb. 7), setting a new school record. The old record of 21 was achieved two times, just under a month apart. BGSU had 21 thefts vs. Texas Southern (Dec. 4, 1993) and Youngstown State (Jan. 3, 1994).

THE FALCONS VS. THE MAC
• Historically, the Falcons have been one of the top programs in the Mid-American Conference. Entering the Ball State game, BGSU has gone 474-281 (.628) in league regular-season games over the years. 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.

DONAHUE'S DOMINANCE
• Sophomore Johnea Donahue has had more than her share of well-rounded games in 2025-26. After missing two games due to injury in mid-December, Donahue returned to action and posted a double-double in the MAC opener against Kent State (Dec. 20). She had a game-high 19 points along with a game- and career-high 11 rebounds, and was named MAC Player of the Week for the second time this year.

• Donahue also had been named MAC P-O-T-W after stuffing the stat sheet with a career-high 24 points, six rebounds, six assists and six steals at Wisconsin (Nov. 12).

• Some of her other marquee performances this winter include...

• An eight-steal game – all in the first half and just two shy of the school single-game record – vs. Kentucky State (Dec. 3);
• A double double with 10 points and 10 boards at Eastern Michigan (Dec. 30);
• Her second eight-steal game of the season, along with 10 points, five assists and four rebounds, in the win at Northern Illinois (Jan. 10);
• A game-high six steals in back-to-back games, vs. Massachusetts (Jan. 24) and Akron (Jan. 28), with 21 points in the UA contest; and
• A 19-point, seven rebound performance at Toledo (Jan. 31), along with four steals.

• Currently, Donahue is averaging 3.86 steals per game this season, which leads the MAC and ranks fifth in the entire nation. And, she is ranked among the MAC leaders in total steals (first, 85 – 18 more than anyone else in the league), rebounds (17th), assists (seventh), free-throw pct. (15th) and assist/turnover ratio (ninth) as well.

DONAHUE = DEFENSE (ALTERNATE TITLE: "JD = JAW-DROPPING DEFENSE")
• As a freshman in 2024-25, Johnea Donahue had a total of 69 steals, tying her for eighth on the BGSU single-season list. She averaged 2.46 steals per game a year ago, ranking 10th on that school chart.

• This winter, Donahue has a MAC-leading 85 steals, ranking her sixth on the school single-season chart. As mentioned in the above note, Donahue is currently averaging 3.86 steals per game, and is on pace to shatter the BGSU record in that category. Currently, the single-season record is 3.07 spg, by Talita Scott in 1993-94.

• In fact, even if Donahue were to play in five-straight games without a single steal, she would still be on pace to break the BGSU seasonal record for steals per game. The single-season lists for steals and steals per game can be found on page 16.

• Donahue played in her 50th career game on Tuesday night (Feb. 10), and enters the Ball State contest with a career total of 154 steals. She is on pace to shatter the school's career record for steals per game as well as the single-season mark. The career steals lists can be found on page 24.

KOHLER, UNSURPRISINGLY, NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-MAC TEAM
• BGSU junior Paige Kohler was named to the 2025-26 Preseason All-MAC First Team, which was determined via voting by the league's 13 head coaches.

• Kohler, a native of Olmsted Falls, Ohio, 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, 13.6 points and 4.6 boards per game, finishing second on the club in both scoring and rebounding.

• This season, Kohler leads the Falcons in scoring, with 14.4 ppg, and she is second in assists (3.1 apg). Kohler is listed among the top players in the MAC in scoring (10th), assists (12th), three-pointers made per game (fourth), assist/turnover ratio (eighth) and minutes played (sixth).

• In her first two-plus seasons at BGSU, Kohler has compiled impressive totals of 1,105 points, 368 rebounds, 298 assists and 169 three-point field goals made. She has moved into 27th place on the BGSU career scoring list, and also is currently ranked on the school's career charts for points per game (10th, 12.85), assists per game (eighth, 3.47), three-pointers made (13th) and three-pointers made per game (fourth, 1.97).

• Kohler has been in the starting lineup for all 86 of BGSU's games since she arrived on campus.

SPEAKING OF THE STARTING LINEUP...
• Senior Kendal Moxey made her first start as a Falcon in Saturday's (Feb. 7) win over Coastal Carolina. The Falcons have used 10 different starting lineups this season to date, after the Brown and Orange utilized five different lineups during all of last year and six the previous season (2023-24).

• A total of 11 different players each have started at least one game this year. 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, 2025, when both were in the starting five.

• Junior Paige Kohler is the only player who has started all 24 games this year, while sophomore Johnea Donahue and junior Taya Ellis have made 22 and 19 starts, respectively. Lauren Gerken and Kaia Woods each have started 16 games.

GERKEN!
• Sophomore Lauren Gerken, after missing the final 21 games of last season due to injury, scored in double digits twice in the first 12 games this winter. But, she has hit double figures 10 times in the last 12 contests, including in nine of the Falcons' last 10 games. Gerken tied her career high with four three-point field goals made, en route to a season-high 18 points at Massachusetts (Jan. 24), and she had 13 points and six rebounds vs. Akron four days later (Jan. 28). She tied her season best with 18 points in the Coastal Carolina contest (Feb. 7).

• After making 14 three-point field goals in the first 14 games this season, Gerken has hit 22 long-distance shots over the last 10 contests.

• Gerken, who has played the equivalent of one college season, is averaging 8.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, and has hit 50 three-pointers in 34 career games.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE CARDINALS
• Ball State enters Saturday's contest with an overall record of 20-5, and the Cardinals are 11-1 in MAC play, good for second place in the 13-team conference. BSU has won five-straight games and 12 of the last 13 contests, including an 83-68 win at Eastern Michigan last time out (Feb. 10). The Cards are 9-2 at home, 9-3 on the road and 2-0 at neutral sites this season to date.

• Bree Salenbien has 15.1 points per game to lead the team, along with 7.5 rebounds per game. Tessa Towers has 14.6 ppg and a team-leading 8.1 rpg, while Grace Kingery has 12.8 ppg. Kingery leads the entire conference with 2.80 three-pointers made per game, and she is second in the league in three-point pct. (4.17).

• Head coach Brady Sallee and the Cardinals have put together that 20-5 record despite returning just four players, including zero starters, from last year's team. The 2024-25 squad went 27-8 overall and 16-2 in the MAC, winning the conference regular-season and tournament titles.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Ball State, 48-28, in the all-time series, but BSU has captured the last two meetings, including last season's lone matchup. The Cardinals won a 71-51 decision in Muncie just over a year ago (Feb. 5, 2025).

• BSU's two-game win streak – with both games taking place at Worthen Arena – came after the Falcons had won the two previous contests, nine days apart in March of 2023. BG picked up a home win on national television late in the regular season (81-76 in overtime; March 1, 2023), then downed the Cards in the MAC Tournament in Cleveland (70-61; March 10, 2023). Overall, the Falcons are 26-7 at home, 19-18 on the road and 3-3 in neutral-site meetings with the Cardinals over the years. More information can be found on page 26 of these very notes.

DOWN THE ROAD
• Following the BSU contest, the Falcons will return home for the next two games. BGSU will battle Western Michigan on Wednesday night (Feb. 18), with tipoff set for 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will face arch-rival Toledo in the 'Battle of I-75' next Saturday, Feb. 21, with that game set for a 2:00 p.m. start at the Stroh.

STORIES & LINKS
Feb. 5 - BG Falcon Media - From Sao Paulo to the Stroh: Moschen's Journey to BGSU
January - BGSU - The Game Within the Game: Kohler's Psychology of Winning
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.