BG Beats the Bobcats, 60-56, in a Wild One in Athens

Wednesday, February 25

Athens, Ohio

7 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

16-12,8-8MAC

Ohio

15-11,9-6MAC

OT 1

Bowling Green

Ohio

Taya Ellis had 16 points, 16 rebounds & 4 blocked shots in the win in Athens

Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics

February 25, 2026 | Women's Basketball

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Ellis has 16 & 16 as the Falcons outlast Ohio in OT

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

ATHENS, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, trailing by four points in overtime, ended the game on an 8-0 run to come away with a 60-56 victory over Ohio University Wednesday night (Feb. 25). The Mid-American Conference thriller took place at the Convocation Center.

Junior Taya Ellis had a monster game, with 16 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Falcons (16-12, 6-8 MAC), who have won three-straight games and five of the last six contests. Ellis's point total included the tying bucket and go-ahead free throws in OT.

Junior Paige Kohler just missed a double-double of her own, with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Lauren Gerken chipped in with 11 points.

The Falcons led for 39:22 of the 40 minutes of regulation, but Bailey Tabeling's jumper gave the Bobcats (15-11, 9-6 MAC) the lead for the first time with just 1:26 left in the fourth quarter. That lead lasted for just 14 seconds, as Kohler was fouled and hit two free throws for a 51-50 BGSU lead.

BG led by two with just 1.6 seconds to go after a Johnea Donahue free throw. But, after Ohio called a timeout, a long inbound pass found ReRe Jennings under the basket. Her catch-and-shoot layup hit the underside of the rim, but the freshman quickly got the rebound and laid the ball back up and in, beating the buzzer and forcing overtime.

Then, in the OT period, Elli Garnett's three-pointer gave the 'Cats a 56-52 lead with exactly three minutes to go. But, Ohio would not score again.

Donahue hit a pair of charity tosses with 2:11 to go, and Ellis grabbed an offensive board and scored in traffic – BGSU's first field goal since the third quarter – to tie the game with 1:27 remaining. Then, after a Delaney Ranallo three-pointer was off the mark, Ellis grabbed that rebound, was fouled and hit a pair of shots for a 58-56 lead with 1:10 on the clock.

Ranallo missed another three-point try, with the ball going out of bounds to BG. The Falcons used nearly all of the shot clock on the next possession, with a three-point try missing the mark and Tabeling grabbing the rebound.

On the following possession, as Tabeling drove toward the hoop, Kohler knocked the ball away, came up with a steal and was fouled with 4.9 seconds left. The junior hit both free-throw tries to make it a two-possession game.

Tabeling led the Bobcats with 18 points, while Garnett had 12.

BGSU's magic number to clinch a MAC Tournament berth is one. One BG win or one Eastern Michigan loss to solidify a trip to Cleveland for the Orange and Brown.

NOTE OF THE NIGHT: TAYA'S TAKING OVER
• As of Feb. 17 – just eight short days ago – junior Taya Ellis had recorded one double-double this season and two in her BGSU career. Now, Ellis has posted a double-double in each of the last three games (all wins).
• The Toronto, Ontario, native had 13 points and 10 rebounds in last Wednesday's (Feb. 18) win over Western Michigan, and she recorded 10 points and 11 boards in Saturday's (Feb. 21) victory vs. Toledo, before going off for 16 and 16 Wednesday night in Athens.
• For Ellis, the rebound total against Ohio was a new career best.

BONUS NOTE OF THE NIGHT: FREE BASKETBALL!
• Wednesday's game marked BGSU's first overtime contest of the season. In the history of the program, the Falcons are now an even 29-29 in games that have gone to OT.
• BGSU is just 6-16 in home overtime games, but the Falcons have improved to 20-10 in road games that require OT (and BG is 3-3 in neutral-site OT contests).
• Wednesday was BG's first-ever overtime win over the Bobcats. The Falcons are now 1-4 in OT games vs. Ohio through the years.

FIRST QUARTER
• BGSU got off to a quick start, as Taya Ellis put back a teammate's miss on the first possession, and Paige Kohler took a Johnea Donahue pass and knocked down a three-point try just 43 seconds into the game, for a 5-0 lead.
• The Falcons went scoreless for roughly three minutes, but allowed just a three-pointer in that time. Kohler hit a second-chance jumper just over four minutes into the game, and Ellis was fouled while grabbing an offensive rebound and made both ensuing free-throw tries. When the junior stole the ball and converted a layup, the Orange and Brown had an 11-3 lead.
• Ellis had six points and five rebounds just over five minutes into the contest.
• Out of the media timeout, Lauren Gerken grabbed an offensive rebound and hit a short jumper. Bailey Tabeling answered with a three-pointer, after the Bobcats had gotten off to a 1-for-14 shooting start to the game. But, Gerken answered from the top of the arc, giving the Falcons a 16-6 lead.
• When Kohler found a cutting Jasmine Fearne for a baseline floater in the final minute of the period, the Falcons had a 19-8 lead. Ohio was just 3-of-17 from the field in the game's first 10 minutes.

SECOND QUARTER
• Fearne took a Kohler pass and knocked down a three-point try on the first possession of the second period, and the Falcons had a 22-8 lead. The Bobcats scored the next four points, including a Bella Ranallo three-pointer, and after Donahue split a pair of free-throw tries, Ohio scored five-straight points, with Tabeling's triple cutting BG's lead to 23-17.
• But, Donahue found Kohler for a corner three, and Ellis worked inside for a short jumper. When Gerken hit a layup off of a Kohler inbound pass, BGSU had a 30-20 lead with a minute left in the half, and the Falcons took that 10-point advantage into the break.
• After going 3-for-17 from the floor in the opening quarter, the 'Cats went 3-of-13 in the second, for a 20 percent first-half shooting success rate.

THIRD QUARTER
• Joniyah Bland-Fitzpatrick found an open Ellis for a layup on the Falcons' second possession of the second half. Tabeling answered with a three-pointer, but after a Kohler defensive rebounds, Bland-Fitzpatrick scored in transition.
• Then, after three BGSU offensive rebounds, Fearne took a Kaia Woods pass and connected from the arc for a 37-23 Falcon lead. Tabeling hit another three, and after Ellis powered inside for a layup, ReRe Jennings made a pair of buckets around the media timeout, cutting the BG lead to 39-32.
• Gerken put back a teammate's missed shot, and after an Ohio miss, Donahue split a pair of Bobcat defenders for an and-one layup. The sophomore completed the three-point play for a 44-32 lead.
• Kohler's layup two minutes later restored BG's 12-point lead, before Ohio scored the final three points of the period. After that Kohler hoop, which came with 2:07 remaining in the third quarter, the Falcons would not make another field goal until overtime.

FOURTH QUARTER
• Aliah McWhorter scored an early bucket, then made a pair of free throws, for the only points in the first 2:57 of the quarter. Gerken was fouled and made both shots, but Ranallo's corner three cut the BG lead to just four points, 48-44.
• After a Kohler free throw, McWhorter's driving layup made it a one-possession game midway through the period. Neither team would score for over two minutes, before Tabeling's layup with 2:56 remaining cut the Falcons' lead to a single point.
• BGSU turned the ball over, but Ellis blocked a McWhorter layup attempt. But, the Falcons were called for an offensive foul, and Tabeling's pull-up jumper with 1:26 to go gave the 'Cats the lead for the first time all night, 51-50.
• That lead lasted only 12 seconds, as Kohler was fouled and made two charity tosses with 1:12 remaining. Ohio's next possession saw Jennings miss a step-back three-point try with the shot clock winding down. Kohler grabbed the rebound, and BGSU got the ball over midcourt and used some clock, taking a timeout with 30.6 seconds left.
• Out of the timeout, however, the 'Cats came up with a steal, and used a timeout of their own, with 27.2 seconds to go. On the next possession, Ky'Aira Miller knocked the ball away from a driving Ranallo, and the ball went out of bounds to Ohio with 9.5 ticks remaining. Tabeling drove, spun and shot, but her short jumper was off the mark. Ellis corralled the miss and BG used a timeout with 2.3 seconds left.
• BG inbounded the ball to Donahue, who was fouled and split her free-throw tries with 1.6 seconds to play. Ohio called a timeout, then inbounded the ball just over midcourt. Garnett's long pass found Jennings under the basket, who caught the pass in the air and attempted a layup, all in one motion. That shot hit the underside of the rim and came straight down to Jennings, who put the follow-up try back up and in before the buzzer sounded.
• The Falcons had led for 39:22 to that point, while Ohio had led for 14 seconds, but the teams were headed to overtime.

OVERTIME
• After each team misfired on their opening possession of the extra session, a BG foul preceded a free throw by Ranallo that put the Bobcats ahead by one. The Falcons missed a three-point try, as did Elli Garnett at the other end of the court. But, Ranallo tracked down the rebound in the corner and found Garnett for another attempt. This time, her triple try was on the mark, and Ohio had a 56-52 lead with exactly three minutes to go.
• And, BGSU turned the ball over on the next possession, giving it back to the Bobcats midway through the period. However, McWhorter missed a layup, and Donahue was fouled with 2:11 left and hit both shots.
• Asiah Baxter missed a three-point attempt, and BG also missed a shot from the arc. But, Ellis was there to get the rebound, and the junior put the ball back up and in with three Bobcats around her, tying the score with 1:27 remaining.
• That Ellis hoop ended a stretch of 15:40 without a made field goal for the Falcons. More importantly, it tied the game at 56-56.
• Then, Ranallo missed a three-point attempt, with Ellis rebounding the ball and getting fouled by McWhorter. With 1:10 remaining, Ellis made both free throws to give BG a 58-56 lead.
• Another Ranallo triple try was off the mark, with the ball going out of bounds to BGSU with 44.7 ticks on the clock. BG used all of the shot clock on the next possession, before a three-point attempt was no good. Tabeling rebounded the ball, but on the ensuing possession, Kohler knocked the ball away from Tabeling as she drove to the basket. Kohler grabbed the loose ball and was fouled with 4.9 seconds to go.
• The junior hit both free throws to make it a two-possession game, and Ellis blocked a Jennings shot out of bounds. Then, Bland-Fitzpatrick deflected Tabeling's inbound pass as the final seconds ticked away.

NOTES & NUMBERS
• Johnea Donahue had three steals in the win, increasing her school-record total to 107 this season to date.
• Jasmine Fearne had eight points in the win, with Donahue scoring seven.
• The Falcons shot 29.2 percent from the field (19-of-65), but held the Bobcats to just a 25.7% success rate (19-for-74).
• The teams combined to go just 13-for-72 from three-point range. Ohio took 40 of those 72 attempts, making eight.
• The Bobcats had a 56-51 rebounding advantage, and Ohio had 20 offensive boards and a 24-15 lead in second-chance points. But, the Falcons had a 26-18 lead in points in the paint.
• BGSU took seven more free throws than the 'Cats, and the Falcons made seven more free-throw tries as well. BG was 17-for-24 (70.8%) from the stripe, compared to 10-of-17 (58.8%) for the hosts.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons are off this weekend, before returning to the road for another midweek MAC matchup next week. BGSU will close the road portion of the schedule with a trip to mid-Michigan, taking on Central Michigan next Wednesday (March 4). That game will begin at 6:30 p.m. at McGuirk Arena.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will conclude the regular-season slate three days later (Saturday, March 7), facing Northern Illinois on Senior Day at the Stroh Center. Tipoff for that game is set for 2:00 p.m.

FOR MORE INFORMATION...
• For more information on 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.