Buoyed By Bland-Fitzpatrick, BG Bench has B!G Day in 93-82 Win over CCU

Saturday, February 7

Bowling Green, Ohio

2 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

12-11,4-7MAC

Coastal Carolina

11-14,4-8Sun Belt

Coastal Carolina

Bowling Green

Joniyah Bland-Fitzpatrick exploded for a career-high 21 points in Saturday's win

Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics

Buoyed By Bland-Fitzpatrick, BG Bench has B!G Day in 93-82 Win over CCU

February 07, 2026 | Women's Basketball

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Junior has 21 of team's 52 bench points; Falcons set school record with 23 steals

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Junior Joniyah Bland-Fitzpatrick scored 19 of her career-high 21 points in the second half on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 7), as the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team downed Coastal Carolina University, 93-82. The game, part of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, was held at the Stroh Center.

Bland-Fitzpatrick was one of five players in double digits in the scoring column for the Falcons (12-11 [4-7 Mid-American Conference]). Sophomore Lauren Gerken scored 18, with senior Kaia Woods adding 12, redshirt junior Jasmine Fearne 11 and junior Paige Kohler 10.

Bland-Fitzpatrick went 10-for-12 from the field in Saturday's win.

In addition to her 12 points, Woods had game-high totals of seven assists and six steals, as BGSU had a school-record 23 steals as a team. Sophomore Laila Harrison had five steals – in just over three minutes of action – while soph Johnea Donahue had four steals in the win.

Tessa Grady had 21 points for the Chanticleers (11-14 [4-8 Sun Belt Conference]), while Kinsea Grimes scored 18, Olivia Klanac 13, D'Yanis Jiminez 11 and Tracey Hueston 10.

BGSU shot 58.9 percent from the field, and the Falcons shot 50% or better in each quarter, going an otherworldly 9-of-11 (91.8%) in the fourth period.

The Falcons had advantages of 37-24 in points off of turnovers and 40-32 in points in the paint, and BGSU got a whopping 52 points from players off the bench.

NOTE OF THE DAY
• The Falcons, as mentioned, had 23 steals to set 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).

BONUS NOTE OF THE DAY
• BGSU is now 4-2 in games in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, and the Falcons have a four-game winning streak in the competition, which is in its third year. After losses to Texas State and Troy in 2023-24, the Falcons posted wins over Southern Miss and Arkansas State last season before downing Louisiana and CCU this season.

AMAZING STAT OF THE DAY
• Sophomore Laila Harrison entered Saturday's game with a career total of nine steals in 45 games as a Falcon. She had seven steals this season, with a single-game high of two steals on three occasions.
• On Saturday, Harrison had five steals in just over three minutes of action (3:04, to be exact).

ALSO NOTEWORTHY
• Senior Kendal Moxey made her first start as a Falcon on Saturday, joining Woods, Donahue, Kohler and Fearne in the starting lineup. BGSU has used 10 different starting lineups this season, and 11 of the Falcons' 13 players have started at least one game.

Some highlights from today's win‼️📹#AyZiggy | #EarnIt pic.twitter.com/ULD0ZhLodf
— BGSU Women's Basketball (@BGSUWBB) February 8, 2026

FIRST QUARTER
• The Falcons got out to a fast start, taking a 9-0 lead on three-point field goals by Kaia Woods, Paige Kohler and Jasmine Fearne. Following Fearne's triple, the Chanticleers used a timeout just over three minutes into the game.
• The visitors got on the board on a D'Yanis Jiminez layup out of the break, but Fearne knocked down two more triples less than a minute apart, and the redshirt junior then fed Woods for a jumper and a 17-4 lead just over halfway through the quarter.
• Lauren Gerken's triple made it a 20-7 game with 2:20 left in the period, but the Chants came roaring back, going on a 13-3 run over the final 2:08. Tessa Grady scored five-straight points, and after a pair of Kohler free throws, Kinsea Grimes hit two charity tosses, then a three-pointer. Kristin Williams ended the first-period scoring with a triple that brought CCU within three points, at 23-20.

SECOND QUARTER
• Grady opened the second-period scoring with a three-pointer that tied the contest, and a CCU steal led to a Jimenez layup just over three minutes into the quarter. That extended the visiting team's run to 18-3 and gave the Chants a 25-23 lead.
• Fearne found Kohler for a three-pointer and Fearne knocked down a jumper for a 28-25 BG lead. Grimes answered with a layup, but a Woods free throw began a 10-2 run for the Falcons. Kohler hit a step-back jumper, and a Ky'Aira Miller steal led to a transition layup for Johnea Donahue. After a bucket by the visitors, Miller's triple gave the home team a 36-29 lead, and Gerken's jumper put the Orange and Brown ahead by nine.
• The lead remained nine points at the half, as Joniyah Bland-Fitzpatrick scored with just over a minute on the clock, then found Donahue for a layup with 22 seconds to go in the period.

THIRD QUARTER
• The lead reached 11 points early in the second half, as Woods hit a floater, then found Kendal Moxey for a layup 40 seconds later. But, back-to-back triples by Grady and Olivia Klanac cut into the lead, and a Grady layup made it a three-point game.
• Gerken stopped that run momentarily, but a pair of Klanac free throws were followed by a Tracey Hueston layup, cutting the Falcons' lead to just one point, 49-48.
• Gerken, however, grabbed an offensive rebound and hit a shot while being fouled, knocking down the free-throw try. And, on BG's next possession, Gerken corralled another offensive board, hit another shot and completed another three-point play. Two Woods shots at the stripe capped an 8-0 run for the Falcons.
• The visitors made four-straight free throws, but Bland-Fitzpatrick then made a pair of and-one layups just under 90 seconds apart. Her latter bucket gave the Falcons a 62-54 lead with just over two minutes left in the period.
• Bland-Fitzpatrick made a pull-up jumper, and after a steal by Donahue, Miller's three-pointer put the Falcons ahead by 12, 67-55, with a minute left in the quarter.
• The Chanticleers, however, ended the period on a 7-0 run. Four of those points came at the stripe, and a steal by Williams late in the quarter led to a buzzer-beating trey by Grady, cutting BG's lead to 67-62.
• Gerken had eight points and four rebounds in the third quarter, while Bland-Fitzpatrick scored seven points in the period. But, Grady had 10 points and Hueston and Klanac eight apiece in the quarter for the Chants.

FOURTH QUARTER
• The visitors extended their run to 12-0 by scoring the first five points of the frenetic fourth quarter. After a Williams three-pointer, Grady was fouled attempting a trey, and made two of the shots to tie the game, 67-67, with 9:02 to go. The teams traded free throws, before Gerken's layup with 8:19 remaining gave the Falcons a 71-69 lead. That shot also gave BG the lead for good, although the outcome was far from decided.
• Jaedyn Cook's pass found Bland-Fitzpatrick cutting along the baseline for a crowd-pleasing layup and a four-point lead. Moments later, two Miller free throws gave BG a 76-71 advantage, and the Falcons nudged the lead to six points on two occasions, including a Bland-Fitzpatrick pull-up jumper and a driving layup by Woods. The latter play gave the hosts an 80-74 lead, but buckets by Williams and Grimes cut the margin to two midway through the quarter.
• Bland-Fitzpatrick drove and scored again, and after Grimes answered, Bland-Fitzpatrick converted another driving layup before Laila Harrison's steal and hoop gave the Falcons an 86-80 advantage.
• The aforementioned Grimes layup, which came with 3:59 left in the game, would be Coastal's final successful field goal of the night. BG ended the game on an 11-2 run.
• After Grimes split a pair of tosses, Bland-Fitzpatrick scored yet again, and the junior hit another layup with 1:28 to go, giving the hosts a 90-82 lead. Three BGSU free throws would close the scoring.
• Bland-Fitzpatrick had 12 points in the fourth quarter and 19 in the second half. As a team, BGSU shot 66.7% (18-of-27) from the field after halftime.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons will continue a two-game homestand on Tuesday night (Feb. 10), taking on Buffalo in a 7:00 p.m. start at the Stroh Center. BG will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day on Tuesday.

• Then, BGSU will head to Muncie to face Ball State next Saturday (Feb. 14). That game is set to begin at 11:00 a.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.