Bowling Green State University Athletics
Women's Basketball
Maggie Lucas
- Title:
- Assistant Women's Basketball Coach
Maggie Lucas enters her fourth season with the BGSU women's basketball program in 2026-27. Lucas, an All-American at Penn State and an WNBA standout, joined head coach Fred Chmiel's staff in May of 2023.
“Maggie is one of the hardest-working individuals I have ever been around,” said Chmiel at the time of the hiring. “She played at Penn State when I coached there, and is a fierce competitor. She has translated that into the coaching realm.
“Maggie will be a great asset to our players, to our community and to the University as well.”
In the new staff's first season at BGSU, Chmiel, Lucas and Company guided the Falcons to a winning record and a postseason tournament berth despite a veritable plethora of injuries.
After seeing the departure of four starters from the previous year's team, the Falcons were picked to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference in that 2023-24 campaign. Despite losing an estimated 126 player-games to injury, BGSU finished in a tie for fourth in the final league standings and advanced to the WNIT.
Four Falcons earned conference honors, including a pair of newcomers that joined the program shortly after the current staff arrived at BGSU. Morgan Sharps and Amy Velasco each were named to the All-MAC Second Team, while first-year Falcon Erika Porter earned All-MAC Third-Team honors and Paige Kohler was chosen to the MAC's All-Freshman Team.
Then, in 2024-25, the Falcons ended the regular season by winning seven of eight games, and BGSU finished the year with a total of 18 victories. Velasco was named to the All-MAC First Team, headlining three players who earned all-league honors.
The 2025-26 campaign saw the Falcons post an overall record of 17-14 and a MAC ledger of 9-9. BGSU went 12-3 inside the Stroh Center, outscoring opponents by more than 16 points per game in home contests. The Falcons had two players selected to the All-MAC Team, and BG boasted the MAC's Defensive Player of the Year.
Lucas came to Northwest Ohio after spending the 2022-23 season as an assistant coach at Penn State, her alma mater. That came on the heels of an eight-year professional career, including four seasons in the WNBA. Lucas played three seasons with the Indiana Fever (2014-16) and split the 2018 season with the Atlanta Dream and Dallas Wings.
While playing for Lulea in Sweden in 2021, Lucas led the team to an SBLDAM Championship and was the league’s finals MVP. Lucas was named All-Euro Cup first team in 2022 while playing for Dinamo Sassari.
“I’m extremely happy to be here,” said Lucas. “I’ve known Coach Chmiel for a very long time. He coached me at Penn State, and is one of the best people I have come across in this business. It was a no-brainer to come work for him.
“I’m very inspired by the culture that exists here at Bowling Green. This program has a rich tradition of winning and succeeding. I look forward to us continuing to win. continuing to build on that culture and having fun while doing it.”
Her name can be found all over the Penn State record books. Lucas was named the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year in both 2013 (coaches & media) and 2014 (media) after being named the consensus Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2011. She was a three-time first-team All-Big Ten selection and a four-time All-Big Ten honoree.
Lucas led Penn State to three-straight league regular season titles from 2011-12 through ’13-14. She was a part of four NCAA Tournament teams, and helped PSU to Sweet 16 appearances in 2012 and 2014.
A Wade Trophy and Wooden Award Finalist in 2013 and 2014, Lucas was a second-team AP All-American in 2013 and a third-team AP All-American in 2014. She also was a two-time USBWA All-American, a two-time Full-Court All-American and a Full-Court Freshman All-American.
Lucas is the only player in Penn State history with over 2,000 points, 500 rebounds (541), 250 assists (286) and 200 steals (237).
Her career point total (2,510) ranks her second in PSU history, and she also owns the second-best career scoring average (19.0 ppg) in program history. Her point total ranks eighth all-time in the Big Ten.
Lucas holds the Penn State record and ranks third in Big Ten history with 365 career three-point field goals made.
She also owns the school’s single-season record for three-pointers made (112), and ranks third all-time at PSU with a career three-point percentage of 41.5.
Additionally, Lucas owns the school records for free throws made in a season and a career, as well as career free-throw percentage (90.7).
She shot a Big Ten-record 94.9 percent from the free-throw line in 2013-14, good for the eighth-best season percentage in NCAA Division I history. Her career free throw percentage, also a Big Ten record, also ranks eighth all-time in NCAA Division I.
Lucas graduated from Penn State in 2014 with a degree in recreation, parks & tourism management.
“Maggie is one of the hardest-working individuals I have ever been around,” said Chmiel at the time of the hiring. “She played at Penn State when I coached there, and is a fierce competitor. She has translated that into the coaching realm.
“Maggie will be a great asset to our players, to our community and to the University as well.”
In the new staff's first season at BGSU, Chmiel, Lucas and Company guided the Falcons to a winning record and a postseason tournament berth despite a veritable plethora of injuries.
After seeing the departure of four starters from the previous year's team, the Falcons were picked to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference in that 2023-24 campaign. Despite losing an estimated 126 player-games to injury, BGSU finished in a tie for fourth in the final league standings and advanced to the WNIT.
Four Falcons earned conference honors, including a pair of newcomers that joined the program shortly after the current staff arrived at BGSU. Morgan Sharps and Amy Velasco each were named to the All-MAC Second Team, while first-year Falcon Erika Porter earned All-MAC Third-Team honors and Paige Kohler was chosen to the MAC's All-Freshman Team.
Then, in 2024-25, the Falcons ended the regular season by winning seven of eight games, and BGSU finished the year with a total of 18 victories. Velasco was named to the All-MAC First Team, headlining three players who earned all-league honors.
The 2025-26 campaign saw the Falcons post an overall record of 17-14 and a MAC ledger of 9-9. BGSU went 12-3 inside the Stroh Center, outscoring opponents by more than 16 points per game in home contests. The Falcons had two players selected to the All-MAC Team, and BG boasted the MAC's Defensive Player of the Year.
Lucas came to Northwest Ohio after spending the 2022-23 season as an assistant coach at Penn State, her alma mater. That came on the heels of an eight-year professional career, including four seasons in the WNBA. Lucas played three seasons with the Indiana Fever (2014-16) and split the 2018 season with the Atlanta Dream and Dallas Wings.
While playing for Lulea in Sweden in 2021, Lucas led the team to an SBLDAM Championship and was the league’s finals MVP. Lucas was named All-Euro Cup first team in 2022 while playing for Dinamo Sassari.
“I’m extremely happy to be here,” said Lucas. “I’ve known Coach Chmiel for a very long time. He coached me at Penn State, and is one of the best people I have come across in this business. It was a no-brainer to come work for him.
“I’m very inspired by the culture that exists here at Bowling Green. This program has a rich tradition of winning and succeeding. I look forward to us continuing to win. continuing to build on that culture and having fun while doing it.”
Her name can be found all over the Penn State record books. Lucas was named the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year in both 2013 (coaches & media) and 2014 (media) after being named the consensus Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2011. She was a three-time first-team All-Big Ten selection and a four-time All-Big Ten honoree.
Lucas led Penn State to three-straight league regular season titles from 2011-12 through ’13-14. She was a part of four NCAA Tournament teams, and helped PSU to Sweet 16 appearances in 2012 and 2014.
A Wade Trophy and Wooden Award Finalist in 2013 and 2014, Lucas was a second-team AP All-American in 2013 and a third-team AP All-American in 2014. She also was a two-time USBWA All-American, a two-time Full-Court All-American and a Full-Court Freshman All-American.
Lucas is the only player in Penn State history with over 2,000 points, 500 rebounds (541), 250 assists (286) and 200 steals (237).
Her career point total (2,510) ranks her second in PSU history, and she also owns the second-best career scoring average (19.0 ppg) in program history. Her point total ranks eighth all-time in the Big Ten.
Lucas holds the Penn State record and ranks third in Big Ten history with 365 career three-point field goals made.
She also owns the school’s single-season record for three-pointers made (112), and ranks third all-time at PSU with a career three-point percentage of 41.5.
Additionally, Lucas owns the school records for free throws made in a season and a career, as well as career free-throw percentage (90.7).
She shot a Big Ten-record 94.9 percent from the free-throw line in 2013-14, good for the eighth-best season percentage in NCAA Division I history. Her career free throw percentage, also a Big Ten record, also ranks eighth all-time in NCAA Division I.
Lucas graduated from Penn State in 2014 with a degree in recreation, parks & tourism management.
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