The Bowling Green Falcons (1-0,0-0) defeated the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles 71-67 at home in the season opener.
“Just warned them about how tough and physical it was going to be and not to let them speed them up” Head coach Fred Chmiel said postgame. “We would like to create about 20-25% of our offense off our defense.”
A defensive battle would be as both teams forced each other into 20-plus turnovers.
First Quarter
The first points for the Falcons 2024-25 season were scored by sophomore forward Taya Ellis with a reverse layup. The Orange and Brown would score another in the paint off an offensive rebound by fifth-year forward Erika Porter.
After a couple of misses from both sides sophomore guard Paige Kohler would nail the first and second three for the Falcons.
Kendal Moxey would also get in on the scoring with a layup in the first.
The Falcons lead 18-15 after one quarter
Second Quarter
After a hard first quarter, the second was a tough one for both teams. The Golden Flashes would come out with a mission and claw their way back into the game off a Bre Sutton jumper.
After that the Falcons would come back down on the offensive end and rattle home a three-point shot from Lauren Gerken. Gerken would add another three-point make in this quarter.
Amy Velasco would also get both of her buckets in this quarter as Velasco would nail two jumpers in the paint.
Kohler would keep up the pressure after taking it the entire length of the court for a wide-open layup.
Bowling Green ended the second quarter 35-31
Third Quarter
Out of the break, the defense would be the name of the game. The Falcons held the Golden Eagles to nine points through the entire quarter.
Porter would get the Orange and Browns scoring started with a layup off an offensive rebound.
A Kohler three-point shot would extend the lead to nine and force Southern Mississippi to take a timeout.
The Orange and Brown would lead after three 52-40.
Fourth Quarter
The end of the game was not an easy task for the Falcons. To start the quarter Porter would pick up her fifth foul of the game.
With Porter being out the Golden Eagles were able to feast on offensive boards to get second-chance points and free throw attempts.
The Golden Eagles would put up 27 points in the fourth to make the game interesting as the time was winding down.
It would be mostly done on the free throw line for the Golden Eagles but Morgan Sieper would hit the only three-point shot for Southern Mississippi.
Ultimately Ellis, would put the final free throws through to give BGSU a two-possession lead.
This game would be a tough battle for both teams. It would be Kohler who set the tempo for the Falcons. Kohler was fighting for loose balls, taking charges, and getting her hands in the passing lane, tipping 19 passes.
“She (Kholer) is a fighter and that is what I love about her, she competes”
The Falcons are back in action on Friday, Nov. 8. They will travel to Detroit to face the Detroit Mercy Titans. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on WBGU 88.1 FM.
