Coming off a loss against No. 12 ranked Ohio State, BGSU women’s basketball head down south to Florida during Thanksgiving break to play in the Daytona Beach Classic. The Falcons will take on Stetson (3-2) on Black Friday and Arkansas (4-3) on Saturday, Nov. 30. Both games are set to tip-off at 1:15 p.m.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Kaden Knapp will have the call on WBGU 88.1 FM starting at 1 p.m. on Friday and Saturday for both games at the Daytona Beach Ocean Center.
The other teams competing in the tournament include the familiar nationally-ranked Buckeyes, Utah State, Oklahoma State, Richmond, Oakland, and Old Dominion.
HISTORY
This is the first time Bowling Green will face Stetson and Arkansas. The Orange and Brown are 9-5 in their games played in Florida, and the Daytona Beach Classic marks the seventh tournament BG has played in the Sunshine State.
BOWLING GREEN
The biggest positive so far this season for BG has been the play from senior guard Amy Velasco. Six games into the season and coming off back-to-back contests against ranked opponents in West Virginia and Ohio State, Velasco scored 18 against WVU and 24 against OSU. She has scored 20-plus points four times this season, averaging 20.5 PPG.
With some injuries plaguing the Orange and Brown, freshman Lauren Gerken and Laila Harrison made their first collegiate starts against the Buckeyes, playing the majority of the game.
The success of the weekend for BG will be based on multiple factors, but some of the key ones will be limiting turnovers, the battle in the paint on both ends of the floor, and seeing if someone else can get hot offensively along with Velasco. If any of these three happen along, consider the tournament a success.
Bowling Green now has five games left before the start of Mid-American Conference (MAC) play and will look to start some momentum against two quality opponents in Florida.
THE OPPONENTS
Stetson, the first opponent BG will face on Black Friday, comes into the tournament averaging 72.8 PPG while holding the opposition to just 62.2 per game.
Against the competition of Miami (FL), Fort Lauderdale, Edward Waters UCF, and FAU, Stetson has proven to be a solid offensive team while being a very good defensive team early on this season.
Cameron Thomas leads Stetson in scoring, averaging 19.4 PPG, and is shooting over 50% from the floor. One of the star players to look out for is Stetson.
For the other opponent, Arkansas, the Razorbacks have already played seven games this season against Fairfield, East Texas A&M, Little Rock, UT-Arlington, No. 5 UCLA, Oral Roberts, and Arkansas State.
Coming off their 76-60 bounce-back win against Arkansas State, key players Izzy Higginbottom and Kiki Smith both tallied 15 points and five assists in the big victory.
Arkansas is averaging 73.7 PPG while allowing 75.1 per game. The team is also averaging 40.4 RPG and shooting 32% from three.
Cutting down on turnovers for the Razorbacks will be key, they currently have 109 total turnovers this year, averaging 15.6 per game.
FALCON FOUR PLAYERS TO WATCH
Fifth-year, #32 Erika Porter – Bowling Green
Porter is due for a big game this season, and with how important the battle in the paint will be during the tournament, she’ll have to play a big role offensively and defensively.
Freshman, #22 Lauren Gerken – Bowling Green
The freshman from Findlay is primed for another big role after coming off her first collegiate start, Gerken has hit a few big threes this season in both of Bowling Green’s wins, she is one to watch for both games.
Graduate student, #1 Mary McMillan – Stetson
McMillian is coming off a 17-point game against FAU and is averaging 11.2 PPG so far this year. Along with 22 assists this year, she and Thomas have been a good duo this season, certainly one to keep an eye on against BG.
Senior, #3 Izzy Higginbottom – Arkansas
Leading Arkansas in PPG is Higginbottom, with 21.6, she has been extremely efficient offensively and can create open looks for her teammates, with 30 assists on the year. She has also been solid in defensive rebounding, with 27 this season.
