BGSU women’s basketball got their first win in the Stroh Center since Nov. 16. Bowling Green beat Xavier 78-59 on Saturday night to earn their fifth win of the season, extending their winning streak to three.
“The Stroh is just the best place to play. The community is always here, they show out and cheer for us. There is no place like the Stroh and no place like home,” said Amy Velasco when asked about getting back to playing at home.
Here is how the game went:
First Quarter
The Falcons started the game off with a Lauren Gerken three and followed it up with an Erika Porter layup to get BGSU off to a 5-0 lead. Not long after that, though, Xavier Guard Meri Kanerva would get two layups to get the Musketeers on the board.
Lexi Fleming would get her first minutes of this season against Xavier, and in the first quarter, she would open her season up with a three-pointer.
It would be Porter for the Falcons who led the team through the first quarter with nine points and three rebounds, as the Falcons led the Musketeers 23-15
Second Quarter
The Orange and Brown would keep up the momentum as they held Xavier to only nine points in the second quarter.
Johnea Donahue got the Falcons started with one layup, which she converted, and Porter followed that up with a layup of her own.
Much of the scoring for the Falcons was done in the paint during the second quarter, with Velasco and Kendal Moxey both contributing to the paint scoring.
Bowling Green would head into halftime with a lead of 42-24.
Third Quarter
Xavier would get out of the gates hot as Kanerva would get the first bucket of the quarter, and off their press, they would get a wide-open three for Tae’lor Purvis.
The Falcons would not let this deter them, as Velasco and Porter were able to get more work done in the paint. Even Laila Harrison was able to get an offensive rebound and put the ball back up for a bucket.
Fleming would hit back-to-back Falcon threes, and then Velasco would score the final six points for BGSU in the quarter to make the score after three 64-41.
Fourth Quarter
In the fourth, the Falcons started the quarter rough as Xavier, with their backs against the wall, was able to force turnovers with their press and got themselves a 9-0 run.
Fortunately for Bowling Green, Velasco would hit a layup, and that would rally the team and get the shots falling for them once again.
The Falcons took home the win in this game 78-59 behind some solid defense that forced Xavier into tough shots as they shot less than 40% from the field in Saturday night’s game.
“We are passing up good shots for great shots, and that is what we are trying to do get the best shot possible,” said head coach Fred Chmiel in his postgame press conference.
The Falcons next take on Marquette on Dec. 18 at home. Join Falcon Media Sports Network’s own Kaden Knapp and Foster Roesti on WBGU 88.1 FM for the broadcast.
