Christmas came early on a holiday theme night at the Stroh Center, as BGSU women’s basketball (6-4) took down the Marquette Golden Eagles (7-3) 64-62 in a physical contest.
The win marks the fourth-straight victory for Bowling Green and their fourth home win of the season, remaining unbeaten at 4-0.
Fifth-year guard Lexi Fleming made her first start in nearly a year since returning from injury. Another Falcon who made her return to the floor from injury was sophomore Keiryn McGuff, who came off the bench, scoring four points and grabbing eight rebounds.
Both teams struggled to get going offensively in the first quarter. The Falcons shot 25%, and the Golden Eagles made just two shots, shooting at 12.5%.
Despite a physical first 10 minutes, the Orange and Brown led by five going into the second, with a 12-7 lead.
Some unfortunate news occurred midway through the first for Bowling Green. Freshman Lauren Gerken had to leave with four minutes left in the first quarter with an apparent injury and did not return for the remainder of the game.
The Falcons found a spark on offense from their bench in the second quarter, especially from junior forward Kendal Moxey, who tallied 10 points and was a big helping hand in offensive and defensive rebounding.
As the physicality in the game picked up on both ends of the floor, the Falcon’s defense was able to keep Marquette off-balance, making the Golden Eagles unable to find any sort of rhythm. The Orange and Brown held them to under 40% shooting from the floor, while BG shot 57% themselves in the second.
Bowling Green would enjoy a seven-point lead going into halftime, with the score 32-25.
The game would remain tight in the third, but the Golden Eagles would outscore BG 20-15, with turnovers becoming a huge factor in Marquette gaining momentum. The Orange and Brown shot four for 14 in the third quarter and two from five from three-point range.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, it was just a two-point game, with Bowling Green leading 47-45.
The Falcons were able to maintain their lead in the fourth distance, but the Golden Eagles would not go away. Marquette hit a couple of big three-pointers down the stretch to keep it a two-score game.
However, Bowling Green was efficient from the free-throw line, hitting nine of 12 attempts in the fourth quarter.
In the final seconds of the game, Marquette created one last turnover from the Falcons, earning one last chance to send the game into overtime or possibly steal a victory.
But it was the Falcons who met the moment, with the game’s final possession, sophomore guard Paige Kohler intercepting an Olivia Porter pass in the paint for her second steal of the game, sealing the victory for Bowling Green.
Senior guard Amy Velasco once again led the Falcons in points scored with 14, along with five assists. Kohler was just one behind the Centerville native with 13, along with six assists. Moxey finished the night with 12 points and six rebounds.
A true team win, the Falcons got 28 points from their bench, with six notably coming from freshman Johnea Donahue and redshirt sophomore Jasmine Fearne.
In her first start in nearly a year, fifth-year guard Fleming recorded five points plus three rebounds, playing 18 minutes.
For the Golden Eagles, Jaidynn Mason and Lee Volker both tallied 17 points. Volker registered a double-double with ten rebounds as well. Porter contributed nine points and led the team in assists with five.
Next up for the Falcons is one last non-conference game before the start of Mid-American Conference (MAC) play, with a trip to Pittsburgh to take on the Duquesne Dukes (8-2) on Saturday, Dec. 21, at noon.
