On Wednesday, BGSU women’s basketball (7-8, 1-3) take on the Ohio Bobcats (3-11, 1-3) at the Convocation Center in Athens.
This is meeting number 94 between these teams. BG leads the overall series 59-34 but is 22-21 when playing in Athens. The Falcons also handily won both of last season’s matchups, giving head coach Fred Chmiel a 2-0 record against their Mid-American Conference (MAC) rival.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Lucas Kleimeyer will call the game on WBGU 88.1 FM starting at 6:45 for pregame and 7:00 for tip-off.
BOWLING GREEN
The Falcons’ road struggles continued against the RedHawks on Saturday, as they lost their second consecutive MAC game.
The game in Oxford, OH, was an extension of the Buffalo game. BG went on numerous scoring droughts. In addition, they turned the ball over 25 times. Miami scored 33 points off of those turnovers as well.
Fifth-year guard Lexi Fleming had a bounce-back game versus the RedHawks, scoring 23 and dishing out six assists. She needs just 20 points against the Bobcats tomorrow night to reach 1,000 career points in her collegiate career.
BGSU’s offense has also been night and day regarding home versus away. They have scored over 70 points in four of their six home games, whereas they have scored more than 70 once in seven true road games.
There is a similar trend for their defense as well. When it comes to points allowed, seven of the nine times they’ve allowed at least 70 points have been away from the Stroh. Six of those seven resulted in losses.
Ohio hasn’t had a great start to MAC play, so it is very important that BG can get out to a good start because the Bobcats are not good at playing from behind.
Similarly to the Miami game, the Falcons also need to be consistent in their scoring and avoid long-scoring droughts.
OHIO
It has been a rough season thus far for Ohio. They hold a record of 3-11 overall and 1-3 in the MAC. They are also 2-6 at home.
To add to that, most of Ohio’s games have been decided by relatively large margins. Every game this season, except for one, has been decided by at least 11 points. Their average game difference is 27.4 as well.
Their three wins came against George Washington, Ohio Christian, and Northern Illinois. BG and OU’s common opponents consist of Ohio State and Kent State, both resulting in defeats for OU and BG.
To beat Bowling Green, Ohio will need to lock down the paint and score in transition. When BG is unable to score down low, they tend to force up shots and allow transition buckets. It is also key that the Bobcats can capitalize when they take the ball away.
FALCON FOUR PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sophomore forward #14 Keiryn McGuff, Bowling Green
Dublin, OH native McGuff is coming off a game in which she scored zero points and went 0/5 from the floor. In the three games before that, she scored double-digit points. She is a great presence underneath and in the mid-range both from rebounding and shooting aspects.
Sophomore forward #11 Taya Ellis, Bowling Green
Ellis has been coming off the bench for the Falcons since she returned from her injury and will look to have an efficient all-around game, especially in defense rebounding, and blocks. She’s been held scoreless in her last two games as well, but a good bounce-back performance offensively could help BG.
Senior guard #5 Kennedi Watkins, Ohio
Watkins leads the Bobcats in scoring averaging 16.2 points per game and is tied for a team-high 66 total rebounds, 62 of which are defensive. She’ll have to be effective offensively and put up some big numbers in multiple categories to help the Bobcats get a big win.
Sophomore guard #21 Bailey Tabeling, Ohio
One of the two players to have started all 14 games this season, Tabeling has been one of the more consistent players all season for the Bobcats, averaging 11.7 points per game, and leads the team with 38 assists on the year. She’ll once again be a big piece for Ohio against BG, as she’s been all season.
