BGSU women’s basketball (9-8, 3-3) soared to victory over the Northern Illinois Huskies with a score of 74-60 (7-10, 1-5) Saturday night.
The first field goal for the Falcons would be one for the history books as fifth-year guard Lexi Fleming would join the 1,000-point club for BGSU women’s basketball. Marking the 32nd time that a player has reached the milestone.
The Orange and Browns bench would make their presence felt early with redshirt sophomore Jasmine Fearne hitting a three just 20 seconds after checking into the game, putting the Falcons up 8-5 with 4:17 remaining in the period.
Huskies redshirt senior Sidney McCrea answered back with a three of her own to tie the game with 3:17 remaining in the period.
The rest of the first quarter would be decided by Bowling Green’s effort on the defensive side of the ball. Forcing six turnovers and holding the Huskies to only 10 points.
Fleming would close out the quarter for the Falcons by hitting a three and giving Bowling Green a 16-10 lead after one.
The Falcons would carry their momentum into the second quarter with a quick 7-1 run to put themselves up 23-14.
Senior guard Amy Velasco would record her third assist of the night off a pass and 3-pointer made from Fleming, putting the Orange and Brown up 28-18 with 4:47 remaining in the half.
The Falcons would hold the Huskies’ scores on their next four possessions with the ball, leading to a scoring drought of over three minutes for NIU.
Freshman guard Johnea Donahue closed out the strong first-half performance for BG by getting two steals and cashing in on three out of four from the free-throw line all in the final minute.
Bowling Green would head to the locker room with all the momentum up by 15 to Northern Illinois, 39-24.
To start the second half NIU freshman Lexi Carlsen would give the Huskies the pulse they needed to get back into this game, hitting a three just 14 seconds out of the half.
Graduate guard Chelby Koker would force the Falcons to call their first timeout after recording her 11th point off of a steal that she created herself, cutting the BG lead to just five with 7:04 remaining in the third period.
The Huskies would draw even closer to the Orange and Brown with graduate forward Brooke Stonebreaker cashing in up close on a two-point shot, capping off a 14-3 run and making the score now just a one-point deficit at 42-41.
The Falcons would answer back with an 11-4 run of their own to close out the third quarter, making the score 53-45.
Donahue off of a fast break layup would open up the scoring for what would be a back-and-forth start to the final period of play.
A two-point make from fifth-year forward Erika Porter followed soon after by a three from Fearne would expand the Falcon’s lead by 12 with 6:04 remaining.
Fearne would find the basket again off of a turnover for her eleventh point on the night, making the score 66-56 in favor of the Orange and Brown with just 3:08 left to play.
A three-point shot from sophomore guard Paige Kohler would ice the game for the Falcons, giving them the victory over NIU with the final score of 74-60.
Bowling Greens had a plus-23 margin in bench play versus the Huskies, something that head coach Fred Chmiel recognizes as a great key to their success.
“Everybody on our roster is capable of helping us” stated coach Chmiel. “Our starting group plays at a very high standard and to get into that mix you have to play at a very high standard, otherwise thought they did a great job tonight.”
The Falcons will look to continue this momentum as they look for their third straight win in MAC play when they face off against Western Michigan this Wednesday at the Stroh Center.
Falcon Media Sports Networks Lucas Kleimeyer and Rhys Patrykus will have the call on 88.1 WBGU FM starting at 6:45 p.m.
