The Bowling Green Falcons women’s basketball team (13-11, 6-6) took down the Central Michigan Chippewas (10-14, 5-7) in a Saturday afternoon matchup in the Stroh Center, 70-55.
This is the second time the two teams have met this month and marks the sixth straight win over Central Michigan for the Orange and Brown.
“We didn’t give them any easy buckets; they had to work for everything, which kind of set the tone defensively,” head coach Fred Chmiel said.
Freshman guard Johnea Donahue would be the recipient of two full-court passes from sophomore guard Paige Kohler to get the Falcons off to a quick start.
Senior forward Erika Porter then helped the Orange and Brown with four points of a nine-point run to extend the lead.
Through the first quarter, the Falcons would play an extremely clean game, but they only had one foul and didn’t allow Central Michigan to go to the line.
Senior guard Lexi Fleming came out of the quarter break hot and scored a quick six-point for the Falcons.
The Falcons would end the second half with an 11-point run led by Donahue with four points to go into halftime 41-21.
Central Michigan would find a way to fight back into the game in the third quarter with a 15-to-7-point run behind Ayanna-Sarai Darrington.
Out-of-halftime struggles have been plaguing the Falcons during this season and are something the team is looking to turn around.
“We don’t have the bench or the coaches on our side in the second half on defense, so we have to find it within ourselves to get that energy, dive for loose balls and make sure we gang rebound and push in transition,” Kohler said.
The Falcons were able to weather the third-quarter storm from Central Michigan by forcing their way to the free-throw line.
In the fourth quarter, both teams wanted to set the tempo defensively, as both teams combined for only nine made buckets in the fourth quarter.
For Central Michigan, it would be Jess Lawson who would carry the offensive load in the fourth.
Senior guard Amy Velasco kept her night going strong for the Falcons with some extremely timely layups.
Ultimately, the Falcons would walk away with the 70-55 win over Central Michigan.
The Falcons are back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 19, as they head to Kalamazoo, Michigan, to take on the Western Michigan Broncos at 7 pm. Join Falcon Media Sports Networks Lucas Kleimeyer and Kaden Knapp with the live radio broadcasts.
