BGSU women’s basketball (15-11, 8-6) took care of business at home Saturday night, taking down archrival Toledo (19-6, 10-4) 81-72 at the Stroh Center, snapping the Rockets’ five-game win streak in the series.
“When I first got here, they were the monster. They were just formidable,” head coach Fred Chmiel said postgame. “Tricia [Cullop] was just knocking it out year after year. They’re really good this year, they just beat an incredible Ball State team. I told them today, it’s not about emotion – it’s about motion.”
Falcons senior forward Erika Porter knocked back the opening tip into friendly clutches, and both sides were off their blocks.
Neither squad could score on their first few possessions until Toledo sophomore Cadence Dykstra snuck behind Lexi Fleming to open the scoring.
After Porter answered the make, Toledo jumped out to a 6-2 lead before Bowling Green crawled back. Porter, who scored the team’s first four points, corralled a miss from sophomore guard Paige Kohler and connected on the second-chance effort.
Two possessions later, senior Amy Velasco started her scoring barrage with a deep three after almost coughing up the rock to give BG their first lead of the night, 7-6.
On the other end, Toledo’s Sammi Mikonowicz barely beat out the shot clock to retake the lead for the Rockets.
After some back-and-forth between the teams, Bowling Green led 13-10 after Porter converted a reviewed and upheld and-one attempt with just under four minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Bowling Green did not relinquish the lead for the rest of the game.
After a missed three by Toledo’s Khera Goss and an offensive rebound, freshman Johnea Donahue recorded her first steal of eight on the night, getting the ball into Velasco’s hands for another triple to extend BG’s lead out to six.
Donahue’s eight steals are tied for the third-most in a single game in program history, tying Dana Western, who reached the mark against Yale in December 2001.
“[Donahue] can change the game defensively,” Chmiel continued. “She goes out there, she disrupts, she gets the deflections, she gets steals, she can take you out of your offense. It’s a big game changer for us.”
After some more back-and-forth, with the score 18-12, Velasco found herself with a wide-open lane to the hoop. Driving left, she converted the lay, catapulting herself to ninth all-time in scoring in Bowling Green women’s basketball history.
After a UT miss, Velasco tried her hand at the other side, finishing and pushing the Falcons’ lead to double-digits, 22-12.
Mikonowicz earned herself a tough deuce before Fleming nailed a three as time in the quarter expired to cap off a 13-4 run after the official review, giving BG a 25-14 lead heading into the second quarter.
As a team, the Falcons shot 58.8% from the field in the first frame, including a four-of-six showing from distance.
After a Toledo basket to open the second quarter, Donahue got back to work on the defensive end, grabbing steals two and three, leading to five points.
Toledo began to wake up in the second quarter, connecting on four baskets in a row until their first miss.
Freshman guard Faith Fedd-Robinson stepped up big time, scoring six points in the quarter to help the Rockets pull back within five, including a 13-4 run of their own to close out the quarter.
The Rockets drew four fouls.
Toledo shot a whopping 81.8% (9-11) in the quarter, holding BG to just 37.5% from the field, heading into the break trailing 40-35.
With their lead dwindling, Bowling Green needed a quick start out of the gate to open the second half. Donahue hit a quick turnaround jumper to put BG back up by seven, only to see it cut back down to four on a Kendall Carruthers triple over a late close-out by Kohler.
After a one-for-two trip at the charity stripe for Porter, Bowling Green went on a dry spell, going 1:14 without a bucket. Donahue nabbed her fourth steal, feeding it down to Velasco who drained a trifecta to push BG’s lead back up to eight, 46-38.
After Donahue had her pocket picked for once, leading to a breakaway lay-in for Fedd-Robinson, Toledo pulled within four on a 10-6 run.
Sophomore Keiryn McGuff pulled up from inside the paint to halt the run for Toledo. After a turnover from each side, Donahue found herself at the line after a foul in transition, splitting the trip to go back up seven.
After back-to-back perfect trips at the line, one from each side, Bowling Green snatched the ball back from Toledo, allowing Velasco to dribble down the clock to 5.2 in the third quarter, driving inside, taking contact, and connecting.
Converting the and-one attempt, she gave herself 20 points through three, shooting 66.7% from the field.
With a 10-point deficit to makeup, Toledo went right to work.
After a foul by each side and a 50% trip by Donahue, Fedd-Robinson went back to work, hitting a two-pointer over both Fleming and Porter.
Toledo was able to pull the game as close as three points, trailing just 69-66 with 4:45 to play, but a timeout taken by Chmiel allowed the orange and brown to regain their composure and pull away.
Velasco went up and under for two, before Donahue recorded her eighth and final steal of the night, getting it to Porter to give BG a 73-66 advantage.
Senior Big Nan Garcia answered back, finishing off the window to cut back within five. The Rockets struggled to find the basket in crunch time, connecting on just one of their last five field goal attempts.
Late fouls by the Rockets sent BG to the line three times in the final minutes, committing seven fouls in the fourth quarter alone.
Aided by turnovers and fouls, Bowling Green closed out the final five minutes of the game on a 12-6 run.
With each Toledo miscue, the crowd got more and more into the game, rising to their feet on more than one occasion.
“This was an incredible environment,” Toledo head coach Ginny Boggess said after the loss. “(It was) everything I thought it would be, as far as the crowd, and the rivalry and the energy between the two teams.”
After Mikonowicz finished up a two-for-two trip at the line with five seconds lingering, Bowling Green dribbled out the clock, sending Toledo packing with an 81-72 loss.
Amy Velasco finished the game with 30 points on 60% (9-15) shooting, while Johnea Donahue finished with 12 points and eight steals, two shy of her second career double-double.
“[Velasco] is like the head of the snake, when we’re in trouble…she’s bailing us out,” Porter said. “I’m so blessed to be able to play with Amy for these two years. I’m definitely going to miss Amy. She’s an amazing person, amazing player.”
With the victory, Bowling Green extends their win streak to four games with as many left to go until tournament time.
Of the Falcons’ four remaining opponents, only one currently possesses a winning record (Kent State, 17-10, 9-5).
Up next, they welcome the Ohio Bobcats to the Stroh Center for Senior Night on Wednesday, Feb. 26. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
