Coming off a double over-time defeat to Northern Illinois, BGSU women’s basketball (17-12, 10-7 MAC) responded with a statement 84-61 win over the Kent State Golden Flashes (19-11, 10-7 MAC) at the Stroh Center.
“Good to see our seniors leave the Stroh like that. For our fans and those seniors, what a special night,” head coach Fred Chmiel said postgame. “We still have some games left so we’re not gonna cry too many tears right now. Pretty proud of what we did tonight.”
With the win, the Falcons have earned their 10th Mid-American Conference (MAC) win of the season, and have won six of their last seven games, with just one more to play heading into the MAC Tournament.
Fifth-year guard Lexi Fleming had a sensational game. Scoring 25 points, 21 of them coming in the first quarter alone. Breaking a program record in points in a quarter that was previously held by Carly Santoro’s 17 points in 2o17.
“She has just been a great teammate and friend for me for the past four years. I’m so happy for her that she could come out here and be on fire from the start,” said senior guard Amy Velasco. “She’s a great teammate and great person.”
Sophomore Paige Kohler registered 17 points and eight rebounds, two shy of a double-double. Velasco, tied for a game-high in assists with Fleming with six also scored 13 points.
Someone who also had a big night was fifth-year forward Erika Porter who tallied 13 points and six rebounds.
In the loss, Kent State’s Jenna Batsch scored 25 points on 10-22 shooting. The other two Golden Flashes that scored double-digit were Tatiana Thomas, with 14, and Dionna Gray.
The Falcons jumped out to a flying start, scoring 30 points in the first on 11-17 shooting, including hitting seven 3-pointers. In her 21 first-quarter points, Fleming was 6/7 from the floor. In an explosive quarter for Bowling Green, Kent State found themselves down by as much as 17.
“When [Fleming] got fire, and you can just feel [the momentum] building it was pretty special,” Chmiel said. “Just keep trying to get her the ball back and Amy [Velasco] did a great job early in the possession getting downhill and pitching up. “
In the second quarter, BG kept its foot on the gas. Outscoring the Golden Flashes 16-11 on 50% shooting. More impressively, the Orange and Brown held Kent State to just two attempts from beyond the arc and 45.5% from the field.
Kent State ended the half on a 6-0 run, and coming out of halftime the Golden Flashes attempted to mount a comeback. Despite outscoring the Falcons 20-14, the Falcons lead remained in double-figures, leading 60-49 heading into the fourth.
Bowling Green led by their defense in the final quarter, holding Kent State to 5-18 shooting. The Falcons continued to shoot effectively, going 8-14 and winning the quarter 24-12, sealing one of the biggest victories of the season in their home regular-season finale.
Next up, the Falcons will have one final trip before the 2025 MAC Tournament, with a trip up to Ypsilanti to face Eastern Michigan (2-26, 1-16) on Saturday, March 8 at 2:00 p.m.
