BGSU women’s basketball (18-12, 11-7 MAC) closed out the 2024-25 regular season, defeating the Eastern Michigan Eagles (2-27, 1-17 MAC) 87-67.
With the win, the Falcons finished in 6th place in the Mid-American Conference, finishing with 18 wins on the year, 11 in conference play.
Four Falcons reached double figures in the victory, with fifth-year guard Lexi Fleming shining once again for Bowling Green. Scoring a game-high 21 points on 8-12 shooting.
Sophomore guard Paige Kohler had another great performance, scoring 18 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and dishing out seven assists. Senior guard Amy Velasco also recorded 17 points, while fifth-year forward Erika Porter had 15 points and four rebounds.
Eastern Michigan’s Sisi Eleko led the Eagles in scoring with 19 points, along with eight rebounds. Olivia Smith had a big scoring day as well with 18 points. The third Eagle to reach double figures in scoring was Ohio native Brooklyn Thrash, who had 14 points, 10 of them coming from the free-throw line.
The Falcons jumped out to an early lead in the game, and outside a decent run from the Eagles in the first quarter, Bowling Green led for the majority of the game.
Eastern Michigan’s offense struggled in the first, shooting 7-17 from the floor, while Bowling Green’s offense was incredibly efficient on 11-14 shooting, which was good for 78.6%.
In the second quarter, the Falcons outscored the Eagles 20-12 while holding EMU to just 3-14 shooting. Bowling Green continued to win the rebounding battle, out-rebounding Eastern Michigan 13-8 in the second.
The Orange and Brown also dominated in the paint, outscoring the Eagles 42-22. Including 22 points down low in the first half for Bowling Green.
The Falcons enjoyed a 48-32 lead coming out of halftime, but Eastern Michigan made the third quarter competitive, with BG only winning the third by one, 21-20. Both teams struggled shooting the ball in the quarter, with Bowling Green 6-13 from the floor and Eastern Michigan 5-14.
Bowling Green sealed the win in the fourth, putting on another offensive clinic quarter on 8-11 shooting. Outscoring the Eagles again, this time 18-15, winning all four quarters on their way to their seventh win in the last eight games to close out the regular season.
Now, the Orange and Brown enter postseason play on Wednesday, March 12, in the 2025 MAC Tournament. Bowling Green will take on the number three-seeded Buffalo Bulls (24-6, 13-5 MAC) in the quarterfinals round.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Lucas Kleimeyer and Kaden Knapp will have the call on WBGU 88.1 FM. The game will be the fourth and final quarterfinal game on Wednesday, with tip-off time to be announced.
