BGSU women’s basketball (1-2) suffered its second defeat of the season, losing 90-78 to the Wisconsin Badgers (3-1) at the Kohl Center on Wednesday night.
Sophomore guard Johnea Donahue had a big night for BG, scoring a career high of 24 points. She also tallied six rebounds, six assists, and six steals. Junior guard Paige Kohler shone, especially in the second half, scoring 18 points, grabbing four rebounds, and dishing three assists.
Bowling Green shot 40% from the floor, going 26-65, and struggled from three, making 6-21 from beyond the arc. From the charity stripe, the Falcons also went 20-22. On the other side, Wisconsin made 36-66 field goals and 10-26 from 3-point range.
A big difference in the ball game was Wisconsin’s fast-break points and Bowling Green’s transition defense. The Badgers scored 27 points on the fast break, while BG scored just 15.
“I think it was our communication, it was also our effort,” said BGSU assistant coach Kadie Hempfling postgame on WBGU 88.1 FM. “We rely on our defense, and I think that’s the end that let us down tonight. We can only continue to move forward from that and just learn from tonight.”
In the win, Wisconsin’s Kyrah Daniels led the way with a game-high 21 points, with 13 coming in the first half. Destiny Howell recorded 13 points, while Gift Uchenna was third on the team in scoring, finishing with 12 and five rebounds.
Senior guard Kaia Woods also made her debut for the Orange and Brown. Coming off the bench in the first quarter after missing the first two games due to injury, scoring 12 points and grabbed rebounds.
Bowling Green struggled shooting the basketball in the first quarter, going 5-19 and 0-4 from 3-point range. The Badgers shot 50% (9-19), with Steele leading the way with nine points. Wisconsin led the Falcons by six, 22-16, after the first.
In the second quarter, the Badgers quickly jumped out to an 11-4 run on BG, expanding their lead to double figures. The Falcons would battle back late in the second. Kohler came to lift with eight points, while Donahue had six. Heading into halftime, the Badgers led the Falcons 48-39.
A back-and-forth third quarter that had Bowling Green holding Wisconsin scoreless for almost three minutes and cutting down their lead to just three points. After a slow start offensively, the Badgers went 8-15 in the third and ended the quarter with a buzzer-beater from Destiny Howell, which won them the third 18-17, extending their lead 66-56 into the fourth.
Howell would continue her dominance in the fourth quarter, scoring seven points on 3-4 shooting. Right behind her was Uchenna, who put up six with four rebounds. The Falcons would hit three 3-pointers in the final quarter, and Donahue and Kohler combined for 11 points, but
Bowling Green will have a quick turnaround and will stay in the state of Wisconsin for their next game, taking on Marquette (2-1) in Milwaukee on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m..
“The game’s over, so we have to come in tomorrow, we’ve got to wake up. It’s a new day, learn, watch a film, and then take it and grow from it,” said Hempfling. “I think that’s the biggest thing that we have to do to go into Friday. Rest, recover, and get it going tomorrow and focus on Marquette.”
Falcon Media Sports Network will have full coverage of the game on bgfalconmedia.com.
