Coming out of Thanksgiving break, BGSU women’s basketball (3-4) would claim victory in the long-awaited home opener against the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons (4-4), 56-53.
Starting the game strong, junior guard Paige Kohler would knock a three-pointer for the first points of the contest.
“There’s always hope, our fans get behind us… There’s something to that an elevation of our team,” said head coach Fred Chimel postgame, who was impressed with the BG faithful on Sunday afternoon.
A positive beginning to the game as Bowling Green carried a lead, being up by eight points through the end of the first quarter, 19-11, as well as totaling 11 rebounds as a unit.
Notably, in the first quarter, sophomore guard Johnea Donahue led BGSU in scoring, totaling six points, bringing her total to 82 going into the game. Being first on the team in scoring, however, was Kohler, who completed the game with a total of 15 points.
“They’re solid, they’re advanced, they’re our lifeline… we need them on the floor to be successful. There’s a big void to fill when they’re not out there,” Chimel said, referencing Donahue and Kohler.
Even with the lead for Bowling Green, Purdue Fort Wayne would take the lead for the first time in the game with five minutes and 12 seconds remaining in the first half. Extended more on an and one with the free throw to be followed by junior forward Lili Krasovec.
Rough second quarter and way to end the half as BG only recorded five points, coming from a 3-pointer from Kohler and two points from Kendal Moxey.
“The second quarter drop off is us getting stagnant, but we really try to find our pace back in the third quarter,” Donahue said.
Rolling along to the second half, Bowling Green found themselves trailing by three points to Purdue Fort Wayne 27-24. While unfortunate, Bowling Green would be ready to answer to adversity.
BG would score first and score quickly by a rebound from senior guard Emily Siesel, making that her third rebound of the game.
The Orange and Brown regained the lead for the fourth time with less than three minutes to go in the third quarter.
“We’ve been on the road the whole of November, we want to win and show off for our fans,” said Donahue.
Donahue finished the game with 12 points, six steals, five rebounds and five assists.
Pronounced performance overall from the Falcons playing together as a team, leading to an eventual 13 assists as opposed to the Mastodons, who had seven as a team.
“It’s the ball movement. Finding the shooter without us having to dribble the air out of the ball… It was the off-ball movement that got stagnant (during the 2nd quarter),” said Chimel.
Eventually, the contest would conclude after an intense and close scoring fourth quarter as BG would notch eight points. It allowed BGSU to reign supreme as the Falcons defeated the Mastodons by a close final of 56-53.
The Falcons are set to battle Kentucky State on Dec. 3 at 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Adam Duffin and Trey Kennedy will have the call on WBGU 88.1 FM. Full coverage of the game will be provided on bgfalconmedia.com.
