BGSU women’s basketball (7-4) hosts Kent State (5-6) on Saturday morning for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) opener at the Stroh Center.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Lucas Kleimeyer and Trey Kennedy will be on WBGU 88.1 FM at 2 p.m. for the call. Gavin Gill will start pre-game coverage at 1:45 p.m.
Bowling Green
BG has carried its win streak to six in a row. A win over the Golden Flashes would make it a perfect 6-0 home stand for the Falcons.
BGSU is coming off a 74-46 victory over Le Moyne in which fifth-year guard Kaia Woods was electric.
Woods finished with 11 points, seven assists, five rebounds, three steals, and a block to stack the statsheet. She took full advantage of getting another nod in the starting lineup.
To pair alongside Woods, junior guard Paige Kohler continued her scoring with 17 points, which led the team.
Another scoring threat was junior guard Jasmine Fearne with her 11 points. She made three 3-pointers and has 11 threes in the past three games. Senior guard Emily Siesel had nine points along with her own set of three triples.
Junior forward Jaedyn Cook started in the previous game due to the injury of junior forward Taya Ellis. However, sophomore forward Lauren Gerken finished the game with more minutes than Cook. The starting spot is not set in stone for the conference opener.
Along with Ellis, sophomore guard Johnea Donahue is another player who is questionable to play against the Golden Flashes. Donahue did go through warmups before the Le Moyne game, so she appears to be more likely to play.
The Falcons are 1-1 in conference openers under head coach Fred Chmiel. They will look to avenge last year’s 81-71 loss to Kent State.
Kent State
The Golden Flashes have struggled to find consistency in the early going of the season. Even more troubling, they are 1-5 on the road, with their only road win being over Xavier.
Led by junior guard Mya Babbitt with her 15.7 points per game, there is no shortage of talent on the Golden Flashes roster.
With the team averaging just over 69 points per game, it’s no shocker that three other players average over eight points per game. Of those three, junior center Riley Rismiller is remarkably efficient, with a 51.4 field goal percentage. Rismiller also leads the Golden Flashes with her 7.3 rebounds per game.
To round out the mainstay starters, senior guard Dionna Gray averages 5.2 assists. She barely shoots above 20 percent, but she is a lethal passer.
One true weakness of Kent State is its three-point shooting as a team. With a mark of 29.5 percent, the Falcons may not hesitate to give space beyond the arc.
Kent State will look to extend its three-game streak of conference opener victories.
FALCON FOUR PLAYERS TO WATCH
Paige Kohler (Bowling Green — No. 10, junior guard)
Kohler leads the Falcons with 14.8 points per game and has been the only player to start in all 11 games. She is going to be relied on offensively in the gauntlet that conference play is.
Kaia Woods (Bowling Green — No. 1, senior guard)
Woods is coming off her best game in an Orange and Brown uniform. Her veteran presence and leadership are needed on a roster that doesn’t have too much experience.
Mya Babbitt (Kent State — No. 23, junior guard)
Babbitt is the clear leader of the offense and looks to solidify herself among the top guards in the MAC. Expect her to possess the ball on almost every possession for the Golden Flashes.
Dionna Gray (Kent State — No. 12, senior guard)
Gray doesn’t have the scoring output of Babbitt, but she can set up all her teammates for success. The Falcons emphasized help defense, but Gray could make passes through lanes to set up her shooters.
