BGSU women’s basketball (8-5, 1-1) snapped its seven-game winning streak with an 86-76 loss against Eastern Michigan (7-5, 1-1) in Ypsilanti, Michigan, on Tuesday night. The Orange and Brown start Mid-American Conference (MAC) play 1-1 after their 73-69 home victory against Kent State on Dec. 20.
The matchup was back and forth throughout the entire game, with 21 lead changes and 13 ties. The matchup was very physical, with three girls fouling out and five girls having four fouls.
Both the Falcons and Eagles relied heavily on their starting five in the first half, with only eight points total coming from either team’s bench. All eight came from the Orange and Brown, and six of them from junior forward Taya Ellis.
Eastern Michigan ended the game with only two points scored off the bench, which were scored by freshman guard Paula Balada.
The Green and White had three girls with 20 or more points. Leading Eastern Michigan and the game was junior forward Fernanda Ovalle, who also tallied 10 rebounds for a double-double.
Bowling Green also found themselves with a double-double performance by sophomore guard Johnea Donahue. Donahue finished the game with 10 points and 10 rebounds, six points coming from the free throw line.
The turning point of the game came in the third quarter, when Eastern Michigan kept Bowling Green at bay, scoring only 10 points in the quarter compared to their own 19 points.
The Falcons went 2-13 from the field and 0-4 from three in the quarter, along with no player scoring more than two points.
On the other side of the court, the Eagles’ senior forward Sisi Eleko found herself scoring 10 points in the quarter, as many as the Falcons had.
Bowling Green currently have a six-game win streak at home and will look to defend that as they head back to the Stroh Center to face Central Michigan to start the new year on Jan. 3, with tip-off set for 2:00 p.m.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Lucas Kleimeyer and Trey Kennedy will have the call on WBGU 88.1 FM. Full coverage of the game can be found on bgfalconmedia.com.
