BGSU women’s basketball (8-6, 1-2) lost 68-56 to the Central Michigan Chippewas (8-5, 2-1) on Saturday afternoon at the Stroh Center, suffering their second straight loss in Mid-American Conference (MAC) play.
Bowling Green’s head coach, Fred Chmiel, gave his post-game opening statement. “CMU is a good team, but I thought that we let them off the hook in the second half,” Chmiel said. The 2nd half favored the Chippewas 42-30.
The game started slowly for both sides, as the first quarter ended 14-11 in favor of the Chippewas. Bowling Green shot 18.2 percent while CMU shot 27.8 percent in the first.
Overall, the Falcons finished with a field goal percentage of 29.1. One of their lowest marks of the season.
Another factor in the poor offensive quarter was a combined 12 turnovers between the two squads. Central Michigan had five turnovers to BG’s seven.
Bowling Green was able to kickstart the offense from sophomore guard Johnea Donahue and her 4 steals in the first half. The Falcons would end the half with 8 fastbreak points.
Central Michigan’s leading scorer at halftime was sophomore guard Madi Morson, who had six points but registered four of the team’s ten first-half turnovers. Morson finished the game with 24 points as she put on an offensive clinic in the second half. Morson was joined by senior forward Nekhu Mitchell with 17 points in the contest.
BGSU senior forward Kendal Moxey finished the first half with ten points and seven rebounds in only 11 minutes of action. She ended the game with an eye-popping double-double of 16 points and 15 rebounds.
Moxey spoke about her focus heading into the game. “Got to box out, rebound and play strong,” Moxey said. Her 24 minutes of action were her most in a game this season.
Bowling Green’s head coach, Fred Chmiel, was asked about Moxey’s performance. “She’s bought in,” Chmiel said. “She wants to do anything we ask of her.”
Junior forward Taya Ellis went down with an apparent injury in the fourth quarter. Moxey is a strong candidate to take over Ellis’ minutes if she misses time.
It was a low-scoring first half, as the two teams were stalemated at 26 heading into halftime.
Out of the half, the third quarter was dominated by Central Michigan, as they outscored BG, 20-11. The catalyst of the defensive struggles for the Orange and Brown was the six offensive rebounds allowed in the third quarter.
Bowling Green had zero three-point makes after three quarters of play. Junior guard Paige Kohler would break that trend with a three at the 6:41 mark in the fourth. She scored seven points in the fourth quarter. It was the only three-pointer made for the Falcons as they finished the game shooting one of 16 from three.
“When you go one of 16, it really hampers your offense,” Chmiel said. “People are packing the paint on us.”
Next up, the Falcons travel to face Northern Illinois on Jan. 10, at 3 p.m. in the Convocation Center. Falcon Media Sports Network’s Lucas Kleimeyer will call the game on WBGU 88.1 F.M.
