The BGSU women’s basketball team (8-6, 1-2 MAC) lost to the Central Michigan Chippewas (8-5, 2-1 MAC) at the Stroh Center on Saturday, 68-56.
Coming off a conference road loss to Eastern Michigan, the Falcons were looking to get right at home. BG was better off the glass than the Chippewas, with 44 rebounds compared to 38 for Central.
But the Orange and Brown’s main issue in Saturday’s game was shooting. The Falcons shot just 29.1% from the field, and went a paltry 1-16 from three.
BG’s three-point performance this season has been somewhat paradoxical; the team is third in the MAC in three-point shots made, but is just tenth in the conference in three-point percentage.
Notably, shooters who are normally hot for BGSU struggled against CMU. Junior guard Paige Kohler and redshirt-junior guard Jasmine Fearne, who lead the team with 24 three-pointers each, struggled from beyond the arc. Kohler went 1-6 from three, while Fearne was 0-4.
The Falcons did lead early by a score of 5-2, but Central Michigan pulled ahead and did not look back. The Chips were lifted by sophomore guard Madi Morson, who went 8-15 from the floor and 6-8 from the foul line to score 24 points. Four CMU players made at least one three-point shot, contrasting the Falcons’ struggles.
“CMU’s a good team, but I thought we let them off the hook in the second half…we let them get 42 points in the second half,” head coach Fred Chmiel said. “When you shoot 29% from the field and 6% from three, you’re not going to win too many games.”
Both teams had plenty of turnovers; CMU had 16, while BG had 19. The two teams were tied 26-26 at halftime, but the Chippewas pulled away in the last two quarters.
Despite the shooting performance, senior forward Kendal Moxey led the team with 16 points and 15 rebounds, including 10 offensive rebounds.
“The big focus pregame was boxing out, rebounding, playing strong,” Moxey said. “But it wasn’t the outcome we wanted.”
With the loss, BG moves to 1-2 in MAC play. The Falcons travel to DeKalb to take on Northern Illinois on Saturday, Jan. 10, at 3:00 p.m. Coverage can be found at bgfalconmedia.com and on WBGU 88.1 FM.
