BGSU women’s basketball (9-6, 2-2) secured a dominant 65-48 victory against the Northern Illinois Huskies (3-12,1-3) on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center in DeKalb, Illinois.
The Falcons used a smothering defense and a highly efficient second half to overcome an early deficit, eventually pushing their lead to as many as 21 points in the closing minutes. While the Huskies held the upper hand in the opening quarter, BGSU’s ability to turn defense into offense proved to be the difference-maker, recording 21 points off 19 NIU turnovers.
Northern Illinois jumped out to a quick start, scoring on their first two possessions to take a 4-0 lead. Bowling Green struggled to find rhythm early, falling behind 10-4 midway through the first period, before Joniyah Bland-Fitzpatrick provided a spark off the bench with back-to-back buckets. A turnaround jumper by Kaia Woods cut the deficit to 16-12 by the end of the first 10 minutes.
The momentum shifted in the second quarter as Paige Kohler and Johnea Donahue combined to tie the game at 16. After Woods knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the score again at 19, Kendal Moxey gave the Falcons their first lead of the afternoon with 3 minutes remaining in the half, where BGSU would eventually enter the locker room with a 25-22 lead.
Bowling Green seized full control in the third quarter. Kohler and Donahue extended the lead before Lauren Gerken and Woods hit back-to-back triples to push the margin to double digits at 35-25. Moxey continued her perfect shooting night with another three-point play, helping the Falcons maintain a 42-31 advantage heading into the final frame.
The Huskies made one final push early into the fourth, cutting the BGSU lead to five points at 44-39; however, Kohler silenced the rally with a clutch corner three, sparking a 7-0 Falcon run.
Donahue, who recorded a game-high eight steals, repeatedly disrupted NIU’s offense and found Moxey for transition layups to put the game out of reach. Ky’Aira Miller added a late 3-pointer to push the lead to 63-44, as the Falcons would eventually close out the game 65-48.
Moxey led all scorers with 15 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting performance, while also grabbing eight rebounds. Gerken followed with 11 points and six boards, while Kohler, Donahue and Woods each finished with 10 points.
Next, Bowling Green will remain on the road as they face Western Michigan on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
