BGSU women’s basketball (13-11, 5-7) picked up its fifth Mid-American Conference (MAC) win of the season, defeating the Buffalo Bulls (2-22, 0-12) by a final score of 72-61, picking up its second straight win at the Stroh Center.
This is the first victory the Falcons have secured over the Bulls since the 2022-2023 season, and the first win under head coach Fred Chmiel, after losing five straight, including two in the MAC Tournament.
“Glad we got the home win, I thought Buffalo was really competitive. We came out pretty strong and felt like we took our foot off the gas a little bit coming out of the locker room in the third,” said Chmiel postgame. “I thought [Buffalo] played hard, they finished well, they closed that gap, and it got a little tight, but we pulled through.”
Junior guard Paige Kohler led the way in scoring for the Falcons, with a season-high 26 points and nine rebounds, just one shy of a double-double. She hit a game-high six 3-pointers and went 8-11 from the floor. The only other Falcon to reach double figures was sophomore forward Lauren Gerken, who scored 12.
One of the biggest news stories to come out of the game was sophomore guard Johnea Donahue leaving the game in the third quarter due to an injury.
“A little rolled ankle,” said Chmiel. “She just rolled it…rolled it pretty good though. But if you know [Johnea], she’s going to be ready to play by Saturday.”
For Buffalo, Meg Lucas finished the night with a double-double, scoring a team-high 15 points and 12 rebounds, playing every second on the night.
Bowling Green finished shooting 40% from field goal range, along with hitting 11 3-pointers, with seven of them coming in the first half. On the other hand, Buffalo went 39.7% from the field and just 2-9 from three. Despite the loss, the Bulls scored 46 points in the paint, compared to the Falcons’ 18.
The Falcons won the first quarter 21-15, after jumping out to a hot start, going on a 13-4 run in the first three minutes of the contest. Kohler hit four 3-pointers in the first, and as a team the Orange and Brown shot 5-8 from beyond the arc. The Bulls got 14 of their 15 points in the paint in the first, shooting 7-17 from the floor.
In the second, Bowling Green held Buffalo to just five points, forcing the Bulls to shoot 18.2% from the floor. The Falcons picked it up inside offensively in the rebounding category with 11 boards, and scored 12 points inside the paint.
At halftime, Kohler had a game-high 14 points. Senior guard Kaia Woods was right behind her with eight, and Gerken with seven.
A slow start to the third for the Orange and Brown saw the Bulls start the third with momentum. Despite both teams starting slow offensively in the second half, Buffalo went out to an 8-4 run.
The Falcons were held to just 30.8% shooting from the floor, and were out-rebounded 12-7, leading to a Bulls victory in the third, 16-13, but BG still led 54-36 heading into the fourth.
Buffalo turned the game on its head in the final 10 minutes of action. The Bulls, once down by as much as 22, cut the Falcons’ lead to six. Starting with a 10-0 run to start the fourth quarter. Despite being outscored by Buffalo 25-18, the Falcons were able to hold on.
Up next, Bowling Green will head to Muncie, Indiana, to take on the red-hot Ball State Cardinals (20-5), (11-1) on Saturday, Feb. 14.
“We’re going to have to play 40 minutes against Ball State. They’re a very good team, but I think we’re going to be ready,” said Chmiel. “I think we’ll be energized for that game. It’ll be the third year in a row we’re at Ball State, which is what it is. We play the games that are on the schedule. So we are looking forward to going down there.”
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Adam Duffin and Trey Kennedy will have the call on WBGU 88.1 FM, with tip-off set for 11:00 a.m. Full coverage of the game can be found on bgfalconmedia.com.
