Bowling Green State University’s women’s basketball team narrowly lost to Miami University 51-49 in a Mid-American Conference game at the Stroh Center on Saturday. The Falcons, now 10-7 overall and 3-3 in conference play, were led by junior Paige Kohler and sophomore Lauren Gerken, who each scored 11 points. Sophomore Johnea Donahue added 10 points.
Gerken contributed three assists, six steals, and two blocked shots. Donahue had four steals and Kohler added three as Bowling Green finished with 15 steals as a team.
Miami’s Ilse de Vries led all scorers with 17 points. Amber Scalia scored 12 points and Amber Tretter added 10 for the RedHawks, who improved to 14-4 overall and remain undefeated in MAC play at 6-0.
Both teams struggled with turnovers, combining for a total of 54—28 by Bowling Green and 26 by Miami.
Bowling Green held a late lead after Jaedyn Cook converted a three-point play with just over four minutes remaining. However, consecutive steals allowed Miami to take the lead with under two minutes left. Tretter extended Miami’s advantage to three points before Joniyah Bland-Fitzpatrick cut it to one with a layup. After Tretter made one of two free throws in the final seconds, Bowling Green had an opportunity to win but missed a last-second three-pointer.
“With 11 points on Saturday, junior Paige Kohler now has 999 career points at BGSU. She needs just one more point to become the 33rd player in program history to score 1,000 career points,” according to the university’s statement. “If Kohler scores at least one point in BGSU’s next game (Wednesday night vs. Ohio at the Stroh Center), she will be tied for the seventh-fastest in school history to reach the millennium mark.”
The Falcons started strong in both the first and second quarters but saw their leads erased by timely scoring from Miami. The game remained close throughout, with neither team able to pull away for long.
Bowling Green will host Ohio University on Wednesday night before traveling to face Massachusetts on Sunday. The Massachusetts game will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network.
For additional updates on Bowling Green women’s basketball, fans can follow the team through its social media channels or visit BGSUFalcons.com.
