The Bowling Green State University women’s basketball team is set to face the University of Akron in a Mid-American Conference (MAC) matchup on Wednesday, January 28, at 7:00 p.m. The game will take place at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio. Head coach Fred Chmiel and the Falcons enter the contest with a 10-9 overall record and a 3-5 mark in conference play, while Akron stands at 3-16 overall and winless in MAC competition.
The game will be streamed live on ESPN+, with audio coverage provided by Falcon Media Sports. Fans can access links to live stats and broadcasts on BGSUFalcons.com.
As part of new policies for the season, a clear bag mandate has been implemented for all games at BGSU venues, including the Stroh Center. Media members are required to use only the media entrance under this policy. Additional limited mobility parking spaces have also been made available on the north side of Lot 24 for home basketball games, accessible via the Student Entrance.
Junior Paige Kohler will be honored before tipoff for surpassing 1,000 career points during last week’s game against Ohio. She became the 33rd player in program history to reach this milestone and achieved it in her 80th career game, tying her for seventh-fastest among Falcons players.
Wednesday’s game will feature two athletes facing their former teams: BGSU’s Kaia Woods transferred from Akron after playing all 29 games for the Zips two seasons ago, while Akron’s Keiryn McGuff played two years at BGSU before joining Akron this season.
Despite a recent low-scoring performance from its bench, Bowling Green ranks third in the MAC and 54th nationally in bench scoring with an average of 24.2 points per game. The Falcons’ reserves have outscored opponents’ benches in most games this season. Akron leads the MAC and is ranked higher nationally with an average of 26.1 bench points per game.
Historically, Bowling Green has been one of the most successful programs in MAC women’s basketball. The Falcons hold a .628 winning percentage in league regular-season games and have won or tied for more regular-season titles than any other school in the conference.
In individual performances, junior Taya Ellis recently scored a career-high 20 points while making all nine field goal attempts against UMass—one of the top shooting performances in program history. Sophomore Johnea Donahue leads both the conference and ranks second nationally with an average of over four steals per game this season.
Kohler was named to the Preseason All-MAC First Team by league coaches after earning multiple honors last year. She currently leads Bowling Green in scoring (13.7 ppg) and is among MAC leaders across several statistical categories.
Bowling Green has used nine different starting lineups so far this season due to injuries and roster changes; ten players have started at least one game each.
Other notable contributors include sophomore Lauren Gerken—who returned from injury to score double digits consistently—and several teammates who rank among league leaders in blocks, rebounds, assists, free throw percentage, and three-point shooting.
Akron comes into Wednesday’s contest having lost its last seven conference games. Ni’Rah Clark leads Akron with averages of 12 points and 5.5 rebounds per game; Monique Mitchell adds nearly ten points per contest; McGuff contributes both scoring and rebounding as well.
Bowling Green holds a significant advantage historically over Akron with a series lead of 61-14 and has won their last four meetings—including an 82-69 victory last season at home.
After hosting Akron, Bowling Green will travel to Toledo on January 31 for its next matchup before heading to Kent State on February 4; their next home appearance follows shortly after against Coastal Carolina as part of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge.
