The Bowling Green State University women’s basketball team is preparing for a significant stretch in its season, starting with a game against Miami University on Saturday, January 17. The contest will take place at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio, with tipoff scheduled for 4:00 p.m. This matchup marks Alumni Day and will be streamed on ESPN+.
Currently holding a 10-6 overall record and sitting at 3-2 in the Mid-American Conference (MAC), the Falcons are tied for fifth place in the conference standings. Over their next three games, they will face three of the top four teams in the MAC. Head coach Fred Chmiel leads the team into this challenging portion of their schedule.
Fans can access live streams and audio broadcasts for all BGSU home games through ESPN+ and Falcon Media Sports. Additional information and links to live stats are available on BGSUFalcons.com.
Junior guard Paige Kohler is approaching a personal milestone, entering Saturday’s game with 988 career points at BGSU. If she scores 12 or more points against Miami, she will become the program’s 33rd player to reach 1,000 career points and could do so as the seventh-fastest player in school history to hit that mark.
BGSU has maintained a strong historical presence within the MAC. The Falcons have achieved a .631 winning percentage in regular-season conference play and hold second place among all MAC institutions both in terms of wins and win percentage. They have won 15 regular-season titles—tied for most among league members—and lead with 11 tournament championships.
This season at home, BGSU has posted a record of 6-1 at the Stroh Center, including a victory over Kent State during conference play. In recent years, their home performance has remained strong; last season’s .846 home winning percentage was one of their best since moving into their current venue.
Sophomore Johnea Donahue has contributed significantly after returning from injury midseason. She recorded double-doubles against Kent State and Eastern Michigan while also earning multiple MAC Player of the Week honors this year. Donahue currently averages nearly four steals per game—a figure that leads both her conference and ranks sixth nationally—and appears among league leaders across several statistical categories.
Kohler was named to this year’s Preseason All-MAC First Team by coaches’ vote following an All-MAC Honorable Mention last season along with academic honors from College Sports Communicators. This year she leads her team in scoring (14.3 points per game) while ranking high across various statistical measures within the conference.
The Falcons have utilized eight different starting lineups so far this season due to roster depth and injuries; ten players have started at least one game each.
Other key contributors include junior Taya Ellis (top ten in blocks, free throws, rebounds), sophomore Lauren Gerken (third in blocks), senior Kaia Woods (eighth in free throw percentage), redshirt junior Jasmine Fearne (13th in three-pointers made per game), and senior Kendal Moxey who recently posted back-to-back standout performances including career highs against Central Michigan.
In their previous outing on January 14 against Western Michigan, BGSU secured a win after ending the third quarter on an eleven-point run before holding off a late comeback attempt by Western Michigan to win 61-54.
According to preseason polling by MAC coaches, Bowling Green was picked to finish sixth this season behind Kent State—selected as favorites—followed by Toledo, Massachusetts (a new member of the league), Ball State, Central Michigan then BGSU itself.
Miami enters Saturday’s contest leading or near-leading most major statistical categories within the conference with a record of 13-4 overall and undefeated (5-0) within league play so far this year under head coach Glenn Box.
Historically Bowling Green holds an advantage over Miami with a series lead of 58-36; however recent meetings have been split between both programs depending largely on which team played host that year.
After facing Miami this weekend BGSU remains at home for another conference matchup versus Ohio before traveling to Massachusetts later that week for a nationally televised game on CBS Sports Network.
