BOWLING GREEN — Bowling Green State University women’s basketball coach Robyn Fralick hasn’t had a hard time keeping her players motivated and energized over the past week and a half.
The proof has been in the Falcons’ play in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
After impressive wins in the first two rounds over Liberty and Green Bay — two teams with a combined 52-13 record — BGSU will be going for its 30th victory of the season when the Falcons (29-6) host Memphis (22-10) in the WNIT Super 16 at 6 p.m. on Thursday at the Stroh Center.
“If you love to play, there’s no better time of the year for basketball than right now. I think we saw that at Green Bay,” Fralick said before Wednesday’s practice. “I saw a group that loved to compete and loved to play, and today we get another opportunity to get better, and we want to use that.”
The Falcons and Tigers will be squaring off for the first time. BGSU is coming off wins over Liberty (87-80 on March 16) and Green Bay (69-51 on Monday), while Memphis topped Jackson State (79-68) and Ball State (79-62).
For the third straight round, BGSU and its opponent will have the most combined wins of any WNIT matchup in the respective round, according to BGSU athletics. Bowling Green and Liberty had 51 combined wins, while the Falcons and Phoenix totaled 56 victories.
BGSU is one of only a handful of mid-major programs left in the WNIT. The winner between the Falcons and Tigers will face Florida (18-14) or Clemson (19-15) in the Great 8.
“I think just those two first wins really showed how well we play together and how much we enjoy playing together for this team,” said BGSU sophomore guard Amy Velasco, who had a career-high 11 assists against Green Bay. “I think this is a great opportunity for our program and just show what a wonderful and awesome program this is here at Bowling Green.”
After a rugged Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament, the Falcons have done well in limiting their recent and relatively unfamiliar opponents’ strengths.
BGSU did an admirable job combating Liberty’s massive height advantage, and even had a 44-30 advantage in points in the paint. The Falcons shot 50.9 percent against a Green Bay team that entered the game fourth in the nation in field-goal percentage defense (33.5 percent).
“They’re quick turnarounds, so I think you’ve got to be concise and your kids have to know the most important things and then go out and do it,” Fralick said. “Our kids have been locked in, and same thing with Memphis.
“It’s another quick turnaround, it’s a team that it’s our first time playing. There’s a piece of that that makes it just a little bit of a more fluid game, but they’ve done a good job of knowing these are the things we have to focus on and these are the things we have to execute.”
The Tigers’ 16.7 offensive rebounds per game and 43.4 per contest overall rank in the top eight in the NCAA. Seven Memphis players average at least three rebounds per game, led by 6-foot-1 sophomore forward Hannah Riddick’s 6.7 per outing.
“They have more big posts, kind of like Liberty. But, kind of similar to Toledo, we’ve gone against big posts all year,” said BGSU senior forward Allison Day, who had 25 points (12-of-16 shooting), 10 rebounds, and four steals against Green Bay. “So just making sure we’re boxing everybody out and going and getting the ball with two hands will be really important.”
Added Fralick: “They’re an elite rebounding team, and it’s been a huge part of their success this season. You can’t necessarily eliminate it, but you’ve got to find ways to minimize it, so that’s going to be a really important part of the game.”
With a win over Memphis, BGSU would match the 2014 squad for its deepest WNIT run in eight appearances. The Falcons would also join a small list of MAC teams to reach the 30-win mark in a season.
Only four teams have gotten to 30 wins. The 2006-07 BGSU team went 31-4 and the 2013-14 squad finished 30-5; Central Michigan (30-5 in 2017-18) and Ohio (30-6 in 2018-19) also reached the mark.
Fralick, Day, and Velasco each said they don’t really think about the numerous milestones and accomplishments the program has had this year.
They are focused on keeping their season going as long as they can.
“I think we just go out and compete every game and obviously, we go out there competing to win,” Velasco said.
First Published March 22, 2023, 11:14 p.m.
