BOWLING GREEN — With all the adversity that Fred Chmiel and his Bowling Green State University women’s basketball team have faced this season, one thing has stood out with the Falcons.
No matter what obstacle has been thrown its way, BGSU has come up with an ability to respond.
“I think we’ve got an incredible group of young women that have given every ounce that they could possibly give,” said Chmiel, who took over as the Falcons’ coach in April after spending eight seasons as an assistant at South Carolina.
“That’s not to say that myself and our staff don’t try to squeeze more out of them, but they have given everything they possibly can. ... Everybody just kind of has wrapped their arms around the program and given everything they’ve had. When you have a group of people together like that, you’re going to do great things. You’re going to do the most that you possibly can, and you’re going to maximize your potential.”
Despite losing a half dozen players mostly to injuries, facing arguably the toughest nonleague schedule amongst Mid-American Conference teams, and having to replace four of its top five scorers from last year — as well as one of the best all-around players in program history — the Falcons (16-13, 10-8 MAC) finished the 2023-24 regular season with a winning record.
BGSU, which was picked to finish fourth in the MAC preseason coaches’ poll, finished tied for fourth with Buffalo in the final regular-season standings.
BGSU, the No. 5 seed, and No. 4 Buffalo (17-12, 10-8) will square off in the MAC tournament quarterfinals at approximately 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.
The challenges this season have been aplenty for the Falcons, who faced three ranked opponents in December — including No. 1 South Carolina and then-No. 4 Iowa — in a brutal nonconference slate. BGSU lost senior guard Lexi Fleming, who led the Falcons in nearly every major statistical category, to a torn ACL in her left knee right before MAC play began.
The Falcons have lost an estimated 114 player-games due to injury so far this year.
For most of the second half of the season, they only dressed eight or nine players per game.
Throw in the standouts lost from last year’s historic team that tied a MAC record for wins in a season (31) and reached the Women’s National Invitation Tournament semifinals for the first time. Leading scorer Elissa Brett (14.7 points per game), MAC defensive player of the year Nyla Hampton (10.3), and Jocelyn Tate (10.2) transferred to Michigan, Ball State, and Michigan State, respectively, after former coach Robyn Fralick accepted the head coaching position at Michigan State, while Allison Day (13.1) and Kadie Hempfling, the only player in BGSU history with more than 1,200 points, 800 rebounds, and 400 assists, completed their eligibility.
“I think coach Fred is a really awesome coach. He’s done great things with our program,” said BGSU junior guard Amy Velasco, one of the top returners and players for the Falcons this season. “We have so many new girls, new faces, and I think he’s really held us to a standard. That’s made each and every one of us better.”
BGSU has had plenty of highlights this season, including dramatic last-second wins against Cleveland State and Duquesne early in the season, and the Falcons enter the MAC tournament having won four of their past six games. But the Falcons have had a lot of learning experiences, as well, specifically Chmiel, whose powerhouse South Carolina teams rarely lost under coach Dawn Staley.
“It’s the process. It’s getting from where you’re at to where you want to be,” Chmiel said. “It doesn’t happen all at once, and there’s a lot of unforeseen hazards along the road.
“As a head coach, you have to maneuver. You have to make adjustments, you have to pivot. Not always the best feeling to lose games, but to learn from losses, that’s the biggest thing that I’ve brought out of this. I wasn’t used to losing. I’m not comfortable with it, I’m not a good loser. But forcing ourselves to learn from setbacks and progress forward, I think, has gotten us to this point.”
Numerous BGSU players have thrived in Chmiel’s first year, including Velasco, whose 14.4 points, 4.9 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 35 minutes per game are each a career high. Senior guard Morgan Sharps, who along with Velasco surpassed 1,000 points for their college careers this season, has set career highs in points (15.8), rebounds (2.8), assists (2.4), and minutes (32.7) in her three seasons with the Falcons.
Erika Porter, who spent two seasons at Illinois and one at Baylor before transferring to BGSU, has blossomed into a reliable presence in the post. The 6-foot-2 senior, who is second in the country in field goal percentage (66.5 percent), is averaging 12.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
“I think coach Fred, for all of us in practice, he breaks down literally every little thing. Things that you wouldn’t even think to teach, he has taught us from the starting five players to the bench players, and I think that’s why we are so connected and we play really well,” Porter said. “... He’s opened my eyes to so much in just one year, and I’m doing the most I’ve ever done in my college career.”
BGSU came up just short of both a regular-season and conference tournament title last season. The Falcons are hoping they can avenge some losses and get on a roll when they arrive in Cleveland.
“Just with all the injuries and the girls have stuck to it, and coach Fred will never give up, and he’s told us that several times,” Fleming said. “No matter how hard, especially the hand he’s been given with all the injuries and the hand that the girls that are still available to play have been given, no one has given up yet.
“Everyone wants more, everyone wants to be in the MAC tournament. We got that, our job’s not done there. We want to see a MAC championship and win a MAC championship.”
First Published March 12, 2024, 7:11 p.m.
