DETROIT — Bowling Green State University women’s basketball suffered its first loss of the season Friday, falling into a 16-point hole in the second half before losing 73-66 at Detroit Mercy.

A 13-1 BGSU run in the fourth quarter made it interesting late, but the Falcons could not complete the comeback as they dropped to 1-1.

Bowling Green, which won its season opener against Southern Mississippi at home Monday, took its largest lead of Friday’s game at 17-11 late in the first quarter. The Titans cut it to 19-18 by the end of the quarter, then took the lead for good in the second with an 11-2 run that bridged the two quarters.

The Falcons’ struggles continued as the Detroit lead grew to 49-33 in the third quarter. It was 55-42 going into the fourth.

The big BGSU run cut the deficit to 58-55 with 5:57 left. The 13-1 spurt featured nine points from Amy Velasco, who scored a team-high 20 on the night for BG.

The Titans, coached by Clay High School and BGSU product Kate Achter, responded to push their lead back to double digits with a little less than three minutes to play. The Falcons pieced together a 6-0 run in less than a minute down the stretch, but Detroit Mercy made enough late free throws to ice the game.

Erika Porter (14 points) and Taya Ellis (11) joined Velasco in double figures for BGSU. Paige Kohler fouled out after scoring seven points in 25 minutes.

Myonna Hooper scored a game-high 24 points for Detroit, including a 7-of-9 mark from the field and 8 of 11 on free throws. Aaliyah McQueen added 16 points and Emaia O’Brien chipped in 12 as the Titans won their season opener.

The Falcons will next face another Horizon League opponent on the road as they travel to Cleveland State for a 7 p.m. Tuesday matchup. BGSU beat the Vikings 89-86 in a thrilling season opener a year ago.

First Published November 9, 2024, 3:17 a.m.