BOWLING GREEN — Lexi Fleming’s Bowling Green State University career has included a remarkable number of highlights, but what the fifth-year senior did on Wednesday night will undoubtedly be near the top.

The 5-foot-5 standout guard scored 21 points in the opening 10 minutes — a program record for points in a quarter — and the rest of her teammates also followed suit with stellar shooting as the Falcons cruised past Kent State 84-61 in a Mid-American Conference women’s basketball game at the Stroh Center.

“I think it definitely was,” Fleming said of whether or not her first quarter performance was the most confident she’s ever been shooting the ball, “but I think I’ve said this like too many times, but my teammates were doing a great job. I think we always do a great job of whoever has the hot hand, give them the ball.”

BGSU notched its eighth victory in the last 10 games to improve to 17-12 (10-7 MAC). It came against a strong Kent State squad (19-11, 11-6) that had won three straight games and beat the Falcons 81-71 to open league play in early January.

The Falcons finished 11-2 at home during the regular season. Their two losses were by a combined 13 points.

“Really good to see our seniors leave the Stroh like that. For our fans and for those seniors, what a special night,” BGSU coach Fred Chmiel said. “It’s hard to watch them walk out the door, but we still have some games left, so I’m not going to cry too many tears right now.

“But what a great outing, especially from Lex, against a really, really good Kent State team. Well coached, really, really good players, so pretty proud of what we did tonight.”

Fleming’s first-quarter outburst helped BGSU take a 30-18 lead after the opening 10 minutes. She scored BGSU’s first seven points and assisted on a Paige Kohler basket to make it 9-0 just three minutes into the game.

Fleming’s 3-pointer in the final seconds of the first capped off a 7-of-8 shooting performance from the floor, including 6 of 7 from 3-point range, and a 1 of 2 effort from the free-throw line. Her 21 points broke Carly Santoro’s record of 17 in the second quarter of BGSU’s game against Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 10, 2017.

“She came out a ball of fire, on fire, and it gave us great momentum for the whole rest of the game,” BGSU senior guard Amy Velasco said. “... It was incredible.

“She’s just been a great teammate to me, and friend, for the past four years. I’m so happy for her that she could come out here and just be on fire from the start. She’s a great teammate and a great person.”

BGSU never trailed in leading 46-29 at halftime, 60-49 after three quarters, and 73-53 with 7:06 left when Fleming found Johnea Donahue, who entered the game moments earlier after briefly leaving with a leg injury, for a 3-pointer. Kent State pulled within 57-48 with 1:28 left in the third on Jenna Batsch’s jumper, but BGSU led by double digits for the final 34 minutes.

Fleming finished with 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting (6 of 9 from 3-point range) and six assists. Kohler added 17 points and a game-high eight rebounds, while Velasco had 13 points and six assists.

Fifth-year senior post Erika Porter had 13 points and six rebounds for the Falcons, who dominated the rebounding battle 40-28. Kent State entered the game second in the MAC in rebounding (40.2 per game).

“We don’t have a lot of size out there, but we do have a lot of tenacity. We get after rebounds, we tip them out, we get loose balls, so that’s great,” Chmiel said. “Kent had some size out today, which probably helped the situation.

“But typically, we’re rebounding the ball pretty well. Our kids, they’re resilient.”

Batsch scored 25 points for Kent State. Tatiana Thomas (14 points) and Dionna Gray (10) also reached double figures.

BGSU shot a sizzling 55.2 percent (32 of 58) from the floor, including 48 percent (12 of 25) from beyond the arc. Kent State shot 39.3 percent (24 of 61) from the floor in posting its fourth-lowest scoring output in MAC play this season.

BGSU will travel to Eastern Michigan on Saturday afternoon to wrap up the regular season before starting the MAC tournament next week in Cleveland.

First Published March 6, 2025, 2:08 a.m.