BOWLING GREEN — Bowling Green State University’s women’s basketball team continued its stellar stretch on Saturday night with perhaps the biggest Mid-American Conference victory in the Fred Chmiel era.
The Falcons used another scorching start in taking a 25-14 lead after the first quarter, and they never trailed in the final 34 minutes in taking down an equally red-hot Toledo squad 81-72 in front of more than 3,600 fans at the Stroh Center.
“It was just so much fun. The energy from the fans, my team, my coaches, it’s just a fun environment to be in,” BGSU senior post Erika Porter said. “I’ve never really been in this kind of environment, and it was really fun and amazing.”
BGSU earned its sixth win in its past seven games — four of the victories have been by single digits — to improve to 15-11 (8-6 MAC). The Falcons ended the Rockets’ seven-game winning streak, as well as a five-game winning streak in the series.
“This was an incredible environment and everything that I thought it would be, as far as the crowd and the rivalry and the energy between the two teams. So all the credit to BG and their staff for having a great game plan,” first-year Toledo coach Ginny Boggess said. “Porter and [Amy] Velasco were playing like seniors that didn’t want to lose to Toledo at home the last time they got to play them, and that’s what it felt like out there.”
BGSU set the tone on both ends of the floor in taking an 11-point lead after the first quarter. Toledo (19-6, 10-4 MAC) used a strong finish in the second quarter to trim a 16-point deficit to five at halftime, but the Falcons never let the Rockets take control in answering every challenge that was thrown their way.
“Toledo’s a really, really good team. It was a dogfight back and forth,” said Chmiel, who is in his second season coaching the Falcons. “We took some good punches from them, they made some really good plays to get back in the game. Nan [Garcia] kind of fueled them in that fourth quarter, and we were in some foul trouble.
“But we hung tough, held the rope. I thought that was probably the toughest we’ve ever played, as far as physical and mental toughness.”
Velasco, a 5-foot-7 senior guard, poured in a season-high 30 points on 9 of 15 shooting from the floor and 9 of 9 shooting from the free-throw line. She was just two points off her career high and dished out five of BGSU’s 15 assists, as well.
Velasco scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, including a reverse layup off Paige Kohler’s pass with 4:41 left to extend BGSU’s lead to 71-66.
“She is like the head of the snake,” Porter said of Velasco. “Kind of like when we’re in trouble and we have 10 seconds left and we have to bail out, she’s bailing us out.
“She’s an amazing finisher, great shooter, great leader, and I’m so blessed to be able to play with Amy for these two years.”
Porter, who transferred to BGSU prior to last season, chipped in 16 points and five rebounds. Freshman guard Johnea Donahue had 12 points (seven in the fourth quarter) and a career-high eight steals as she constantly disrupted Toledo’s offense.
Overall, BGSU forced 18 turnovers and had a 23-12 advantage in points off turnovers.
“Donahue’s been a game changer for them in the lineup, and eight steals is remarkable. She was ready and she plays with a tremendous amount of physicality and anticipatory skills,” Boggess said. “So she’s come along and doing a great job.
“But we were on our heels a little bit from the jump. Turnovers have plagued us, and that’s something that I have got to fix for our team. I’ll take full responsibility for that. I’ve got to figure it out.”
Garcia, a 6-0 senior guard/forward, scored 11 of her team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter in helping the Rockets stay within single digits. She also grabbed seven rebounds.
Kendall Carruthers and Faith Fedd-Robinson had 16 and 14 points, respectively, for Toledo, while Lexi Fleming chipped in 11 points for BGSU. Both teams shot 30 of 56 (53.6 percent) from the floor and 83.3 percent from the free-throw line; BGSU was 15 of 18 and Toledo 10 of 12.
“It was just fun going out there and having the support system like we get here at the Stroh,” Velasco said. “It just makes it such a special place to play at. Today was just super fun.”
First Published February 23, 2025, 2:12 a.m.
