KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan women's basketball team prepares for a home bout this Wednesday against the Bowling Green Falcons which features a pair of squads with identical conference records. Tip-off on Feb. 16 is set for 7 p.m. inside University Arena.
 
WHERE TO WATCH
Wednesday's contest between the Broncos and Falcons will be available for streaming via ESPN+. The link to the stream is listed above, and can also be found HERE.
 
FIGURING OUT THE FALCONS (12-10, 7-6 MAC)
Bowling Green enters Kalamazoo coming off a win at home against Miami this past Monday by a final score of 94-61. Five Falcons finished in double figures as BGSU picked up their seventh conference victory of the season thanks to a balanced scoring effort.

Sophomore guard Nyla Hampton led all Falcons with 16 points on 5-9 (55.6 percent) shooting and three assists. Junior guard Elissa Brett was next, registering 15 points, five boards, and three assists, while senior forward Kadie Hempfling added 14 points, five rebounds, and a pair of assists as well. Freshman guard Amy Velasco and freshman forward Zoe Miller each contributed 11 points of their own to cap off the Bowling Green double-digit scoring for the night.

On the year, the Falcons sit at third in the MAC in scoring offense, averaging 73.7 PPG on a conference-best 45.5 percent from the field, while allowing 67.3 PPG from opponents for a scoring margin of +6.4 this season. Bowling Green knocks down 37.8 percent of their looks from deep, which also leads the conference, and capitalizes on 69.9 percent of foul line opportunities for a season average of eight made triples and 11.7 made freebies each time out.

On the glass, BGSU grabs 35.5 RPG and post a rebounding margin of +0.4, and are just below the Broncos in the conference standings at seventh place. Wednesday night's outing carries a good deal of weight as the fifth, sixth, and seventh place spots all yield 7-6 MAC records. Bowling Green have four players within 1.5 PPG of each other this season, spearheaded by Kadie Hemplfing, who posts 11.3 PPG to go along with 4.9 rebounds and a season field-goal percentage of .479.
 
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM WESTERN MICHIGAN (13-9, 7-6 MAC)
Western Michigan gets set to host Bowling Green following a road victory in Athens, Ohio, battling for a win over the Bobcats by a final margin of 80-73. The win was the eighth road victory, and, like BGSU, was also the seventh MAC victory for WMU.
Sophomore guard Lauren Ross exploded for a career-high 37 points on 11-20 (55 percent) shooting to go along with six rebounds and 7-11 (63.6 percent) shooting from three-point land. Ross's 37 points is the most by a single player in a Bronco win since Carrie Moore scored 41 against Detroit Mercy in 2006.

Redshirt sophomore forward Taylor Williams added 13 points on 6-7 (85.7 percent) shooting, nine rebounds, two assists, and a pair of blocks during her afternoon. Senior guard Maddie Watters and junior guard Sydney Shafer each added 10 points off the bench, respectively, and outscored the Bobcat bench 20-5.

During the 2021-22 campaign, Western Michigan averages 66.1 PPG shooting at a clip of 41.2 percent from the field and hold opponents to 62.7 PPG, which is good for the third-ranked defense in the MAC, and post a scoring margin of +3.4 on the year. Opponents also shoot at a combined rate of 39.8 percent when matched up with WMU, which is fourth-lowest in the conference. Furthermore, the Broncos connect on 32 percent of their triples and 69 percent of their charity stripe attempts for 7.1 made three's and 12 made free throws each game.

Lauren Ross blazes the trail offensively for Western Michigan, averaging 19.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG while shooting 45.7 percent from the field, 35.2 percent from beyond the arc, and 84.4 percent from the line. Ross is currently fourth conference-wide in scoring and field goal percentage, while ranking third in free throw percentage and leading all true MAC sophomores in each of the three categories. She also ranks 24^th nationally in scoring and has been named MAC Player of the Week following a stellar stretch of games against Buffalo, Akron, and Ohio.
 
ON THE HORIZON
Following Wednesday's game against BGSU, the Broncos head to Northern Illinois for the regular season finale against the Huskies. Tip-off in Dekalb on Feb. 19 is set for 2 p.m. and will be available for streaming via ESPN3.

Students get into all WMU home games free with their Bronco ID's, and tickets for all Bronco home games can be found wmubroncos.com/tickets, or by calling 1-888-4-WMU-TIX. Wednesday's game is also Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Unity Night, and will highlight the WMU Black Student Union, LBGT Student Services, and Multicultural Affairs for Students to provide information on the three different organizations. Doors open at 6 p.m.

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