Bowling Green State University women’s basketball standout Kadie Hempfling will use her extra year of eligibility and return for the 2022-23 academic year.

“We are thrilled to have Kadie return for another season,” said BGSU head coach Robyn Fralick. “Her enthusiasm and joy for BG and for playing basketball are inspiring. I feel so fortunate for another year spent together.”

A native of Ottawa (Ottawa-Glandorf HS), Hempfling was named to the All-Mid-American Conference Third Team for the second consecutive season in 2021-22. A team captain for the second-straight year, she led the Falcons in scoring, with 11.7 points per game, and also paced BGSU in field-goal percentage (49.8%) while ranking fourth in rebounding (4.6 rpg), assists (1.76 apg) and steals (1.03 spg).

Hempfling, the lone Falcon to start all 33 games in 2021-22, led the Falcons in plus/minus rating, at +93. She hIt 51 three-point field goals and shot 43.2% from the arc.

“I am so excited and grateful to return for my final year at Bowling Green,” Hempfling said. “Throughout my time here, it’s the people who have truly made an impact on me, whether it be teammates, coaches, fans, or the community. I am excited to go to work and grow with this team one last time.”

After coming off the bench to make her collegiate debut, Hempfling has started every BGSU game since that time. Through the end of the 2021-22 campaign, she has played in 123 games, making 122 total – and 122 consecutive – starts.

She scored the 1,000th point of her career in the Falcons’ win over Western Michigan on Jan. 26, and pulled down her 700th rebound as a Falcon three days later. Then, on Valentine’s Day vs. Miami, Hempfling dished out the 400th assist.

Hempfling will enter the 2022-23 season ranked fifth in BGSU history in career games started, and she is 22nd in career scoring (1,206 points), 10th in rebounding (773) and sixth in assists (420). She is the only player in BGSU women’s basketball history with at least 1,000 points, 700 rebounds and 400 assists.

Hempfling has scored in double digits in 57 career games, including a team-high 20 games this past season. She has 21 career contests of 10 or more rebounds, and has eight career double-doubles, tops among active Falcons.

The post player has made 131 career three-point field goals, ranking her 13th on that BGSU career list.

In 2020-21, Hempfling averaged 12.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest. She ranked among the top-three players on the team in scoring, rebounding and assists (3.0 apg), and led the Falcons in plus/minus ratio.

Hempfling helped that ‘20-21 club to a MAC championship. The Falcons went 21-8 overall and 14-4 in conference play, capturing the regular-season title after being picked to finish 11th in the 12-team league in the preseason coaches’ poll.

BGSU has posted a 24-14 record in MAC play in the last two seasons, and the Falcons have gone 38-24 overall during that time, participating in national postseason tournaments in both years.

Hempfling earned her undergraduate degree from BGSU in December. A psychology major with a minor in science, she had a 3.828 cumulative grade-point average as an undergrad. She is currently enrolled in the MBA program at BGSU.