SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Bowling Green State University women’s basketball team used a dominant defensive effort to post a 59-38 win over Mercer University on Wednesday afternoon in the Savannah Hoops Invitational at Enmarket Arena.

The Falcons (3-1) allowed Mercer to make just 12 field goals in the win, as the Bears (1-5) shot under 22 percent on the day.

Lexi Fleming led all players with 14 points, five assists and six steals in the win. She also had a game-high six steals, and tied for game honors with five assists.

Amy Velasco joined Fleming in double figures in the scoring column, with 11 points. Velasco went 3-for-4 from three-point range, topping the entire Mercer team in that category.

Erika Porter scored eight points, while Paige Kohler had seven points and nine rebounds. Taya Ellis also had nine boards in the win.

The Falcons held a 13-7 lead after one quarter, then held the Bears without a point for nearly five minutes to begin the second period. Porter scored six-straight points to give the Orange and Brown a 21-7 advantage.

Mercer scored the next four points, but a Sophie Dziekan bucket was followed by a Kohler three-pointer, giving the Falcons a 26-13 advantage, and the lead never fell below double figures again.

The Falcons held leads of 26-13 at the half and 44-22 after three quarters. BGSU shot 38.3 percent from the floor in the win, while holding MU to just a 12-for-55 (21.8%) effort.

Both teams got off to slow-shooting starts. Velasco took a Fleming pass and knocked down a three-point try on the game’s first possession, but the Falcons then went scoreless for a five-and-a-half minute span. But, Mercer only scored three points during that same time. The Bears were scoreless for the game’s first 4:46 before Deja Williams hit a three-pointer.

The Falcons used an early timeout, and Paige Kohler then fed Fleming for a three-pointer and a 6-3 lead.

It was a 6-5 game with over eight minutes gone before Kohler grabbed a defensive rebound and fired the ball ahead to Fleming for a layup. Then, a Fleming steal and layup made it a 10-5 lead.

Stacie Jones scored after a BG turnover, but Taya Ellis put back a missed shot and hit the ensuing free throw to complete a three-point play, giving the Falcons a 13-7 lead after 10 minutes.

Fleming had seven first-quarter points to match Mercer’s team total.

After holding Mercer scoreless for 4:46 to begin the first quarter, the Falcons kept the Bears off the board for the first 4:49 of the second period. BG began the second quarter with an 8-0 run, beginning with a Sophie Dziekan layup off of a Kohler feed.

Then, Erika Porter scored the game’s next six points. She took a Velasco inbounds pass and hit a layup, then scored inside off of Dziekan’s ‘extra pass.’ Then, Fleming found Porter for a turnaround jumper and a 21-7 lead.

The Bears scored four consecutive points, but Dziekan answered with a layup, then kicked the ball out to Kohler for a three-pointer from the right wing and a 26-11 lead.

The Falcons had a 26-13 advantage at the intermission, as BG allowed Mercer to go just 5-of-27 from the floor (18.5%) in the opening 20 minutes.

Jones scored inside on the first possession of the second half, but Olivia Hill answered right away with a corner three. Fleming came up with a steal and an open layup, and Fleming then found Porter for a layup and a 33-15 lead two minutes into the period.

Dziekan spotted Fleming for an and-one layup and a three-point play, then Kohler grabbed a defensive rebound, took the ball all the way to the rack and was fouled. The freshman’s free throws gave the Falcons a 38-17 lead.

After a Jasmine Clerkley defensive rebound, Kohler whipped a long pass ahead to Fleming for a layup, and a Keiryn McGuff put back made it a 42-20 game.

Velasco hit a driving layup before the Falcons got a stop on the final possession of the quarter. A McGuff steal in the final seconds saw the Falcons haed into the final period with a 44-22 lead.

Mercer scored the first four points of the final quarter, but a Velasco triple snapped a three-minute BG scoring drought. And, another Velasco trey gave the Orange and Brown a 50-28 lead.

Kohler hit a pair of free throws, and Emily Siesel drove and kicked the ball out to Abbie Riddle for a three-pointer and a 55-34 lead.

Jaci Tubergen hit a driving layup, and a Siesel steal led to a McGuff runout that gave the Falcons a game-high 23-point lead before two late Mercer free throws produced the final margin.

Jones led the Bears with 11 points, while Deja Williams added six. No other Mercer player scored more than four points.

BGSU shot 38.3% for the game, including a 7-of-23 effort (30.4%) from three-point range. Meanwhile, Mercer went just 12-of-55 (21.8%) and 2-of-14 (14.3%) from the arc.

Mercer shot only 19% (8-of-42) in the first three quarters. The Bears had single-digit scoring totals in each of those three periods before scoring 16 points in the fourth.

The Falcons had a 41-40 rebounding advantage, with both Ellis and Kohler pulling down nine rebounds.

The Falcons return to Enmarket Arena on Thursday morning for a Thanksgiving Day matchup with Lehigh. That game is set to begin at 9 a.m.

Then, BGSU returns home to face Duquesne on Monday evening (Nov. 27), with tipoff set for 7 p.m. at the Stroh Center.