Bowling Green forward Erika Porter (32) plays defense on an inbound play during the second quarter of a game against Ohio on Tuesday at the Stroh Center. Bowling Green defeated Ohio 69-52. (Scott W. Grau|Sentinel-Tribune)
It is 1,208 miles from Baylor University to Bowling Green State University, but BGSU 6-foot senior forward Erika Porter has overcome far more than the distance between the two colleges she’s played basketball at.
The Baylor transfer, who has two years eligibility remaining, was 6-for-9 from the field in posting a double-double 19 points and 13 rebounds and leading the Falcons to a 69-52 Mid-American Conference victory over Ohio University at the Stroh Center Tuesday.
All of Porter’s scoring typically comes in the paint, where she is difficult to stop. She was fouled six times, and converted on 7-of-8 free throws.
“It just means a lot to me that a lot is focused on me because I came from somewhere where I wasn’t really focused on at all,” said Porter, referring to her years on the Baylor squad.
“So, I’m really thankful that (BGSU) coach (Fred Chmiel) can trust me to finish and make plays. It really means a whole lot to me.
“I really put in a lot of minutes, but a barely scored a lot of points at my former institution, so I’ve just become motivated and it’s completely changed my attitude toward basketball and my confidence has gotten so much better as time went on,” added Porter.
“I’m really thankful to be a part of a program that trusts me and I trust them,” continued Porter, who originally hailed from West Windsor, New Jersey.
Porter’s teammates try so hard to work the ball into her, that it helped the Falcons accumulate 23 assists on 26 field goals, and the Falcons outscored the Bobcats 30-22 in the paint.
Plus, now opponents are starting to find out they can’t just hack away at Porter when she gets the ball on the block.
Coming into the game, Porter had been making only 48% (36-of-74) from the stripe, but knocking down 88% in the win over Ohio has been a continuation of recent improvement. Porter says it’s been a work in progress.
“Actually, I’ve been working every day with Zhaque Gray, who is part of our staff (director of player personnel),” Porter said.
“She’s always critiquing me on my free throws, where I take my time and focus on the front of the rim. Just even for myself — I know that I get to the free throw line a lot and in the past it would be a waste of free throws. I really wanted this game, No. 1, to focus on finishing, but also free throws, too.”
Chmiel says that Porter deserves credit because a lot of her work going into scoring in the paint and knocking down free throws stems from her own work outside of practice.
“I think our coaches do a good job of trying to help her out but I think that it’s the time that she spends in the gym,” Chmiel said. “She’s pretty much after practice, every day she is in there shooting free throws.
“It’s got to be a staple of her diet because you know she is a force inside and they do foul her and that’s a part of her game that she has to improve. She’s been doing it. It’s a little unorthodox (shooting motion) but it’s her style and she’s comfortable with it.”
Overall, BGSU shot a blazing 55% (26-for-47) from the field, but that included knocking down 8-of-21 (38%) from beyond the arc and 9-of-10 from the line. Porter was not the only one wearing a BGSU jersey who had a hot hand.
“It’s good basketball,” said Chmiel. “We’re moving the ball and finding the player who is open, and getting a good shot for that particular player is something we try to focus on and make sure the ball finds the right shooter in the right spot.
“They’ve been doing that lately. You know we had a few bad possessions today where the ball kind of stuck, but for the most part it was changing sides of the floor, we played inside-out, had some really good opportunities, and I thought it was a pretty difficult defense to play against.”
Junior guard Amy Velasco was 6-for-9 from the floor, including 2-for-3 from downtown, scoring 14 points while dishing out eight assists in leading the offense, even while playing with four fouls down the stretch.
BGSU fifth-year senior guard Morgan Sharps was 5-for-10 from the field, hitting two triples, in scoring 12 points with seven rebounds and three assists.
Olivia Hill, a 6-0 freshman forward, who can play the perimeter, too, was 4-for-6 from the field, knocked down one shot from the arc, and had five rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Meanwhile, the Falcons’ zone defense locked down on Ohio’s shooters in the second quarter, allowing just four points on 1-of-13 shooting by the Bobcats, to take a 38-24 lead into intermission. The Bobcats never got the margin to within single digits in the second half.
BGSU freshman guard Paige Kohler had eight points, four rebounds, and five assists and freshman forward Taya Ellis scored four points.
BGSU sophomore guard Jaci Tubergen hit a 23-foot three-pointer to give the Falcons a 61-48 lead with under five minutes remaining, accounting for all of her points.
Of nine BGSU players dressed, once again all nine got significant minutes, including 6-2 senior forward Sophie Dziekan (6:30) and sophomore guard Emily Siesel (9:25), even though neither scored. Siesel did contribute three assists.
The Bobcats had trouble making anything, including bunnies, shooting 32% (20-for-62) from the field, including 9-for-36 (25%) from downtown. Ohio only connected on three of their six shots from the charity stripe.
Even though Ohio had 15 more shot attempts than BG, the Falcons had a 37-27 advantage off the glass, in part because they seldom missed. BGSU did have five more turnovers (15-10) than Ohio.
Ohio freshman guard Bailey Tabeling led all scorers with 22 points, including connecting on 6-of-13 shots from downtown, plus she had four rebounds and three steals.
Freshman guard Laylay Fantroy had 11 points and four rebounds, sophomore guard Jaya McClure scored six points, and junior guard Madi Mace scored five points.
Ohio junior guard Kennedi Watkins scored four points, junior guard Kate Dennis scored three points, freshman guard Monica Williams had one point and two assists, and senior guard Peyton Guice and senior guard Bengisu Alper dished out three assists apiece.
