Eastern Michigan 86, Bowling Green 76
Box Score

Story Courtesy of Eastern Michigan Athletic Communications
YPSILANTI, Mich.  (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team topped Bowling Green State University, 86-76, as the Eagles saw a trio of 20-point performances from Fernanda Ovalle (26 points), Sisi Eleko (20 points), and Peyton Hill (22 points), Tuesday evening inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center, Dec. 30.
 
The win marked the first home Mid-American Conference win in the Head Coach Sahar Nusseibeh era (2024-present).
 
Ovalle (Santiago, Chile/Montverde Academy/Xavier) added 10 rebounds for the second double-double performance of her career and first as an Eagle. Eleko (Montreal, Quebec/New Hope Academy/Canisius) grabbed six boards, as both she and Hill (St. Louis, Mo./Incarnate Word Academy) converted on 10 free throws in a game where a total of 81 free throws were shot.
 
Other notable performances included a 10-point, six-assist, and seven-rebound showing from Ainhoa Cea (Irun, Spain/IES Pio Baroja Bhi/Lipscomb) while Brooklyn Thrash (Wayne, Ohio/Elmwood/Canisius) grabbed a season-high nine rebounds.
 
The free throws proved to be the difference maker as Eastern made 10 more foul shots than BGSU (37-27), the same margin as the final score (86-76). Eastern's litany of free throws in the fourth quarter propelled it to setting program records in both free throws made (37) and free throws attempted (48).
 
How it Happened
The first period was a back-and-forth affair, with seven lead changes in the first four minutes. Despite being down three in the final three minutes, Eastern went on a 5-0 run to go up five, 15-12. Ovalle gave the Eagles the lead in the run with a high right-handed layup, drawing a foul and sinking the free throw. Cea was all over the court in the quarter, leading the team in points (six) on 2-for-2 shooting from the floor, notching one steal and one assist. Eastern ended the first quarter up one, 21-20.
 
With both squads trading the lead late in the second, Eastern got a much-needed break from Ovalle, draining a three-pointer to give the Eagles a 36-35 lead in the final two minutes. Ovalle led the Eagles in points after the period with 14 on 5-for-10 shooting. Eleko also finished the half with double-digit points (10). Eastern ended the first half down two, 39-37.
 
Eastern took the lead to start the second half, as Eleko fought through contact for an overhead layup, drawing the foul and making the free throw. The Eagles continued to look to Eleko early, drawing another foul on a made jump shot from outside the key to tie the game, 43-43, after a made free throw. In the final two minutes of the third, Ovalle picked up her fourth offensive rebound of the game, sinking the wide-open put-back layup to give the Eagles a 51-45 lead. With less than a minute in the quarter, Hill drained a three-point shot to give Eastern a 56-49 lead to end the third quarter.
 
The EMU offense ran through Hill in the final quarter, as she drew fouls on three straight possessions, including a made right-handed layup through heavy contact. Thrash made a corner three-point shot to put Eastern up, 64-57. The Eagles kept expanding the margin, hitting 18 free throws in the fourth quarter, nine that came from Hill, on the way to an 86-76 win.

Game Notes
» Eastern's record shifted to 7-5 (1-1 MAC) and Bowling Green's went to 8-5 (1-1 MAC).
» The win against the Falcons matched the Eagles' 2024-25 conference win total (one) two games into the league slate.
» Eastern shot 48.0% (22-for-46) from the field while Bowling Green shot 37.0% (21-for-57). From three-point range, EMU shot 38.0% (5-for-13), and BGSU converted on 37.0% (7-for-19). The Eagles shot 77% (37-for-48) from the free-throw line, and the Falcons posted an 82.0% clip (27-for-33).
» Eastern's 37 free throws and 48 attempted free throws are the second-most in the country in a single game this season and the most from a MAC team.
» Eastern outrebounded its opponent (38-32) for the ninth time this season as it has done so in 9-of-12 games. Eastern also had more points off turnovers (16-10), points in the paint (34-28), second-chance points (9-7), blocks (3-1), and steals (7-6) than the Falcons.
» The game saw 21 lead changes as EMU led for 21:56 of game time.
» Eastern's 30 points in the fourth quarter are its most in any single quarter this season and the second-highest single-quarter total in the Nusseibeh era. Eastern scored 49 points in the second half tie for the most in the Nusseibeh tenure.
» Fernanda Ovalle recorded the second double-double of her collegiate basketball career and first as an Eagle, as she posted a career-high with 26 points and a season-high 10 rebounds, both of which were game highs. She has recorded a career-high in points in consecutive games as she set a then-career-high 22 points at Ball State, Dec. 20. Moreover, she has posted consecutive 20-point outings for the first time in her career, and grabbed double-digit rebounds for the second time, and first as an Eagle.
» Peyton Hill recorded her second game with 20+ points this season and 10th with double-digits. She posted a career-best 22 points, scoring a majority from the free-throw line, where she made 10 of her 12 attempts. Hill leads all MAC freshmen in scoring this season, averaging 13.7 points per game.
» Fernanda Ovalle, Peyton Hill, and Sisi Eleko combined to account for 79.0% of the Eagles' points.
» Sisi Eleko recorded her fifth 20+ point game of the season and 23rd of her career as she recorded 20 points on the dot for the second consecutive game.
» Ainhoa Cea recorded her eighth game of the season with at least five points, three assists, and three rebounds this season, posting 10 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. She has accomplished the feat in three consecutive games. She first did so at Indiana, Dec. 14 (nine points, six assists, 10 rebounds), and again did it at Ball State, Dec. 20 (eight points, five assists, three rebounds).
» Brooklyn Thrash grabbed a season-high nine rebounds.

Historical Notes
» Eastern set program records with 37 free throws made and 48 attempted. Both stand as George Gervin GameAbove Center records. EMU broke records that were held for 15 and 14 years, respectively. The previous record for made free throws was 34 against Toledo, on March 2, 2010, while the prior record for free throws attempted was 48 at UIC, on Dec. 23, 2011.
» After the win, Eastern holds a 22-58 record in the all-time series against the Falcons and 15-22 when the game is played in Ypsilanti. EMU beat Bowling Green for the first time since the 2023-24 season, a 59-54 senior-night victory, March 9, 2024.
» The win against the Falcons marked the first home Mid-American Conference victory under Head Coach Sahar Nusseibeh.
» Head Coach Sahar Nusseibeh earned her first career win over the Falcons.
» Eastern had three players (Ovalle [26], Eleko [20], Hill [20]) score 20+ points for the first time since Chanise Baldwin (26), Cha Sweeny (24), and Janay Morton (20) did so in the second round of the women's NIT against TCU, March 19, 2016.
» With Fernanda Ovalle, Sisi Eleko, and Peyton Hill's scoring totals, the Eagles have had multiple players score 20 points in consecutive games for the first time since Areanna Combs and Courtnie Lewis did so in the 2019 Mid-American Conference Tournament against Northern Illinois, March 9, and Ball State, March 11. Ovalle (22) and Eleko (20) previously scored 20+ in Eastern's game at Ball State, Dec. 20.  
» Eastern's 86 points are its most in a MAC contest since it scored 92 in an overtime loss to Buffalo, Jan. 27, 2018. Its the most points in regulation in a MAC contest since EMU bested Central Michigan, 93-86, March 7 2015.
» After the win, Eastern holds a 17-28 record in the first MAC home game of the season and played its 45th MAC home opener. Eastern is 5-5 in its last 10 MAC home openers.
» Eastern won its conference home opener for the first time since the 2022-23 season, when it topped Miami, 68-67, behind a pair of double-doubles from Lachelle Austin (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Ce'Nara Skanes (14 points, 12 rebounds).
» After the win, Head Coach Sahar Nusseibeh is 3-2 in conference home-opening games as a collegiate head coach and won her first MAC home opener as the leader of the Eastern program.
» Eastern opened the home portion of MAC play against Bowling Green for the seventh time in program history. It is now 3-4 when doing so.
» EMU is now 4-0 at home for the first time since 2022-23.
»  Eastern Michigan is 7-5 or better through the first 12 games of the season since it went 9-3 in its first 12 games of the 2022-23 campaign.
» The Eagles have recorded at least one three-pointer in 144 consecutive games, the third-longest stretch since the start of the 1999-00 season. The longest streak in that period is 281 games, which began with seven makes at Northern Illinois, Jan. 31, 2002, and ended with no makes in the MAC Tournament, March 11, 2011, against Toledo. The second-longest lasted 157 games and started Dec. 9, 2014, and ended Nov. 29, 2020, against visiting UIC, when no makes halted the streak.