BOWLING GREEN — For Bowling Green women's basketball coach Fred Chmiel, Tuesday night's game against No. 1 South Carolina was like a family reunion in front of 4,195 of his closest friends.
The former South Carolina assistant coach welcomed his friend and mentor Dawn Staley and many Gamecocks players he helped recruit to a raucous Stroh Center for a contest that saw the largest crowd ever at the arena for a Bowling Green women's basketball game.
He knew firsthand how hard this test would be for his team and after a 93-62 defeat remained positive about the impact the game would have on his program and the fans in attendance.