BOWLING GREEN — Sophia Wiard grew up in Muskegon, Mich., on the shores of Lake Michigan, a stratosphere away from the Battle of I-75.
The rivalry wasn’t on her radar as a youngster, and it never came up during recruiting. But, after Bowling Green won both meetings against Toledo in 2020, the Falcons made shirts commemorating the sweep, and Wiard did not take kindly to it.
“Ever since then, it’s been a whole different environment, a whole different feeling,” the fifth-year senior said.
Wiard has only lost once to BG since her sophomore year. Her seventh — and perhaps final — win over the Falcons came on Saturday night in wire-to-wire fashion, 88-68, in a nearly sold-out Stroh Center.