Dec. 12, 2005
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ATHENS, Ohio - After leading for the first 24 minutes of the game, the Ohio women's basketball team fought off a second-half Chicago State rally and held on down the stretch to claim a 65-57 win Monday in non-conference action in the Convocation Center.
Lauren Revesz (Bridgeville, Pa.) hit for a career-high 20 points, and Simone Redd (Warrensville Heights, Ohio) kicked in 19 for a Bobcat team that led by as much as eight and trailed by as many as seven. Ohio trailed by two with just less than four minutes remaining, then went on to score the final 10 points of the game to pick up its first home win of the season.
The Bobcats (2-5) went to the break with a six-point lead and didn't trail for the first time until the 15:36 mark of the second frame. The Cougars (5-3) rallied back out of the break, turning a two-point deficit into a seven-point lead over a three-minute span with 9:14 left in the contest.
Ohio answered quickly, tying the score twice and ultimately taking the lead with 2:18 left, 58-57, on the strength of a Revesz free throw. The Bobcats scored the game's last 10 points--a span of 3:37 that included all 10 points coming from the free-throw stripe.
Ohio never trailed in the first half, leading by as many as eight on five different occasions. The Bobcats jumped out to a 14-6 lead to start the game with 11:40 left in the half, as Redd chipped in five points early.
Redd hit a pair of three-pointers on her way to eight first-half points, while fellow sophomore Revesz kicked in nine points for the Cats. Ohio shot 39.3 percent (11-28) from the floor and 37.5 percent (3-8) from behind the arc in the first half. Ohio outrebounded Chicago State 21-16, and four Bobcats notched three boards apiece.
Ayesha Neasley came off the bench and provided a spark on the offensive end for the Cougars. Neasley hit just two field goals, but hit all six of her free-throw attempts in the first half to lead the way with 10 points and three rebounds. The Cougars shot 33.3 percent (8-24) from the floor and missed on both of their three-point attempts.
Katie Reihmann (Marengo, Iowa) drilled a three from the right corner as time expired on the half, pushing the Bobcat lead to six, 32-26, as both teams went to intermission.
Reihmann would finish with eight points off the bench, as would Ciara Iglehart (Mission Viejo, Calif.), who kicked in five rebounds.
Revesz went 5-of-10 from the floor, but did just as much damage from the free-throw line, hitting 10 of her 12 attempts. Ohio, statistically the Mid-American Conference's best team from the stripe, shot 79.3 percent from the free-throw line on the night.
The Bobcats shot 41.3 percent from the floor Monday and held Chicago State to a 38.8 mark. The Bobcats won the rebound battle 34-31 and tied the Cougars, 14-14, in the turnover column.
Chicago State was led by Neasley's 14 points and six rebounds from Brandi-Janai Carter.
Redd's 19 points come on the heels of an 18-point effort in Ohio's last outing. She has now scored in double figures in six of seven games this season.
Ohio now hits the road for a three-game swing away from Athens. The Bobcats will face Southeastern Conference member South Carolina in Columbia Thursday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in the Colonial Center.
