ATHENS, Ohio. ? The Ohio women?s basketball team cruised to a 70-56 victory over the Akron Zips to improve to 6-6 in Mid-American Conference play. Four Bobcats scored in double-digits led by junior Tiffany Byrd (Columbus, Ohio), who tallied 15 points.

Ohio jumped out to a 10-4 lead through the opening six minutes of play but the Zips would cut the Bobcat lead to one point, 12-11, at 11:55. Ohio pushed its lead out to five, 16-11, a minute later, getting buckets from Lauren Revesz (Bridgeville, Pa.) and Kristian Kirkpatrick (Costa Mesa, Calif.).

Akron took its largest and only lead of the game at 7:11, going up by five with a 12-2 run. Ohio retaliated, gaining a five point advantage, 33-28, at 3:46 with a 15-5 run, fueled by 10 points from Erin Isbell (Gahanna, Ohio). The Zips made it a one-point game heading into the break, 33-32, as Krissy Marco and Jessie Crooks hit a short range jumper to close out the half.

?I am really proud of what we did on the defensive end of the court,? commented Ohio head coach Lynn Bria. ?I think our defense has improved the last few games and it was a great team effort.?

It was all Ohio in the second half, never relinquishing the lead. The Bobcats increased the margin to double-figures, 49-38, at 11:38 as they opened the second stanza with a 16-6 run. Ohio continued to roll, gaining a 22 point advantage, the largest of the game, outscoring the Zips, 21-10, through the following nine minutes.

Akron held the Bobcats scoreless for the remaining 2:43, narrowing the gap to 14 points, but the late flurry wouldn?t be enough as Ohio went on to win, 70-56.

?In the second half I though we did a better job of working the ball and taking the open shot,? added Bria. ?I think the full court press we used in the second was the difference in the half, it caused a lot of turnovers and we capitalized on it.?

Both teams were hampered by turnovers through much of the game, as they combined to give up the ball 60 times.

Akron, who shot 43.8 percent from the floor and 75.0 from the free throw line, got to two double-digit scoring efforts in Jessica Deville and Jessie Crooks, who tallied 10 and 15 points, respectively. Krissy Marco grabbed a team-high nine rebounds while Lori Krezeczowski and Lindsay Hemmelgarn dished out a game-high six assists.

The Bobcats shot 40.9 percent from the floor, while going 7-for-22 from three point range. Byrd, who missed two days of practice this week due to food poisoning, came off the bench to lead the Bobcats in scoring with 15 points, matching a season-high, going 4-for-9 from behind the arc in nine minutes of play. Revesz registered 11 bench points and came up with four rebounds, while freshman Simone Redd chipped in 12 for her 14th double-digit scoring game.

The Bobcats, who out rebounded Akron 39-33, got a game-high 14 boards from Isbell. With the rebounding effort, Isbell moves into sole possession of third on Ohio?s career rebounding list surpassing Johnnie Henderson?s mark of 701 with 704. Isbell contributed 13 points for her fourth double-double of the season and 15th of her career. Isbell also led the field with six steals.

Quintana Ward (Park Forest, Ill.) and Angel Hornsburger (Columbus, Ohio) led the squad with four assists a piece, while Megan Oriold (Berea, Ohio) made her first block of the season.

The Bobcats wrap-up a two-game home swing Saturday, as they host the Northern Illinois Huskies. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.