Feb. 4, 2006

Final Stats

Mount Pleasant, Mich. - Ohio fell behind in the early going and never recovered Saturday, falling 64-48 to Central Michigan in Mid-American Conference action in Rose Arena.

Rachel Frederick (Gibsonia, Pa.) led all scorers with 19, but Ohio (7-13, 4-5 MAC) dug itself a hole in the game's opening 10 minutes and could never recover. The Bobcats trailed by eight points before they ever got on the scoreboard, but rallied to cut the deficit to seven at the break. Central Michigan (12-8, 3-6 MAC) was solid on the offensive end all night, hitting 52.9 percent of its attempts from the floor in the second half to provide the knockout punch at home.

Along with Frederick, Ciara Iglehart (Mission Viejo, Calif.) was Ohio's only other double-digit scorer. Ann Skufca was the lone Chippewa in double figures, posting 18 points. Guard Sharonda Hurd picked up a game-high 12 rebounds, including five on the offensive end.

The Chippewas came out firing in the first half, opening up an 8-0 lead and taking a 13-point edge with just more than eight minutes left to play in the half. The Bobcats didn't get on the scoreboard until Iglehart hit a couple free throws at the 13:05 mark, and it was Iglehart that gave Ohio its first field goal-a three pointer-with 12:39 left.

Thanks to a late first half run for Ohio, the Bobcats stayed close with Central Michigan at intermission. Trailing 18-5 at the 8:26 mark, the Bobcats would go on a 9-3 run and pull to within seven, 21-14, at the break.

Iglehart finished the half with five, as did Frederick. Ohio hit just 19 percent (5-27) of its tries from the floor in the first half, while the Chippewas managed to knock down 38 percent (8-21) from the field.

Skufca and Chasidy Myers shared the majority of the scoring duties in the half for Central Michigan, each chipping in six points. The Chippewas outrebounded Ohio 23-16.

The Bobcats cut the Central Michigan lead to five on a couple occasions in the second half, but they'd never get any closer. The Cats used a Frederick three at 11:46 to cut the lead to eight, 35-27. From that point forward, though, Central Michigan would carry a double digit lead.

The Chippewas used an 11-2 run midway through the second half to go up by 20 points. Ohio chipped away at the lead a few times but couldn't get over the hump before the final buzzer sounded.

Central Michigan outrebounded the Bobcats 40-30 on the night. Ohio shot 35.7 percent (20-56) from the floor on the night, while the Chippewas countered with 47.3 percent (26-55). The Bobcats knocked down 5-of-12 three-point attempts Saturday, but struggled at the line, hitting just 3-of-7 tries.

Ohio will now head back home for two-straight. First up is a midweek match-up with West Division leader Eastern Michigan on Wednesday. Tip-time in The Convo is set for 7 p.m.