Post-game Press Conference (Bria/Iglehart/Frederick) Video
Game Highlight Video
March 8, 2006
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CLEVELAND - After jumping out to a slow start and trailing at the break, Ohio fired back to tie the score down the stretch, only to be edged in the closing minutes, 76-66, by West Division champ Eastern Michigan in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament in Quicken Loans Arena.
The Bobcats (9-20) dug themselves into a 14-0 hole to kick-off the game, but Ohio slowly chipped away at the deficit and went to the break down seven. The Cats started the second half on a 10-2 run, pulled within a single possession around the 10-minute mark and tied the score at 59 with 5:27 left. From there, Eastern Michigan (22-6), the top seed in the West, scored 10-straight points to open up the game and seal the quarterfinal victory.
Eastern Michigan advances to the semifinal round on Friday afternoon. The Bobcats finish up the season for the second-straight year after the quarters.
Rachel Frederick (Gibsonia, Pa.), the 2006 Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year, paced four Bobcats in double figures with 17 points. Frederick eclipsed the 400-point plateau on the season with the help of an 11-for-11 effort from the free throw line.
Quintana Ward (Park Forest, Ill.) scored 13, as did Ohio's lone senior Ciara Iglehart (Mission Viejo, Calif.). Off the bench, Lauren Revesz (Bridgeville, Pa.) kicked in 12 with a team-high five rebounds.
Ryan Coleman led three Eagles in double figures with 24 points. Patrice McKinney and Sarah VanMetre chipped in 14 apiece.
Ohio hit just six field goals in the first half, shooting just 26.1 percent. Half of those field goals, though, came from behind the arc, keeping the Cats alive. Eastern Michigan shot 39.3 percent in the half, with seven players entering the scoring column.
Ohio didn't score its first point until the 13:49 mark of the half, but the Bobcats managed to hang around throughout the next 13 minutes and go to the break within striking distance.
That distance was shortened in the early going of the second half, as Ohio pulled to within a possession, 49-47, with 10:43 left. For the first time all afternoon, Ohio came around to tied the score at 59 with just more than five minutes to go. The Eagles responded with a quick 10-0 run over the next four minutes to pull away for good.
Ohio outrebounded the Eagles 30-26 on the afternoon and knocked down 88.9 percent of its tries from the stripe. Eastern Michigan forced 20 Bobcat turnovers and outscored the Bobcats 32-22 in the paint.
Ohio will return all but one letterwinner next season, that being Iglehart, the team's lone senior. Among the returnees are honorable mention All-MAC selection Simone Redd (Warrensville Heights, Ohio) and Frederick, the MAC Freshman of the Year.
