Jan. 30, 2008
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio - Five players scored in double figures as the Ohio women's basketball team defeated Ball State, 88-82, in overtime Wednesday night to take first place in the MAC East Division for the first time since the 1994-95 season.
The Bobcats have won five straight conference games to improve to 5-2 in the MAC and a 12-8 overall record. Ball State dropped to 9-11 on the season and 5-2 in the MAC.
"Taking the lead in the MAC East Division was not something we were shooting for tonight," said Head Coach Sylvia Crawley. "I think the players have had their eye on that position, but it isn't something we have been talking about. Early on when we were predicted to finish first in the preseason poll, the pressure was on. Now the team is growing mentally and is ok with being No. 1. They are hungry for more."
"The seniors are driving our team right now," said Crawley. "They understand that they only have nine more regular-season games remaining in their careers at Ohio. The thing I am most proud of, is our mental toughness. Normally we would have buckled under the pressure of going on a four-game winning streak. Success does not scare them anymore, and that is a good thing."
For the third straight game, senior Lauren Kohn (Adrian, Mich.) led the Bobcats with 22 points. Kohn was named this week's MAC East Player of the Week because of her back-to-back 22-point performances last week. Kohn finished the game shooting 6-of-16 from the floor, 2-of-5 from three point range and 8-of-10 from the free throw line. She also had two assists and two steals.
Senior Quintana Ward (Park Forest, Ill.) dished out a career-high 10 assists. Ward has been Ohio's assists leader in 11 games this season and currently sits in second place all-time in career assists. She also had eight points in the game, shooting 4-of-4 from the field.
Junior Lauren Hmiel (York, Pa.) and sophomore Jennifer Poff (St. Johns, Mich.) scored 14 points each. Hmiel shot 50 percent from the floor (5-of-10) and was 4-of-6 from the free throw line. She also had four rebounds. Poff hit 4-of-7 shots from beyond the arc and tallied four assists and a career-best six steals.
Sophomore Jennifer Bushby (Gahanna, Ohio) finished with 11 points, while freshman Kamille Buckner (Chicago, Ill.) tallied a career-high 10 points. Both were 5-of-8 from the floor, while Bushby made 1-of-1 three point attempts. Bushby also had four rebounds and four assists. Buckner pulled down five rebounds and added a block. She now has 20 blocks in her freshman campaign, putting her four blocks away from joining Ohio's all-time single season record list.
"We are extremely proud of this team tonight," said Crawley. "They found a way to make big plays and win a big ball game. Lauren Kohn played well tonight, especially by hitting her free throws down the stretch. We know she does that well, so we got the ball to her late in the game. Quintana Ward also played good tonight and Lauren Hmiel gave us good minutes. I thought we also had quality points from Kamille Buckner and Jennifer Bushby. Kamille had a good week in practice, she is becoming more aggressive. "
Emily Maggert scored 20 points to lead the Cardinals. Audrey McDonald followed with 19 points, while Julie Demuth finished with 16 points, Kiley Jarret with 13 points and Porchia Green with 10 points.
Ohio will hit the road this weekend to face Western Michigan on Saturday at 2 p.m.
"We respect Western Michigan and understand that they will be riding high on confidence," said Crawley. "The good thing for us is that we have two players from Michigan in Jennifer Poff and Lauren Kohn. They play well in front of their families. It is going to be a tough game. We just need to take it one game at a time."
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Quenjana Adams is the women's basketball contact in the Ohio media relations office. She can be reached via email at adamsq@ohio.edu.
