Jan. 9, 2008

Box Score

ATHENS, Ohio - Ohio's MAC opener proved to be bittersweet as senior guard Simone Redd broke the 1,000 point barrier for her Bobcat career but the women's basketball team lost in thrilling fashion, 74-68, in overtime to the Golden Flashes.

Down by as much as six points in the second half, the Bobcats battled back with stingy defense and timely shooting from forward Catherine Cain (Dayton, Ohio) and a big 3-pointer from Quintana Ward (Park Forest, Ill.) that put Ohio up by two points with just more than two minutes remaining.

Kent State tied the game with a jumper but Cain answered with her seventh and eighth points on a pair of free throw attempts with 39 seconds remaining to put the Bobcats back up by two points. The Golden Flashes tied the game once again, however, with a short jumper by Rachel Bennett with 25 seconds left to play and each team's first MAC game of the season was sent into overtime.

Kent State jumped out to an early lead in the overtime period but the Bobcats were able to tie the game up once again, the seventh tie of the contest, with just only two minutes remaining to play. However, the tie was short-lived as the Golden Flashes went on an eight point run to close out the game before Redd found Jennifer Bushby (Gahanna, Ohio) for a two-point basket as time expired.

Ohio's Lauren Kohn (Adrian, Mich.) led all Bobcats with 15 points and 11 rebounds and was just two assists shy of her first career triple-double. Redd added 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists. The senior from Warrensville Heights, Ohio scored her 1,000th and 1,001st points of her career with a long jumper from the wing late in the first half. The game was momentarily stopped and she was presented with a ceremonial basketball in honor of her achievement.

Kent State was led offensively by the trio of Asheley Harkins, Ellie Shields and Anna Kowalska. Kowalska led all scorers with a game-high 18 points and added 11 rebounds, a team-high. Harkins had 17 points and Shields tacked on 16 points.

The Golden Flashes shot 41.3% in the game (26-of-63) while the Bobcats made 31.9% of their field goals (23-of-72). Ohio did hold an advantage on the glass, with 48 rebounds to Kent State's 44 boards, and in assists, with 21 total dishes to the Golden Flashes' 12.

Kent State's major advantage was at the free throw line, making 20-of-26 attempts while the Bobcats shot a better percentage but got to the line less often, making 12-of-15 shots from the charity stripe.

The Bobcats will be back in action when they hit the road to battle Bowling Green on Saturday at 2 p.m. The `Cats next home game will be on Jan. 19 when Ohio plays host to Miami at 2 p.m.