Nov. 16, 2008
Final Stats
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Despite leading much of the game, the Ohio women's basketball team fell short at Morehead State Sunday afternoon, 56-52, in a sloppy game that saw the two teams combine for 51 turnovers. Senior Lauren Hmiel (York, Pa.) scored a game-high 18 points for the Bobcats (1-1) in a losing effort, coming just a point shy of tying her career high.
Ohio jumped out to an early 4-0 lead on layups by senior Chandra Myers (Sugarcreek, Ohio) and sophomore Kamille Buckner (Chicago, Ill.), but the Eagles (1-1) quickly tied it up with less than 14 minutes to play in the half. The teams would trade baskets over the next eight minutes, before the 'Cats went on a 7-0 spurt, capped off by another Buckner layup, to go ahead 18-11.
Morehead State chipped away, cutting the lead to one with fewer than two minutes to play in the half. A pair of Bobcat 3-pointers and free throw sandwiched around two Eagle free throws gave Ohio a six-point lead, but MSU's Tiffany Hamilton knocked down a triple at the buzzer to cut the Bobcat lead in half heading into halftime.
The 'Cats held the 27-24 advantage at the break, as they shot 45 percent (9-of-20) from the field in the first frame, including 4-of-8 from behind the 3-point line. The defense limited the Eagles to just 29.0 percent (9-of-31) from the floor and held Morehead State to only 3-of-13 (23.1 percent) shooting from beyond the arc. Junior guard Jenny Poff (St. John's, Mich.) led Ohio with nine points at the half, while junior Jennifer Bushby (Gahanna, Ohio) grabbed five boards.
In the second half, the Bobcats extended their lead to six on a Bushby jumper, before the Eagles reeled off six-straight points to force the game's fifth tie with under 12 minutes to play. A pair of free throws from Hmiel at the 7:24 mark pushed the Ohio lead back up to seven at 46-39, in what would match their largest lead of the game.
Morehead State then rattled off 12-straight points, including a 3-pointer from Chynna Bozeman with 3:08 to play that gave the Eagles just their second lead of the game, before a layup from Hmiel stopped the bleeding for Ohio and cut the deficit to three. That would be as close as the 'Cats would get again, however, as MSU held a seven-point cushion, their largest of the game, with 45 seconds remaining. Hmiel scored a pair of layups late, but the Eagles did not allow the Bobcats to rally, as Ohio lost 56-52 on the road.
Morehead State held the Bobcats to just one 3-pointer in the second half, while knocking down four of their own. The Eagles also scored 18 points off of 32 Ohio turnovers and held a 21-5 edge in bench points.
In addition to Hmiel's 18 points, 16 of which came in the second half, she grabbed eight rebounds to lead Ohio and made all eight of her free throws. Bushby added 10 points, as well as a game-high six assists and a career-best seven rebounds, while Poff scored nine points, all from behind the 3-point line, and dished out four assists for the Bobcats. As a team, Ohio out-rebounded Morehead State 44-31 and shot 36.7 percent (18-of-49) from the floor, while the Eagles shot just 32.7 percent (18-of-55). MSU was led by Bozeman's 15 points, while Tiffanie Stephens added 14, and Brittany Pittman grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Bobcats continue their eight-game road swing to start the season on Nov. 24 against the Memphis Tigers, with tip-off set for 8 p.m.
