March 9, 2008

Box Score

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Ohio women's basketball team advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2008 MAC Women's Basketball Tournament with a 68-65 win over Central Michigan Sunday night in the first round.

A first half lead of 31-28 pushed Ohio (18-12) to victory as both teams scored 37 points in the second frame.

Three players scored in double figures for Ohio, led by senior Lauren Kohn (Adrian, Mich.) with 18 points. Kohn made 6-of-11 attempts from the field, including 2-of-4 from three-point range and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. She also had six rebounds and two assists.

Senior Quintana Ward (Park Forest, Ill.) and junior Lauren Hmiel (York, Pa.) scored 13 points each. Ward was 5-of-8 from the field and perfect from the arc, nailing 3-of-3 attempts. Hmiel shot 5-of-10 from the field and pulled down a career-best nine rebounds.

Central Michigan (6-23) was led by Britni Houghton with a game-high 22 points. Houghton scored 17 points in the second half alone and finished with six rebounds and four steals. Candace Wilson and Shonda Long also finished in double figures for the Chippewas scoring 14 and 12 points, respectively.

The teams were similar from the floor with Ohio shooting 42.6 percent and Central Michigan shooting 42.1. The `Cats won the battle of the boards, pulling down 38 to CMU's 29.

The Bobcats will face Eastern Michigan in the quarterfinals on Tuesday at 3 p.m.