Jan. 10, 2009
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes
ATHENS, Ohio - In a battle of the Mid-American Conference's top two scoring defenses, the Ohio women's basketball team came up short in its league home opener, falling to Bowling Green, 62-52, Saturday afternoon at The Convo. The victory extended Bowling Green's (13-2, 2-0 MAC) winning streak to 13 games.
Both defenses shined while the offenses struggled with their shooting, as Ohio (5-9, 1-1 MAC) went 17-of-45 from the field for 37.8 percent, while the Falcons were 18-of-55 for 32.7 percent. The Bobcats did knock down four of their nine 3-point attempts, while limiting Bowling Green to just 18.2 percent from deep (4-of-22), but they were hurt by 58.3 percent free-throw shooting (14-of-24) to the Falcons' 73.3 percent (22-of-30).
The 'Cats also committed 30 turnovers, with 16 being Falcon steals, which Bowling Green turned into 26 points, while Ohio forced 16 turnovers but converted them into just 14 points. The Bobcats held the edge in rebounding for the tenth time this season however, 43-35, and also had 10 assists to BG's seven.
"Bowling Green is a very good basketball team," Ohio coach Semeka Randall said. "They execute extremely well. When you hold a team to 33 percent shooting, and you make them shoot 18 percent from the 3-point line, you like to think you had something to do with that. We did those things well, but you have to embrace and take better care of the basketball. That was the difference."
Junior guard Jennifer Bushby (Gahanna, Ohio) paced the Bobcats with 13 points, while senior center Chandra Myers (Sugarcreek, Ohio) was Ohio's only other double-figure scorer with 10. Senior forward Lauren Hmiel (York, Pa.) and sophomore forward Kamille Buckner (Chicago, Ill.) each chipped in nine points, with Buckner grabbing eight rebounds and tallying three rejections, while Hmiel had a game-high nine boards and tied career highs with a game-high five assists and two blocks. Lauren Prochaska led Bowling Green with a game-high 22 points, while Tracy Pontius added 13.
Ohio wasted no time jumping in front, as the 'Cats registered the first seven points of the game, with two baskets coming from Myers, forcing a Falcon timeout just 1:36 into the contest. Bowling Green then scored 11 of the game's next 15 points to knot the score at 11 all with 10 minutes to play in the half.
A five-minute scoreless drought for Ohio allowed the Falcons to capture a 16-11 advantage, until freshman Danielle Woodmore (Louisville, Ky.) snapped it with a runner. Bowling Green held a 25-17 edge with 2:25 remaining, its largest of the half, before the Bobcats finished on a 5-0 run, including the last four from Buckner, as she had a put-back as time expired to draw Ohio within three at 25-22.
Bushby, Buckner and Myers had six points apiece at the break to lead the Bobcats, with the trio also grabbing three rebounds each. Hmiel pulled down three boards as well in the opening 20 minutes to give Ohio a 17-15 edge in rebounds, while also dishing out four assists. Lindsey Goldsberry had seven points to lead BG at recess.
Ohio shot 45.0 percent in the first stanza on 9-of-20 shooting, while the Falcons managed to make just 31.0 percent of their shots (9-of-29), including just 2-of-14 from 3-point range (14.3 percent). The 'Cats committed 17 turnovers in the first half, but Bowling Green could not capitalize, scoring just 13 points off the turnovers, while Ohio scored 10 points off of the Falcons' 10 turnovers.
Bowling Green started the second frame on a 6-0 run, causing the Green & White to call a timeout with under 17 minutes remaining. A pair of Carolyn Barnett (North Chicago Ill.) free throws put Ohio on the board in the second half at the 15:39 mark. A jumper by Bushby then put the score at 34-26 in favor of the guests.
A triple from junior guard Jenny Poff (St. John's, Mich.) capped a 12-2 Ohio run that squared the game at 36 apiece with 11:06 to play. The Falcons then rattled off six-straight points after the Bobcats tied it to go ahead 42-36. With Bowling Green leading 52-46, the 'Cats knocked down 3-of-4 free throws to get within three at the 2:16 mark, but would get no closer, as the Falcons proved victorious, 62-52, hitting their free throws down the stretch.
Ohio was 8-of-25 from the floor in the second stanza for 32.0 percent, and managed just 55.0 percent from the charity stripe (11-of-20). Bowling Green wasn't much better, hitting 9-of-26 shots for 34.6 percent, but made 17 of its 24 free throws in the final 20 minutes. Bushby and Hmiel each tallied seven points in the second half, with the latter grabbing six rebounds, while Prochaska scored 16 of her 22 in the final frame for the Falcons.
The Bobcats will stay home for their next contest, as they'll host the Akron Zips on Wednesday, Jan. 14 in another MAC clash. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in The Convo.
