Nov. 3, 2009
Final Stats | Quotes
ATHENS, Ohio - Jenny Poff's eight-foot leaner at the Buzzer gave Ohio a 69-67 victory over upstart Ohio Dominican in exhibition action Tuesday night at the Convo. Jennifer Bushby scored a game-high 30 points to lead the Bobcats.
Trailing by 11 with 5:08 remaining, Bushby (Gahanna, Ohio) took control of the game, scoring 12 points over the last five minutes to spark a huge 17-6 Ohio run the rest of the way. Poff (St. John's Mich.) knocked down a big 3-pointer with 35 seconds remaining before the Panthers' Abby Glover evened the score at 67 with 24 seconds left. With time winding down, Poff drove to the right side and hit the leaner as time expired to give the `Cats the win.
"We had great poise down the stretch," Ohio coach Semeka Randall said. "You don't always want games to go this way, but I'm proud of the team in terms of having a gut check and coming back to get the win."
Carrying over from last year, Ohio showed its prowess on the backboards, totaling 41 rebounds on the night and outrebounding Ohio Dominican 41-24, including 21 on the offensive glass. Bushby turned a nice stat line to go with her 30 points, adding eight rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Poff chipped in nine points, while Carolyn Barnett (North Chicago, Ill.) sparked Ohio with eight points and eight rebounds in eight minutes off the bench. Da'Keisha Mann (Columbus, Ohio) and Kamille Buckner (Chicago, Ill.) each pulled down six rebounds, and freshman Ashley Fowler (Cincinnati, Ohio) dished out four assists.
"Bushby stepped up and played like an All-MAC player," Randall said. "We're going to need that kind of performance from her throughout the season."
The Panthers took advantage of hot shooting in the early going and took an early lead, hitting 3-of-4 from behind the arc. Bushby helped spark a big Ohio run that culminated with a Barnett bucket to tie the score at 22 apiece. A Buckner free throw and a Bushby put back with 2:24 left in the first half gave the `Cats their first lead of the game.
Ohio rode Bushby's hot hand over the last couple minutes of the half to give the Green and White a 29-24 lead at the half. Bushby totaled 16 points in the half while Ohio and Ohio Dominican each shot 37 percent for the frame. It was on the boards where the `Cats were able to gain the upper hand as they outrebounded the Panthers 25-13 in the half.
Ohio Dominican would not go away quietly and rode its 70 percent shooting in the second half as it hung toe-to-toe with the Green and White. The Panthers got within a point at 31-30 with 17:33 left and continued to hang tight before taking a 39-38 lead with 13:28 left. Both sides went back and forth at each other over the next few minutes. A Tracy Snider jumper gave Ohio Dominican a 53-48 advantage with 8:04 left. The Panthers extended their lead to 11 on a Kristen Ruen 3-pointer with 5:08 left to play before Ohio came roaring back to take the win.
Snider scored 22 points to lead three Panthers in double figures, while Ruen and Glover added 14 and 13 points, respectively.
The `Cats will officially tip off the 2009-10 season Nov. 13 at Cleveland State.
