Dec. 1, 2009
Final Stats
CEDAR CITY, Utah - Ohio women's basketball's first-ever trip to Utah did not get off to a good start as a road-weary Bobcat squad dropped a tough 56-53 barnburner to upstart Southern Utah Tuesday night in the Centrum in Cedar City.
Jenny Poff (St. John's, Mich.) scored a game-high 16 points to pace Ohio, while Kamille Buckner (Chicago, Ill.) chipped in nine points and pulled down a game-best nine rebounds. Maxine Ohakim (Westerville, Ohio) led the `Cats off the bench with eight points. Buckner paced Ohio on the defensive end with two steals and two blocks.
The `Cats (2-3) got a big lift from their bench as they outscored SUU's reserves 15-6. Ohio's defense also turned in a good effort as it held the Thunderbirds (1-6) to just 35 percent shooting and its fifth-consecutive opponent under 60 points.
Traveling nearly all the way across the country and then driving almost all the way to the bottom of the state the day before caught up with the Green and White in the early going as SUU came out smoking in the opening minutes of action and jumped out to an early 8-2 lead. The `Cats came back and cut the deficit to 10-9 with a jumper from Danielle Woodmore (Louisville, Ky.) with 12:17 left in the first half. Ohakim put Ohio on top 11-10 with a bucket inside with 11:33 remaining in the stanza. The Green and White kept its momentum rolling and capped off a 20-4 run with a driving score from Buckner to go ahead 22-12 with 7:50 left.
The Thunderbirds would not go away quietly though and cut the lead to 22-18 after a pair of jumpers from Jadie Parsons. Poff pushed the Ohio lead back to 26-20 with 3:30 left. A three-point play by SUU's Chanel Thorley cut the lead to 28-25 going into the lockerroom. The `Cats ended the frame shooting 46 percent from the field and outrebounding the Thunderbirds 18-17 in the stanza.
An SUU putback cut the Ohio lead to 30-29 with 17:29 left. The Thunderbirds continued their strong surge at the start of the second half and took a 35-32 lead with 13:46 left. SUU pushed its lead up to 40-34 with 11:01 left. A Jennifer Bushby (Gahanna, Ohio) trey got the `Cats within one at 47-46 with 4:25 left. Tina Fisher (Cottage Grove, Minn.) knocked down a free throw to tie the action at 47 a short time later, before a Bushby bucket and a Mann lay-in off a theft gave Ohio back a 51-50 lead with 2:30 left.
The two squads traded free throws over the next 96 seconds of play before a pair of Parsons freebies gave SUU a 54-53 lead with 54 seconds left. Ohio had a chance with nine seconds left, but a Poff shot would not fall, and the `Cats were forced to foul. The Thunderbirds sank two free throws to sneak away with the win.
Parsons led three SUU players with 14 points on the night, while Chanel Thorley chipped in 13 and Challis Pascucci added 12.
Ohio will look to rebound Thursday night when they head north to Orem, Utah to take on Utah Valley. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. ET in the David O'McKay Center.
