March 4, 2009

Final Stats

AKRON, Ohio - Junior guard Jennifer Bushby (Gahanna, Ohio) scored nine of her team-high 17 points in the final 30 seconds of the game, but the rally was not enough as Ohio (12-16, 7-8 Mid-American Conference) dropped a close one to Akron (11-17, 6-9), 58-57, in Rhodes Arena Wednesday night.

“We didn’t play the way we needed to for 30 minutes of the game,” said head coach Semeka Randall. “We needed to come out and play with intensity at the start and we didn’t. Free throws were also big tonight. You can’t shoot them the way we did and expect to win a close game.”

The Bobcats were riding a four-game winning streak and seeking a season sweep of the Zips for the ninth year in a row, having defeated Akron in overtime, 65-60, in the Convo on Jan. 14 earlier in the year, but the Zips would not be denied on their Senior Night. Sophomore forward Kara Murphy netted a game-high 20 points and freshman center Kyle Baumgartner grabbed a game-best 10 rebounds to help the Zips earn their first win over Ohio since Feb. 3, 2000.

Along with her 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting, Bushby also pulled down a team-high seven boards and dished out three assists. Sophomore Kamille Buckner (Chicago, Ill.) contributed 12 points and three rebounds, while senior Lauren Hmiel (York, Pa.) added 11 points and five boards. Ohio shot 39.6 percent from the field overall and 53.6 percent in the second half. The Zips won the edge in rebounds by one, notching 35 to the Bobcats' 34, and shot 42.9 percent from the floor for the game.

After a low-scoring first half, Ohio trailed Akron 23-16 entering the final period. The Zips pulled ahead by as many as 14 points with less than eight minutes to play, but the `Cats kept fighting and outscored Akron 14-4 over the next six minutes to cut the lead to four on a lay-up by Buckner at the 1:34 mark. Then with less than 30 seconds remaining in the contest, Bushby drained Ohio's first three-pointer of the game and junior guard Jenny Poff (St. John's, Mich.) followed with a lay-up to trim the deficit to three. Bushby nailed two more treys in a span of five seconds, but Akron hit four clutch free throws to put the game out of reach.

Ohio will wrap up the regular season Saturday, Mar. 7 at No. 25 Bowling Green before heading to the MAC Tournament in Cleveland next week. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. in Anderson Arena.