Jan. 23, 2010
Final Stats
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Ohio's defense held one of the Mid-American Conference's highest scoring teams under 60 points, and Jennifer Bushby scored a game-high 16 points, but it was not enough as Central Michigan managed to sneak away with a 59-56 win Saturday in Rose Arena.
The Chippewas were averaging over 71 points a contest coming into action, but they found a hurdle to overcome in the Green and White's hard pressure defense. In the end, it was a few free throws that potentially proved to be a deciding factor in the contest. Ohio shot just 55 percent from the line, 10-of-18 overall, while CMU knocked down 8-of-9 in the final 20 minutes to sneak past the `Cats.
Ohio finished the game shooting just under 34 percent from the field to go with six treys overall. The Green and White crushed the Chippewas on the backboards, outrebounding them 39-30 overall.
Bushby's (Gahanna, Ohio) 16 points led all scorers on the day, while she also added seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Kamille Buckner (Chicago, Ill.) turned in a strong outing on the glass, pulling down a game-high 10 boards, her third double-figure rebounding game of the season and the fourth of her career, to go with nine points, two steals and a block. Jenny Poff (St. John's, Mich.) chipped in eight points, including a pair of treys, while Carolyn Barnett (North Chicago, Ill.) and Da'Keisha Mann (Columbus, Ohio) tallied seven points and six points, respectively, off the bench.
Ohio came out gunning and jumped out to a quick 9-2 just three minutes in behind five points from Bushby. The Green and White extended its lead to 13-4, before CMU cut the lead to 15-9 with 11:43 left in the half. Action stayed even, before a free throw and a trey from Barnett extended the `Cats' advantage to 26-16 with 6:24 left in the frame.
The Chippewas would not go away, however, and rallied back with a huge 10-0 run to tie the action at 26 apiece. Bushby stopped the bleeding with a big jumper with 29 seconds left in the half to put Ohio back on top 28-26 heading into the lockerroom.
The `Cats finished the opening frame shooting 40 percent from the field, while CMU sizzled en route to shooting 50 percent from the field. The `Cats outrebounded CMU 18-15 in the half, including seven from Buckner.
Ohio scored the first five points of the second half, but the Chippewas came back with six points of their own to take a 35-33 lead on a Shonda Long trey with 15:33 left. A Mann bucket inside a short time later tied the game. A CMU free throw gave the Chippewas a 39-38 edge with 11:41 left.
Both sides exchanged blows before an Ashley Fowler (Cincinnati, Ohio) bucket tied the score at 46. CMU responded with five points of its own to take a 51-46 lead with 3:21 left. Mann hit two free throws to bring the `Cats within three, before Bushby knocked down a trey a short time later to tie the score at 51 with 2:37 left. Fowler then drew a foul and hit two freebies to put Ohio back on top 53-51 with 2:10 left.
Heidi Warczinsky got a putback for the Chippewas to even things at 53 apiece, before Buckner hit a free throw to put Ohio back in front by one. Long then answered for CMU with two more free throws to give the Chippewas a one-point lead. Following a costly Ohio turnover, CMU scored inside to take a 57-54 lead. Bushby then hit two freebies of her own to pull the `Cats to within one with eight seconds left. The Chippewas hit both free throws to go up 59-56 following an Ohio foul to stop the clock. With six seconds left, Ohio had a chance to send the game to overtime, but a Bushby 3-point attempt just missed and CMU snuck away with the win.
Long and Kaihla Szunko each scored 12 points to lead four Chippewas in double figures, while Britni Houghton and Kendra Holman each chipped in 10. Szunko led CMU on the glass with eight rebounds.
The `Cats will return to the Convo for a pair of home games next week. First on the docket is a date with Eastern Michigan Wednesday at 7 p.m.
