Nov. 23, 2010
Final Stats
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. - Alesia Howard knocked down a pair of free throws with five seconds left to give Ohio a nail-biting 54-52 victory over Marshall Tuesday night in the Cam Henderson Center. The sophomore transfer scored the last four Bobcat points in the final minute of play and all of her team-high tying 12 points in the second half.
Ohio overcame a 29 percent shooting clip from the field by outrebounding the Herd 41-29 and taking advantage of 18 second-half points. Three Bobcats scored in double figures on the night, led by 12 points apiece from Howard (Columbus, Ohio) and Ashley Fowler (Cincinnati, Ohio). Tenishia Benson (Akron, Ohio) notched double figures for the third-straight game with 11 points to go with her team-high eight boards.
Kamille Buckner (Chicago, Ill.) and Symone Lyles (Silver Spring, Md.) each chipped in five points and pulled down five boards. Buckner also added three blocks, while Fowler snagged a career-best four steals and Lyles nabbed three steals.
Benson scored the first seven points for Ohio, staking the `Cats to an early 7-4 lead. Tina Fisher (Cottage Grove, Minn.) knocked down the first triple of her career to cap off a 6-0 run that put the Green and White on top by six. Both rims were unkind over the next couple minutes as neither side was able to score.
Marshall came back with a big 8-0 run to go up 12-10 with seven minutes left in the first half. The `Cats responded with an 8-3 run to go back on top by three. A pair of Herd buckets in the final minute of the half made things even at 19-19 going into the lockerroom.
Rims were unkind to Ohio in the opening period as the `Cats struggled to just a 20 percent clip from the field. Marshall took advantage of play inside, holding a 10-4 advantage inside the paint. Benson led the Green and White with seven points in the frame, while Fisher chipped in four.
Action was fast and furious the first few minutes of the second half, before a Buckner and-one free throw put the `Cats on top 30-27 with 15:47 left. The next several minutes went back and forth over the next several minutes until a Fowler trey put Ohio up 41-36 with 8:32 remaining.
The Green and White went up 47-41 after an Erin Bailes (Huntington, W. Va.) freebie with 5:33 left. The Herd came steaming back with a big 9-0 run to go ahead by three with 3:47 left. Ohio came back and took a one-point lead after a fast-break jumper from Fowler with 1:31 left, but a Marshall bucket with 42 seconds left on the clock put the Herd up 52-50.
Howard converted inside to tie the action at 52, before Ohio went down and got a stop on the defensive end. Howard was fouled on the rebound and calmly went to the line and sunk both free throws to put the `Cats up 54-52 with five seconds left on the clock. Marshall's 3-point attempt at the buzzer hit off the front of the rim to give Ohio the win.
Tynikki Crook and Lateidra Elliott each scored 13 points to lead the Herd, while Veronica Ruiz added 10.
Ohio continues its road trip Saturday when it heads to Youngstown, Ohio to battle Youngstown State. Action is set to tip off at 4:30 p.m.
