Nov. 30, 2010
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Ohio mounted a furious second-half run to nearly erase a 15-point deficit, but the Nation's Capital was not as hospitable as the Bobcats would have hoped as they fell, 54-44, to George Washington Tuesday.
The `Cats' defense was strong once again, however, holding their fourth-straight opponent under 60 points, including holding the Colonials scoreless for a stretch of 5:10 through the very end of the first half and the beginning of the second. The Green and White bench came up huge on the night, outscoring GW's reserves 24-5 while sparking the `Cats big surge during the second half.
Rims turned a cold shouler to the `Cats as they shot just 26 percent from the field. GW outrebounded the Green and White 41-35 and took advantage of 14 second-chance points.
Tenishia Benson (Akron, Ohio) paced Ohio in scoring for the fifth straight game with 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds and four steals. Thia Gholson (Louisville, Ky.) scored a season-high nine points to go with five rebounds off the bench, while Shavon Robinson (Canton, Ohio) scored all of her six points in the second half off the bench as well. Kamille Buckner (Chicago, Ill.) pulled down six boards to go with two steals and a block, while Erin Bailes (Huntington, W. Va.) notched a season- and career-best six points on two 3-pointers.
A Benson trey staked the `Cats to an early 3-0 lead, but the rims went cold for a stretch as GW took advantage of a big 15-0 run to take a 12-point advantage. The Colonials extended their lead to 15 with 7:24 left in the opening frame, before an 8-0 run, capped by a pair of Bailes treys, cut the deficit to 25-18.
GW scored the last two buckets of the first half to take a 29-18 lead into the lockerroom. The Colonials capitalized inside the paint, outscoring the `Cats 12-4 inside the key. Cold rims plagued Ohio in the opening frame as it went into the break shooting at a 27 percent clip and a 3-for-8 effort from the charity stripe.
Action was quiet the first couple minutes of the second half, before the `Cats scored the first four points of the frame to pull within seven with 15:22 left. An old-fashioned three-point play on a putback from Robinson cut the lead to five at 34-29 with 12:54 left.
Gholson knocked down a freebie to bring Ohio with four with 10:36 left. Howard knocked down a jumper from the elbow to cut it to thee at 38-35, but the Colonials converted from distance to go back up by six.
Five unanswered points from Benson, including a three-point play and a pair of free throws, pulled the Green and White to within one at 41-40 with 6:16 left. GW responded with a decisive 6-0 run over the next minute to go back up by six. Robinson converted on a pair from the line to put the `Cats within 47-42 with 4:11 left.
A bucket inside from Gholson with 3:25 left brought the score to 48-44. The `Cats had a chance to pull within a point inside of 2:30 left, but their long range attempt went in and out. GW's Tara Booker knocked down a key trey to put the score at 51-44 with 1:10 left. Ohio was forced to put the Colonials at the line the rest of the way, and they were able to convert to take the 54-44 win.
Booker scored a game-high 19 points to go with eight rebounds to lead two GW players in double figures, while Tiana Myers added 12.
Ohio will look to rebound as it wraps up its four-game road trip with a trek to Chicago to take on Chicago State Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT in the Patricia A. Jones Convocation Center.
