Jan. 12, 2011
Final Stats | Quotes
ATHENS, Ohio - Temperatures outside the Convocation Center may have been cold, but Ohio and Kent State heated things up inside with a down-to-the-wire contest that finished with a nail-biting 55-54 win for the visiting Golden Flashes Wednesday night. Tenishia Benson picked up her fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds to go with five assists, while Ashley Fowler tied her career-high 14 to lead the Bobcats.
Ohio (4-12, 0-3 Mid-American Conference) shot a season-best 46 percent from the field and outrebounded Kent State (12-3, 3-0 MAC) 36-27. The Green and White also turned in a strong defensive effort, holding the high-scoring Flashes to their second-lowest output of the season while limiting their leading scorer and All-MAC player Jamilah Humes to just seven points. As had been the case in their last game, however, turnovers bit the `Cats as they turned the ball over 27 times on the night. The Golden Flashes capitalized with 26 points off those miscues, while also taking advantage of key offensive rebounds with 17 second-chance points.
Fowler's 14 paced the Green and White, while the Cincinnati native also chipped in three steals. Benson (Akron, Ohio) also added a pair of steals to finish the night with 10 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two steals. Sophomore Tina Fisher (Cottage Grove, Minn.) gave Ohio a huge lift off the bench with eight points and a block. Classmate Alesia Howard (Columbus, Ohio) chipped in seven points, a career-best tying eight rebounds and three assists.
Taisja Jones led two Kent players in double figures with a game-high 17 points, eight rebounds and six steals. Chenel Harris chipped in 13 points and three assists.
The game got off to a fast start with the teams combining for 10-of-19 shooting as Kent State held a 13-12 advantage early on. The `Cats were able to mix in some strong defense early in the first half, highlighted by Benson's emphatic block on a Humes lay-up attempt. This forced the Golden Flashes into a shot clock violation, giving the ball back to Ohio.
The spirited play continued through the remainder of the first half, with Kent taking a close 26-24 lead into the locker room. Ohio hit the glass hard in the first half, holding a 20-11 advantage in rebounding. Fowler led the Green and White with seven points in the frame, while Benson added six.
KSU came out the aggressors coming out of the lockerroom and reeled off a quick 7-0 run to take a 33-24 advantage after a trey from Jones. The `Cats would not go away, however, and jumped right back into the mix with a big 8-0 run, behind five Fisher points.
Action remained tight over the next few minutes with the Flashes never able to go up by more than three points. An old-fashioned three-point play from Howard finally evened the count at 43 with 6:40 left. It wouldn't last long, however, as Kent's Harris knocked down a key three to put the Flashes back up by three. A pair of Benson freebies and a Fowler jumper, however, put Ohio up by one at 47-46 with 4:37 remaining.
A 7-2 Kent spurt gave the Flashes a four-point advantage at the 3:52 mark, but the `Cats responded once again with a run of their own, capped off by Fowler's triple that gave Ohio a 54-53 lead with 1:38 left.
Following a KSU turnover, the Green and White had an opportunity to add to its lead, but a costly turnover gave the Flashes the ball. A put back by Tayler Stanton with 34 seconds put Kent back in front by one. The `Cats had an opportunity to try to take the lead, but a turnover thwarted their hopes.
Kent missed a close shot with 16 seconds left on the clock and Ohio corralled the rebound to give itself one more opportunity. Things looked good momentarily as the `Cats got an open lane to drive, but were called for traveling rather than a foul on contact with their last attempt. The Flashes dribbled out the last five seconds to escape with the win.
Ohio's next game is against Buffalo on Saturday, January 15 when the `Cats compete in the first half of a basketball doubleheader with the men's team. Action will tip-off at 4:30 p.m.
