Jan. 5, 2011
Final Stats | Quotes
ATHENS, Ohio - Ohio scratched and clawed and gave the defending conference champions everything they could handle, but a decisive Bowling Green run in the second half cost the Bobcats in a hard-fought 66-54 setback to open Mid-American Conference play Wednesday night in the Convo.
Following a tight first half that saw BGSU, currently among the top teams receiving votes in both national poles, clinging to a four-point lead at the half, action remained close through the first few minutes of the second frame before the Falcons capitalized with a decisive 15-6 run over a four-minute span that put them up by 17.
The `Cats clawed back to pull within eight with 4:24 left, but a big five-point BGSU play resulting from a made trey and foul on the play gave the Falcons the edge they would need.
The Green and White defense turned in a great showing, holding BGSU to just 38.9 percent shooting from the field and a 32 percent clip in the first half. Ohio also won the battle on the boards, outrebounding the Falcons 41-35.
Ohio was led by Tenishia Benson's (Akron, Ohio) 13 points, game-high nine rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Alesia Howard (Columbus, Ohio) added 11 points and four rebounds and Shavon Robinson (Canton, Ohio) chipped in with a career-high 10.
Lauren Prochaska finished with a game-high 23 points, 17 in the second half, and also added six rebounds for BGSU. Maggie Hennegan was the only other Falcon in double figures, finishing with 16 points.
Ohio connected on its first six field goals of the game and jumped out to a 12-7 lead on the Falcons, getting six points from Benson. The Bobcats then went cold, missing their next seven field-goal attempts, but clamped down on the defensive end and still led 12-9 at the 11:23 mark of the first half.
BGSU would score the next five points for its first lead of the game before a layup from Howard broke a scoring drought of almost five-and-a-half minutes for the `Cats and tied the score, 14-14.
The Falcons went on a 7-0 run to open up a 21-14 lead with 6:00 showing on the clock before Head Coach Semeka Randall called her first timeout of the contest.
Out of the huddle, Tina Fisher (Cottage Grove, Minn.) hit a turnaround off the glass and Robinson converted four-consecutive free throws to trim the deficit to one at 21-20 with 4:07 remaining. However, the Falcons responded with seven points of their own, including five from Prochaska, before Symone Lyles (Silver Spring, Md.) scored her first bucket of the game and Howard added two free throws before the halftime buzzer.
The Green and White trailed by four at half, 28-24, despite the fact it outscored the Falcons 18-6 in the paint. Ohio had three players score six points in the first half with Benson, Howard and Robinson combining to score 75 percent of the team's points.
The teams traded baskets to open the second half before BGSU went on a 6-0 run to push the lead to double figures for the first time in the contest. The back-and-forth play resumed before a 10-2 Falcon run extended the lead to 50-34 with 12:37 remaining in the second half.
Ohio tried to get back into the contest with an 11-4 of its own that culminated with the team's first three-pointer of the evening off the finger tips of Benson and made the score 55-44. Then after a BG basket, Howard converted a traditional three-point play and Robinson converted a layup to get the deficit into single digits at 57-49 with 4:24 to go in the contest.
Despite a great effort from the Bobcats, the Falcons held off the late charge to take the victory. In the second half, the visitors shot 46 percent from the field and took three times as many free throws (15-5).
The `Cats will hit the road this weekend for a 12 p.m. contest Saturday at Akron. The game can be seen live on Sports Time Ohio.
