Nov. 8, 2011
Final Stats
ATHENS, Ohio - Following a win over Ohio Valley last week, Ohio Women’s Basketball capped off the exhibition portion of its season Tuesday night with a 70-52 victory over Lake Erie College. Senior guard Tenishia Benson nearly posted her second-consecutive double-double with 17 points and seven rebounds on the night, while teammates Alesia Howard (Columbus, Ohio) and Porsha Harris (Chicago, Ill.) each finished with 13 points.
The Bobcats put together a dominating rebounding performance on Tuesday, holding a 60-27 edge in the battle of the boards. Included in this figure was a 25-4 edge in offensive rebounding.
Ohio jumped out to an early 11-8 lead marked by four points from Benson (Akron, Ohio) and a pair of buckets from Harris and sophomore Erin Bailes (Huntington, W. Va.). Erie would respond with sharp outside shooting as both teams battled for possession late into the first half, resulting in a 28-25 Ohio lead at halftime. The Bobcats out-rebounded the Storm 29-15 in the first half with Ohio boasting 14 offensive rebounds to Lake Erie’s two.
Howard scored a quick six points in the start of the second half as the Bobcats darted out to a 14-4 run in the first six minutes to increase Ohio’s lead to 42-29. Ohio led by as much as 24 in the second half as the ‘Cats went from shooting 23.3 percent in the first half to 50 percent in the second.
The ‘Cats found their way to the free throw line 34 times in the game, making 23 (67.6 percent) and shooting 37.1 percent overall from the field. Ohio’s defensive play was strong in the victory, forcing 15 Lake Erie turnovers and grabbing nine steals on the night.
Ohio opens regular-season play on Sunday, Nov. 13 at Morehead State. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
