Dec. 5, 2011
Box Score
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ohio Women's Basketball encountered its third consecutive road setback on Monday, falling by a final score of 66-56 at Cleveland State. The Bobcats held a six-point halftime lead but were beaten in the paint by an incredible second half from Destinee Blue, who scored 14 points in the final 20 minutes of the game.
The Bobcats (3-4) were led by Erin Bailes, who scored 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-4 from distance. Shavon Robinson also scored in double figures for the Green and White, hitting five field goals to finish with 10 points.
Ohio forced Cleveland State into 25 turnovers during the game, collecting 19 steals, a single-game steals mark which is the fifth highest in program history.
Cleveland State leapt out to an early 8-1 lead which was nearly erased by a 6-0 Bobcat run over the next 90 seconds. The teams played a very spirited first few minutes with the Vikings holding a 17-14 advantage before Bailes stepped up and hit a big three pointer, her second of the evening. With 7:51 to play in the first half, Ohio pulled level for the first time at 17 apiece.
A Robinson steal and layup at the 6:24 mark gave Ohio its first lead of the game at 19-17. Ohio kept pressing and forced Cleveland State into 18 first-half turnovers. The Bobcats took advantage of this, scoring 12 points off these miscues to take a 27-21 into halftime. Bailes led the `Cats with eight points while Porsha Harris (Chicago, Ill.) crashed the boards well, collecting four rebounds.
Ohio kept up the pressure right from the start of the second half, forcing Cleveland State (3-4) into three turnovers in just the first four minutes of the second half. Following an early run that put the `Cats ahead by eight at the 14:10 mark, Cleveland State ripped off a solid run of its own to pull within three (37-34) at the 11:41 mark. Much of the second half improvement for the Vikings had to do with the performance of Destinee Blue, who scored eight points in the first eight minutes of the second half.
The Vikings kept up this strong second half, going on a 16-4 run over a seven-minute span to take a 45-41 lead. The teams battled back-and-forth over the next few minutes, with Cleveland State coming close to pulling away on numerous occasions before the Bobcats were able to come up with clutch shots to keep within striking range.
Facing a 55-52 deficit with 1:49 to play, Ohio was unable to close the gap enough and Cleveland State came away with the victory. The Vikings connected on 11 free throws in the final 96 seconds to finish out the game.
Shalonda Winton led all scorers with 19 points while collecting a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Bobcats will next be in action on Dec. 9 when they open up a three-game home stand against Youngstown State. This contest will be the 1,000th game in Ohio Women's Basketball program history. Tip is set for 7 p.m. from the Convocation Center.
