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The Basics:
Score: Ohio 60, Eastern Michigan 44
Location: Quicken Loans Arena - Cleveland, Ohio
The Short Story: The Ohio women's basketball team (27-4) clinched its first MAC Tournament championship since 1986 and its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1995 with a 60-44 victory against Eastern Michigan (22-12) on Saturday afternoon.



OHIO STARTERS: #2 Mariah Byard, #4 Kiyanna Black, #5 Quiera Lampkins, #10 Lexie Baldwin, #14 Kat Yelle
EASTERN MICHIGAN STARTERS: #13 Janay Morton, #21 Phillis Webb, #23 Sera Ozelci, #24 Cha Sweeney, #52 Rachel Kehoe

How It Happened:
- After a slow start shooting, Mariah Byard strung together three consecutive makes from behind the arc to provide Ohio with a 13-10 at the 10:47 mark of the first half.
- Lexie Baldwin added three triples of her own to keep Eastern Michigan within striking distance, scoring a team high 11 points in the first half.
- Byard added nine for the Bobcats, going 3-of-5 from behind the arc in the opening stanza.
- Ohio shot 9-of-26 (34.6 percent) from the field and 6-of-16 (37.5 percent) on attempts from three-point range.
- The Bobcats had assists on eight of their nine made field goals.
- Cha Sweeney led all scorers with 16 points in the opening 20 minutes.
- The Eagles were 9-of-26 (32.1 percent) from the field in the first half and 2-of-9 (22.2 percent) from behind the arc in the first half.
- Ohio opened up a 40-31 lead with a 9-0 run with 11:53 remaining in the game that was aided by Kat Yelle, who scored five points during the stretch.
- The Bobcats increased their lead to 56-44 with a three by Yamonie Jenkins at the 1:58 mark.
- Kiyanna Black had a remarkable second half, scoring 21 points in the final stanza and shooting 5-of-9 (55.5 percent) from three-point range.
- Black finished with a team-high 25 points, five rebounds and was named MAC Tournament MVP.
- Byard scored 12 points and added four assists.
- Baldwin 13 points and hauled in five boards.
- Ohio shot 20-of-53 (37.7 percent) from the field and 14-of-35 (40 percent).
- Eastern Michigan was 15-of-59 (25.4 percent) from the field and 4-of-19 (21.1 percent) from three-point range.
- Sweeney scored 24 points for the Eagles.
- The Bobcats outrebounded Eastern Michigan 43-35.
- Ohio had 19 second chance points compared to five for the Eagles.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Ohio clinched an NCAA Tournament bid for the first time since the 1994-95 season.
- The Bobcats won the MAC Tournament for the first time since the 1985-86 campaign.
- Black reached double digits in scoring for the 28th time this season the 56fth time in her Ohio career.
- The Bobcats broke their program record for wins in a season, reaching the 27 victory mark for the first time ever.
- With 14 threes in the game, Ohio broke the men's basketball program record for three-pointers in a season with 292. The previous record was 279.
- Byard, Baldwin and Black were all named to the All-Tournament Team, with Black receiving MVP honors.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Bob Boldon:
"Obviously it's exciting. I know you hear the same clichés this time of year and you do because it's hard to put this experience into words. I couldn't be happier for these young ladies that are sitting next to me, the ones that are in the locker room celebrating right now. It's a culmination of a lot of work and I think hard work defines who they are and I'm proud of them."

Senior guard Mariah Byard:
"Everyone put in the work this summer. Everyone was in the gym and that made me want to be in the gym and vice versa. Coach told us the hard work would pay off and we kind of just trusted him, trusted the coaching staff on what they could do, using their knowledge, and worked."

Junior guard Kiyanna Black:
"I just kept on shooting. The difference from the first half to the second half was in the second half, (shots) decided to go in. Once the first one went in, I just kept on shooting and they kept on going in. That's the best feeling."

Sophomore guard Quiera Lampkins:
"I think the difference from last year is we really didn't buy into what coach was saying. This year, we listened and got down to business. But it's just a huge difference when you're listening to your coach and buying in to exactly what he's saying."



COMING UP
Ohio will await its matchup for the first round of the NCAA Tournament with the NCAA Women's Basketball Selection Special Presented by Capital One airing on ESPN Monday, March 16 at 7 p.m. To purchase official championship gear, go to shop.ohiobobcats.com.

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