Women's Basketball 11/10/2019 12:00:00 AM

Ohio Women's Basketball Hosts American for Home Opener

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ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio women's basketball team (0-1, 0-0 MAC) will host American (0-0) inside The Convocation Center for OU"s home opener on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The game can be watched live on ESPN+ here. The game can be heard on WOUB 1340 AM and OhioBobcats.com with the 'Voice of Ohio Women's Basketball' Jake Hromada on the call.

Free Unfinished Business t-shirts will be given to the first 100 fans in attendance. The team will sign autographs after the game.

SEASON OPENER

Ohio dropped its season opener to No. 21 Syracuse to Ohio, 66-54. Cece Hooks had a game-high 17 points for Ohio while Erica Johnson posted 13 and Amani Burke had 12.

WIN OVER WALSH

Ohio started the season with an exhibition win over Walsh, 83-77. Redshirt sophomore guard Caitlyn Kroll led the way for Ohio with 20 points in 31 minutes of play off the bench. Redshirt sophomore guard Erica Johnson had 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting while junior forward Gabby Burris (Baltimore, Ohio) had 11 points and was +18, the best for Ohio during the win. Senior guard Amani Burke knocked down two threes and recorded nine points. Junior guard Cece Hooks (Dayton, Ohio) posted seven points while redshirt junior guard Katie Barker posted six.

In her first collegiate basketball game after playing four years of volleyball at Duquesne, graduate transfer guard Maddie Bazelak posted 10 rebounds and added six points in the win. Sophomore forward Deesh Beck pulled down nine rebounds, including six on the offensive side.

PICKED TO WIN THE MAC

Ohio was picked as the favorite in the League in the MAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. OU was selected as the regular season, east division and tournament champion. Ohio earned all 12 of the MAC East Division first place votes and finished with 72 points. Ohio received all 12 votes to win the 2020 MAC regular season title and 10 votes to win the 2020 MAC Tournament. Buffalo and Northern Illinois also received one vote to win the MAC Tournament.

PRESEASON ALL-MAC

Cece Hooks and Erica Johnson were named preseason All-MAC East. Hooks appears on the preseason All-MAC East team for the second-straight season. Hooks was the MAC Defensive Player of the Year last season and was also first-team All-MAC, MAC All-Defensive team and MAC All-Tournament team. Hooks broke her own single season steals record last season when she finished with 112, and is Ohio's 16th 1,000-point scorer, becoming the second-fastest to hit that mark. Last week, she was named to the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year watch list.

Johnson was the 2018-19 MAC Freshman and Sixth Player of the Year and was also third-team All-MAC and a member of the MAC All-Freshman team. Johnson averaged 13.9 points per game last year and shot 41.9 percent. Johnson had a career-high 26 points and a career-high 16 rebounds against Northern Illinois on the road.

NANCY LIEBERMAN POINT GUARD OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST

Cece Hooks was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame Nancy Lieberman award watch list. The award recognizes the top point guard in NCAA Division I basketball. Hooks is one of two Mid-American Conference players on the list. Lauren Dickerson from Miami joins Hooks from the MAC.

2019 AWARDS

Cece Hooks was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year, All-MAC First Team and All-MAC Tournament Team last season. Hooks was the second Bobcat to win MAC Defensive Player of the Year, joining Quiera Lampkins of 2016. Hooks broke her own steals record with 112.

Erica Johnson was MAC Freshman of the Year as well as MAC Sixth Player of the Year. Johnson was also Third Team All-MAC. Johnson gave Ohio its second-straight MAC Freshman of the Year award and she is now the fourth Bobcat to win it. Hooks won the award in 2018, Rachel Frederick in 2006 and Caroline Mast in 1983. Johnson also won the MAC Sixth Player of the Year award, becoming the second Bobcat to take home that honor as Simone Redd won it in 2005. Johnson was also named to the MAC All-Freshman Team.

Amani Burke was Third-team All-MAC for the first time in her career.

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK - TEAM RECORDS

Ohio set a multitude of team records last season. The Bobcats' 30 wins in 2018 were the most by any basketball program in Ohio history.

The 341 three-pointers made by Ohio in 2018-19 was the most in school and MAC history.

Ohio's 12-straight wins was the best start in program history and the second-best streak in program history.

The Bobcats 2,746 points scored were the most for a season, surpassing the mark by 415.

The 2,222 field goals attempted in 2018-19 were the highest total in program history.

Ohio's 376 steals were a program record, surpassing the 2017-18 season by 10 steals.

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK - INDIVIDUAL RECORDS

Cece Hooks' 636 points is fourth-most in program history while her 251 field goals made was a program record.

Amani Burke's 91 three pointers made were a program record.

Hooks' 110 steals broke her own record by 10 steals.

Burke's 11 threes against Ball State was tied the MAC record for threes made and set the Ohio record.

RETURNING SCORING

Ohio returns 80 percent of their scoring in a season that saw them score a school record 2,746 points. Ohio lost Dominique Doseck (10.0 PPG), Olivia Bower (3.9 PPG) and Kendall Jessing (1.8 PPG).

NEWCOMERS

Some new faces will see the floor at The Convo this season.

Caitlyn Kroll is a redshirt sophomore who sat out last season due to the NCAA transfer rules. As a freshman at St. Francis, Kroll was the Northeast Conference Newcomer of the Year and averaged 13.4 points per game.

Freshman Peyton Guice is a newcomer from Westerville South high school. Guice was second-team All-Ohio Capital Conference as a senior in high school.

Redshirt freshman Abby Garnett sat out last year. Garnett was two-time All-Colorado in high school.

Graduate transfer Maddie Bazelak comes to Ohio after spending four years playing volleyball at Duquesne. On the volleyball court, Bazelak recorded 743 kills and 748 digs in four seasons with the Dukes. She had a career-high 269 kills in 2016 and 150 or more in her final three seasons. Bazelak had 225 or more digs in her final three seasons. In high school, she was the 2015 Ohio basketball player of the year.

Sophomore Jasmine Hale is a transfer from Wisconsin and will sit out one season due to NCAA transfer rules.

Freshman Ella Pope was second-team All-Utah in 2017 and 2018 and was a state runner-up in high school.

MEET THE COACHING STAFF

Tavares Jackson has been an assistant coach on Bob Boldon's Ohio staff for seven years. Marwan Miller is in his fourth season on Boldon's staff as an assistant coach and fifth overall after serving as the program's director of operations for the 2013-14 and '14-15 seasons.

Steph Haas is in her second year as an assistant coach after spending the last two seasons at Florida Gulf Coast as a video coordinator following a four-year playing career with the Eagles. Tia Jameson is in her fourth season as Ohio's director of operations. Ohio familiar face will be on the Ohio bench as a graduate assistant this season as Kiyanna Black returns to the Bobcats following a stellar playing career in Athens in which she racked up 1,724 career points -- the third-most in the history of the program.

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