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BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Ohio women's basketball team (9-5, 2-1 MAC) earned a road win at Buffalo (10-4, 1-2 MAC), 76-65, on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Arena.
"I thought our kids showed a lot of toughness after a home loss to Central Michigan to go on the road and beat Buffalo," head coach Bob Boldon said. "We got contributions across the board and almost had five kids in double-figures. Everyone stepped up and did their jobs on the road."
Redshirt sophomore forward Erica Johnson (Mansfield, Ohio) had a game-high 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting and 2-of-4 from the three-point line. Johnson pulled down eight rebounds, including three offensive rebounds. She added four assists and had one steal in 37 minutes on the floor.
"It's nice to see her (Erica Johnson) back to her normal self of being an efficient scorer," Boldon added. "Rebounding in the second quarter was poor but we came back to outrebound Buffalo in the final two quarters of the game. Erica's eight led the way."
Redshirt junior guard Katie Barker (Cary, Ill.) knocked down five threes and had 15 points in 31 minutes on the floor. Barker has now hit double-figures six times this season already, her career-high.
"Katie (Barker) has been good for us this year," Boldon said. "She continually puts pressure on the defense because she continues to make shots. She set the tone for us after a three off of dribble penetration and continued to knock down open shots throughout the game."
Junior guard Cece Hooks (Dayton, Ohio) was 4-of-12 from the field with one three-pointer made while knocking down three free throws. Hooks had six rebounds, four assists and three steals while going +17.
Senior guard Amani Burke (Columbus, Ohio) had 11 points for Ohio and hit two three-pointers. Sophomore forward Edecia Beck (Grand Rapids, Mich.) had seven points and six rebounds for Ohio in 15 minutes on the floor.
Overall, Ohio was 25-of-61 (41.0 percent) from the field and 11-of-26 from behind the three-point line. Buffalo was held to 24-of-59 (40.7 percent) shooting and 12-of-36 (33.3 percent) from the three point line. The difference came at the free throw line, where Ohio was 15-of-27 (55.6 percent) while UB was 5-of-6 (83.3 percent).
Ohio won the turnover battle, 22-14 and had 10 steals. Hooks and redshirt sophomore Caitlyn Kroll (Bridgeport, Ohio) each had three steals. Burris had two swipes and Johnson and Barker had one. Ohio had 29 points off of turnovers.
OU was outrebounded by Buffalo, 42-36. Ohio had 16 offensive boards. Johnson led the way with eight boards and Hooks had six. Burris and Burke had five apiece while Beck had three.
The Bobcats scored 28 points in the paint and scored 18 second-chance points.
Ohio started the first quarter one a 7-0 run, capped by a Hooks layup. Ohio was able to push the lead to 12 at 19-7 when Burke hit a three with 4:10 remaining. Buffalo hit a couple layups but Burris hit a three with seven seconds left to put Ohio up 25-14.
The Bobcats started the second quarter with a Johnson three to take a 14-point lead, the biggest lead of the night. UB chipped away and got the lead down to seven on a layup with 19 seconds left to cut the OU advantage to 39-32.
The Bobcats were led in the first half by Johnson, who had 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Barker hit three three-pointers and had nine points. Ohio was 15-of-36 from the field and 8-of-16 from deep while only turning the ball over five times.
Ohio started the third quarter on a 9-2 run that was capped by a Barker three-pointer to put Ohio up 47-34 with 8:09 left. Buffalo was able to get the lead down to four at 2:59, the closest UB would get to Ohio the rest of the game. Ohio answered with a couple layups and free throws and closed the third quarter up 57-51.
Beck started Ohio off with a made layup in the fourth quarter. Barker's three with 7:09 left in the fourth quarter gave Ohio a 64-53 advantage. Buffalo chipped away at the Ohio lead and got the advantage to seven with 1:44 left, but started intentionally fouling. Ohio converted from the line and won, 76-65.
Ohio will continue Mid-American Conference play on Wednesday at Western Michigan. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
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