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Box Score (PDF)

KENT, Ohio – The Ohio women's basketball (2-1, 0-1 MAC) team fell to Kent State (1-2, 0-1 MAC), 84-80, to open Mid-American Conference play on Friday afternoon inside the M.A.C. Center.

Redshirt junior guard Erica Johnson (Mansfield, Ohio) had 29 points on 7-of-23 shooting and 6-of-18 shooting from the three-point line. Johnson added five assists, four rebounds and two steals in 39 minutes on the floor.

Senior guard Cece Hooks (Dayton, Ohio) had her second 20-point game of the season after scoring 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting with two threes. Hooks was one short of a double-double with nine rebounds, and added one assist and one block.

Hooks now has 31 career 20-point games, while Johnson has 24 in her career.

Senior forward Gabby Burris (Baltimore, Ohio) had a season-high 12 points on 3-of-6 shooting and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.

Redshirt freshman guard Madi Mace (Parkersburg, W. Va.) had six points while redshirt junior guard Caitlyn Kroll (Bridgeport, Ohio) and sophomore guard Peyton Guice (Westerville, Ohio) rounded out the scoring with five points each.

As a team, Ohio was 23-of-63 (36.5 percent) from the field and 13-of-34 (38.2 percent) from the three-point line. Kent State shot 25-of-56 (44.6 percent) from the field and 16-of-28 (57.1 percent) from deep. The Bobcats were 21-of-29 (72.4 percent) from the free-throw line while KSU was 18-of-25 (72.0 percent).

OU was outrebounded by Ken State, 39-33. Hooks led the way with nine boards, while Kroll pulled in a season-high seven. Burris hauled in six rebounds while Johnson and Guice each had four.

The Bobcats forced 19 turnovers and turned the ball over 13 times. OU had seven steals, with Guice leading the way with three. The Bobcats had 19 points off of turnovers, while KSU converted 11 points.

Both Ohio and Kent State had 18 points in the paint, while OU had 12 second-chance points.

OU trailed 38-33 at halftime, but took a 63-61 lead at the end of the third quarter after scoring 30 points in the third period. Kent State extended their advantage to 69-63 with 7:48 left. The Bobcats were able to cut the lead to one with a Burris second-chance layup with 3:04 and again with 1:54 remaining after two Johnson free throws. KSU pushed the lead back to three, and Johnson again hit two free throws with six seconds remaining to cut the lead to 81-80 but Kent State ultimately won, 84-80.

Ohio will continue MAC play on Wednesday, Dec. 16 at Northern Illinois. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT.

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