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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Ohio women's basketball (7-4, 0-0 MAC) team wrapped up non-conference play with a win over Chattanooga (1-13, 0-0 SOCON), 70-58, on Sunday evening at the McKenzie Center.
"It was nice to get on the road in someone else's arena after losing a couple on the road to bounce back and get a win," head coach Bob Boldon said. "Especially heading into conference play. We weathered a little bit of a storm there in the second half, but I thought our kids did a good job of creating some separation. We certainly were challenged in non-conference play. We won some games and we lost some games, but I thought we played well in most games. Maybe one game in particular stands out, but in totality of that and playing bigger schools and traveling to New York, Texas, Florida and others, hopefully all of that prepares us for what's to come in conference play."
The Bobcats had four in double figures, with junior guard Cece Hooks (Dayton, Ohio) leading the way with 21 points. Hooks was 8-of-12 from the field and knocked down five free throws. Hooks added four assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Redshirt sophomore guard Erica Johnson (Mansfield, Ohio) produced 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting and was 3-of-5 from behind the three-point line. Ten of Johnson's 18 came in the fourth quarter. Johnson had her third double-double of the season with 11 rebounds and added a season-high five steals and five assists.
"It was nice to have Erica back," Boldon added. "I think she deserves a lot of credit for the way she integrated herself back into the system. Sometimes that can be hard when the team is playing a few games without you. I thought her shot selection was good and based on her five assists she was able to get others involved too. I thought her and Cece were efficient tonight. 15-22 shooting is pretty efficient."
Senior guard Amani Burke (Columbus, Ohio) hit three from behind-the-arc and had a total of 12 points while also adding five steals. Redshirt junior guard Katie Barker (Cary, Ill.) was 4-of-10 from the floor and 3-of-8 from deep for a total of 11 points. Barker pulled down a career-high seven rebounds.
Overall, Ohio shot 42.6 percent (26-of-61) from the field and 38.5 percent (10-of-26) from the three-point line. Chattanooga was held to 36.4 percent (20-of-55) shooting and 21.1 percent (4-of-19) from behind the arc.
The Bobcats forced 22 turnovers and had 16 steals and scored 25 points off of turnovers. Thirty two of Ohio's 70 points came in the paint while OU produced 22 points on a fast break. Ohio held the lead for 39:20 and did not allow Chattanooga to take the lead.
Ohio started the game up 22-12 in the first quarter. OU was 8-of-14 from the field and 3-of-6 from deep. Hooks had seven points. Barker started the game with a three and Chattanooga tied the game with 8:53 left in the first. A Burris field goal put Ohio up 5-3 and the Bobcats would not give up the lead. Burke put Ohio up 10-3 with 6:20 left in the quarter. Ohio's lead to get to 12 at 21-9 with 48 seconds left.
Ohio extended the lead to 39-28 after shooting 7-of-19 from the field. Chattanooga started the quarter on an 8-0 run to cut the Ohio advantage to 22-20, but Johnson made a three to end the run. Johnson and Hooks pushed the lead to 10 with 7:15 left, and the lead held around 11 for the remainder of the quarter.
Chattanooga outscored Ohio 16-8 in the third period and cut the OU advantage down to 47-44. Burke had four points while Barker and Hooks had two. Ohio did not score in the third period until the 6:06 mark when Barker made a layup that was assisted by Hooks. Chattanooga chipped away at the OU lead and knocked down two free throws with 55 seconds left to make it 47-44.
Ohio responded and outscored the Mocs, 23-14, in the final frame. Johnson had 10 while Hooks had seven in eight minutes of play. Johnson was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and hit two threes. Johnson put OU up 50-44 with 8:58. Chattanooga punched back with a three but Ohio quickly extended the lead to 10 at 57-47. Barker put Ohio up 64-49 with 4:37 left in the game. Chattanooga was able to get the lead to 67-58 but a Burke three with 25 seconds left with 70-58.
The Bobcats will begin Mid-American Conference play on Jan. 4 at 1 p.m. against Northern Illinois at The Convocation Center.
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