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Box Score (PDF)

ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio women's basketball team (17-7, 10-3 MAC) defeated Toledo (11-13, 6-7 MAC), 86-58, Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.

Redshirt sophomore Erica Johnson (Mansfield, Ohio) flirted with a triple-double after posting 31 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Johnson was 11-of-17 from the floor and 8-of-11 from the three-point line while going +27 in 33 minutes on the floor.

"The efficiency that she's (Johnson) playing with is absurd," head coach Bob Boldon said. "What probably goes unnoticed is she's cut her defensive mistakes in half. She's dedicated to the game and she wants to be the best player she can be. You can tell by the stat sheet and it jumps out that she had 31 points, but she also had nine assists, four steals and eight defensive rebounds. She was really good at both ends of the floor."

Ohio was excellent defensively in the second half and did not allow a Toledo field goal for 12:14 in the third and fourth quarter. Ohio went on a 28-1 run in that span.

"We've gotten much better at moving to the ball and protecting gaps," Boldon added. "We've done a much better job of intentionally guarding. We've had fewer breakdowns over things we know better than. That can sometimes be a product of lead, which we didn't do tonight. I'm very proud of them for that."

Junior guard Cece Hooks (Dayton, Ohio) had her eighth 20+ scoring night of the season with 20 points on 9-of-21 shooting and one three made. Hooks added seven rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Senior guard Amani Burke (Columbus, Ohio) had nine points while redshirt junior guard Katie Barker (Cary, Ill.) knocked down two threes for six points. Redshirt sophomore guard Caitlyn Kroll (Bridgeport, Ohio) and redshirt sophomore guard Kaylee Bambule (Plainfield, Ill.) each produced five points, with Bambule's being a season-high.

10 Bobcats scored for Ohio as a team that was 51.5 percent (34-of-66) from the field and 45.2 percent (14-of-31) from the three-point line. Ohio held Toledo to 39.2 percent (21-of-53) shooting and 7-of-31 (22.6 percent) from deep.

Each squad had 36 rebounds, with nine coming on the offensive glass. Ohio was led by Johnson with eight boards, while Hooks had seven and Burris produced six.

OU forced 23 Toledo turnovers and had 12 steals. Johnson and Hooks each had four steals while freshman guard Peyton Guice (Westerville, Ohio) had two steals apiece. Ohio had 17 points off of turnovers and 34 points in the paint.

The Bobcats and Rockets exchanged buckets to open the first quarter. Out of the media timeout, a layup from Hooks and a Johnson three tied the game at 12 with 3:19 left to play in the first quarter. Toledo then went on a 6-0 run to go up 18-12. that was ended by a Hooks layup. Johnson hit two shots from deep in the last minute of the quarter to tie the game at 20.

The Bobcats opened the second quarter on top with a three from Burke. After two Toledo buckets, a layup from Burke gave Ohio the lead again at 25-24 with 6:48 to play in the second quarter. After two back-to-back layups from Hooks, Toledo attempted to chip away at the lead with a pair of layups and a free throw, but Ohio remained on top to close out the first half, 35-31.

Ohio shot 15-of-33 (45.5 percent) in the first half and 4-of-15 from behind the three-point line. Hooks led the way with 14 points while Johnson had 12. Hooks pulled down six rebounds in the first half.

Toledo opened the third quarter with a pair of layups, but both were followed by a pair of threes from Barker and Johnson. Another three from Barker gave Ohio put Ohio up 44-35. Toledo chipped away at the lead cut the OU advantage down to two at 47-45 at the media timeout. Out of the media timeout, Ohio allowed just one field goal and ended the quarter on a 16-2 run to go up 63-47.

The Bobcats stayed hot in the fourth quarter going on a 14-0 run after a single Toledo free throw, capped by Johnson's eighth three-point basket on the night to go up 77-49. The Bobcats held the Rockets without a field goal for 12:14 until a three-point basket with two minutes left to play in the game from UT. Bambule's three was the last bucket for Ohio and OU won, 86-58.

OU shot 19-of-33 (57.6 percent) overall and 10-of-16 (62.5 percent) in the second half, while Toledo was held to 9-of-26 (34.6 percent) shooting and 4-of-16 (25.0 percent) from deep. In the fourth quarter, Ohio held Toledo to just 2-of-12 (16.7 percent) shooting.

The Bobcats continue conference play again Akron on Saturday, Feb. 22 at the James A. Rhodes Arena. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. ET. 

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