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Box Score (PDF)

ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio women's basketball team (15-6, 8-3 MAC) took down Kent State (10-11, 5-5 MAC), 63-57, on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.

Redshirt sophomore guard Erica Johnson (Mansfield, Ohio) led the way for the Bobcats with 22 points on 8-of-22 shooting and two made threes. Johnson was 4-of-5 from the free throw line and pulled down seven rebounds along with her five assists and five steals in 39 minutes of play.

Junior guard Cece Hooks (Dayton, Ohio) went 6-of-16 from the field and pulled down eight boards along with five steals and two assists in 30 minutes on the floor.

Freshman guard Peyton Guice (Westerville, Ohio) had nine points on 3-of-4 shooting. Guice hit one three-pointer, the first of her career.

"Peyton's been tremendous," head coach Bob Boldon said. "She's a very cerebral player and has a great understanding of the game. That helps you be a step ahead of everybody and it helps her be successful on both ends of the floor. She gets better every time she steps on the floor."

Junior forward Gabby Burris (Baltimore, Ohio) had seven points and eight boards in her 30 minutes on the floor. Redshirt sophomore guard Caitlyn Kroll (Bridgeport, Ohio) shot 1-of-7 from the field and 4-of-6 from the free throw line for seven points.

Senior guard Amani Burke (Columbus, Ohio) collected six points and added five boards.

Overall, Ohio shot 21-of-62 (33.9 percent) from the field and 5-of-21 (23.8 percent) from the three-point line. Kent State was held to 26-of-65 shooting (40.0 percent) and 3-of-19 (15.8 percent) from deep. Ohio was 16-of-21 (76.2 percent) from the free throw line while Kent State was 2-of-8 (25.0 percent) from the charity stripe.

Ohio was outrebounded by KSU, 45-38. Ohio pulled down 14 offensive rebounds. Burris and Hooks each pulled down six rebounds while Johnson had seven. Burke and Kroll each had five boards.

Ohio forced 17 turnovers and only turned the ball over 10 times. The Bobcats had 18 points off those turnovers. Hooks and Johnson each had five steals in the win.

The Bobcats won the tip and opened the game with a three from Erica Johnson. After trading baskets, Johnson sank another shot from behind the arc to extend Ohio's lead, 8-5 with 8:06 left in the first quarter.

Following a Gabby Burris three, Kent State went on a 7-0 run before a free throw by Caitlyn Kroll tied the game at 12 with 3:11 left to play in the first quarter. The Bobcats and the Golden Flashes exchanged buckets within the remaining minutes, capped by a Gabby Burris layup to give Ohio the lead, 18-16, to end the quarter.

Ohio started off the second quarter with a Johnson layup, but Kent State went on a 7-0 run to take the lead with 7:57 left to play in the half. A three from Kroll tied the game at 23 but was followed by a 6-0 run from KSU. Johnson was fouled on her jumper and sank the free throw to trail by three with 4:51 left in the half. Following the media timeout, the Bobcats and Flashes traded buckets to close out the half and Kent State took a 37-31 lead into the break.

Ohio shot 10-of-29 (34.5 percent) in the first half. Johnson led Ohio with 13 points while Burris had seven and Kroll produced five.

Cece Hooks opened up the third quarter with a layup to start a 6-0 run from Ohio which resulted in a Kent State timeout. After trading buckets, Ohio went on another 6-0 run to take a 45-39 with 3:52 left in the quarter.

After Peyton Guice made her first career three-point basket, the Bobcats and Golden Flashes traded buckets to finish out the quarter. Ohio led Kent State 50-47 after only allowing 10 points in the third quarter.

Kent State opened the fourth quarter with a game-tying three, but the Bobcats answered with three free throws and a layup from Hooks to give Ohio the lead, 55-50, with 7:24 left to play. After a Kent State layup, Hooks hit back-to-back layups to take a 59-52 lead. Kent State was able to get the Ohio lead down to four but came no closer and Ohio won, 63-56.

Ohio continues Mid-American Conference play next Saturday when the Bobcats take on Miami. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. ET.

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