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Box Score (PDF)

ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio (3-3, 1-2 MAC) women's basketball team was defeated by Central Michigan (5-2, 3-0 MAC), 90-87, on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.

Ohio was led by senior guard Cece Hooks (Dayton, Ohio), who had 22 points on 9-of-21 shooting. Hooks added seven rebounds, three assists and three steals in the win. 

Redshirt junior guard Erica Johnson (Mansfield, Ohio) recorded 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Johnson was 4-of-9 from the three-point line and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. Johnson was one short of a double-double with nine rebounds and added three assists.

Both Johnson and Hooks have produced five games of 20 or more points this season.

Senior forward Gabby Burris (Baltimore, Ohio) had 12 points, while redshirt freshman Madi Mace (Parkersburg, W. Va.) had a career-high 11 points. Sophomore guard Peyton Guice (Westerville, Ohio) had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.

"Madi's (Mace) development has been fantastic and her skill set is really good," Boldon said. "She's continuing to learn the system. She's in a very good spot as a freshman."

Redshirt junior Kaylee Bambule (Plainfield, Ill) had a season-high eight points on 3-of-6 shooting and 2-of-5 from the three-point line. Bambule was +14 in 14 minutes on the floor.

"I thought she gave us a nice spark off the bench," Boldon added. "She's been struggling to find her shot and I think she found some and made some, so I'm happy for her."

Overall, Ohio shot 32-of-73 (43.8 percent) and 7-of-37 (18.9 percent) from the three-point line. CMU shot 31-of-62 (50.0 percent) from the field and 15-of-35 (42.9 percent) from deep. Ohio went 16-of-20 (80.0 percent) from the free-throw line while the Chippewas were 13-of-18 (72.2 percent) from the charity stripe.

Ohio outrebounded CMU 37-29. Johnson pulled down nine rebounds, while Mace had a career-high eight boards. Hooks had seven rebounds, while Bambule had three. Fourteen of Ohio's 37 rebounds were on the offensive glass.

The Bobcats forced 19 turnovers and had seven steals. Hooks led with three, Mace had two while Burris and Bambule had one each. Ohio had 21 points off turnovers, compared to 10 for CMU.

Central Michigan's biggest lead came in the first quarter, when CMU went up 16-7 with 3:27 left in the first quarter. Ohio stormed back in the second quarter, outscoring the Chippewas 26-11 in the second frame. Ohio's biggest lead of the day came at the 2:07 mark of the second period.

Ohio was outscored 29-17 in the third quarter and CMU took a 64-60 lead into the final break. Ohio's biggest lead of the fourth quarter was at 70-66 with 7:13 left in the quarter. A back-and-forth battle gave CMU an 88-86 lead with 12 seconds left. Burris went to the line with seven seconds left down two, but made one of two free throws.

The Bobcats will continue Mid-American Conference play on Wednesday at Miami. Tip-off at Millett Hall is set for 5:30 p.m.

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