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Box Score (PDF)

ATHENS, Ohio -- It took senior guard Cece Hooks (Dayton, Ohio) just three quarters to score a game-high 31 points as the Ohio women's basketball team (9-5, 7-4 MAC) blew by Akron (4-9, 1-9 MAC), 85-55, in a Mid-American Conference matchup on Saturday (January 30) at the Convocation Center.

"Cece Hooks has been so dialed in," head coach Bob Boldon said. "She took 18 shots - her efficiency and the tempo that she has been playing with has been fantastic. I don't know if I have ever experienced five games like this. We have great games, but to do it like she has over the last five games is impressive."

Hooks logged her third 30-point effort of the season and eighth of her career in only 30 minutes of action as she sat out the fourth quarter with the Bobcats holding a commanding 31-point lead. She went 13-of-18 from the field, including a 4-of-5 effort from three-point land. She has scored at least 20 points in 12 of Ohio's 14 games this season, including each of the last five contests. Hooks also finished with a game-high three steals and tied a game-high with five assists in addition to collecting five rebounds.

The Bobcats shot 47.3 percent (35-of-74) from the floor as a team and drained 12 treys en route to their largest margin of victory this season. Ohio dominated Akron on the glass, 53-25, and also held decisive advantages in points in the paint (46-24) and second-chance points (22-3).

Hooks was one of three Ohio players in double figures in points in a contest in which 10 Bobcats played and eight scored. Senior forward Gabby Burris (Baltimore, Ohio) contributed 16 points to reach double digits for the 12th time this year. She also logged seven rebounds. Redshirt junior guard Erica Johnson (Mansfield, Ohio) finished with 12 points before exiting the contest with an injury. She has hit double figures in all 13 games she's played in this season. Johnson matched Hooks with a game-high five assists. Redshirt junior guard Caitlyn Kroll (Bridgeport, Ohio) just missed out on a double-double, recording eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds, marking the second time in her career she has pulled down double-digit boards.

"I've been playing faster," Hooks said. "I already play fast but I'm playing faster for the whole game and it's been helping me out a lot. I need to keep that up so I can have the team up the tempo as well."

Hooks powered Ohio to a hot start in what proved to be a wire-to-wire win, draining three triples and forcing the Zips to burn a timeout just over two and a half minutes into the contest as the Bobcats opened with a 12-2 lead. Eight of Ohio's 13 made field goals in the first quarter came from beyond the arc, with the Bobcats shooting 72.7 percent from three-point land in the opening 10 minutes to build a 34-20 advantage. Hooks nearly outscored the Zips by herself in the first quarter, putting up 14 points by going 5-of-7 from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from deep.

Akron strung together a 7-0 run early in the second quarter to trim Ohio's advantage to nine with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half. A layup by Kroll put the Bobcats back up by 11, though, and Ohio never led by less than double digits the rest of the way in the second quarter. Ohio finished the half shooting 55.9 percent from the field and converted at a 47.1 percent clip from three-point range. Hooks led all scorers with 20 points while Johnson added 12 to join her in reaching double-digit points in just 20 minutes of action.

The Bobcats blew the contest open in the third quarter, outscoring the Zips by a 24-4 count. Hooks added 11 more points on to her total while Burris scored 10 of hers in the third act as Ohio made 52.9 percent (9-of-17) of its shots.

"I thought we did a great job of communicating," Boldon said. "There's a lot of moving parts to Akron's offense and I thought we did a good job of keeping a person on a person and we forced some pretty tough shots. It was just good, solid defense."

Ohio's largest lead of the game came with 2:26 to play when senior guard Hunter Rogan (Urbana, Ohio) turned a steal into a driving layup off of a fastbreak to put the Bobcats up by 36 at 85-49.

"It was good to see some different players that have been working hard in practice get some minutes," Boldon added. "They did some things well and did some things poorly and we can start correcting them and try to get them ready."

Senior forward Jordyn Dawson led Akron with 15 points and was joined in double figures by sophomore guard Rachel Martindale (11) and sophomore guard Molly Neitzel (10). The Zips were plagued by 18 turnovers, including 11 in the first half.

Ohio will look to continue its winning ways when it plays host to Kent State next Wednesday, February 3. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET at the Convo.

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