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OXFORD, Ohio – The Ohio women's basketball team dropped a tightly contested rivalry game on Monday night (Jan. 17). The Bobcats (8-5, 2-2) lost by one possession, 63-60, against the Miami RedHawks (5-7, 1-2). Ohio was led by Cece Hooks with 22 points and 10 rebounds, with Erica Johnson joining her in double-figures with 15 points. 
 
Both offenses started slowly, as the two defenses combined to force 12 turnovers in the first quarter. Ohio held Miami to 17.4% shooting from the field (4 for 23), but a three-pointer at the buzzer by the RedHawks gave the home team a 9-7 lead after the first 10 minutes of action. 
 
The Bobcats forced another nine turnovers during the second quarter, and shot a better percentage from the field than the RedHawks, but found themselves trailing by three at the halftime break. Miami took advantage of 40% shooting from beyond the arc to go into the locker room with a 21-18 advantage over the Bobcats. Hooks was the leading scorer for Ohio in the first 20 minutes, putting up nine points on 4 for 7 shooting (57.1%) from the field. 
 
The RedHawks opened up an eight-point lead early in the third quarter, going up 29-21 with 8:01 on the clock. The Bobcats responded later in the frame with a 6-0 run in less than two minutes of play to cut the deficit to a single point at 36-35, forcing a Miami timeout with 2:50 remaining in the quarter. The two teams went back and forth as the quarter ended, with the Bobcats pulling ahead with two late free throws by Johnson to give Ohio a 42-40 lead. 
 
Miami took their first lead of the final quarter with 5:13 left in the game, 51-50. The Bobcats were able to tie the contest at 51 shortly after, with the score remaining knotted at 51-51 going into the media timeout. The RedHawks were able to build a lead as large as three points as the game clock continued to wane. The Bobcats tied the contest at 56 with 1:49 remaining, but watched Miami build the lead back up to three, 61-58, with less than 30 seconds left. Kaylee Bambule stepped in front of a Miami pass with 12.4 on the clock, leading to a Johnson layup with 7.2 seconds remaining, to once again draw Ohio within one point. A Miami layup and an unsuccessful three-point attempt by Ohio drew the game to a close with the final score of 63-60. 
 
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Ohio will have the remainder of the week off after playing their last two games in a three-day span. Their next game will be back inside the Convo, when they take on Bowling Green at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 22.