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OHIO WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 2021-22 • GAME 15
January 24, 2022
7:00 p.m ET | Ohio (9-5, 3-2 MAC) vs. Buffalo (11-5, 5-1 MAC) | Convocation Center | Athens, Ohio | ESPN3 | Live Stats | Listen Live
ATHENS, Ohio -- After the Ohio women's basketball team (9-5, 3-2) picked up a decisive 85-70 win over Bowling Green on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 22), the Bobcats will return to the Convocation Center on Monday evening (Jan. 24) to take on the Buffalo Bulls (11-5, 5-1). Fans will also be able to watch the game on ESPN3, or tune in to the radio broadcast via the Stretch platform.
Ohio's last game out, against Bowling Green, was filled with history making, as senior point guard
Cece Hooks set a new MAC career scoring record (2,510 points), passing Kim Knuth with a floater in the third quarter against the Falcons. Having set both the Ohio and MAC scoring records within a week, Hooks and the Bobcats now turn their attention to the remainder of conference play. Ohio currently sits in fifth place in the conference with their record of 3-2 against MAC opponents.
The Bobcats and Bulls' last meeting was an instant classic, with Ohio coming out on top, 84-81. The Bobcats trailed by 11 points with less than three minutes to play, but a furious comeback was capped off by a
Kaylee Bambule go-ahead three-pointer with 12 seconds to go.
SCOUTING THE BULLS
Buffalo currently sits in second place in the conference, having picked up their first loss to a MAC opponent on Saturday afternoon against top of the league Toledo, 75-66. As a team, the Bulls score the second-most points in the MAC (76.56 points/game) while allowing their opponents to only score 68.50 points per contest.
STANDING ALONE ATOP THE RECORD BOOK
Cece Hooks set the career scoring record in Ohio basketball history in the Bobcats' win over Central Michigan on Jan. 15, 2022. Her reverse layup with 5:58 remaining in the 2nd quarter eclipsed the previous record of 2,449 points held by Caroline Mast since 1986.
BATTLE AT THE TOP OF THE MAC FOR SCORING
Cece Hooks and Buffalo's Dyaisha Fair are separated by .01 atop the conference scoring average. Fair averages 22.94 points per game while Hooks is scoring at a 22.93 points per game rate.
PRESEASON PICKS
Ohio and Buffalo were separated by only nine votes in the preseason MAC standings vote. The Bobcats received the most votes in the conference (132), while Buffalo was picked to finish 3rd (123 votes).
UNIQUE COMPANY FOR JOHNSON
Erica Johnson is one of only three active four- year players with career totals of at least 1,300 points, 450 rebounds, 350 assists, and 100 steals. She joins Haylee Andrews (Portland) and Sophia Ramos (San Diego State) on that list.
ON THE CUSP OF A SOLO NCAA TOP-1O
Cece Hooks moved into a tie for 10th place all time in NCAA history for career steals (458) on Jan. 22 against Bowling Green.
NOT THE ONLY RECORD SET THIS SEASON With her 11 made field goals against UMass Lowell on Dec. 20, Cece Hooks broke the school record for field goals made in a career, surpassing the previous mark of 898 set by Caroline Mast (1982-86).
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
Ohio's high powered offense is atop the Mid- American Conference in scoring, averaging 78.0 points per game.
HALFWAY TO A HUNDRED
With her 11th 20+ point performance against Miami on Jan. 17, Cece Hooks logged her 50th 20+ point game in her Bobcat career.
DOUBLE-DOUBLES FOR GABBY
Senior forward Gabby Burris recorded her first double-double of the season in Ohio's last game, a 76-67 victory over Binghamton. Her second of the season came in Ohio's win over Bowling Green, when the senior put up 21 points and snagged 12 rebounds.
CAREER DAYS ALL AROUND
Kaylee Bambule set a career high in points scored (18), total field goals made (6), and three pointers made (6) in the Bobcats game against Minnesota. Madi Mace matched her career high with 16 points against the Golden Gophers, and then set a new career high two games later with 17 points against Binghamton.
WARM WELCOME BACK TO THE CONVO
Ohio returned to action on the Convocation Center floor in front of fans for the first time since the 2019-20 season when the Bobcats took on Mercyhurst on Nov. 20. Cece Hooks and Erica Johnson each scored 21 points to help lead Ohio to a convincing 90-46 victory. Freshman guard Yaya Felder made her first start in a Bobcat uniform, scoring 10 points and grabbing a team- high 8 rebounds.
RUN IT BACK
The Bobcats return all five starters and nearly all bench players from their 2020-21 team that made it to the semifinals of the MAC Tournament and played in the WNIT as well.
CECE CONTINUES RECORD-SETTING CAREER
Senior point guard Cece Hooks returns for another season after testing the WNBA draft process after last season. She averaged a MAC- best 25.1 points/game en route to winning MAC Player of the Year last season.
RECORDS REWRITTEN?
Cece Hooks sits in second place all-time for several career records, including points per game, free throws made, and free throws attempted. In the Bobcats game against UMass Lowell she broke the current school record for field goals made of 898. She set a new school record for field goals attempted (1,783) in the season opener against Notre Dame. Erica Johnson and Gabby Burris can also already be found in the Ohio women's basketball record book, and aim to move up the ranks this season.
PRESEASON ALL-MAC PICKS
As a team, Ohio was picked to win the regular season Mid-American Conference title, picking up 132 total votes and four first-place votes. The Bobcats also had Cece Hooks and Erica Johnson picked to the preseason All- MAC First Team.
BECKY HAMMON PRESEASON WATCH LIST
Cece Hooks was selected to 2022 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player Of The Year watch list, her second year in a row earning this recognition.
CHERYL MILLER PRESEASON WATCH LIST
Erica Johnson also earned preseason recognition, being added to the Cheryl Miller watch list, an award given to the best small forward.
CECE'S RECORDS CAREER
- Scoring, first (2,518)
- Steals, first (458)
- Field goals made, first (960)
- Points per game, second (18.8)
- Assists, third (446)
SEASON
- Points per game, 25.1, first, 2020-21
- Field goals made, 239, second, 2020-21
- Steals, 110, first, 2018-19
- Steals, 106, second, 2019-20
- Steals, 100, third, 2017-18
- Steals, 94, fourth, 2020-21
2,000 POINT SCORER
Cece Hooks became the second player in program history to eclipse 2,000 career points last season, doing so in a victory over Ball State on February 10.
1,000 POINT SCORERS
Two Bobcats - Gabby Burris, Erica Johnson -- are 1,000 point scorers for Ohio. Burris averaged 13.6 points per game last season, Johnson was second on the team with 18.1.
LAST YEAR'S HONORS
For the third-straight year, Cece Hooks was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year. Hooks was also named the MAC Player of the Year, was a member of the All-MAC first team, and an All- American Honorable Mention last season.
Erica Johnson was named to the All-MAC Third Team, after going 41-of-125 from behind the three-point line in just 14 games and recording double-digit points in every game she appeared in.
Gabby Burris earned All-MAC Honorable Mention recognition after last season, after leading the team in free-throw percentage (81.8%) and shooting 45.1% from the field overall.
Madi Mace was chosen for the All-Freshman team after playing in all 20 games throughout the season and averaging 8 points per game while shooting 41.4% from the field.
#OUohyeah
