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OHIO WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 2021-22 • GAME 24
February 21, 2022
5:00 p.m ET | Ohio (13-10, 7-7 MAC) vs. Akron (13-8, 10-5 MAC) | James A. Rhodes Arena | Akron, Ohio. | ESPN+ | Live Stats | Listen Live

AKRON, Ohio -- Coming off a dominant road victory against Bowling Green on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 19), the Ohio women's basketball team will make a quick turnaround and matchup against Akron on Monday evening (Feb. 21). The Bobcats (13-10, 7-7) will look to pick up a second consecutive road victory against the Zips (13-8, 10-5), with tip-off scheduled for 5 p.m. Fans can watch the game on ESPN3 or tune into the radio broadcast via the Stretch platform. 

Gabby Burris put up a career-high 26 points in Ohio's 82-69 win against Bowling Green on Saturday, shooting 10 for 15 from the field. Erica Johnson added 17 points, and Cece Hooks put up a statline of 16 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. The Ohio victory also achieved a milestone, as head coach Bob Boldon's picked up his 100th MAC win during his tenure in Athens.

This will be the first meeting between the two teams in almost a full calendar year, with the last matchup having been played in early March of 2021. Cece Hooks scored 33 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in that game, but the Bobcats were unable to secure the victory, falling to the Zips by a score of 71-67.

SCOUTING THE ZIPS
After being picked to finish in last place this season in the preseason MAC poll, Akron has established themselves as a top team in the conference this year, and their 10-5 MAC record is good for third place currently. The Zips are led on offense by Jordyn Dawson, who averages nearly 22 points per game. Dawson also leads the team in rebounds, averaging nearly a double-double by grabbing 9.6 boards per game.

VERY FEW LIKE HOOKS IN NCAA HISTORY
Cece Hooks is one of only three players in NCAA Women's Division I history (Angel McCoughtry, Louisville and Kevi Luper, Oral Roberts) to be top-50 for career scoring (36th) and top-10 (7th) for career steals.

HISTORIC VICTORY FOR COACH BOLDON
Bob Boldon reached a milestone with Ohio's win against Bowling Green on Feb. 19, as the 82-69 result was his 100th win as Ohio's head coach. He's the only head coach in program history to record 100 MAC wins at the helm.

ALL-TIME GREAT IN THE MAC
With a made floater in the third quarter against Bowling Green on Jan. 22, Cece Hooks surpassed Kim Knuth (Toledo, 1995-99) for most points scored in Mid-American Conference basketball history (2,510)

FINDING HER FOOTING
Yaya Felder, after being the first off the bench all season, started in three consecutive conference games for the Bobcats. She recorded a career- high 16 points in the first two starts, and then set a new career high in Ohio's game against Eastern Michigan with 20 points. She also tied a career high with 9 rebounds against Western Michigan on Saturday afternoon

HOOKS SITS ATOP OHIO'S 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.

DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Ohio had two players record double-doubles in the game against Eastern Michigan on Feb. 14. Cece Hooks had 12 points and 10 assists, her ninth double-double of the season; and Gabby Burris poured in 18 points and grabbed 11 for her fourth double-double of the year.

UNIQUE ENDING
Ohio was faced with an unique challenge to finish out their game against Northern Illinois, as they were forced to play with only four players on the court. Already playing with limited numbers due to COVID-19 protocols, the Bobcats had two players foul out, and another exit due to injury, leaving only four remaining players for the final 3:30 of action.

ONE GRAND FOR CECE
With her 13 made shots against Ball State, Cece Hooks reached 1,000 made field goals in her career. She's the first player in both Ohio and MAC history to reach the milestone.

DEJA VU FROM DEEP?
After hitting a clutch three-pointer to help Ohio defeat Buffalo in the 2020-21 season, Kaylee Bambule hit two consecutive shots from deep against Buffalo to give the Bobcats their first lead of the game halfway through the fourth quarter on Monday, Jan. 24.

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.

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 75.7 points per game.

QUICK HANDS ON DEFENSE, CAREFUL ON OFFENSE
Ohio's defensive effort is spearheaded by their ability to steal the ball, as the Bobcats lead the MAC in steals per game with 10.2. On the offensive end of the floor, Ohio leads the conference in turnover margin, at +4.8

HALFWAY TO A HUNDRED
With her 11th 20+ point performance of the 2021-22 season against Miami on Jan. 17, Cece Hooks logged her 50th overall 20+ point game in her Bobcat career.

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.

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 (2,695)

- Steals, first (475)

- Field goals made, first (1,024)

- Points per game, second (19.0)

- Assists, third (483)

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.

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