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OHIO WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 2021-22 • GAME 26
February 26, 2022
1:00 p.m ET | Ohio (14-11, 8-8 MAC) vs. Akron (14-9, 11-6 MAC) | Convocation Center | Athens, Ohio | ESPN3 | Live Stats | Listen Live

ATHENS, Ohio -- The Ohio women's basketball team will take to the Convocation Center floor on Saturday afternoon to matchup against Akron as the Bobcats celebrate Senior Day. Following the conclusion of the game, the team will recognize team managers and graduate assistants -- Gage Ash, Prince Uche, and Allyson Talley, alongside four senior players -- Hunter Rogan, Kaylee Bambule, Gabby Burris, and Cece Hooks. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3 or over the airwaves via the Stretch platform. 

Ohio was unable to wrap up their three-game road trip with a third consecutive victory on Wednesday night (Feb. 23), dropping their matchup against Buffalo by a score of 79-65. The Bobcats (14-11, 8-8) scored 26 points in the final quarter amidst a push to stage a comeback, but fell short against the Bulls (19-8, 13-4). Ohio was led by Gabby Burris with 16 points, while both Burris and Cece Hooks grabbed seven rebounds to lead the effort on the boards.

It's a quick turnaround for these two teams, since they played just five days ago in Akron. The Bobcats were able to secure the victory on Feb. 21, 69-66, behind 28 total points from Cece Hooks. The senior point guard scored 22 of her 28 points after the halftime break, while also grabbing a team-high 13 rebounds. The Bobcats used a 10-0 run in the last three minutes of play to secure the victory after going down by five, 64-59.

SCOUTING THE ZIPS
After picking up only their sixth loss in conference play earlier this week against Ohio, Akron responded by knocking off Bowling Green on the road, 72-70. The Zips scored with just over a second remaining in the game to secure their 11th conference win this season. Jordyn Dawson leads the team on offense, having recorded 12 double-doubles so far this season. Regan Bass is the other player for the Zips who averages scoring in double figures.

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-40 for career scoring (32nd) and top-10 (7th) for career steals. With 10 more points, Hooks will move into the top-30 all time in career points scored.

SENIOR DAY RECOGNITION
Saturday's game will be Senior Day for the Bobcats, as the team recognizes four key players who have played for Ohio the past five seasons. Among them will be Cece Hooks and Gabby Burris, two of Ohio's currently 1,000+ point scorers on the team. Kaylee Bambule has eclipsed 100 points in a single season for the first time in her career this year, and Hunter Rogan has proven to be an invaluable player off the bench as Ohio battled through injuries and COVID protocols this year.

PUSHING FOR CLEVELAND
As the regular season winds down, Ohio finds themselves in a logjam in the MAC standings for the final spots in Cleveland. The Bobcats are currently in 7th place but also sit just one game out of 4th.

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 rebounds 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 second in the Mid-American Conference for scoring, averaging 75.0 points per game.

STEALS ON ONE END, SECURE ON THE OTHER
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. Alongside their defensive effort, 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 against Miami on Jan. 17, Cece Hooks logged her 50th 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.

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.

CECE'S RECORDS CAREER
- Scoring, first (2,737)

- Steals, first (482)

- Field goals made, first (1,041)

- Points per game, second (19.0)

- Assists, second (493)

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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