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OHIO WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 2021-22 • GAME 30 • WNIT First Round
March 17, 2022
8 p.m ET/7 p.m. CT | Ohio (15-14, 9-10 MAC) at South Dakota State (23-9, 17-1 Summit) | Frost Arena | Brookings, S.D. | Midco Sports | Live Stats | Listen Live
BROOKINGS, S.D. -- Ohio will open up their WNIT play on Thursday night (March 17), as the Bobcats (15-14) take on South Dakota State (23-9) in the first round. Tip-off inside Frost Arena is schedule for 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT, and fans can watch on Midco Sports or tune into the radio stream via Ohio's social channels or YouTube page.
In their last game, eighth seeded Ohio fell to top seed Toledo in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament, 80-67. Individually, redshirt junior forward
Erica Johnson (Mansfield, Ohio) led the Bobcats with 25 points, going 8-of-22 from the field and 4-of-12 from three. She also grabbed eight rebounds. Senior guard
Cece Hooks (Dayton, Ohio) put up her 11th double double of the season, scoring 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Senior forward
Gabby Burris (Baltimore, Ohio) added 13 points and five rebounds.
This is the fifth time Ohio has been selected to the WNIT, and the third consecutive season that the Bobcats made the field of 64. This year marks the 24th edition of the Postseason WNIT, powered by Triple Crown Sports, and first held in 1998. The traditional 64-team field makes its return this season; COVID-19 concerns led to the cancellation of the event in 2020, and the field was limited to 32 teams in 2021.
SCOUTING THE JACKRABBITS
South Dakota State was the top team in the Summit this year, ending the regular season with a 17-1 record in conference play. The Jackrabbits have four players who average double-digit scoring, led by Myah Selland's 13.8 points per game.
JACKRABBITS SUPPORTING CAST
Paiton Bruckhard and Tori Nelson have started in all 32 games this season, and are the next two highest scorers on the team, putting up 11.0 and 10.5 points per contest respectively. On the board, Bruckhard leads the way, snagging 5.8 rebounds per game.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
This will be the first time these two teams play each other.
TOP-25, TOP-5
With her 22 points and 3 steals against Toledo in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals,
Cece Hooks moved into the top-25 for career scoring and top-5 for career steals in Division 1 history.
ALL-MAC RECOGNITIONS
Cece Hooks,
Erica Johnson, and
Gabby Burris all earned All-MAC honors this season. Hooks was named Co-Defensive Player of the Year, the fourth year in a row she's earned the award. The four times winning the award makes her the first player in MAC women's basketball history to reach that milestone. The point guard was also named First-Team All-MAC player and to the All-MAC Defensive Team.
Johnson earned Third-Team All-MAC honors for the second consecutive season, and has earned four total All-MAC selections.
Burris was named to the Honorable Mention All- MAC team for the second straight year in the midst of a career year from a scoring (14.1 ppg) and rebounding (6.3 rpg) perspective.
HOOKS STANDS ALONE IN NCAA HISTORY
Cece Hooks is the only player in Division I history to be top-25 for career scoring (24th) and top-5 (T-5th) for career steals.
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).
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.
PEYTON RETURNS TO PLAY
After working towards being medically cleared all season, sophomore Peyton Guice made her season debut on Wednesday, March 2, in Ohio's 73-64 victory over Miami. Last season, she played in 12 games, starting in 10 of them, before suffering a season-ending injury. She was a near 40% shooter from the field overall, and shot 41% from beyond the arc, before suffering a knee injury in January 2021. She made her season debut one day after being medically cleared.
SEASON HIGH FOR HOOKS
The senior point guard set a new season-high for points in Ohio's game against Akron, scoring 35 on 50% shooting from the field (13 for 26) while also leading the team in rebounds by grabbing a total of eight boards. The 35-point effort by Hooks pushed her into the top-5 for scoring per game in the nation this season, moving her season average to 23 points per game.
ONE FINAL TIME AT THE CONVO
The home finale marked the end of an era for Ohio women's basketball, as Cece Hooks and Gabby Burris played their final regular season game inside the Convocation Center. The two seniors have combined to score 4,523 career points in a total of 293 combined career games.
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.
FINDING HER FOOTING
Yaya Felder, after being the first off the bench all season, took center stage in February, as the freshman started three consecutive conference games for the Bobcats while the team dealt with key absences. 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 by grabbing nine rebounds against Western Michigan.
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).
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 9.9. Alongside their defensive effort, on the offensive end of the floor, Ohio leads the conference in turnover margin, at +4.6
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.
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'S RECORDS CAREER
- Scoring, first (2,825)
- Steals, first (493)
- Field goals made, first (1,075)
- Points per game, second (19.1)
- Assists, second (507)
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.
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