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ATHENS, Ohio – The women's basketball team picked up a crucial victory on Wednesday night (March 2), defeating rival Miami by a score of 73-64. The Bobcats' (15-12, 9-9) defeat of the RedHawks (8-20, 4-15) was led on the offensive end by senior Cece Hooks, who scored 23 points and grabbed five rebounds. Ohio was led on the boards overall by Gabby Burris, who snagged eight rebounds and also contributed five three-pointers to finish the game as the second-highest scorer for the Bobcats with 15 points. Erica Johnson and Yaya Felder reached double-figures with 13 and 10 points respectively, and Peyton Guice made her season debut after missing the rest of the season recovering an injury.

"I was really pleased with the (defensive) improvement," said head coach Bob Boldon after the game. "In particular the third quarter. We had trouble scoring a little bit in the third quarter and our defense hung in there. We didn't have consecutive breakdowns, and we weren't perfect, and I don't think we ever will be. But we didn't have as many breakdowns. ... We seemed to be a little more energetic, and that's a good sign."
 
Hooks scored the first seven points for the Bobcats, going 3 for 3 from the field in the first two minutes of play. Felder connected on her first three-pointer of the evening on Ohio's next possession to give the Bobcats an early 10-4 lead. Guice checked in to the game for the first time this season with just over five minutes remaining in the first quarter, and helped Ohio extend their lead to ten at 17-7 going into the media timeout. 

"I was definitely nervous, you know, not having played a game in over a year," said Guice following the victory. "This can be nerve racking obviously, but it was nice that it was at home and I was here with the fans and my teammates and my coaches ... I was nervous for a little bit but then I got out there and basketball is the game that I love. So it brought me so much joy playing."

"She's worked so hard and she didn't want to wait for next November to be the next time she plays college basketball," added Boldon. "I'm really proud of the way she worked and her process of getting back and the amount of mental fortitude it took to get to this moment."
 
Burris made a three-pointer out of the timeout to make it a 10-0 run for the Bobcats. Hooks was the first player into double-figures, laying it in for her 11th point of the evening to give Ohio the 24-13 lead with just over two minutes left to play in the first frame. The RedHawks closed out the quarter with five straight points to make it a 24-18 contest after the first ten minutes of action. 
 
It was a slow start for the Bobcats in the second quarter, as Hooks and Felder combined to score five points for Ohio before the media timeout. The Bobcats' defense limited Miami's offense however to help Ohio maintain a 29-24 advantage going into the timeout. The RedHawks took their first lead of the game with under a minute left in the half at 35-34, but a Johnson three-pointer in response gave the Bobcats the 37-35 lead going into the locker room for intermission. 
 
Hooks led all scorers through the first 20 minutes, putting in 17 points on 7 for 10 shooting from the field. As a team, the Bobcats finished the first half having shot 42.9% (15 for 35) overall, including 38.5% (5 for 13) from beyond the arc. Ohio's defense forced 11 turnovers, but was only able to turn those takeaways into six points. 
 
Ohio started the second half with Hooks stealing the initial inbounds pass and setting up Johnson for an easy layup. Miami was able to make it a three-point game by the mid-point of the frame, 44-41. Ohio pushed their lead to as large as six with just under a minute to play in the quarter at 53-47, and the margin stayed the same as the two teams headed into the final 10 minutes of action. 
 
Guice connected on a three-pointer just over two minutes into the final quarter for her first basket of the season and to give Ohio a seven-point lead. Johnson laid it in on Ohio's next possession, making it a 60-51 contest and forcing a Miami timeout with 7:32 to play. The Bobcats opened up a ten-point margin with under five minutes to play, 64-54, courtesy of another Johnson layup, which pushed the redshirt-junior over the ten-point scoring mark for the game. Miami got as close as five points with 4:05 remaining, but Ohio answered with a 9-2 run to claim a double-digit lead with just over a minute to play. The RedHawks were able to convert on three free throws throughout the final 60 seconds of play, but the Bobcats finished the game out with the 73-64 victory. 
 
Up Next:
 
Ohio will hit the road for the regular-season finale, as they travel to take on Kent State on Saturday afternoon. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 1 p.m.

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