ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio women's basketball team (8-4, 2-0 MAC) defeated Akron (3-11, 0-2 MAC) 73-56 on Saturday, Jan. 3 in the Convocation Center.
 
Ohio shot 50.0 percent from the field, 38.1 percent from the arc and 68.4 percent from the line. The Bobcats finished with 36 rebounds, 11 assists, 14 steals and seven blocks.
 
Four Bobcats finished with double figure points led by junior Bailey Tabeling (Seymour, Ind.). Tabeling recorded a team-high 16 points; shooting 6-for-7 from the field and 4-for-5 from the arc. Ohio's other three double figure point scorers included graduate student Aliah McWhorter (Cincinnati, Ohio) with 13 points, junior Antonicia Moultrie (Nassau, Bahamas) with 12 points and redshirt sophomore Monica Williams (Indianapolis, Ind.) with 11 points.
 
Graduate student Elli Garnett (Lakewood, Colo.)  led the team in rebounding with a total of eighth boards. Redshirt sophomore Bella Ranallo (Lake Forest, Ill.) led the team in steals with a career high of five while McWhorter tallied a team-high two blocks.
 
Sophomore Danni Scully (Park Ridge, Ill.), Moultrie and Garnett all led the team in assists with two each.
 
The Bobcats kicked off the game with a solid first quarter. After being tied 8-8 with 7:03 on the clock, Ohio offense went on a 9-1 scoring run. The Bobcats led the Zips 20-12 with just under three minutes to go. Ohio's final basket of the quarter was a three pointer by Garnett at 1:12 left on the clock. The Bobcats held a 25-18 lead over the Zips after one quarter of competition.
 
The second quarter was a low scoring period for both teams with Ohio outscoring Akron only 13-9. Neither team was able to find success scoring from beyond the arc, but Ohio was able to outrebound Akron 8-4. The Zips got the scoring started in the second quarter while the Bobcats struggled to get on the board. Ohio was scoreless until back-to-back layups by freshman ReRe Jennings (Killeen, Texas) with just over five minutes left in the half. Heading into the locker room, Ohio led Akron 38-27.
 
Akron challenged Ohio in the third quarter, outscoring the Bobcats 22-19. After scoring several baskets, the Zips were able to tie the score at 40-40 with 6:50 to go in the quarter. Ohio's offense responded with eight unanswered points and the Bobcats regained a 48-41 lead over the Zips. Ohio concluded the third quarter with a 57-49 lead over Akron.
 
Ohio dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring Akron 16-7. The Bobcats also outrebounded the Zips 13-10 and drew seven fouls. McWhorter got Ohio off to good start with a layup in the first 30 seconds followed by Tabeling's three pointer with 8:54 to go. With 5:21 left on the clock, Moultrie extended Ohio's lead to 14 points with a successful layup. The Bobcats controlled the remainder of the game and went on to earn a 73-56 win over Akron.
 
The Bobcats will be back in action when they host Eastern Michigan on Wednesday, Jan. 7 in the Convocation Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be available to watch on ESPN+.
 
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