CLEVELAND ' Chandra Myers' smile seemed just a bit wider than usual, and who could blame her. In the past three seasons, Ohio beat Central Michigan in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament only to find Eastern Michigan waiting for them in the quarterfinals. But until yesterday, the Bobcats hadn't been able to get past that last roadblock.
Myers and her teammates were finally able to break the snide by beating the Eagles 76-62 yesterday. To Myers, this win was a little bit sweeter because of the two teams' history.
It feels great
Myers said. We wanted to get past this second spot and we finally did and we're moving on.
Jenny Poff had her own bad taste of Eastern Michigan that she wanted washed out. The Eagles had defeated the Bobcats earlier this season at home to end the team's six-game winning streak, and Poff had wanted redemption ever since.
When we lost to them at home
it was a hard loss
said Poff, who was one of four Bobcats in double figures. Quintana Ward brought us out to center court and said
'Don't worry about it
we'll get them next time
' and we got them back. It's a great feeling.
The game was eerily similar to the Bobcats' last game against Eastern Michigan. On Feb. 9, Ohio led by 14 at the half only to lose to the Eagles, 62-56. Yesterday, Ohio had another big lead at 38-22, but this time, when Eastern made their run, the Bobcats were ready.
Ohio led by 17 after a Lauren Kohn 3-pointer with 16:00 to play in the game when Eastern (17-12) made their move. For the next five-and-a-half minutes, the Eagles dominated the Bobcats with the inside-out game of Colleen Russell and Amanda Compton. Ohio's lead dwindled to just five at 51-46, and it looked as if it was going to succumb to fate once again, when, suddenly, the mood changed.
The look on the Bobcats' faces went from one of frustration to one of determination as they followed Eastern Michigan's run with a 16-6 run of their own.
We knew it was going to happen
Poff said of Eastern Michigan's run. It was just a feeling that we had. We all knew that we had to buckle down and stop their run.
I don't think anything was even said. We just all knew.
Myers and forward Lauren Hmiel provided the spark that the team needed to go on the run. They combined for 12 of the Bobcats' next 16 points as the momentum swung back in the Bobcats' favor.
Myers said that the key to the run was the play of Hmiel.
She had a big impact, Myers said. (She) helped open me up G? she really stepped up today and played great.
From that point on
Eastern Michigan never got any closer than 10 points
and Ohio cruised to the victory. The Bobcats will move on to the semifinals of the MAC Tournament for the first time since 1998. They will play Bowling Green 2:30 p.m. Friday.
I'm just extremely proud of this team, coach Sylvia Crawley said. I thought our team did a good job of just weathering the storm when they made their push at us, and we were able to come out with a win.
,",17,Archives,Matt O'Donnell,200803127416midsize.jpeg,",",",",","
23676,2008-03-12 00:00:00,Women's Basketball: 'Cats leap into semifinals after 2nd win,",CLEVELAND ' Chandra Myers' smile seemed just a bit wider than usual
