Pregame
Ohio (5-11, 0-4 Mid-American Basketball) came into Wednesday's game riding a four-game losing streak, all to MAC opponents.
Central Michigan (10-7, 4-0 MAC) is on a six-game winning streak and has won all of its in-conference games. The Chippewas
' Crystal Bradford leads the MAC in scoring, averaging 20 points per game.
Central Michigan has beaten Ohio in the two school's six previous meetings. The Chippewas
are winning by an average of 18.5 points this season, they also have a win against Texas (73-65), and two close losses to No. 2 Notre Dame (72-63) and Florida (81-75).
Junior guard Shavon
Robinson and sophomore guard Mariah Byard
will not be in action yet again for the Bobcats, as they both continue to nurse injuries.
First Half
Ohio's starters for the game are as follows: Junior guard Erin Bailes
, Freshman guard Kiyanna
Black, senior guard Symone
Lyles
, senior guard Ashley Fowler, and senior forward Tina Fisher.
CMU's Brandie
Baker opened the game with an easy layup to put the Chippewas
up 2-0.
Kiyanna
Black missed her first shot of the game for Ohio, bouncing a layup attempt off the rim.
The Chippewas
' Jessica Schroll
then hit one of two free throw attempts to put CMU up 3-0.
Kiyanna
Black got Ohio's first bucket on a mid-range jumper. The score was 3-2 after the basket.
Schroll
missed two free throw attempts for CMU on the ensuing possession, but the Chippewas
rebounded the miss and Niki
DiGulio
scored on a layup.
OU
scored on another jumper from Black and CMU answered with a jump shot from Baker. Jessica Green then cashed in on two straight jumpers for the Chippewas
.
Lexie
Baldwin banked in a layup that made the score 11-6. Erin Bailes
then knocked down a three from the corner to make the score 11-9 in CMU's favor.
After a few possessions that ended in missed shots, Schroll
hit a jumper for CMU and hit a free throw, after Black fouled her for her second foul of the game.
Bailes
then hit another three and Tina Fisher threw in a layup to tie the game at 14 with 12:19 remaining until the half.
With 11:18 left in the first half, CMU was shooting 50 percent from the floor and Ohio was shooting 43 percent in the same category.
Tina Fisher continued to hustle for the Bobcats and took a charge after taking multiple the game before against Bowling Green.
Jas'Mine
Bracey
muscled her way in the paint for CMU for a layup, but Bailes
hit a three on the following Ohio possesion
to cut down the Chippewas
' lead and make the score 18-17 with 9:30 remaining.
Symone
Lyles
parted the lane and converted on a layup attempt to give Ohio its first lead of the game at 19-18, but Bracey
answered back with a layup and took the lead back on the next possession.
Lyles
then made one of two free throws to tie the game at 20. Jalise
Olive then switched a three from CMU giving the Chippewas
a 23-20 lead.
Taylor Johnson nailed a jumper in the lane for CMU to increase its lead to five with about six minutes left.
Ashley Fowler turned it over on the next possession for Ohio.
Taylor Johnson earned a bucket and a trip to the line with 3:27 remaining in the first half, she made the attempt and put CMU up 28-20.
Tina Fisher then made a layup for Ohio, but Bracey
answered with one of her own.
Schroll
hit a layup and got fouled for CMU, but missed the free throw and CMU led 32-22 with a minute left until the half.
Ohio turned it over again and Taylor Johnson got fouled on the other end and missed the first of two free throws.
Bailes
missed a contested jumper on the ensuing possession and John went on to score a layup on the other end. At the end of the first half, CMU led Ohio 35-22.
Halftime
Ohio shot 29 percent from the field in the first half, CMU shot 44 percent from the floor.
Erin Bailes
led Ohio in scoring at the half with nine points, Jas'Mine
Bracey
and Taylor Johnson led the Chippewas
in the first half with eight points each.
Six players played all the first half minutes for Ohio due to injuries.
CMU outrebounded
Ohio 26-18 in the half.
Second Half
CMU opened the second half with two free throws by Schroll
and a layup by Baker to make the score 39-22 in its favor. Tina Fisher made one of two free throws for Ohio and Bradford answered on the other end with a layup.
Kiyanna
Black hit a layup in transition and then Lyles
forced a miss by CMU on the other end. Lyles
then hit a jumper off of a Kiyanna
Black assist and then earned an and-one attempt on the other end of the court and made the free throw to make the score 41-30.
DiGulio
then hit a three from the corner to increase CMU's lead to 44-30 and Jessica Green rebounded a missed shot and put it back to score.
Fowler scored on a jumper on the other end to make the score 46-32 with 16:50 remaining.
After a slew of missed shots, Taylor Johnson got an offensive rebound and was fouled, she made both attempts to give CMU a 49-32 lead.
Ashley Fowler had a brief injury scare, but was ok. The Bobcats couldn't afford for her to get hurt, she leads the MAC in minutes played per game.
Black hit a three after a timeout and made the score 49-35, she then got the rebound on the other end, but Ohio failed to score.
Schroll
hit a layup on the other end for CMU. Baldwin score on a layup about a minute later and Ohio trailed 56-37. Bradford intercepted a pass and drilled a layup in transition on the next possesion
. CMU led 58-37 with 11:02 remaining.
Erin Bailes
converted on an and-one attempt with 10:25 remaining to put Ohio up 58-40.
Black picked up her third foul after hitting Schroll
on the arm on layup attempt, but she missed both attempts.
Bracey
then made another layup for CMU, putting them up 62-40 with nine minutes left. Bradford then converted on another layup in transition on the ensuing possesion
.
Laura Mastro
, the former field hockey player, entered the game for Ohio with about eight minutes left.
Black missed two free throws after the break, and Kirby Tamm
scored on a layup on the ensuing CMU possession, the Chippewas
led 68-41 after the bucket. Tammy then hit a three to increase the lead. Bradford then scored on a breakaway layup.
After a slew of turnovers, Bradford got to the line for CMU and hit two free throws to make the score 3:38 left in the game.
Laura Mastro
got her first points of her Ohio women's basketball career on a three pointer and the bench erupted in joy for her. Ohio trailed 75-44 after the three.
Samantha Buls
went to the line for two free throws with 2:06 left in the game and made them both. Ashley Jordan then made two free throws for the Bobcats to make the score 75-48 in CMU's favor.
De'Jourie
Turner hit a layup in transition for CMU and it would be the last bucket of the game as the Chippewas
won 77-48.
Final: Central Michigan 77, Ohio 48
Ohio records a loss for the fifth straight time in a row and in MAC play.
Reactions
"(CMU) played this game as if they were playing a game of chess." - Randall
"Give (Ohio) credit that they are waking up everyday and giving it their best, they've been gutsy." - Randall
"I used to play basketball in high school and I loved it ... we heard they just needed bodies ... I just wanted to go out and help them anyway I can." - Laura Mastro on why she decided to play basketball.
"We try to stick together and keep each other up." - Tina Fisher on the team morale.
"We get into the training room a lot ... it's just a lot of getting in, and getting treatment. We have to take care of our body, because we don't need more people going down." - Tina Fisher on how the team deals with the injuries.
Statistics
Bailes: 12 points on 4-13 shooting
Black: 10 points on 4-18 shooting
Lyles: 8 points on 3-11 shooting
---------
Johnson: 13 points on 5-9 shooting
Bracey: 12 points on 6-9 shooting
Green: 11 points on 5-9 shooting
Up Next
Ohio travels to Muncie, Ind. to take on Ball State on Jan. 26th, the Cardinals are 4-1 in MAC play thus far.
