Steal. Drive. Basket. Hooks.
Those four words rang through the massive speakers multiple times at The Convo on Saturday afternoon as Cece Hooks terrorized Bowling Green on both sides of the floor. Hooks felt like she had something to prove after missing the previous game due to an undisclosed violation of team rules.
“I felt like I needed to be more engaged this game because I missed last game,” Hooks said. “I felt like that hurt my team even though we got the win.”
Hooks made up for her absence in a big way in Saturday’s 79-69 win by filling out the stat sheet. The junior scored a game-high 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting and led the team with seven rebounds and eight assists. Hooks also had three steals and a block.
Her block came at the end of the first half as she swatted a Bowling Green 3-pointer and took it the other way to beat the buzzer – all of which took place in about four seconds. Coach Bob Boldon had one word to describe that play.
“Incredible,” he said.
Hooks was able to create scoring opportunities for others as she tied her season-high with eight assists. Eight different Bobcats scored, and while Hooks and Erica Johnson were the only two to reach double-digits, the scoring from all parties kept Ohio (12-6, 5-2 Mid-American Conference) in the lead for the entire game.
The only time the Bobcats didn’t lead was the eight seconds before they were able to score. After those seconds ticked off and Katie Barker hit a 3-pointer off an assist from Hooks, the scoring was on. Ohio started the game with nine straight points and Bowling Green didn’t even score until the 6:11 mark in the first quarter.
“That was a terrific start, obviously, and a big part of our success today was our start,” Boldon said.
The Bobcats rode their strong start for the rest of the game and played one of the most complete games of the season. The Bobcats have been hitting their stride over the last two weeks, but perhaps nobody has been better over that time frame than Hooks, who scored 25 points for the third-straight game. Her consistency and dominance on the court have impressed her coach.
“There’s no shortage of things we ask her to do, the list of things we’ve asked her to do is ridiculous,” Boldon said. “And the way she continues to come through for us is incredibly impressive.”
Ohio will continue to look toward Hooks to come through for a huge upcoming week. The Bobcats take on MAC East opponent Akron at home on Wednesday and will travel to Central Michigan, who is undefeated in conference play, for a highly-anticipated rematch on Saturday.
