Ohio welcomed Akron to The Convo on Wednesday night and defeated the Zips 70-57 for its sixth conference win of the season.
The Bobcats fell behind early against the Zips and were in foul trouble nearly the entire game. In the second half, however, the Bobcats came alive thanks to double-digit performances from Amani Burke, Cece Hooks and Erica Johnson and pulled off its fourth-straight victory.
Early foul trouble plagues the Bobcats
Ohio’s offense hit a lull in the first half thanks to some controversial whistle blowing. Both Johnson and Hooks had to make frequent trips to the bench because of foul trouble. Things didn’t get too much easier for the duo in the second half.
Both of Johnson’s fouls in the third quarter were questionable. One was a charge, where it looked like Johnson was moving away from her defender and the other was a double technical after Johnson fought for a loose ball with Akron’s Jordyn Dawson.
Johnson ended up fouling out of the game with 5:20 left in the fourth quarter. Her night ended with 16 points and 4 assists on 4-of-10 shooting from the field.
Peyton Guice shined in the first half
With Hooks and Johnson in foul trouble, Ohio needed someone to lead the Bobcats’ offense. Enter freshman Peyton Guice. Guice shined in the first half. She played terrific on-ball and off-ball defense and kept Ohio close with the Zips. She finished the game with eight points going 2-for-3 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line.
Ohio comes alive in the second half
The Bobcats started the second half with its bread and butter lockdown defense. The Zips couldn’t get anything going and were held to only eight points in the third quarter. With the Zips offense stalled, that allowed for Ohio to take over. Burke led all scorers with 20 points and Hooks was her usual self with 18 points.
