By Michael Stainbrook

     When Tenishia Benson took the floor yesterday, she was prepared to hit the floor. She did exactly that in the final minute of the first half.

     The redshirt junior from Akron, Ohio, was playing without protective glasses or a mask for the first time since Jan. 22, when she broke her orbital bone while driving to the basket against Western Michigan. Benson was called for a player control foul on the play, but she got a little retribution yesterday when she took a charge from Kent State center Ellie Shields.

     But it could been proved costly to her health.

     Benson’s facial injury was severe enough that future trauma might have permanent implications for her health. When she hit the hardwood yesterday, her nose began to bleed.

     "(I was) nervous,” Benson said, ” because I know that if I get hit again, it’s not a good thing. I’ve never had my nose bleed.”

     Coach Semeka Randall called a timeout, during which the team’s athletic trainers addressed her injury. She stayed on the floor after the timeout and helped the Bobcats to a five-point run in the final 30 seconds of the half.

     Erin Bailes drained a 3-pointer with 26 seconds to go. Tina Fisher stole the ball with six seconds on the clock and then fed it to Ashley Fowler. Fowler passed to Benson, who connected for a layup as the buzzer sounded.

     Benson, who finished with a game- and career-high 27 points, said her elevated level of play while injured was an improvement from past games.

     “I did not let that affect how I played,” she said.