March 4, 2006

Final Stats |  Quotes

ATHENS, Ohio - A 19-0 second half run helped erase a seven-point halftime deficit and carry the Ohio women's basketball team past Central Michigan, 74-57, and onto the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament in Cleveland.

The fifth-seeded Bobcats (9-19) now move on to a March 8 match-up with West Division Champion Eastern Michigan in the quarterfinal round. The trip marks the second in as many years to Cleveland for Lynn Bria's squad and the second-straight season in which Ohio has ousted the Chippewas (16-12) at home in round one to get there.

Ohio struggled to get going a bit in the first half, slipping to a seven-point hole at the break. Ohio came alive on both ends of the basketball floor in the second half, though, outscoring Central Michigan 49-25 in the frame to seal its largest victory of the 2005-06 season.

Up five points with just less than 10 minutes to go, Ohio scored the game's next 19 points and opened the door and never looked back. Central Michigan didn't score a point for a stretch of more than five minutes in the second half, and they went from the 11:22 mark to the 3:41 mark without a field goal.

Simone Redd (Warrensville Heights, Ohio) scored 23 points to lead four Bobcats in double figures. Domenica Silva (Sao Paulo, Brazil) scored 13, while Ciara Iglehart (Mission Viejo, Calif.) and Rachel Frederick (Gibsonia, Pa.) each netted 11. Iglehart fell one rebound short of a double-double.

Casey Manning was Central Michigan's lone double figure scorer, recording a game-high 26 with five rebounds off the bench. Manning hit 10-of-15 tries from the floor.

Ohio led just twice in the first half, and never after the 14:28 mark of the frame. Central Michigan never went ahead by a big margin, but the Chippewas did maintain a hold on the lead throughout most of the half, banking primarily on Manning's scoring efforts.

After Ohio tied the score with 3:36 left, the Chippewas went on a 7-0 run to finish out the half, taking a 32-25 lead into the break.

At the break, Manning was a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor to lead all scorers with 13. Central Michigan got seven points from Chasidy Myers and five from Sharonda Hurd. The Chippewas shot 43.8 percent (14-32) from the field in the half, but connected on just 1-of-6 tries from the perimeter. Central Michigan outrebounded the Cats 19-15.

Ohio was led by nine points from Redd, who returned to the starting lineup for the first time since her midseason ankle injury. Frederick had eight and Silva and Iglehart each kicked in four. Ohio shot 39.1 percent (9-23) from the floor and hit 2-of-4 three-point attempts.

From the opening seconds, the second half completely belonged to Ohio. The Bobcats erased the seven-point deficit over the first five-plus minutes, going ahead with 14:41 left. With 13:30 on the clock, Frederick nailed a three-pointer that gave Ohio a two-point lead. The Cats would never trail again, and from the 8:49 mark on, the lead stood at double digits. Ohio was dominant in the paint in the second half, outscoring the Chipps 22-8.

For the game, the Cats shot an even 50 percent (26-52) from the floor and 60 percent (6-10) from three-point range. Central Michigan countered at 35 percent (21-60) from the field and 23.1 percent (3-13) from the arc.

Ohio and Eastern Michigan are set to tip-off at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena.