Stories Courtesy of MAC Media Relations Offices

Ohio 70, George Washington 58
ATHENS, Ohio - Jennifer Bushby and Kamille Buckner recorded the second double-doubles of their careers, and Da'Keisha Mann came close to picking one up herself, to help lead Ohio women's basketball to its first victory of the 2009-10 season with a 70-58 victory over George Washington Sunday.

Bushby (Gahanna, Ohio) led the `Cats (1-2) with 20 points, including 4-of-7 shooting from behind the arc, and a career-high 12 rebounds, while Buckner (Chicago, Ill.) tallied 11 points and 10 boards. Mann (Columbus, Ohio) tied her career-best 16 points and pulled down nine rebounds, finishing just shy of a double-double. Freshman Ashley Fowler (Cincinnati, Ohio) dished out a season- and career-best six assists, while sophomore Danielle Woodmore (Louisville, Ky.) tied her career-high eight points to lead Ohio off the bench.

Buckner and Bushby also helped pace a strong Bobcat defense that pressured GW (2-1) into 15 steals and held the Colonials' leading scorer, Sara Mostafa, scoreless. Both Buckner and Bushby picked up four on the day, while Fowler nabbed three steals. Buckner also picked up two blocks on the day.

For the third-straight game, Ohio's defense proved to be a stingy one for the opposition, holding the Colonials to just 36 percent shooting from the field and 58 points on the day. The `Cats also won the battle on the boards, outrebounding GW 39-36 overall. The win was a big win for Ohio, as it beat a GW squad that qualified for the WNIT last season and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament in both 2007 and 2008.

"I'm really proud of our team," Ohio coach Semeka Randall said. "I thought we came in and played for all 40 minutes. We did all the little things in terms of winning this game. We had great hustle plays, knocked free throws down, and we stayed relentless on the boards."

The Green and White came out strong and matched the Colonials' fast-paced style early, ripping off a 12-0 run to take a 12-2 advantage after a Jenny Poff (St. John's, Mich.) trey with 16:32 left. The Colonials would not go away as they fought back and narrowed the Ohio lead to three at 22-19 with 6:48 left in the half. Ohio fought back and took a 35-25 lead into the break.

It was all `Cats at the start of the second frame as Ohio jumped out to its largest lead of the day with a 42-26 advantage with 18:26 left. As would be expected, the Colonials would not go away and cut the lead to 53-46 after a 3-pointer from Tara Booker with 9:14 remaining. GW would only get as close as six, 62-56, the rest of the way as the `Cats broke a strong Colonial trapping defense and made their free throws to come away with the win in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

After struggling from the charity stripe through the first two games, Ohio was strong the stripe Sunday, knocking down 25-of-35 on the afternoon. The `Cats shot 40 percent from the field and pressured the Colonials into 19 turnovers, scoring 21 points off those miscues.
Tiana Myers led GW with a career-high 20 points, while Tara Booker chipped in 10 as well.

It will be a quick turnaround for Ohio, who will entertain Marshall Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in the Convo. The `Cats beat Marshall 67-53 last year in Huntington, W. Va.

Northern Illinois 74, Southern Illinois 65
DeKALB - Led by a career-high 22 points by forward Mauvolyene Adams, the Northern Illinois women's basketball team defeated Southern Illinois, 74-65, Sunday afternoon at the Convocation Center.

Adams (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) registered her fourth double-double in as many games this season, adding 10 rebounds to her game-leading point total. When the Salukis (0-3) had crept to within one point of NIU early in the second half, Adams answered by scoring the Huskies' next seven points.

Free throw shooting was also key in getting Northern Illinois off to a 3-1 start, its best since 2003-04. The Huskies got to the line 44 times, hitting 35 of their attempts (79.5 percent). Junior Marke Freeman (Springfield, Ill./Lanphier) led the charge from the charity stripe, hitting 13-of-14, including going 9-for-10 over the final five minutes to hold off the Salukis.

Southern Illinois was rabid out of the gate, leading by as many as nine points during the opening minutes. The Huskies bit back. After trailing 14-5, NIU freshman Shaakira Haywood (Canton, Mich./Plymouth) scored the first bucket of a 7-0 run that brought the Huskies within two points. From there, NIU chipped away until a pair of free throws by Terriel Cannon (Hillside, Ill./Proviso West) with 1:20 left in the first half gave NIU a permanent lead.

Northern Illinois entered the locker room with a one point edge, 30-29, but the Huskies 22 made free throws in the second half proved to be a major factor in the nine point victory.

Behind Adams, Freeman's performance at the free throw line helped her to 17 points, and junior Ebony Ellis (Joliet, Ill./Joliet Township) went 3-of-6 from the field and 6-of-9 on free throws to total 12 points. Ellis also chipped in with nine rebounds and two steals. Senior Kylie York (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) found her range, knocking down a trio of three-pointers to total nine point to go with her team-leading five assists.

Southern Illinois was led in scoring by Teri Oliver, who hit six three-pointers, including four in the last four minutes, on her way to 20 points. Senior Stephany Neptune followed with 14 points, and contributed 13 rebounds and nine assists. Ebony Crayton also landed in double-figures with 12.

The Huskies travel to the Wisconsin to face Milwaukee, Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game can be heard live through Huskie All-Access at www.niuhuskies.com and in DeKalb on 1360-AM WLBK.

Eastern Michigan 83, Niagara 68
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team used an 11-0 run late in the first half as fuel to soar past the Purple Eagles of Niagara University, 83-68, here Sunday afternoon, Nov. 22, at the Gallagher Center. With the victory, Eastern pushes its record to a perfect 4-0 on the young season.

After a seesaw battle early in the contest, the Eagles locked in defensively causing four consecutive Niagara turnovers, all of which ended on made baskets by Eastern, and took a 37-27 lead. Sparked by another stellar all-around performance by junior guard Cassie Shrock (Wadsworth, Ohio-Wadsworth), EMU would see their advantage swell to 12 points, 45-33, by halftime.

The Purple Eagles did not quit, however, coming out in the second half and making a rally of their own. After a layup by Niagara guard Kayla Stroman, the EMU lead was trimmed to seven, 52-45. It was then when junior guard Sydney Huntley (Cincinnati, Ohio-Purcell Marian) continued her trend of second half dominance. Huntley would rip off nine of the Eagles next 11 points, helping EMU's lead once again grow to double digits. She finished the game with 14 points, all of which came after halftime.

Schrock finished the game with a near triple-double, tallying 14 points and team-highs 11 assists and seven rebounds. It was the first game in which junior forward Kristin Thomas (Winter Park, Fla.-Edgewater-Hillsborough C.C.) did not lead the team in rebounding.

Sophomore guard Tavelyn James (Detroit, Mich.-Mumford) lead the Eagles scoring attack with 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting. Junior guard De'Ja Wills (Anderson, Ind.-Anderson) chipped in 12, all from beyond the arc, while freshman forward Chenise Miller (Oak Park, Mich.-West Bloomfield) added eight points and four steals.

The Eagles shot 50 percent from the field (33-of-66) and forced 27 Niagara turnovers despite losing the rebound battle 28-33.
The Eagles complete their seven-day, three-game road trip when they travel to Philadelphia, Pa. to take on the Temple Owls in a Tuesday, Nov. 24, contest. Tipoff is at 5 p.m.

No. 21/21 Michigan State 74, Western Michigan 51
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.- In their first meeting in over a decade, Western Michigan fell to No. 21/21 Michigan State, 74-51, but did not go down with a fight, playing the Spartans in front of 4,058 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Western Michigan hung in the game through the first half behind a solid defensive effort and poor shooting by Michigan State. MSU made just one of its first nine shots before going on a run to lead 33-23 at the half. The Broncos were as close as two, 23-21, with 5:46 left in the first but never led in the game.

Able bodies was another area that hindered the Broncos throughout the game. Sophomore Miame Giden and junior Brenna Banktson picked up three fouls each in the first half and freshman DeAirra Goss left the game with injury early three minutes into the game and did not return. Banktson would foul out midway through the second half.

Senior Sara Vest led the Broncos with 15 points and eight rebounds, while holding Michigan State's 6-9 Allyssa DeHaan in check defensively. DeHaan made 3-of-14 from the floor and finished with only seven points.

Giden scored in double digits for the fourth straight game pumping in 10 points while Jenny Loney also had 10 points. Robin Giden made her first appearance of the season playing 10 minutes, grabbing three rebounds and blocking two shots.

The smaller Western Michigan team battled down low, being outrebounded by just four, 43-39. Michigan State's roster featured nine players over six feet tall. The long arms affected WMU's shooting however, as the Broncos shot 28 percent for the game. The Spartans were able to get into passing lanes as well, forcing 30 turnovers.

Lykendra Johnson led Michigan State (2-2) with 21 points and Aisha Jefferson chipped in 12.

Western Michigan (1-3) plays its next four games on the road next traveling to Carbondale, Ill., to take on Sourthern Illinois on Nov. 25.