2020 MAC Women’s Basketball Tournament Game Recap: Ohio catches fire, takes win over WMU

The four-seed Ohio Bobcats, led by the efforts of Erica Johnson’s 6-of-11 day from three-point range, overwhelmed the five-seed Western Michigan Broncos in a 84-75 victory against on Wednesday afternoon to advance to the MAC semifinals.

The Bobcats went 13-of-30 as a unit from three point range en route to their win, and 29-of-67 overall to overwhelm the Broncos on offense, while forcing 10 turnovers on defense for a +5 turnover margin.

Johnson was the star of the proceedings, scoring a game-high 28 points to go along with 11 rebounds and five assists for the Bobcats. Johnson’s presence was much-needed, as MAC defensive player of the year and first-team All-MAC selection CeCe Hooks (14 points, four rebounds, two assists) struggled to stay on the floor with foul trouble, leaving the game with 3:29 to go due to accumulation.

In her stead, Johnson and Amani Burke (20 points, five rebounds, five assists, 4-of-6 from three) took on the brunt of the offensive duties late in the game, with both players sinking pivotal shots to consistently stem off WMU runs.

WMU certainly gave Ohio a scare in the early going, primarily off of Breanna Mobley’s gutsy 10 point, 11 rebound performance in the first half. Mobley would finish with 12 points and 17 rebounds in the second, largely kept in check after the break.

Leighah-Amori Wool led the Broncos with 20 points, six rebounds and two assists prior to fouling out, with Chelayne Bailey (11 points, three rebounds, seven assists) and Jordan Walker (15 points, our rebounds, two assists) also highlighting the box score.

Ohio will now face Toledo, the nine-seed, in the MAC semifinals after the Rockets’ upset of the top overall seed Central Michigan earlier in the day. That game is slated for Friday afternoon.