The Eastern Kentucky University women’s basketball team cut a 13-point deficit to six late in the fourth quarter, but their comeback fell short, as the Colonels fell to the Ohio Bobcats, 69-57, Tuesday night at McBrayer Arena.
The Colonels (2-4, 0-0 OVC) found themselves on the wrong end of a Bobcat 7-0 run with 5:00 left in the fourth quarter, when a jumper by Abby Wright stopped the spurt. On the next possession, the Colonel defense forced the Ohio miss, when reining Co-OVC Newcomer of the Week A’Queen Hayes grabbed the board, faked her defender with a nifty behind the back dribble, and took it coast-to-coast for the layup. Another Colonel stop led to a Wright triple to pull EKU within six, capping a 7-0 run. It would be as close as Eastern would come.
Ohio (4-1, 0-0 MAC) closed the game on a 9-2 run, led by a Dominique Doseck layup to seal the win.
Eastern was led in scoring by Wright, who scored a career-high 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Freshman Bria Bass recorded her second straight game in double-figures, adding 16 points and finishing tied with a team-high seven rebounds. Hayes rounded out Colonels who scored in double-figures, adding 10 points, seven boards, and a game-high five assists.
EKU finished the game shooting 44 percent from field and outrebounded the Bobcats, 42-31. Eastern also dished out 17 assists, compared to just 11 for Ohio.
The Colonels led after one half of play, only trailing for a combined 2:20 in the first half. However, the Bobcats forced Eastern into 27 turnovers, turning them into 28 points.
Both teams traded baskets to start the contest, when a Bass three started a 7-2 run, topped by a Wright three spanning 1:51 to give Eastern its biggest lead of the game, 14-8.
The Bobcats were paced by Doseck, who had 15 points. Cierra Hooks also had 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds for the Bobcats.
EKU will be back in action next Tuesday at home, when they take on Kent State. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
— www.EKUSports.com —
Kevin Britton
Assistant Athletics Director for Communications & Branding
