CLEVELAND — Wednesday marked the end of an era for the Ohio University women’s basketball team.
The No. 8 Bobcats lost to No. 1 Toledo, 80-67, in the opening round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.
Ohio’s season ends at 15-14, as Toledo (26-4) advances to the semifinal round.
It was the final game for Ohio senior Cece Hooks after five seasons of playing for the Bobcats.
Not only is Hooks the program’s all-time leading scorer, but she is also the all-time leading scorer, male or female, in the history of the MAC.
“The journey here was great,” said Hooks. “I was thankful for having (Ohio) coach Bob (Boldon), thankful for my teammates, like Erica (Johnson) said. I’ve played with her for eight plus years. Incredible to have her and everyone around me.”
On Tuesday, Hooks was named the MAC’s Defensive Player of the Year for the fourth consecutive season. She went out with another double-double, scoring 22 points to go with 11 rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Erica Johnson led Ohio in scoring with 25 points, making four 3-pointers, while also collecting eight rebounds.
Gabby Burris, another fifth-year senior for Ohio, scored 13 points with five rebounds in her final game for the Bobcats.
Madi Mace added five points while Peyton Guice had two points.
The Bobcats are the only MAC team to beat the Rockets this season, winning 79-72 at Toledo on Jan. 26. Ohio nearly beat Toledo again before losing 76-73 in Athens on Feb. 16.
Ohio hung close to Toledo until the final minutes.
Hooks’ three-point play brought Ohio to within 63-59 with 7:03 left in the fourth quarter.
Toledo scored the next six points to lead 69-59 with just 3:22 left after two Quinesha Lockett free throws.
The Rockets eventually led 74-61 with 1:39 left and had avoided the upset.
Ohio trailed just 18-17 after one quarter, and 34-32 at halftime.
The Bobcats’ final lead of the game was 42-41 after a Hooks’ basket with 5:30 left in the third.
Toledo answered with a 12-2 run to lead 53-44 after Sammi Minkonowicz’s layup with 2:22 left in the third.
Ohio trailed 58-53 after three quarters, and never got closer than four points in the fourth.
Toledo had five players in double figures, and seven players with at least eight points.
Sophia Wiard and Lockett each scored 19 points for Toledo. Wiard was a rebound away from a triple-double, adding 10 assists and nine rebounds.
Minkonowicz had 11 points and nine rebounds, while Khera Goss had 10 points and four assists. Jessica Cook had eight points and 10 rebounds, while Jayda Jansen had nine points. Nan Garcia rounded out Toledo’s scoring with four points and three rebounds.
Toledo shot 48.3 percent in the win, making 29 of 60 attempts from the field, including 7 of 20 from 3-point range.
Ohio shot 36.8 percent from the field, making 25 of 68 attempts and 7 of 24 from 3-point range.
Toledo advances to the MAC semifinals on Friday at 10 a.m. against Ball State.
No. 5 Ball State defeated No. 4 Northern Illinois 60-54 on Thursday.
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