Ohio Women's Basketball punches ticket to WNIT quarterfinals

Photo courtesy of: Ohio University AthleticsJunior guard Amani Burke takes a shot in the Bobcats' WNIT win over Western Kentucky. OHIO will face Northwestern in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

The Ohio Women's Basketball team (30-5, 14-4 MAC) earned a spot in the Women's National Invitation Tournament quarterfinals after defeating Western Kentucky (20-15, 11-5 C-USA), 68-60, on Thursday evening inside the Convocation Center. With this win, Ohio is the first team - men's or women's – in program history to reach 30 wins in a single season.

"Tonight was one of the better games we've played in this gym in a while," head coach Bob Boldon said. "They were good, we were good. We made some tough shots and they made some tough shots. I thought the crowd was amazing. I don't ever remember there being a crowd like this in my time here. There seemed to be a lot of them, and they seemed to be engaged."

Sophomore guard Cece Hooks (Dayton, Ohio) led the team with 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting. Hooks added four rebounds, three assists, four steals and one block while making five free throws.

Sophomore forward Gabby Burris (Baltimore, Ohio) had her fourth of double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Burris had seven defensive boards and four offensive rebounds. Burris was 4-of-7 from the field and 1-of-3 from the three point line.

Click here for a game recap.

The Bobcats will travel to Evanston, Illinois, to battle Northwestern at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 30, in the quarterfinals of the WNIT.