Negrelli Leads Ohio Women's Basketball to Win in Home Opener
Junior guard tallies 21 points, four assists and five steals in 20 minutes

Contact: Jim Stephan, (740) 593-1298 or stephan@ohio.edu

ATHENS, Ohio (November 25, 2000) -- Junior point guard Jacquie Negrelli scored 21 points in 20 minutes off the bench and Lori Moorman and Ronita Whitfield added 14 points each to lead Ohio to an 83-72 victory over Wright State in its home opener Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center. Cathy Szall also topped double figures with 10 points for the Bobcats (1-1). Reggen Stewart and Iesah Gray led the Raiders (1-2) with 15 points apiece.

The Bobcats broke the contest open with a 12-0 run midway through the second half, turning a 57-54 lead at the 10:15 mark into a 69-54 advantage with 8:28 remaining. After that, Wright State could only close to within nine twice, the last with 2:27 to play.

The Raiders trailed 39-26 at the half and fell behind by 17, 49-32 by the 15:57 mark. But they closed the gap to 13 with four straight points, then answered a Bobcat free throw with a 16-5 run.

The Bobcats fell behind by seven, 13-6, in the game's first eight minutes, but a 20-2 run gave Ohio its first double-digit cushion, 26-15 with 6:18 before halftime. Wright State answered with seven straight points and was later down by just six when the Bobcats ended the stanza on its own 7-0 run.

The win was the first in a home opener in three seasons and marks the first time in the same span that the Bobcats did not fall to 0-2. Ohio continues its five-game homestand Thursday night when Oregon State visits The Convo.