Box Score KALAMAZOO, Mich.- The Western Michigan women's basketball team improved to 9-4 overall and 2-0 in the Mid-American Conference, grinding out a gutsy 61-51 victory over visiting Ohio Wednesday at University Arena.

The win kept Western Michigan undefeated (6-0) at home this season. The 9-4 record is also the program's best start since the 2002-03 squad went 10-4 over its first 14 games.

Ohio (10-3, 1-1 MAC) entered the contest as one of the hottest teams in the conference and as the top three-point shooting team, leading the league in 3's made and 3-point percentage.

The Bobcats dialed in right away, knocking down two three's that fueled a 10-0 run at the start of the game. Western Michigan called a timeout to regroup and from there went to work on the defensive side of the ball. The Bronco offense slowly got going as well and WMU outscored the Bobcats 22-13 the rest of the half. Jazmine Windham drained a three on the left wing at the halftime buzzer to put WMU within one at the end of the first period, 23-22.

The Broncos took their first lead early out of the break but never led by more than two possessions until under five minutes remaining in the game. WMU's defense remained strong, holding Ohio to 33.3 percent shooting in the second half, and shots began to fall for the Broncos who shot 50 percent in the half and 4-for-7 from long range. Western Michigan went on to outscore Ohio 39-28 over the final 20 minutes.

Key plays down the stretch included three's by junior point guard Alex Morton and senior A.J. Johnson. Morton's shot pushed WMU's lead to six with 4:20 to play. Ohio worked the deficit back down to three, but Johnson doubled it on her triple with 2:26 remaining. Miracle Woods delivered the back-breaker, following with an old-fashioned three-point play to put WMU up by nine, 57-48, with 1:37 to go.

Morton scored in double figured for the fifth-straight game, finishing with 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Johnson tied Morton with a game-high 15 points and added four assists, one rebound and a steal.

The focus of Ohio's defense throughout the night, Woods was held to just six field goal attempts and made two. She found a way to score however, shooting 9-for-11 from the free throw line. Her final line read 13 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Michelle O'Brien led the way on the glass, pulling down a team high-nine rebounds while chipping in six points.

Western Michigan shot 38.3 percent for the night and held the visitors to 35.8 percent. Ohio made only six three's in the game, almost four less than its season average per game.

The Broncos also out-rebounded the Bobcats by six, 38-32, but committed five more turnovers, 19-14.

Kiyanna Black (12 points) and Quiera Lampkins (10 points) were the top scorers for Ohio.

Western Michigan heads out for its first MAC road games, playing Ball State (6-7, 2-0 MAC) Saturday at 2 p.m. and Buffalo (7-6, 0-2 MAC) Tuesday at 7 p.m.