No member of the Ohio women's basketball team will ever be mistaken for pro football analysts John Madden and Al Michaels, but both groups have something in common: They work Monday nights.
The Bobcats (9-12 overall, 3-7 Mid-American Conference), who usually play Wednesday and Saturday games, will take The Convo floor tonight to play Akron in the only scheduled Monday game of the season.
Ohio, which lost Wednesday against Bowling Green, is in the midst of a four-game homestand that might prove key in the team's seeding for the postseason tournament. Should the Bobcats win four of their last six games, they would probably play host to a first-round tournament game, coach Lynn Bria said.
You can get there any way
Bria said. You can get there with a bye of course; you can get there playing at home; you can get there playing on the road. Certainly it helps if you're a higher seed
and you can host a game. Anything can still happen. We're just not out of it.
The Akron Zips, despite winning their two most recent MAC games, might not be fortunate enough - or mathematically eligible - to play host to a first-round game.
Akron (7-14, 2-8 MAC) lost its first eight conference games before beating Northern Illinois and Buffalo last week.
Akron's won two in a row
so they have a lot of confidence right now
Bria said. They're playing very well. Our last game with them is irrelevant. It really doesn't matter. We're different teams now.
Ohio beat the Zips, 75-63, at Akron Jan. 21 at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Their keys are their two guards - Lori Krezeczowski and Jae Conn
Bria said. You've really got to contain them and know where they are. They make the team go.
Krezeczowski and Conn are pacing the Zips in scoring at 12.3 and 10.5 points per game, respectively, though both have increased their scoring average during MAC play.
Both players and coaches expect the extra rest to help Ohio during tonight's game, as well as the rest of the regular season.
We're a pressing team and we use a lot of bodies
forward Lindsay Wight said. The extra rest that we got is important.
