Win and go to Cleveland with the chance to win a conference championship. Lose and come back to Athens with no more games to play until November.
That is the ultimatum the Ohio women's basketball team faces as it prepares for its first-round Mid-American Conference Tournament game at Toledo.
No pressure.
A win would be huge for our program because it would get us to Cleveland
coach Lynn Bria said. We've had two classes that have never been there and I think to go to be there
to experience it really impacts your next year because the team wants to get back there.
The Bobcats (13-14 overall, 7-9 Mid-American Conference) must avenge a 67-49 home loss to Toledo (12-15, 8-8 MAC) before any dreams of Cleveland and playing in Gund Arena become a reality.
During that Jan. 24 game, Ohio led for much of what was a close first half before the Rockets went on a 13-0 run to put the game out of reach. Ohio never drew closer than seven points during the second half.
I remember being up in the first half
then I look at the final score and we're down by 18
guard Andrea Gay said. But I've seen how much this team has matured
especially these last four games.
While winning three of their last four games -including wins against Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan, the No. 2 and 3 seeds in the MAC Tournament, respectively - the Bobcats have hit nearly 51 percent of their shots.
We're moving the ball better and we're taking better shots
Bria said. The difference has been that people are understanding their roles
and they're playing them better.
Among those players who better understand their role is forward Erin Isbell, who is averaging 14.8 points and 10.0 rebounds per game during the four-game stretch, while connecting on 65.9 percent of her shot attempts.
We know we're a completely different team than the last time we played Toledo
Isbell said. We didn't go (to Cleveland) last year
which was unfortunate. It always hurts when you've been there before and you don't get to go.
An Ohio win sends the Bobcats to Gund Arena for the first time in two years. Tip-off with Toledo is 7 p.m. Saturday at Savage Hall.
