After getting her first career win as a head coach last weekend, Ohio women's basketball coach Sylvia Crawley began a mission.
It starts with the potential to open the season with something that was accomplished only twice last year.
A two-game winning streak.
I want to rebuild this team
she said. There's been a lot of talk about it. I was just anxious to get the first game under my belt and win so it's not just a lot of talk.
Sometimes working 12 hours in a day to prepare, Crawley and her staff immediately fed Ohio the taste of winning that had been so fleeting in the past.
It feels really nice to be on the winning side for the first time especially starting off the season guard Rachel Frederick said.
Although the Bobcats won the exhibition game over West Liberty State, 66-60, Crawley said they worked extremely hard to fix the weaknesses on defense that were exposed.
I think the exhibition game was the best thing that could've happened to us
she added.
The Bobcats, who play their first four games at home, seem to be in a good position to go on a winning streak with their next game against a Cleveland State team that returns all the starters from last year's 4-24 season.
But Cleveland State's finish wasn't far from Ohio's own disappointing mark of 9-20.
If you look at our record last year
it really doesn't say much about how we plan on playing this season
Frederick said.
With forward Domenica Silva as the sole senior on the squad, Crawley stressed the importance of the young team building confidence as early as possible.
We have an opportunity to get some momentum going to roll us into the season
she said. We have a new staff
so wins really help us. It helps the players buy into our system and what we're teaching.
One glaring sign of a new system is the Bobcats' newfound balance in scoring. Ohio had four players reach double-digits on Friday, mixing in points in the paint and perimeter shooting.
We have threats both inside and outside
and if one's not working for us
we can rely on the other one
said guard Lauren Kohn, a transfer who led Syracuse with 52 three-pointers as a freshman.
Last year the Bobcats had to rely on their guards for offense, but with the emergence of Silva inside, Crawley said it's going to be difficult for teams to focus in on one player.
We hope that they do
