Toledo's Savage Hall will continue to haunt Ohio for at least another two years.
The Bobcats watched as the Rockets turned a 37-27 second-half deficit into a 53-52 victory last night, making it 20 years since they won in Toledo.
The loss also ended Ohio's three-game winning streak and reversed a recent trend of the team picking up victories in close games.
It's really hard
guard Jennifer Bushby said. You always think you're going to pull it out. We knew we should've had it.
Ohio (12-10, 5-5 Mid-American Conference) took a two-point halftime lead and quickly stretched it to 10 with an 11-3 run within the first 2:40 of the second half. Guard Rachel Frederick and forward Domenica Silva scored nine of the Bobcats' 11 points during the run.
Toledo (8-14, 4-6 MAC) responded by going on a 9-0 run to draw within one before Ohio pushed the lead back out to six with Bushby's 3-pointer with 6:28 remaining in the game.
Fatigue played a huge factor down the stretch. Because the Ohio bench struggled ' it was held to three points ' coach Sylvia Crawley was forced to play her starters for extended minutes. Four of the five Bobcat starters logged at least 34 minutes of playing time, and Frederick played for 28.
We couldn't afford to go to our bench tonight and the starters played a lot of minutes Crawley said. The fatigue was the turning point of this game.
That fatigue started to show as the Rockets then went on another big run, outscoring the Bobcats 8-0 over the next two minutes to take their first lead of the second half at 50-48. After a series of free throws, Ohio had the ball with 14 seconds remaining, trailing 53-52. Toledo guard Ta'Yani Clark came up with a steal with four seconds left and was fouled.
Clark missed the ensuing free throw, but Ohio's Quintana Ward missed the mark on the potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.
We knew we didn't come out and play Ohio basketball and didn't play well down the stretch
guard Lauren Kohn, who led all scorers with 17 points, said. Words can't really explain how we feel.
Kohn and Bushby combined for 13 of Ohio's 26 first-half points as the team took a 26-24 lead into the half.
The Bobcats have little time to dwell on the loss as they return to action tomorrow at Eastern Michigan. The Eagles (12-9, 7-3 MAC) knocked the Bobcats out of last year's Mid-American Conference Tournament, winning 76-66 in the quarterfinals.
Eastern Michigan is coming off a 74-56 win over Miami Wednesday and features two of the best players in the MAC in forward Sarah VanMetre and guard Patrice McKinney. The duo has combined to average almost 32 points and 17 rebounds per game.
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Jason Fazzone
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Senior Silva Domenica from Sao Paulo, Brazil does it all with fifteen points, eight rebounds, and one block. The Bobcats narrowly defeat the Central Michigan Chippewas, 69-65 on Saturday.
