Jennifer Bushby is looking forward to wiping away the last game against Kent State.
The Bobcats had a lead early in the second half of the Jan. 17 game before falling apart and losing, 78-74, in overtime.
It was not something the Bobcats want to see even in film.
There was about a five-minute span that we'd want to forget
Bushby said.
At the 17:54 mark in the second half, the Bobcats were up 14. Following four turnovers and 19-4 run by Kent State, Ohio found themselves down by three a little over five minutes later.
Watching the game tape, Semeka Randall wasn't too happy with her team's performance in that stretch.
We did some things to ourselves and we allowed Kent State's defense to pick us apart Randall said.
This wasn't the only time that the Bobcats have had trouble playing hard the entire game.
When Ohio lost to Clemson 60-57 in early December, the Bobcats led for most of the game, including a 33-19 lead at halftime. Clemson stole the game by taking their first lead of the game with 1:05 remaining in the second half.
The Bobcats have also won games even while falling apart in the latter stages of games.
Last Tuesday's game against Buffalo was a blowout with 15:03 remaining. The Bobcats were up 21 points. By the end of the game, Buffalo trimmed that lead to three.
Also, against Akron, the Bobcats lead for the entire game until Akron tied the game with 21 seconds remaining. The game went into overtime, and the Bobcats won, 65-60.
These second-half collapses are not going unnoticed by the Bobcats.
It's been the story of the whole season
Bushby said. If we come out and play 40 minutes of basketball
we can play with anybody
but we have to commit to playing 40 minutes of basketball all the time.
Despite the collapse at Kent, the Bobcats did find some positives to take into tonight's game.
The team was able to hold Anna Kowalska to nine points, which was eight points below her season average.
Also, according to Randall, the effort was there for most of the game.
The main downfall for the Bobcats was the perimeter defense.
Kent State shot 7-of-10 from beyond the arc in the second half and 12-of-22 for the game. Guards Rachel Bennett and Stephanie Gibson went a combined 5-7 on 3-pointers.
This wasn't a fluke either.
Kent State is ranked second in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage at 40.8 percent. Jena Stutzman is ranked 16th in the nation with 42.9 percent.
With all the weapons inside and out for Kent, the Bobcats will have their hands full. Still, they believe that they can contain the Golden Flashes' offense.
Once we really commit to (defense)
once we get everyone to really focus on getting stops
it's definitely possible
Lauren Hmiel said.
We've got a versatile team. That's something to our advantage. We've just got to work hard and work together.
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