One thing stands in the way of Ohio ending its longest conference-losing streak: Kourtney Brown.
Ohio (7-20, 3-11 Mid-American Conference) travels to Buffalo this weekend to take on the Bulls and their star player Brown, a three-time MAC Player of the Week this season.
She was most recently named conference player of the week Jan. 19 and currently leads the conference in four major statistical categories, including points and rebounds.
Coach Semeka Randall said the team's goal is to contain Brown, something they struggled with last time during the team's first contest with the Bulls.
"She's a phenomenal player, and it's going to be very difficult for us to guard her," Randall said.
The last time Ohio faced Brown in January, she scored 31 points and pulled in 16 rebounds.
Another difficulty for the Bobcats will be the travel from their Wednesday game at Kent straight to Buffalo, said guard Tenishia Benson.
"We definitely have to be more focused just because there's so much going on," she said. "We have so much time. We're only practicing one time out of a 24-hour day. That leaves a lot of room and a lot of time."
Coming off of a neck-and-neck battle against Kent State that resulted in the fifth straight Bobcat loss, Ohio couldn't maintain the lead in the last minutes of the game; a story that has been the theme for their last five losses.
Randall said previously the team needs to focus on keeping their head in the game the entire 40 minutes and not let a few minutes ruin their chances of a win.
"It's the same thing I have been up here saying since the beginning," she said. "You can't play 38 minutes, you can't play 35, you can't play 26, you can't play 20 minutes and expect to win. You have to play 40 minutes, and that's all I can really say."
Road games can take their toll on the players, but they try not to let it affect them, Benson said. For Benson and the others, it becomes hard to not have the usual routine home games.
"It's just difficult when you have to play on someone else's court," she said. "They don't have the same balls as you, they don't have the same rim as you," Benson said. "There is a different routine than what you would do here - that's what makes road games so difficult."
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