The Bobcats got out at a slow start in their game against Lake Erie College but pulled away in the second half to finish a sweep of the exhibition schedule.
At the end of the first half, Ohio was 7-for-30 (23 percent) on field goals. Lake Erie did not shoot much better and finished at 28 percent.
But the Bobcats came to life after the break thanks to another set of strong performances from Tenishia Benson and Porsha Harris.
Benson was the leading scorer for the Bobcats with 17 points and seven rebounds. Junior Symone Lyles chipped in with 13 points, as did Harris.
Coach Semeka Randall harped on rebounding all week in practice. Ohio’s offensive rebounding improved, and the team took care of boards at the defensive end as well. Lake Erie had 23 defensive rebounds, while Ohio had 25 offensive and 35 defensive boards for the night.
The Bobcats finished the game shooting 37 percent from the field but only 1-for-15 beyond the arc.
The score at the half was 28-25 in Ohio’s favor, but the team came out ready to play in the second half. The Bobcats scored 42 points after halftime and drew their largest lead of 24 points with just more than five minutes left in the game.
But Randall said she was very disappointed in the team’s effort and energy. She said her team took a step back, which is not what she wanted to see before the season opener at Morehead State on Sunday.
“Morehead is going to come ready to go, and if we play that way it’s going to be a long afternoon for us,” she said. “We’ve got a great opponent coming up that’s really going to put it to us and we have to be able to stand in there and take the heat.” Randall said.
One positive that Randall was able to draw on was the play of Symone Lyles. In addition to her seven points, Lyles tied the team-high rebound total with eight boards.
“From start to finish, she brought a spark off the bench, and I believe that she can help us in that fashion. I was very proud of Symone’s effort nonstop from start to finish,” Randall said.
Though the team has much room for improvement, Benson said it is certainly not time to panic.
“Teams have those moments and I’m very thankful it was an exhibition game and not a game deciding whether we got to Cleveland or not,” she said.
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