In making the trip from the West Coast to Athens, the University of San Francisco women’s basketball team experienced a temperature drop of 13 degrees. However, the more important drop was the Dons’ 10th loss of the season, a 63-53 defeat.
Ohio (4-5) had little trouble dismantling the Dons from the get-go, cruising to a 15-point halftime lead. However, USF did not sit tight after the halftime break. The Dons came out firing in the second half, outscoring their opponents 31-26.
“We came out very flat and thought we had a cushion,” coach Semeka Randall said of the Bobcats’ second-half performance.
“In the second half we kind of let down. We just have to keep working.”
The Bobcats had little trouble occupying the offensive glass throughout the game as they led USF in the offensive rebounding department by an 11-grab margin. In return, Ohio cashed in on 18 second-chance points — double that of its opponents.
“I’m just really proud of the fact that they rebounded the ball extremely well,” Randall said. “Even if we didn’t get it, we stayed active, so it was a really good effort for our team.”
On the defensive end, the Bobcats were able to harness USF’s top player, Rheina Ale, keeping her to only 10 points on the night on 2-of-10 from the floor. Aundrea Gordon and Bailey Barbour also hit double figures for the Dons, totaling 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Randall said that her team specifically keyed in on slowing down Ale, who averages nearly 15 points per contest.
“It was a good effort by our kids by honing in and making her take tough shots,” Randall said.
“We let a couple of their off-the-bench players get out and get going, but I was very pleased with our basketball team."
Offensively, the Bobcats spread the attack well, with four players entering double digits into the point column.
Guards Tenisha Benson and Shavon Robinson led the way for Ohio, totaling 15 points apiece. Behind them, Alesia Howard and Ashley Fowler stood out, as well. Howard had 13 points, while Fowler contributed 11 off the bench, nine of which were results of her 3-for-5 three-point performance.
“I thought Shavon and Alesia came in and played well,” Randall said. “Ashley Fowler came off the bench and provided a huge spark for us.”
The win was an important confidence booster for the Bobcats, which have not been able to add a tally to the win column since late November, taking four straight losses to the chin instead.
Ohio will not have much time to digest its win, however. The Bobcats will face off with Niagara (3-6) on Tuesday in the last portion of their three-game homestand. From there, Ohio will depart for Las Vegas, where it will go toe-to-toe with nationally ranked Oklahoma.
“It’s always good to be able to win, to talk about that, and obviously watch it on film and try to stretch everyone,” Randall said.
“(In Vegas) it’s one-two-three, real quick. It’ll be really key for us, for our mental toughness. How much do we push through? We’re stretching them and we’re going to try to push them a little bit more here.”
