Ohio got thrown against tough competition “sooner” rather than later Sunday against an Oklahoma squad that had been nationally ranked earlier this season.
The Bobcats are playing in Las Vegas in the Duel in the Desert Invitational, a four-team tournament featuring Ohio, Oklahoma, Syracuse and Xavier.
Ohio (5-6) fell behind early and dropped an 89-57 decision to Oklahoma (5-3) in the first its first game of the tournament.
The Sooners wasted little time establishing their dominance. They jumped out to an early 10-3 lead and took a 23-point spread into the locker room at halftime.
After the break, however, the Bobcats were able to light up the Cox Pavilion’s scoreboard a bit more often, keeping the second-half margin much closer than the first 20 minutes.
“We played so hard,” Ohio coach Semeka Randall said. “We are very thrilled with the way we competed for 40 minutes. At times in the past, we’ve had that situation where we’re competing for 20, 30 minutes and then stopped fighting out there on the floor.”
Forward Porsha Harris was Ohio’s leading offensive force, netting 13 points. Guard Tenishia Benson also made her way into the double digits, rocking the rim for 12 of her own. Guard Mariah Byard also tallied nine on the night.
Freshman Kat Yelle, a starting guard for the Bobcats, went down with a knee injury in the second half, limiting her to 17 minutes of action.
The Bobcats enjoyed healthy production from their bench. Byard, Symone Lyles and Samantha Buls led a backup contingent that chipped in with 22 points.
Randall said that the total team effort should not be understated.
“We work as a team — it provides the energy and spark, and it becomes your sixth man and everybody gets into it and embraces it,” Randall said. “Having fun out there, that’s what you want.”
Oklahoma’s bench outscored the Bobcats’ reserves with 39 points of its own. Nineteen of those points resulted from the hard work of freshman Sharane Campbell, who took the Bobcats by storm.
Jelena Cerina, also a reserve, had 10. Other Sooners in double figures were guard Morgan Hook and forward Joanna McFarland, who each had 14 points.
Oklahoma was very impressive from the floor, connecting on 52 percent of its field goal attempts. Ohio was not as successful, hovering at about the 30 percent marker once again.
The Sooners also took care of business from the free throw line, where they converted on all but one of their 14 attempts. Ohio struggled a bit more than usual, cashing in on only 68 percent of its opportunities.
Ohio held its own in the battle for possession. The Bobcats turned the ball over only 15 times, while Oklahoma fell victim to 16 turnovers.
“I’m definitely very proud of my team, playing with poise and playing against a bigger opponent,” Randall said.
The Sooners, however, were able to convert on more of the Bobcats’ miscues, translating Ohio mistakes into 23 points.
Both teams had six steals on the day.
Oklahoma had its way with Ohio’s bigs down low en route to 42 points in the paint.
The Sooners also out-rebounded the Bobcats 30-16 on the defensive end.
The Bobcats will have little time to regroup from the loss. They will be back in action in less than 24 hours, as Xavier awaits them next.
The Musketeers fell to Syracuse 70-67 earlier today. With the loss, Xavier fell to 3-6 on the year.
“We were able to watch the end of the game, and it was a chess match back and forth,” Randall said.
jr992810@ohiou.edu
