After suffering two blowout losses to Akron and Buffalo to start Mid-American Conference play, Ohio will hit the road for Oxford to battle with Miami Thursday.
Ohio (5-9, 0-2 MAC) fell in its first two conference games by a combined 64-point margin, and has been setback by a roster that was depleted by injuries to five players.
Miami (9-6, 1-1 MAC) is returning home to Millett Hall to host the Bobcats after playing seven straight away games.
Pre-season all-MAC East senior guard Courtney Osborn, who topped the 500-assist mark against Western Michigan on Sunday, leads Miami.
“Osborn is a phenomenal player, and she carries her team,” Ohio coach Semeka Randall said. “They go as she goes.”
Osborn is a threat from beyond the arc as well, as she hit a season-best six three-pointers for 22 points against the Broncos. She poses the biggest threat to Ohio; the Bobcats will have to contain her for the hope of pulling out a win on the road.
Ohio freshman guard Kiyanna Black has emerged as the go-to scorer for Ohio in recent weeks, and has been heavily relied on in the absence of junior guard Shavon Robinson, who has sat out three games with an ankle injury.
Sophomore guard Kat Yelle has played only 16 minutes in three games this season because of injury, and junior guard Erin Bailes has been cleared to play, but is day-to-day and will play against Miami if she feels like she can go.
“Getting a player back in practice and then losing a player has kind of been the tale of the season to this point. It’s still early, we’re still growing,” Randall said.
“Miami is playing four players for 30-plus minutes, so the biggest thing we have to do is take care of ourselves.”
Randall said the Bobcats’ in-game approach won’t change much against Miami, but their practice schedule and pre-game activities have been altered to accommodate for the injuries.
“It’s going to be a tough game for us, no game in this situation is going to be easy because we are not really able to play the way we would like to play with a healthy roster,” she said.
jm296009@ohio.edu
