The Bobcats remain winless in the Mid-American Conference this season after falling to Central Michigan 77-48 on Thursday.
Ohio (5-12, 0-5 MAC), which has been hampered by injuries throughout the past month, could not keep pace with the speed of Central Michigan (11-7, 5-0 MAC) for a full 40 minutes.
Four Ohio players totaled at least 33 minutes of playing time, because of limited player availability. Senior guard Symone Lyles paced the Bobcats with 36 minutes.
“Central Michigan is a very high scoring team, but I give credit to our locker room for pushing hard,” Ohio coach Semeka Randall said. “We are going to just have to grind things out, which I thought we did most of the night.”
The Bobcats began the first half strong, as they were tied at 20 through the first 12 minutes. Junior guard Erin Bailes hit three of her first four shots from beyond the arc, as she finished the half with nine of her game-high 12 points.
However, Central Michigan ended the half on a 15-2 run over the final eight minutes, as the Bobcats knocked down just one of their final nine shot attempts and committed five turnovers during the run.
After the break, the Central Michigan Chippewas continued making shots, but the Bobcats seemingly rejuvenated, went on a short scoring run in the first four minutes. But once again, fatigue set in and Central Michigan outscored Ohio by 16 points in the second half.
Offensively, freshman guard Kiyanna Black added 10 points, while senior guard Laura Mastro scored her first three points, in just her third game in the Ohio uniform.
“(College) is definitely a different level to play at, so I’ve had to get back some of the skills,” Mastro said. “I’m coming along and am hoping to just keep my skills up and try to start learning some plays and the in’s-and-out’s of everything.”
The Chippewas finished with five players in double-digit points. However, Ohio was able to limit Central Michigan sophomore guard Crystal Bradford to just 10 points, despite her averaging 20 points per game in her first four MAC contests.
Central Michigan shot 44 percent from the floor, while Ohio scored just 29 percent from the field.
With the 29-point loss, Ohio has been outscored by an average of 28 points in each of the first five MAC games. The Bobcats have also lost to five of the top seven teams in the conference to open the conference schedule.
“We are trying to stick together and keep each other up,” senior forward Tina Fisher said about the strenuous past five games. “Your body is just so tired, so you need treatment — with a limited roster, we really need revived so more players don’t go down.”
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