Miami senior point guard Courtney Osborn made it her personal responsibility to put an end to Ohio’s season on Saturday.
The first team all Mid-American Conference point guard knocked down seven 3-pointers on her way to a debilitating 39-point performance en route to an 83-61 victory as the RedHawks advanced into the second round of the MAC Tournament.
Ohio (6-23, 1-15 MAC) started the game well; junior guard Shavon Robinson and senior forward Tina Fisher combined for Ohio’s first nine points as the Bobcats built a 9-6 lead with 15:24 left in the first half.
Miami (19-11, 10-6 MAC) responded, as junior guard Haley Robertson knocked down a three to spark a RedHawks scoring spree. They took a 20-12 lead and all the momentum in the building until Ohio sophomore guard Mariah Byard hit a three to cut the lead to five with 10:28 on the clock in the first half.
Osborn answered Byard’s triple on the next possession as a part of a deflating 10-0 run from the 10:28 mark to the 8:22 mark in the first half as Ohio fell behind 30-15 in that stretch.
Osborn tacked on eight more points to give Miami a 38-17 lead with 5:10 left in the half. The senior had already poured in 21 points in more than 14 minutes of play.
Ohio freshman guard Kiyanna Black knocked down a pair of threes to end a shooting slump and make the score 42-25 with 2:19 on the clock. Miami took a 46-27 lead into halftime.
Ohio came out aggressively in the second half, with senior guard Symone Lyles scoring four early points.
Black knocked down another triple for the Bobcats with 14:23 remaining on the clock to get in double figures for the first time since Feb. 3 against Kent State. Ohio cut the RedHawks’ lead to 13.
Osborn knocked down her fifth 3-pointer of the game to give Miami a 63-44 lead with 11:10 left in the game.
Ohio pulled within 12 with 4:51 remaining, but Osborn buried the Bobcats with another three. She shot 7-9 from long range and 8-8 from the free-throw line.
jm296009@ohiou.edu
