As the game wore on, the lanes wore down and Louisville scored layup after layup to hand Ohio its worst loss since the 2004-05 season Thursday.
Ohio (2-1) couldn’t stop the balanced attack from No. 4 Louisville, which handed the Bobcats their first loss of the season 90-33, as the Cardinals (5-0) found lanes to drive through and jumped out to an early 20-6 though in the first nine minutes and never looked back.
Louisville led at half 43-17, though the Bobcats had their fair share of opportunities in the first half. However, Ohio shot a dismal 1-of-12 from beyond the arc before the break, as the lone three came from junior guard Mariah Byard with just three seconds left before the half.
Ohio suffered the same shooting struggles during the second half, as it finished the game shooting 10-of-53 (19 percent) from the field and only netting two of their 25 three-point attempts.
“We just wanted to get better,” coach Bob Boldon said. “This was a good opportunity against a very good team. We had the same game plan both halves and tried to execute it. Obviously, we didn’t do it very well. It’s something that we have to work on before we play again on Saturday.”
The undersized Bobcats were also unable to stop the Cardinals on the glass, as Louisville pulled down 54 rebounds including 15 offensive rebounds. Ohio only managed to pull down 25 boards in the game.
The lone bright spot came from freshman guard Quiera Lampkins, who finished with a team-high 13 points. She found success by beating the defense off the dribble and getting to the line, where she was 9-of-10.
“I thought Quiera got off to a slow start, but she did a really nice job of gaining her composure,” Boldon said. “She was frustrated earlier in the half, but then she gave us some really good minutes early in the second half.”
Ohio will look for more success in the Bluegrass State on Saturday, when it it faces Eastern Kentucky (3-2), which compares similarly with the Morehead State team that Ohio took down 64-56 in overtime last weekend.
Marie Carpenter leads Eastern Kentucky in scoring with 25.6 points a game including a performance against Alabama A&M when she scored 41 points. Stopping the senior guard will be the Bobcats main priority, though Ohio held Morehead State’s senior guard Terrice Robinson to only eight points, despite her previous average of 27 points per game.
The Bobcats will also need to stop senior guard Pilar Walker and sophomore forward Shelly Harper, who both average double-digit points. Walker also leads the team in assists per game with 4.6, while Harper leads the Colonels on the boards with eight rebounds per game.
Eastern Kentucky already has played two games against Mid-American Conference teams this year, losing to Kent State 75-74 and edging by Miami 59-55.
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