Before East Carolina and Ohio’s football teams compete in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s bowl on Monday, the schools’ women’s basketball teams took the hardwood on Friday.
Ohio (4-5) recorded its best first half performance this season and entered the break with the lead, but the Bobcats followed up with their worst second half and lost 76-47.
“ECU played a tremendous second half knocking down big shots.” Ohio coach Bob Boldon said. “We never really recovered [once behind].”
The Bobcats started off fast, heading into the break with a 35-30 lead after pushing the ball down low and scoring up 18 points inside the paint before halftime.
Two plays that set the tone for the Bobcats early were a coast-to-coast drive by freshman guard Yamonie Jenkins for a layup with a minute left and a deep three-pointer from well behind the NBA arc for sophomore forward Lexie Baldwin as the clock expired.
But the Bobcats then lost all momentum in the second half, as East Carolina (10-1) took control on its way to remaining undefeated at home.
“I thought we had a really good first half but it wasn’t there in the second,” Boldon said. “It’s just a learning process and we’re trying to get these things fixed. We wanted to push them with the nonconference schedule a little bit.”
An 8-0 East Carolina run quickly grew to a 17-2 run, and then to 31-6. One of the Pirates even attempted a shot with her back facing the basket, yet buried it off the glass for two points.
Despite a quiet first half the Pirates’ Jada Payne, a redshirt sophomore guard, scored 24 points, including 3-for-4 shooting from behind the arc.
Senior forward Kristine Mial and freshman guard J’Kyra Brown also broke double-digit scoring for the Pirates with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Baldwin finished as the leading scorer for the Bobcats, as she achieved a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards. Redshirt sophomore guard Kat Yelle finished with nine points and two rebounds.
Ohio will not return to action until after Christmas on Dec. 29 at James Madison, which will be the Bobcats’ eighth road contest in ten games.
“Our players just need a break from me and they need a break from basketball,” Boldon said. “They can enjoy Christmas.”
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