Ohio, which is the fourth seed in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, prepares for a rematch against No. 1 Central Michigan.
Seeding could have very little effect on this weekend’s Mid-American Conference Tournament.
Although the Bobcats are the fourth seed going in, there is no clear-cut difference between Ohio and the top-seeded Central Michigan.
“We are definitely ready to get back out there and play a team we’ve already seen,” senior Lauryl Desch said. “We know what we did well against them, what we didn’t do well, and so that really helps us re-evaluate ourselves and get our focus on what we need to do.”
The Bobcats know the Chippewas well from their previous matchup on Oct. 25, when Ohio won 3-2 in overtime in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
Desch mentioned this time around the Bobcats’ defense will focus on one of the Chippewas’ main scorers: Cayleigh Immelman.
In Ohio’s winning game, Immelman scored twice for the Chippewas and forced overtime with back-to-back goals in the 33rd and 42nd minutes. Over the season, Immelman scored nine goals and amassed 19 points for the Chippewas — the fifth-most in the MAC.
“She’s great in the 25 and at attacking the goal; she is also used in distribution out of the backfield,” coach Neil Macmillan said. “She’s someone that a lot goes through, and we’ve looked at a couple of people to match up with her and to see what we can do to take her out of the game as much as we can.”
Macmillan said there’s no way to completely eliminate good players from getting the ball, but the Bobcats’ defensive alignment may shift its focus more on adapting to Immelman and the Chippewas second main scorer, Kaysie Gregory.
“Since we’ve already played them before, we have a better understanding of what to expect,” senior Ashley Cureton said. “We’ve been doing a lot of film and been analyzing what we did the first time and how we can improve on this next upcoming game, and we got that win over them last time, so that’s another confidence booster.”
In the past six games, Ohio has looked like a completely different team, statistically, than from its first half of the season, scoring 13 of its 17 goals and winning three of its past five games — including against Central Michigan.
Desch, who received First Team All-MAC honors Thursday, leads Ohio during the regular season with 34 shots and five goals. No other Bobcats have attempted more than 12 shots and just three have scored multiple goals.
Junior Adele Sammons and senior Caelyn Hartley have played a vital part in turning around the Bobcats and received All-MAC honors, as Sammons was also named to the first team after she placed second on Ohio in goals and assists with four apiece. Harley was named to the second team and paced the Bobcats with six assists.
Macmillan said the Bobcats’ efficiency in corner shots has really turned around their offensive output and the forwards are gelling at the right time.
“I think our forwards are really coming together as a unit,” Macmillan said. “They’re working off each other, they are making runs into the spaces they’ve created for each other and themselves, and that’s something we didn’t earlier on in the season that’s really developed now.”
Ohio hasn’t won a MAC Tournament game since 2011 when it earned a MAC Championship before suffering losses to Miami the past two years. Even if Friday is Ohio’s last game, many of the seniors are proud of the way Ohio has played throughout the up-and-down season.
“I don’t know what I would do if I wasn’t a part of a team,” Cureton said. “Being a Bobcat is probably one of the best things I’ve been a part of. It’s surreal it’s almost over, this potentially could be the last few games, but I’m blessed to be here and super excited for this experience.”
@Lukeoroark
LR514812@ohio.edu
