Saturday was a loss that should be remembered as a win for the Bobcats.
TEMPE, Arizona – They’ll be back.
Maybe not to Tempe, but the Bobcats seem poised to return to the NCAA Tournament — soon.
For most of this season, there have been constant reminders of how far the program has come, given that the team is only two seasons removed from its worst campaign in program history.
But after securing its first invitation to the Big Dance in 20 years — some players weren’t even alive when the Bobcats last played in the NCAA Tournament — it’s time to focus on the future of Ohio women’s basketball.
Getting to the NCAA Tournament was an achievement in and of itself.
Projected to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference East division, the Bobcats steamrolled through conference play and won their first MAC outright title since 1985-86.
During Friday’s shootaround, Ohio Director of Athletics Jim Schaus said winning the conference tournament was the equivalent of winning the NCAA Tournament for this team.
And it was. Ohio has gone from an easily overlooked team to one that is difficult to play.
“The only thing I’ll say about Ohio is they’re different than any team we’ve played this year,” Arizona State coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “I think it makes it more challenging to prepare.”
Second-year coach Bob Boldon has instilled a system few teams have been able to stop. A lack of success against Ohio’s best opponents has much to do with an undersized, youthful Ohio roster that lines up across from bigger and more experienced opponents.
The coach said he’d love to turn the Bobcats into a legitimate contender, not just in the conference but also potentially into an at-large team for the NCAA Tournament. That takes time.
Yet somehow Boldon has found a way to expedite that process, taking a group that he didn’t recruit, for the most part, and manufacturing quick, measurable results.
Ohio will lose only senior guard Mariah Byard from its ranks next season, and the team’s six freshmen have already showed plenty of promise.
It won’t be a surprise if Ohio is the preseason favorite to win the MAC again in the fall.
But none of that was thought about in Tempe.
The Bobcats finally met up with a team that’s just on another level of talent. While Ohio was searching for its first-ever NCAA Tournament win, its opponent was on a quest to the Final Four.
And that’s what made Saturday’s 74-55 loss to Arizona State so unbearable to the players.
Midway through the second half, Boldon told his players he didn’t travel 2,000 miles to watch them lose. At the same time, it’s an impressive feat to have earned the opportunity in the first place.
If these past two seasons have shown anything about the program, it’s that Ohio has transformed into a program on the cusp of something special.
It’s just going to take time.
But if this season’s progress is any indication, Ohio fans won’t be left waiting for long.
@charliehatch_
