Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Post - Athens, OH
The independent newspaper covering campus and community since 1911.
The Post
Gabby Burris puts up a shot during the second half of the Bobcats game against Walsh on Nov. 3.

Women's Basketball: 2018-2019 season preview

After a disappointing season last year, Ohio is aching for redemption. The Bobcats haven’t won the Mid-American Conference Championship since 2015, and they’re ready to live back up to their championship pedigree. 

“We had a rough season last year,” said sophomore point guard and reigning MAC freshman of the year Cece Hooks. “That’s not how Ohio women’s basketball has been for the last couple of years and it’s kind of pushed us back. But this year, I think we’re moving forward.”

Ohio finished 16-15 overall and 9-9 in the MAC last year. In the MAC tournament, the Bobcats were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Miami 69-66. 

The Bobcats are led by coach Bob Boldon, who’s entering his sixth year at the helm. Boldon is tasked with developing a young team who’s without its last season’s leader, Taylor Agler, who graduated last year. 

“I don’t know if we have anyone with that kind of experience,” Boldon said. “I don’t think we have anyone that has Taylor’s skill set. We’ll play a little bit differently. 

The Bobcats don’t have a 1,000 point scorer or an obvious leader, but that’s not a negative to Ohio. The team feels close now. Everyone is held accountable. They’re trying to up their game so they can achieve their ultimate goal: A MAC championship. 

“I think we can win the MAC this year,” Hooks said. “I think it’s going to be so much better this year because everyone is more focused and locked in.”

The benefits of being locked in were on display in Ohio’s 90-62 blowout exhibition win over Walsh last Saturday. Improvements that occurred in the offseason were evident in a number of players, but none more than sophomore forward Gabby Burris. 

Burris led all scorers with 18 points, shooting 50 percent from the field and knocking down two 3-pointers. Burris also dominated defensively, collecting four defensive rebounds and four steals.     

Burris is coming off a freshman season in which she averaged 10.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. She’s one of many returners that has Boldon excited for the season. 

“She’s improved every aspect of her game,” Boldon said. “She’s a better driver than she was last year. She’s a better shooter than she was last year. She’s a better passer than she was last year. She’s better defensively than she was last year and I mean she was really good last year.”

Along with Burris, some returning Bobcats are Hooks, redshirt junior Katie Barker, junior Amani Burke and seniors Dominique Doseck, Olivia Bower and Kendall Jessing. 

There are five freshman on the roster (two redshirt and three true freshman), but Bolden said that he will only play two — Deesh Beck and Erica Johnson. 

If her performance Saturday is any indication, Johnson will play an enormous role for the Bobcats this season. The 5-foot-11 point guard showed versatility and high basketball IQ while dropping 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists. 

Johnson’s game was sort of a coming out party — one that’s she’s waited a long time for. 

“Redshirting freshman year was a very humbling year,” Johnson said. “I thought that I was good enough and ready to go as a freshman, but it just helped me figure out my weaknesses and the team’s weaknesses and what I can do to help the team out by sitting out.”

Johnson makes the Bobcats even stronger offensively, but defensively the Bobcats will have growing pains throughout the season. 

“We need to get way better,” Boldon said. “ We need to get better at identifying where people are... and rebounding, which is always a problem and still is a problem. We hoped that we would be better at it but we’re not.”

If the Bobcats fail to fix problems from its past, the past might repeat itself. Last season, Ohio was one of the worst rebounding teams in the conference, and it cost the Bobcats in many of their close defeats. If Ohio wants to regain the conference title, it’ll need to learn how to dominate the glass. 

And if it doesn’t, a premature exit from the conference tournament could be imminent. 

Ohio is projected to finish third in the MAC behind Buffalo and Miami. The Bobcats start MAC play this season at Buffalo on Jan. 5. 

Ohio has the tools to accomplish its goals this season. The Bobcats will have the backcourt duo of Hooks and Burke and an emerging star in Burris. Johnson could provide a spark off the bench and the seniors are well represented. Expectations are high for Ohio, but Boldon has kept the map to success simple.

“We’re going to try to win every game we play and see where that takes us,” Boldon said. 

Ohio kicks off its season Sunday at 1 p.m. when it hosts UNC-Wilmington at The Convo. 

jk810916@ohio.edu

@JL_Kirven

Powered by SNworks Solutions by The State News
All Content © 2016-2024 The Post, Athens OH