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Ohio University's Hunter Rogan (#25) beats Eastern Michigan's Makenna Drabick (#34) to the basket.

Women's Basketball: Ohio finally finds a complete game in 85-44 win over Eastern Michigan

Throughout Ohio’s remarkable 14-1 season, coach Bob Boldon has constantly asked for one sole goal from his team. Fifteen games into the season, his team has rarely accomplished it.

Boldon wants a complete game, one in which the Bobcats dominate for 40 minutes. Yes, the Bobcats have only suffered one loss as they settle into the thick of their Mid-American Conference schedule, but Ohio has frequently worked through a poor quarter or two in nearly every game this year.

In Ohio’s 85-44 win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday at The Convo, the Bobcats finally answered Boldon’s wish. Ohio dominated both ends of the court and held the lead for 35 minutes in its most complete game of the season.

“It’s great,” Boldon said. “(Eastern Michigan) is a good team. They’ve gone toe-to-toe with a lot of good teams. This is a conference win, and one we certainly needed to keep pace with the other teams doing well in our conference.”

After Ohio allowed Kent State to score 50 points in the second half Wednesday, Boldon bluntly called his defense the worst in the MAC.

The Bobcats’ response on Saturday, however, was one that no one could see coming. Ohio allowed its lowest point total in a game since 2016, and its defense shut down Danielle Minott one of the conference’s top scorers, for the entire first half.

Minott, who was eighth in MAC with 15.6 points per game, was held to just one point in the first 20 minutes of action. Her frustrations were visible as she missed her first 13 shots, and her inability to find points appeared to spoil Eastern Michigan’s entire offense game plan.

“Minott is a good player,” Dominique Doseck said. “Amani (Burke) and Cece (Hooks) were applying pressure, and pressure to an offensive player is a struggle. It really messes with your head.”

On the other side of the floor, Ohio was equally dominant and showcased one of its best 3-point performances of the season. The Bobcats converted on 48 percent (14-for-29) of their 3-point attempts and knocked down 8-of-10 shots behind the 3-point line in the second quarter when it scored 26 points and essentially put the game away with a 43-18 halftime lead.

Doseck is well-known throughout the MAC as a 3-point shooter, but Eastern Michigan appeared more willing play closer to the paint and block off drive attempts from Cece Hooks, who finished with just 13 points.

The extra space gave Doseck plenty of additional time to find space for a 3-pointer. She found an unstoppable rhythm in the second quarter and went 4-for-5 on 3-pointers to contribute to an incredible 20-0 Ohio scoring run.

Doseck’s hot hand was contagious. Only two Ohio players — Gabby Burris and Hunter Rogan — failed to connect on two or more shots.

“We’ve got players that can make open shots, and we’ve gotten open shots” Boldon said. “To their credit, they’ve made them.”

Ohio can look forward to maintaining its momentum in its next three games, which will be against teams with a combined 5-9 conference record. If the Bobcats can make their balanced performance a trend, they can create separation atop the MAC standings.

“We finally played all 40 minutes,” Johnson said. “This is what we needed.”

@anthonyp_2

ap012215@ohio.edu

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