After losing in a heartbreaker to Miami, Ohio returns to The Convo on Saturday to face conference foe Ball State. It’ll be the 50th year anniversary of the Convocation Center and the Bobcats hope they can send the fans home happy and complete the season sweep of the Cardinals.
Game information
Opponent: Ball State (7-12, 2-5 Mid-American Conference)
Gametime: 1 p.m.
Place: Convocation Center (Athens, Ohio)
How to watch : ESPN3
How to listen: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ohio/
Meet the opponent
Probable starters
32 Oshlynn Brown
31 Nakeya Penny
10 Thelma Dis Agustsdottir
5 Maliah Howard-Bass
24 Jasmin Samz
Reserves
23 Gabby Smith
2 Katie Helgason
34 Aliyah Walker
21 Blake Smith
Individual stat leaders
Points per game: Brown (14.1)
Rebounds per game: Brown (9.5)
Steals: Brown (22)
Field goal percentage: Walker (.538)
3-point percentage : Dis Agustsdottir (.486)
Free-throw percentage: Howard-Bass (.824)
Team stats compared to Ohio
Points per game: 65.2 (81.6)
Rebounds per game: 37.5 (36.8)
Steals: 7.2 (10.6)
Field goal percentage: .412 (.457)
3-point percentage : .275 (.382)
Free-throw percentage: .645 (.685)
Series History
Ohio leads the all-time series 35-27. The Bobcats won their first game with Ball State this season 90-75 in Muncie, Indiana. Redshirt freshman Erica Johnson played a big role in that game scoring 24 points, which at the time was a career high.
Players to watch
Johnson was a problem for the Cardinals in the first game and don’t be surprised if Ball State continues to have problems with the shifty combo-guard. Johnson has terrorized MAC defenses all season and will look to get hot early on Saturday.
For the Cardinals, sophomore forward Oshlynn Brown will need to be an x-factor if they hope to upset Ohio. Brown is strong in the paint and should be able to find success against banged up Gabby Burris and Olivia Bower.
What this game means
For Ohio, this is the perfect game to push the reset button. The Bobcats are hurting from their loss to Miami on Wednesday night and could use a pick-me-up. Attendance should be high considering the celebration and the men’s game following, so Ohio can get a chance to showcase why its one of the best in the MAC.
A loss, however, would be catastrophic. Ball State is at the bottom of the MAC standings and two consecutive losses would hurt the Bobcats confidence heading into a tough week that contains a home game against Akron and a road trip to defending MAC champion Central Michigan.
