Cece Hooks raced back on transition to Ohio’s defensive end as Jasmin Samz attempted to break through Dominique Doseck for a layup attempt.
When Samz, unbeknownst to a hustling Hooks, dribbled the ball over to her left hand, Hooks pickpocketed the ball away, turned around and zigzagged through Ball State’s defense to quickly convert her steal into a layup that gave Ohio a 33-20 lead in the second quarter.
The quick sequence symbolized the additional fight the Bobcats had in their defense when they defeated the Cardinals 94-62 on Saturday at The Convo.
Ohio has lacked intensity on the defensive side of its court in most of its Mid-American Conference games, but the Bobcats, perhaps sparked by the frustrations of their head coach, tormented Ball State (7-13, 2-6 MAC) for a full 60 minutes.
“We were just more active,” coach Bob Boldon said. “We were looking to make a play as opposed to being in the right spot.”
The second quarter steal from Hooks was only a snippet of the impact Ohio’s heightened defensive instincts played in its blowout victory. The Bobcats broke season-highs in steals (18) and turnovers (27), and Gabby Burris was the only player — all 10 of Ohio’s active players received playing time Saturday — who finished without a steal.
After a breakdown in their defense played a role in its crushing defeat to Miami last Wednesday, the Bobcats spent additional time in practice identifying what they were missing. The communication was poor, and it showed in Ohio’s defensive rotations when players appeared to be a second or two behind the pace of the opponents’ ball movement.
On Saturday, players could be heard shouting directions and positions to each other over the crowd as they darted back into defense. One of Ohio’s only noticeable breakdowns came with a minute left in the second quarter when Maliah Howard-Bass was left open for 3-pointer.
As the ball sailed through the net, Doseck looked over to Kaylee Bambule and appeared to apologize for failing to guard Howard-Bass’ shot. Such moments were much more prevalent in Ohio’s defense before Saturday, but the Bobcats proved how big the difference can be when players simply talk.
“(The communication) was way better,” Cece Hooks said. “We wanted it more. We’ve been doing s*** on it all week in practice.”
Boldon has been hard and direct with his feelings of the defense, which he previously called the worst in the MAC despite a No. 7 ranking in the conference, all season. He was more satisfied with Ohio’s effort Saturday, but one game of improvements was never going to make him fully content with how his defense has recently played.
Ohio will receive its biggest tests of the season over the next four weeks. The Bobcats will have rematches in February against Central Michigan, Kent State and Buffalo, three teams who exposed flaws in Ohio’s defense to supplement the damage from its explosive offense.
The Bobcats didn’t have to worry about Ball State and its No. 10-ranked offense staging a comeback Saturday, but Boldon knows his defense will need to be as crisp as possible if it wants to beat the heavyweights of the MAC.
“I thought we were more purposeful with our defensive movements tonight than we were all last week,” Boldon said. “Those are the types of things you’re happy with, 75-80 percent of it. But let’s try to fix the 20 percent. Those are points that, in a closer game, might cost you.”
