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CeCe Hooks (#1) pushes past Shaunay Edmonds (#3) for a last minute shot at the end of the quarter.

Women's Basketball: What Ohio's win over Akron meant for its future MAC Tournament seed

Ohio’s win Saturday night at Akron was arguably the Bobcats' biggest win of the season.

It certainly didn’t feel like it, however, when the Bobcats casually walked off the court after their 81-71 win in front of 570 subdued fans at James A. Rhodes Center. Sure, Ohio never trailed and Cece Hooks scored 31 points to match her career high, but the game lacked the feel of a crucial late-season Mid-American Conference contest.

In the context of what happened around the MAC on Saturday, Ohio’s relatively uneventful win was huge. If the Bobcats lost, their odds to clinch a top four seed and secure a first-round bye in the MAC Tournament would have taken a big hit. 

That’s because Buffalo, holders of the No. 4 seed, defeated No. 2 Miami on Saturday and are one win away from a tie with Ohio for the No. 3 seed. Toledo, holders of the No. 5 seed, defeated Northern Illinois and are two wins back from Ohio.



The top 5 teams in the ever-unpredictable MAC are all within three wins of each other. For Ohio, who lost ground in the race for a top four seed after losses to Toledo and Buffalo in February, every win is crucial.

Which is why the Bobcats’ win over the Zips on Saturday arguably carries more importance than any other game, including their wins over Central Michigan and Buffalo on Feb. 9 and Jan. 5, respectively.

Those games were weeks ago, back when there wasn’t a jumble of teams slaughtering each other for a top four seed.

“There's no easy wins, and you see that as you look at some of the scores,” coach Bob Boldon said. “Teams who you think will win by 15 or 20 points are losing by two or four. It's just a grind. You just got to show up and play.”

Every team in the MAC has two games left in the regular season. But unlike previous years, there’s no point in looking at opponents left on other schedules and predicting how the rest of the year will end.

Each week has brought a new wave of upsets that have scrambled the standings, and the Bobcats want to do their part to ensure they’re not the next victim of a stunning loss.

Ohio found safety against Akron. There’s no guarantees, however, for the Bobcats in their last two games against Miami and Bowling Green. The RedHawks defeated the Bobcats on Jan. 30, and the Falcons nearly upset the Bobcats on Jan. 26.

Ohio has fully embraced the “one game at a time” mentality. It’s why the Bobcats looked indifferent after their win against the Zips, and it’s why they're looking at their next game against Miami — which will likely decide the No. 2 seed in the MAC Tournament — as just another regular season game.

“We’re trying to win as many games as we can,” Boldon said. “We got two games next week, and the rest of those things will take care of themselves. That’s our focus.”

@anthonyp_2

ap012215@ohio.edu

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