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Ohio's guard Erica Johnson (No. 4) dribbles the ball while Marshall's forward Taylor Pearson (No. 20) defends on Nov. 13, 2019. (FILE)

Women's Basketball: Northern Illinois how to watch and scouting report

On Saturday, Ohio’s quest to live up to the preseason hype begins. 

At 1 p.m.,  the Bobcats face Northern Illinois at The Convo to begin Mid-American Conference play. Ohio is the favorite to win the MAC this season, but with teams like Buffalo, Central Michigan and Northern Illinois throughout the conference, the MAC’s depth will make the next few months grueling for the Bobcats. 

All season, Ohio’s mantra has been “unfinished business.” If the Bobcats want to accomplish the goals that eluded them last season —  regular season dominance, MAC tournament champions and a berth to the NCAA tournament — they’ll need to take care of business on Saturday against the Huskies. 

Game Information 

Opponent: Northern Illinois (4-7, 0-0 MAC)

Gametime: 1 p.m. 

Place: Convocation Center (Athens, Ohio)

Where to watch: ESPN+ 

How to listen: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ohio/

Meet the opponent 

Head Coach Lisa Carlsen (5th season)

Probable starters 

04 Courtney Woods 

15 Grace Hunter 

12 Riley Blackwell 

23 Myia Starks

34 Ally May 

Reserves 

10 Chelby Koker 

32 Abby Woollacott

24 Paulina Castro 

14 Mikayla Brandon 

25 A’jah Davis 

03 Gabby Nitkitnaite 

Individual stat leaders 

Points per game:  Woods (17.0 per game)

Rebounds per game: Blackwell (5.7 per game) 

Steals: Starks (24)

Field goal percentage: Hunter (.500)

3-point percentage: Hunter (.435)

Free throw percentage (over 10 attempts) : Woods (.857)

Team stats compared to Ohio 

*Ohio’s stats are in parenthesis

Points per game: 63.8 (68.5)

Rebounds per game: 41.5 (35.0)

Steals: 8.45 (11.0)

Field goal percentage: .358 (.398)

3-point percentage: .288 (.317)

Free throw percentage: .687 (.621)

Series History 

Ohio currently leads the all-time series against the Huskies 20-19. The two teams last meeting came in last year’s MAC Quarterfinal, where a double-double by Ohio’s Erica Johnson led the Bobcats to a 72-56 victory. Ohio coach Bob Boldon is 6-3 against the Huskies and has won the last three meetings. 

Players to watch for 

For Ohio, Erica Johnson has always had the Huskies’ number. It was in DeKalb last season when the redshirt sophomore notched her first double-double. After dropping 26 points, 16 rebounds and 5 assists in Ohio’s blowout win, one might have thought the Huskies would be more keen on stopping Johnson in a potential rematch. The Huskies  keyed in on Johnson when Ohio met NIU in the MAC quarterfinal, but Johnson’s 18 points and 10 rebounds only showed that the Huskies have more studying to do. 

NIU’s best weapon against the Bobcats is Courntey Woods. The redshirt-senior owns the NIU record for 3-pointers in a season (105) but also can put the ball on the floor. She currently ranks fourth amongst the MAC’s best scorers with 17 points a game. She’s also NIU’s best passer. NIU’s offense is the worst in the conference, but that doesn’t mean that the Huskies don’t have a skilled bucket-getter to give the Bobcats fits. 

Why is this game important?

It’s been some time since Ohio’s had a lot of hype. 

Last season, the Bobcats stunned doubters on their way to a school-record 30 wins. This season, however, the expectations — and the target —  is bigger. 

Ohio took many risks with its schedule. Road trips against power five schools such as: Syracuse, TCU and Pittsburgh are the main reason why Ohio’s 7-4 entering conference play and not undefeated like the year before. Now is when Ohio needs to flex its muscles and showcase the dominance that its expected to show this season. 

Two wins against Power Five schools are impressive if the Bobcats need a push to the NCAA Tournament, but clearing out and claiming the throne one of the deepest mid-majors in basketball will leave no doubt that the Bobcats deserve to go dancing. 

@JL_Kirven 

jk810916@ohio.edu

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