Ohio went wheels up on a trip to Minnesota with hopes to extend its win streak. However, it had to board the plane back to Athens with a 99-93 loss stamped on its record.
The Bobcats managed to fend off the Golden Gophers in the first half, but the Golden Gophers swiftly reclaimed the lead and built one up that reached 13 points by the third quarter. The Bobcats chomped away in the fourth, but it was not enough to counteract the Golden Gopher offense.
Here are the numbers to know from Ohio’s 99-93 loss to Minnesota:
4
Wednesday was the fourth time this season that Erica Johnson scored 20 or more points in a game. She ended the night against Minnesota with 21 points despite fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Johnson is no stranger to finding the net and is one of Ohio’s most-apt shooters. She leads the team in 3-pointers with 23. Her ability to find open spaces to make shots happen is impeccable.
6
Kaylee Bambule shined beyond the arc against the Golden Gophers. She went 6-for-12 on 3-pointers. Bambule’s 18 points capped off her best performance as a Bobcat to date. She checked the box for career-highs in 3-pointers and points in a game on Wednesday.
Bambule, a redshirt junior, likes to shoot 3-pointers often, but had yet to hit her stride before the Bobcats took on the Golden Gophers. Bambule averaged 3.4 3-point attempts per game but never sank more than one before Wednesday.
20
The Bobcats brought out the boards against the Golden Gophers. Or so it seemed. The Bobcats recorded 29 boards in the loss, which is their lowest of the season. In their previous six games, they averaged 42.3 rebounds per game.
Ohio didn’t even reach double digits for offensive rebounds despite having 20 defensive rebounds. Wednesday was the first time this season that it did not reach 10 or more offensive rebounds.
24
Ohio scored 24 points in the second, third and fourth quarter. It made four 3-pointers in all three of those periods. Ohio relied on its keen free throw ability in the second to meet the total, unlike the last two.
Field goals were not the Bobcats’ friends in the second and fourth quarters. They shot below 50% during those periods. The Bobcats pieced together a 47% and 45% accuracy in the second and fourth, respectively. However, these were not their worst totals of the night. They shot the worst in the paint during the first, where they were 8-of-18 from the floor.
