Ohio's (6-21, 4-12 Mid-American Conference) offense struggled in its 68-49 defeat to Western Michigan.
Both offenses struggled to make field goals from the beginning of the game. The Bobcats made their first field goal with 4:20 to go in the first quarter, when Abby Garnett, the Bobcats' leading scorer in the first quarter, made a layup to give the Bobcats a 6-5 lead. The Bobcats only made one field goal in the rest of the quarter, but still led 9-8 due to their strong defensive efforts.
Ohio only shot 20% from the field in the first quarter, while Western Michigan shot 23.1%.
Kate Dennis helped the Bobcats offense get going in the second quarter when she made a 3-pointer to put the Bobcats ahead by 2. Western Michigan began to heat up offensively and took a two point lead, but Yaya Felder answered with four straight points. The Bobcats offense went on another scoring drought, but Dennis made another 3-pointer at the end of the first half to give the Bobcats a one-point lead at halftime.
The Broncos came out strong in the second half and two free throws from Hannah Spitzley and a 3-pointer from Maddie Watters them had a four-point lead. Garnett committed a turnover on Ohio's next offensive possession which was turned into a made 3-point jumper from Abby Voss. By the time the Bobcats converted their first field goal of the second half with 6:11 to go, they were down by nine. Cassidy Lafler's layup didn't turn around the Broncos' momentum, the Broncos scored the game's next eight points to take a 44-27 lead. Felder converted an and-1 at the end of the third quarter, but the Bobcats still were outscored in the third quarter 23-7.
The Bobcats offense played well enough in the first four minutes of the fourth to make the Broncos slightly nervous, but the Broncos put the game away with a Voss 3-pointer. The Broncos closed the game on an 11-3 scoring run to win by 19 points.
Although Felder struggled from beyond the arc, she still finished the game with 23 points, including a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line. Garnett was the only other Bobcat to score 10 or more points, finishing the game with 10 on 4-7 shooting.
The Bobcats hopes to make the MAC tournament are all but gone, but every game counts for a team as young as the Bobcats.
