Ohio (4-8, 1-1 Mid-American Conference) fell to Kent State (8-4, 2-0 MAC) on the road by a score of 92-63.
Ohio followed its big win against Akron with a trip to Kent State to play one of the MAC’s hottest teams. Ohio’s defense was the killer in the game, as Kent State scored the most points against Ohio all year.
Kent State exploited Ohio’s two most significant weaknesses: its lack of size on the boards and its difficulty taking care of the ball. The Golden Flashes dominated the glass all day, out-rebounding the Bobcats 41-25 in total and 18-7 on the offensive glass. Kent State turned those offensive rebounds into points, scoring 21 second-chance points. Senior guard Katie Shumate led the way for the Golden Flashes, grabbing 10 rebounds with 10 points and three assists.
The Bobcats also lost the turnover battle, continuing to be one of their biggest issues this season. Coming into the game, Ohio had yet to have a game where it had more assists than turnovers, and the streak continued against Kent State, committing 23 turnovers to just 10 assists. Kent State’s ball movement was fantastic throughout the game, totaling 24 assists to 15 turnovers, keeping the ball in their hands and playing in control during the game. Sophomore guard Corynne Hauser was responsible for plenty of the Golden Flashes’ assists, notching a career-high 10 assists to accompany her 16 points to get a double-double.
Another problem for Ohio against Kent State was what is usually one of its biggest strengths: shooting 3-pointers. The Bobcats shot 21 3-pointers and only four of them found the nylon of the net, good for a 3-point percentage of just 19%.
On a more positive note, Monica Williams had her best game in a Bobcat uniform, scoring a career-high 15 points and being one of two Bobcats, along with Bailey Tabeling, to record more assists than turnovers. Madi Mace also had a spectacular game, scoring a team-high 16 points on 54% shooting from the floor.
Kent State took advantage of Ohio’s flaws in a big way. In a game where Ohio didn’t win any quarters, its shooting wasn’t there to provide needed support against a talented and battle-tested Kent State team.
Ohio will have an opportunity to fix their issues and get back in the winning column when they return to The Convo on Jan. 10 against Northern Illinois.
