Women’s basketball is back as Ohio (1-0) started off its season with a 72-66 road victory against Texas State. After a disappointing season last year, the Bobcats look to get back on track, and this game was the start of that as they won the turnover battle 34-23.
New Bobcat forward Elli Garnett had an outstanding game, scoring 20 points on 6-9 shooting from the field and 3-6 from three-point land while also contributing three rebounds and three steals. Junior guard Asiah Baxter also had a solid outing, putting up a 13-point and six-rebound performance.
The first quarter was very close between both teams, with the biggest lead being an 11-6 lead held by Texas State midway through the quarter. The turnover battle started early with Texas State losing many potential points due to sloppy play and poor passing. Ohio took advantage of these mishaps and tie the score up at 16 apiece with the first quarter ending. Garnett scored 10 of her 20 points in this first quarter, propelling the Bobcats to keep the score close heading into the second.
Ohio had a much better second quarter, as it managed to put up 22 points this quarter compared to Texas State’s 13. Texas State also had five turnovers this quarter, further fueling Ohio’s offense and giving momentum away.
Guard Monica Williams had six points this quarter, draining both of her three pointers. Baxter had five rebounds during the second quarter, with three of them on the offensive side. Ohio shot much better from three in this quarter than Texas State. It shot 37.5% while Texas State shot 25.0% from behind the arc.
Ohio struggled heavily in the third quarter, scoring eight points while shooting 25.0% from the field and 16.7% from three. The offense couldn’t get much going, and the Bobcats also turned the ball over 10 times in this quarter tying Texas State in that stat. Ohio only got eight shots up this quarter, which was dwarfed by the 16 Texas State put up, converting on 43.8% of those shots and scoring 17 points.
Texas State guard Saniya Burks had 11 points on 5-6 shooting, dominating any defender who was sent her way by Ohio. After a phenomenal second quarter from Ohio, it squandered the lead it had and what was a nine point lead at halftime turned into a tied game at 46 apiece going into the final quarter of play.
It was either team’s game going into the fourth quarter. Ohio launched forward with an excellent quarter of play, scoring 26 points, which was led by Garnett’s six, Baxter’s seven and guard Bailey Tabeling’s seven points. The Bobcats also had five steals in the fourth and forced 10 turnovers from Texas State, leading to more Ohio points on the other end.
Texas State was dominated on the offensive rebounds. It didn’t manage to grab a single one while Ohio grabbed three of them, leading directly to three extra points for the Bobcats. Not adding free throws, Ohio also had its best shooting quarter this game, going 8-14 from the field and 3-7 from three. The game ended with Ohio holding a lead for the last four minutes of the game, not letting Texas State get a chance to come back. Ohio won with a score of 72-66.
Despite the Bobcats poor third quarter performance, they played well in every other quarter and it looked like a new team. All of the returning players contributed well, and the defense forced a lot of turnovers, which gave Ohio more opportunities on the offensive end. The Bobcats have a six-day break before their next game, which will be the home opener for the season against Columbia.
