Ohio (15-11 Overall, 9-6 Mid-American Conference) is trying to earn the nickname “The Cardiac Cats,” as it found itself in the midst of another overtime thriller, this time against Bowling Green (16-12, 8-8 MAC).
The Bobcats were playing from behind all game, but with the help of junior guard Bailey Tabeling, who scored 18 points and notched her second-most rebounds in a game this season with 11, they were able to come all the way back and tie the game as the clock expired. The game in The Convo ended with an overtime loss for the second straight time, with a final score of 60-56.
“It’s kind of about just tracking the ball,” Tabeling said about her rebounding. “Our big players do really well at boxing out, so I don’t have to worry about going up against one of Bowling Green’s bigger girls.”
Bowling Green opened the game up strong offensively as the Bobcats' offense struggled to get going, leading to an early Falcons lead. Ohio’s offense continued to struggle through the first-half of the quarter as they only shot 1-12 from the field and fell down 11-3. This led to Ohio head coach Bob Bolden using a timeout.
The second-half of the quarter didn’t fare much better for the Bobcats as their shooting percentage was a poor 17%, with their offense being very one-dimensional, as 70% of their shots were from beyond the arc.
Poor shooting and 0 fouls called against Ohio would lead it to end the first-quarter down by 11, 19-8.
Ohio would open up quarter two, shooting a lot better at 42% from the floor. The improved shooting plus better defense would lead to the Bobcats slowly chipping away at their early deficit.
Miscommunication for the Bobcats on both sides of the ball led to turnovers offensively and wide-open looks for the Falcons, which caused Ohio to fall back into its double-digit deficit as the half wound down.
Despite a small push by Ohio, the second-quarter would end very similarly to the first, with the Bobcats being down by 10. The team would go into the half trailing 20-30 with much work to do.
Bowling Green came out of the half playing very aggressive defense, attempting to catch Ohio off guard. This defensive switch-up led to the Falcons adding on to their already comfortable lead.
Back-to-back 3s from the Bobcats helped cut into the Falcons’ lead. Bolden was also very big on subbing, as he tried to keep his players on the court fresh.
The Bobcats' defensive changes, new lineups and great rebounding were still not enough for them to mount a comeback due to their massive amount of turnovers caused by miscommunication.
“We’ve just been careless with the basketball, and that’s on me,” Bolden said. “When you do something wrong an entire season, that becomes a coaching problem, and we’ve done a poor job as a staff.”
Ohio would end the third-quarter similar to the first two, trailing by 9 points, 37-46.
Out of desperation, Ohio came out playing very aggressive defense early in the fourth-quarter.
“We were playing very passive defense early, and then got blown out in the first-quarter for the second game in a row,” Bolden said about his team's defense. “We were getting better at being aggressive as the game went on, but we need to be doing that earlier in the game.”
Despite very poor shooting from the Bobcats, they would bring the game to within 4 points to open up the quarter as the Convo filled with energy.
The Bobcats would keep this aggression throughout the fourth-quarter, leading to it being only a 1-point game with only two and a half minutes left. With just a minute remaining in the game, Tabeling would make a clutch mid-range bank shot to give Ohio its first lead of the game by 1 point.
Bowling Green was able to take a 2-point lead with 1.6 seconds left. It looked like all hope was lost for the Bobcats, but for the second game in a row, ReRe Jennings would make a clutch layup to tie it as time expired.
The Bobcats battled all the way back to overtime for the second straight game.
Ohio took a 4-point lead early in the overtime period as The Convo was ready to erupt. Bowling Green wasn’t done yet, though, as it would tie it with just over a minute left.
The Falcons would then make 4 free throws, giving them 8 straight points and a 4-point overtime lead with under a minute remaining.
The Bobcats were not able to score again as their comeback would fall short, and they would lose by 4 in the overtime thriller.
Despite the loss, Eastern Michigan's loss to Miami (OH) will clinch Ohio a spot in the Mid-American Conference tournament in two weeks.
