No. 5 Ohio found it three hours north of Athens in Cleveland to take on No. 4 Central Michigan in the first round of the Mid-American Conference tournament. This game was a rematch of the overtime thriller in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, earlier this season that saw the Bobcats beat the Chippewas 85-83 to open up MAC play.
This game played out very similarly to their first meeting, and it ended the same as well, with a very close Bobcat win. There were many times throughout the game where it looked like Central Michigan had all of the momentum, but junior guard Bailey Tabeling and her career-high 33 points refused to let Ohio lose.
This was the Bobcats’ first MAC Tournament win since 2020, which also came against Central Michigan.
Both offenses came out playing fundamental basketball by using up all of the shot clock and passing the ball a lot. This benefited the Bobcats and Chippewas greatly as the offenses excelled early.
Central Michigan then took advantage of two poor Ohio turnovers to go on a 7-0 run and take the first multiple-possession lead of the game with a 4-point lead.
Ohio’s Gigi Bower made sure the momentum didn’t shift completely to Central Michigan's side by draining a 3-pointer. That 3 was followed by two free throws from graduate forward Elli Garnett, which gave the Bobcats the lead. Ohio continued taking the momentum by scoring seven straight points out of the TV timeout to make it a 12-0 run and give them an 8-point lead.
The Chippewas went on a run themselves, cutting the deficit down to just 3 points, but Ohio’s Asiah Baxter and Aliah McWhorter hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Bobcats a 9-point lead with little time left in the quarter.
With the help of Tabeling and her 11-point quarter, the Bobcats led by 7at the end of the quarter, 27-20.
“Just the energy, and seeing the ball go through the basket is a momentum changer,” Tabeling said.
After an offense-dominant first period, both teams came in quarter two playing better defense. The scoring this quarter started a minute and a half in with a tough and 1 bucket from junior guard Monica Williams, who was making her first start of the season after tearing her ACL last year.
“I thought she was a great person for the job,” Ohio head coach Bob Bolden said about starting Williams. “She did a good job taking care of the ball and knowing when to be aggressive.
Williams' shot gave Ohio the first double-digit lead of the game.
Tabeling continued making strong shots to bring her total to 16 points and give Ohio an 11-point lead. The Bobcats' missing shots combined with Central Michigan’s great rebounding helped them go on a 7-0 run and bring the game to within 4 points. The half ended that way as the Bobcats led 48-44.
Both teams came out of the half playing very strong offense and trading points. Central Michigan kept up its rebounding dominance, which benefited it greatly offensively.
As the quarter continued, the Bobcats and Chippewas went shot-for-shot as the lead for Ohio relatively stayed the same. Ohio committed a lot of fouls against Central Michigan, but the Chippewas struggled to capitalize on the free throws.
The Chippewas hit a 3-pointer and took their first lead since the beginning of the game at 63-62. Tabeling then subbed back in and hit a clutch 3 to give her team back the lead. She then hit another 3 to add on to her team's lead and give herself 24 points.
The third quarter ended 70-68 with the Bobcats barely holding on to their lead as Bailey Tabeling kept them afloat with a career performance.
Central Michigan started this quarter with a 3-pointer, giving it the narrow lead. The Chippewa’s defense started playing their best defense of the game, which led Ohio to force shots and struggle on offense.
Ohio’s defense also played some of its best defense of the game to keep itself in it. Central Michigan led by one with five and one-half minutes to go.
Over the next two minutes, the Chippewas 1-point lead slowly turned into a 3-point lead. The Bobcats struggled to make shots, and they looked defeated despite only being down by 3 points.
With three minutes left, Tabeling hit a humongous 3-pointer to tie the game and give the Bobcats some momentum when they had none.
“Just trying to get the momentum back on our side,” Tabeling said about her tying shot. “Any shot would have worked, it just happened to be mine.”
Both teams traded 3-pointers to keep it tied with a minute and a half left. An easy layup from Elli Garnett gave the Bobcats a 2-point lead with a minute remaining as Central Michigan called a timeout.
Ohio took advantage of Central Michigan's defense being out of place and got another easy layup to take a 3-point lead with 38 seconds remaining. After a missed 3-pointer by Central Michigan, the Bobcats made two free throws and got the huge win over Central Michigan in the first round of the MAC.
Ohio takes on its rivals, No. 1 Miami, on Friday in a rubber match to try to punch its ticket to the MAC championship for the first time since 2019.
