Ohio (12-7 Overall, 6-3 Mid-American Conference) found itself in a hard-fought affair today against UMAss (15-4 Overall, 7-2 MAC), as it dropped its second straight MAC game while trying to defend the convo.
The Bobcats' starting five struggles led to many underdog performances, as the bench stepped up to keep them fighting. Unfortunately, the poor starting five performance by Ohio would catch up to them in this 9-point loss by a score of 85-76.
The Bobcats and the Minutewomen had a high-scoring first-quarter as both teams were shooting very well. Ohio did a great job of mixing up their shots between threes and driving to the paint, leading to many good looks for them.
The Bobcats were also very aggressive on the boards, which has been one of their struggles this season, but today they were able to get eight rebounds. Three of those rebounds came from graduate student guard Aliah McWhorter, who ended up having a versatile game.
“I just want to do as much as I can for my team and be able to bring my team energy,” McWhorter said.
Sophomore guard Gigi Bower was able to score six points and log a steal coming off the bench in this quarter to help Ohio have a 5-point lead over the Minutewomen, 21-16.
The second-quarter started a lot slower than the first, as both teams had to fight harder to score. The Bobcats stayed around the perimeter of the three offensively, which caused them to struggle to score.
The Minutewomen were able to take advantage of the Bobcats' struggle and erase an 8-point deficit to tie it up at 25 apiece. After UMass’ strong run to tie it up, the quarter became back and forth as both defenses started tightening up. Four first-half rebounds from junior guard Antonicia Moultrie and five more points from Bower helped the Bobcats hold a narrow 3-point lead at half, 35-38.
The Bobcats third-quarter struggles seemed like they were going to continue early as the Minutewomen were able to take a 5-point lead due to very poor Ohio shooting. But after an early Ohio timeout, they were able to erase the deficit and make it a back-and-forth game.
The Minutewomen were able to build a small lead nearing the end of the quarter, but the Bobcats bench players continued their phenomenal game and closed the gap to only three points at the end of the quarter.
UMass started off the quarter very strong, turning its 3-point lead into eight points. After that lead was built, it stayed for the rest of the game. Ohio was unable to overcome its starting five’s struggles despite a very strong performance from the team’s bench, where it accounted for over half of Ohio’s points.
“We’ve had great depth all year and different kids playing well for us any given night,” Ohio head coach Bob Boldon said. “If there is a bright spot today, it’s our bench.”
Despite the loss, we saw a breakout game from bench player Bower, who, time after time, kept her team in the game. She ended up recording five 3s, 17 points, one rebound and two assists.
“My teammates drove the ball well, which left me open, and I just got into the flow,” Bower said. “It’s a mindset after you hit that first 3.”
The Bobcats drop to 12-7 after the loss today and try to end their two-game losing streak this weekend as they travel to Oxford, Ohio, to take on Miami (OH) in the Battle of the Bricks.
