OXFORD - The highlights were numerous - four players scoring in double figures, a pair of big performances off the bench and a career-high seven assists for Angel Hornsburger- but the effort did not materialize to a win for the Ohio women's basketball team Saturday, as Miami downed the Bobcats, 82-70.
Similar to Wednesday's loss on the road to Kent State, Ohio (7-11 overall, 1-6 Mid-American Conference) led for portions of the first half and was in striking distance at the break. The second half of both contests, however, saw the game slip through Ohio's paws down the stretch.
There were some positives out of this game
said Ohio coach Lynn Bria. I felt like we competed the whole game. I didn't feel it was like the Kent game where in the second half we lost focus played hard but didn't stay in the game.
After trailing by a bucket at halftime, Ohio saw the deficit slowly increase. With little more than 10 minutes left in the half, the Bobcats ended a 6:53 scoring drought, which brought the Miami (12-6, 6-1 MAC) lead to 15.
Ohio got as close as eight with less than three minutes to play, but the RedHawks pulled away and captured coach Maria Fantanarosa's 100th career victory.
I still think in the second half we played pretty good
Bria said. Our last game against Kent we didn't play well at all. I felt like we still kind of hung in during the second half.
Hanging close with good teams but not being able to turn the corner has led to frustration, forward Lindsay Wight said.
I think it's frustrating because we've never been in that spot before
and it's like we don't know what to do
Wight said. It's a new experience being able to play with these people
and I think we just need to get over that hump. We can play with them
but we can also beat them.
Despite the defeat, the Bobcats showed definitive signs of life in several areas, including four players in double digits - Wight with 13, Candace Bates with 15, Andrea Gay with 11 and Erin Isbell with 14 - for the first time this season.
We had four people in double digits; we had a good inside-outside game
Bria said. Lindsay Wight had a great game; finally she's back to her old self.
Wight, who showed in her freshman campaign that she had the potential to be one of the league's better offensive players, broke out for the first time in conference play this season.
It's good to have another wing step in like that
Bria said. She came in and made some big 3's for us
and we need that. It takes the pressure off Candace Bates
