Ohio’s (11-5 Overall, 5-1 Mid-American Conference) strong defense that paved the way for its close win over Northern Illinois (3-14 Overall, 1-5 MAC) can only be described by one word: aggressive.
The Bobcats played in their sixth conference game of the season Saturday, taking on the Huskies while trying to defend The Convo. Despite the Huskies keeping the game close for a while and even taking the lead at times, the Bobcats had momentum throughout most of the game.
Ohio slowly started the game offensively, shooting 2 for 15 from the field in the first quarter. These early shooting problems gave the Huskies an easy path to taking a big lead, but the Bobcats' defense stepped up to make sure the game didn’t get out of hand. Ohio forced seven turnovers and recorded four steals in the first quarter alone.
Due to these efforts from the defense, the Bobcats only trailed Northern Illinois 11-9 at the end of the first quarter.
“I think defensively, we’re able to keep ourselves in it and give ourselves a chance,” Bob Bolden, Ohio’s head coach, said when asked about the importance of his first-quarter defense.
After an offensive adjustment from Ohio, both sides of the ball started harmonizing. The defense forced another seven turnovers, had three steals and a block. On top of all of that, they only allowed 11 points in the second frame.
“We all agreed to be more aggressive,” Danni Scully, sophomore forward, said when asked about the defense's game plan. “The past couple of games, we were struggling defensively, and that’s one of the things we pride ourselves on.”
Ohio’s aggression led it to a phenomenal second quarter, ending the first half up by eight, 31-22
The second half saw Ohio’s defense slow down as the Huskies tried to mount a comeback. The defense only forced two turnovers and one steal. It didn’t help that Northern Illinois was making every shot.
One of the few struggles for the defense this season is its inability to get defensive rebounds. The Bobcats have struggled with it all season; however, Dani Scully played with aggression on the boards to get much-needed defensive rebounds to help her defense. She recorded six defensive rebounds, which helped give her defense a lot of much-needed momentum. “Yesterday, Coach Bolden showed us film, and one thing I needed to work on was defensive rebounds,” Scully said. “So that was one thing I was really aggressive on.”
The Bobcats' defense closed out the final quarter well by forcing five turnovers to go along with three steals and a block.
The defense had a rough stretch to start the second half, but their ability to recover and close out the game strongly is what makes them so special. They ended the game with 11 steals, two blocks and forced 24 turnovers in the 66-62 win over Northern Illinois.
