Central Michigan entered the Mid-American Conference Tournament as a dark horse, but the Chippewas barely trotted past Ohio Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Chippewas walked away with a narrow 58-55 victory thanks to a 21-10 run to end their second-round MAC Tournament game. Ohio’s final field goal came with five minutes left in the game.
The Bobcats’ shooting hand went cold from there on out, as they missed their last eight attempts from the field.
Ohio’s last shot at the basket was not anything like what they had practiced throughout the week. After sophomore guard Shavon Robinson pulled down a stray rebound with 15 seconds remaining in the game, Ohio (14-18) brought the ball up the court quickly, opting not to call a timeout.
The Chippewas (18-14) clamped down on defense and kept each of Ohio’s perimeter players within an arm’s reach, limiting a clean look to the basket.
Freshman guard Mariah Byard, who connected on three of her previous seven 3-point attempts, was forced to thrust a shot up toward the backboard after picking up her dribble while the game’s waning seconds ticked off the clock.
“We had some things that didn’t swing our way, but across the board everybody played hard and stuck to the game plan,” said senior guard Tenishia Benson, who wrapped up her college career with the loss. “Of course there’s some things we’d probably change and I wish we had more time, but other than that, I feel that everybody left it all on the floor.”
The first half ended on an opposite note, as Benson took a dish from junior forward Tina Fisher and knocked down a mid-range jumper with one second left on the clock. The bucket tied the game at 31, but it also lifted Ohio’s spirits heading into the locker room.
Ohio trailed at halftime in 14 games this season, but only once did the team go on to win. Wednesday’s contest marked the first time all season that the Bobcats and their opponents were tied at the break.
“I thought it was a good confidence booster,” Benson said. “I didn’t particularly know what the score was, but when I looked up, seeing that I made the shot, I was really excited to see that it was tied.”
As the team headed into the locker room, the message was simple. Ohio coach Semeka Randall wanted her team to stick to basics and to execute through the final buzzer.
“The message was really to leave everything on the line,” Benson said. “Just to leave it all out there on the floor and not worry about tomorrow or anything like that.”
The Ohio shooters had an adequate day from the floor, but their opponents knocked down three more shots on three fewer opportunities en route to shooting 41 percent. The Bobcats were unable to control the Chippewas’ three-pronged offensive attack of Jas’Mine Bracey, Jessica Green and Crystal Bradford, which accounted for all but 15 of the team’s points.
“We finally had our shooters being able to step up and knock some critical shots down,” Randall said. “I thought we handled the ball well without turning it over. Now we need to just put everything together and play as a unit.”
jr992810@ohiou.edu
