With one month left in the Mid-American Conference season, the Ohio women's basketball team is at .500 and is exceeding its preseason expectations.
For a team that was picked to finish fourth in the MAC East Division, its current status isn't bad. At 5-5 in the MAC, the Bobcats are in third place, nestled in between Kent State and Miami, and they're two games out of first in the division.
The relative success of the Bobcats has been somewhat surprising. For the better part of the season, the team has relied heavily on freshman point guard Quintana Ward to control the offense. Coach Lynn Bria has consistently said that even though Ward, who leads the team in turnovers, makes novice mistakes, she has led the team well and has enabled it to be a factor in games that it might not otherwise have been.
With the reemergence of recovered guard Angel Hornsburger, last year's freshman standout, Ward has been removed from the starting lineup, but still plays an active role.
I try to watch how many minutes I play (Hornsburger) at a time
Bria said of the veteran point guard who still hasn't completely rehabilitated her injured knee. Bria added that, to prevent Ward's progress from being stunted, she doesn't want to completely rescind Ward's leadership role.
Another freshman, Simone Redd, has proved to be a dominant force on the floor. A shooting guard, Redd does just that -she's the team's second leading scorer behind Kristian Kirkpatrick, and she's Ohio's best three-point shooter at 34 percent.
The real story of the Bobcats' season, though, is their elders. Kirkpatrick, a senior forward, has consistently played well and made important shots, including a game winner against Central Michigan. Senior forward Erin Isbell has been mean on the blocks this season, pulling down 7.6 rebounds per game. Isbell is also second in steals, with five fewer than Ward. Forward Andrea Johnson, rounding out the group of stellar seniors, has played a crucial role for the Bobcats as well. Johnson has been a quiet but effective member of the Ohio entourage, earning top-defender recognition from Bria.
The team's goal since the beginning of the conference season has been to win a MAC championship. An already turbulent season might make that seem improbable, but with eight games to play before the conference tournament, it's far from impossible. When the Bobcats were 3-1 and in sole possession of first place, they felt what it was like to stand at the top. But, as they've proved repeatedly this season, holding a lead is not their strong suit. 17
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Patrick Bourland
