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Ohio Women’s Basketball Drops Contest To James Madison


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The Bobcats’ late-game rally fell just short as Ohio women’s basketball fell to the James Madison Dukes, 69-62.

With 1:10 left in the game, Lexie Baldwin hit a layup to bring the Ohio Bobcats within one point at 63-62. The Dukes answered right back with a layup of their own.

Ohio missed a 3-point attempt that would have tied the game at 65. The Bobcats then fouled James Madison, who made the there last four free throws to put the game out of reach. The Bobcats fell to 6-2 on the year and suffered their second straight loss.

At the first media timeout, Ohio had a slim 9-7 lead. From the start, James Madison dominated the glass outrebounding Ohio. The Dukes also forced Ohio into many charges in the first half. Angela Mickens drew five on her own.

James Madison went on a 7-0 run that spanned 3:30, and ended with 3:40 left in the first half. During that stretch, the Dukes were in control and took Ohio out of the flow of the game. Ohio trailed James Madison 32-24 going into half.

The Dukes came out firing to begin the second, taking an 11-point lead with 15:50 to go in the game. James Madison then increased the lead to 15 — its largest lead of the game. Ohio began to claw its way back with an 8-0 run that lasted for five minutes. During the run, Ohio cut the lead to nine with 7:20 to play.

A Mariah Byard 3-pointer cut the deficit to seven, but James Madison answered right back with a layup to put the Dukes up 58-49. Ohio continued to chip away, cutting the lead to five at 60-55 with 3:35 left. James Madison once again came right back down and finished off an and-one layup to give the Dukes a 63-58 lead with 2:53. An Ohio field goal cut the deficit to three at 63-60.

Quiera Lampkins and Kiyanna Black both had 17 points, which led the Bobcats in scoring. Lexi Baldwin had the third highest on the team with only nine, and no other Bobcat had more than six. Ohio shot 39 percent from the field but only 26 percent from behind the arc. The Bobcats only had eight assists and turned the ball over 14 times.

Ohio played very well defensively, forcing 18 turnovers and holding James Madison to 33 percent shooting and 30 percent from 3-point land. Ohio had six steals and four blocks on the night.

The difference in the game came at the free throw line. Ohio shot only 14 free throws, making 10 of them, shooting 71 percent from the line. James Madison shot 81 percent on 26 attempts.

Ohio travels to Atlanta for a holiday tournament. The Bobcats first game is on Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. against La Salle.