Sports
Women’s basketball: Final efforts not enough, Seahawks beat Ohio by five
< < Back toNot just one, but two streaks ended today and for Ohio; it was a streak they did not want to end. UNC-Wilmington came to town for an early afternoon match-up and ended their road losing streak and Ohio’s three game winning streak with a 56-51 win.
“Coming into this game, I knew this game would be a bit challenging for us," head coach Semeka Randall said. “But I thought it would be a great test for our basketball club.”
Ohio was ready for the challenge to start the first half. The ‘Cats came out strong and led 12-2 early on. But UNC-Wilmington chipped away at Ohio’s lead and eventually took one of its own. The Seahawks went into the half leading 27-26.
UNC-W kept their energy up after halftime, and pushed ahead to take their biggest lead of the afternoon, 46-33. But Ohio didn’t throw in the towel. A three-pointer by Erin Bailes made it 48-40. Bailes led Ohio in scoring with 12 points, and was four of nine from behind the arc. The ‘Cats kept fighting and brought the game within one possession after two free throws from freshman Mariah Byard. Byard had seven points for the afternoon. Both Kat Yelle and Tina Fisher put up eight points for the ‘Cats.
Ohio had the ball, down three points with 11.5 seconds to go, but Bailes missed the three-pointer and Ohio was forced to foul, putting UNC-W at the line with the bonus. Tawanna Lee struck twice from the line and the Bobcats’ efforts were not enough giving the Seahawks their second win of the season. Alisha Andrews had a game-high 14 points and six assists and Karneshia Garnett had a game-high 15 rebounds for the Seahawks.
“Erin [Bailes] got a great look at it and she hung her head and I told her in the locker room, there’s not point to hang your head,” Randall said. “I was really proud of how they played.”
Ohio hits the road this weekend, with games against Duquesne (PA) on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Cleveland State on Monday at 7 p.m.
All Ohio women's basketball games can be heard on WOUB-AM 1340 or online at WOUB.org/listen.
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