Sports
Women’s Basketball: Ohio Loses 81-54 To Akron
< < Back toThe Ohio Lady Bobcats (5-8 overall, 0-1 MAC) dropped their first Mid-American Conference game Thursday, losing to Akron (10-4 overall, 1-0 MAC) 81-54 in The Convocation Center.
The Bobcats kept up with the Zips early in the game, leading 16-15 with 11:28 to play in the first half. But Akron opened up the floodgates by combining a 17-4 run with a 14-2 run to end the half up 46-22.
“The first eight minutes we were playing well, but then we started playing what I call ‘selfish basketball,’” Ohio head coach Semeka Randall said. “I was very disappointed in our lackluster effort out there on the floor.”
Ohio was playing without one of their leading scorers in Shavon Robinson, who was out with a sprained ankle. Coach Randall said she is still day-to-day heading into the next game on Sunday.
Without Robinson, freshman Kiyanna Black tried to pick up the scoring by taking 14 shots in the first half, making four, while the rest of the team took a combined 18 shots. Black finished with nine points on the night.
“(Black) has to understand what’s a good shot,” Randall said. “There were several times where she took it too deep and tried to go up against (a 6’2” player) and all she got back was the leather of the basketball.”
Akron’s three top scorers are ranked first, third and fourth in the MAC, and all three performed well in this one. Rachel Tecca had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Hanna Luburgh contributed 21 points and Sina King finished with 14 points.
Leading the way for Ohio was Erin Bailes with 10 points and Tina Fisher with nine points and nine rebounds.
It was a rough night for the Bobcats, who struggled shooting all game long. The team shot a season-low 43.8 percent from the foul line and 33 percent from the field.
Akron shot 49 percent from the field and 83 percent from the foul line.
“In the second half, we definitely tried to get back in the game, but with shots not falling, there’s not much you can do,” Ohio forward Tina Fisher said.
Ohio returns to action Sunday when they travel to Buffalo, which has been a tough place to play in the past for Ohio.
“It’s just one of those places that we have to grind it out,” Randall said. “My experiences up there we’ve always started the game out fairly well, and the second half we didn’t come out with that same energy, so that’s one of those tough, tough games.”
Ohio has lost their last three road trips to Buffalo. The tipoff is at 2 p.m. on Sunday.