Sports
Ohio Falls To MAC East Leader Bowling Green
< < Back toThe ‘Cats fell behind early and ended up trailing the entire game to the Bowling Green Falcons Sunday afternoon. The Falcons jumped out to an early 19-3 lead and never relinquished it, as they went on to win 63-39.
Ohio’s offense started cold and never established a rhythm. The ‘Cats were 5 of 26 from the field in the first half. They never heated up as they finished 11 of 49 from the floor, which is a tough 22.4% from the field. Ohio got caught in their habitual offensive stance where five players stood outside of the arc, looking for the most open 3-point shot they could muster.
Bowling Green shot out of the gate again with a quick start in the second half as well. They jumped out to a 25-point lead early in the second half and held that mark consistently for the rest of the game.
The Bobcats’ struggles showed as they finished 4 of 28 from behind the arc, a rough 14.3 percent. Yamonie Jenkins, who scored a career-high 12 points, knocked two of team’s threes down. However, Bowling Green had five players with at least nine-plus points, showing how well they shared the wealth.
The biggest surprise for the ‘Cats was the lack of production from their forwards, Lexie Baldwin and Destini Cooper, who combined for three points. They were also 0 for 10 from the field as all three points came from the charity stripe.
The Bobcats’ defense looked significantly better than it has in their recent games. Bowling Green also was forced to rely on their outside game for a majority of the game shooting just 6 of 21 from deep.
But the ‘Cats were significantly outrebounded by the Falcons, keeping any opportunity for a second chance bucket off the books. Jill Stein was a big part of that for the Falcons, with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Erica Donovan was also one point and one rebound away from a double-double of her own.
The loss to the Mid-American Conference East Division leaders is not something that the ‘Cats should be ashamed of. Ohio recently snapped its 10-game losing streak against Buffalo and is still competing for seeding in the MAC tournament. The loss drops the ‘Cats to 9-18 on the season and 4-12 in conference play.