Sports
Ohio Women’s Baskteball wins just third MAC game of season over Northern Illinois
By: Joshua Jacob
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — The Ohio women’s basketball team (5-19, 3-10 MAC) had a big conference rematch against the Northern Illinois Huskies (12-13, 5-8 MAC). The Bobcats were able to sweep the Huskies with a tight 74-70 victory.
The last time these two teams met, the Bobcats won 71 to 55. This is because all of Ohio’s starters stepped up, with players like Bailey Tabling and Kennedy Watkins dropping 28 and 17, respectively.
Going into this game, they knew it would need to be all hands on deck. The positive is they had the confidence of a win under their belt.
Anyssa Jones spoke more on the mindset going into this game.
“It’s never easy beating a team twice, whatever level you play at, so we knew coming in they were going to play with a chip on their shoulder. They weren’t trying to lose to use twice.”
After a five-game losing streak, including a loss to the Bobcats, Northern Illinois has started turning things around and rising through the MAC ranks.
In the first quarter, Ohio started out early, with Kennedi Watkins scoring first. However, it didn’t take long for the Huskies to take the lead.
They did this by going unconscious from three. Lexi Carlsen, Chelby Koker, and Brooke Stonebraker combined to go five or five from behind the arc.
Ohio stayed strong by sticking to their game. They focused on getting the ball inside and getting easy shots.
Head Coach Bob Boldon spoke on how they were able to come back.
“We made a defensive adjustment, and that helped right that changed the way the way that they tried to attack us”
Watkins led the way, going 4-5 from in the paint and picking up nine points.
Watkins said the reason she was able to score so well was being aggressive.
“Just being aggressive, and NIU, they play man, and the matchup went in my favor today.”
Bailey Tabeling and Asiah Baxter hit threes, giving the Bobcats the space they needed to keep the game close. They ended the quarter down 23 to 21.
In the second quarter, Ohio came back by dominating the paint. They couldn’t miss ending the quarter by shooting 81% from inside the arc.
Watkins brought her scoring total up to 16, ending the half with Ohio up 45-39.
However, the Huskies battled back late in the third by being incredibly efficient. They shot 100% from three and 58% on the inside.
Leaving the third, Watkins had a huge go-ahead floater to send it to the fourth, all tied up 58-58.
In the fourth, it was a defensive master class. The main difference was how much the Huskies fouled.
The Huskies picked up eight fouls in the fourth, with the Bobcats only picking up three.
With all these extra chances at the charity stripe, the Bobcats made sure to capitalize, shooting 12 for 14.
The game ended with Ohio and Northern Illinois trading fouls until the Bobcats emerged victorious. Watkins ended with 23 points, six rebounds, two steals, and one block.
Boldon talked about the mentality moving into the next game.
“For us, it’s about trying to win the next basketball game, and I guess every once in a while, you look at the bigger picture, but it wouldn’t matter if we had 20 wins right now or five wins right now our job is to try to win on Saturday.”
The Bobcats will hit the road on Saturday, gearing up to take on the Akron Zips (9-17, 3-10 MAC) at Akron. The game will tip off at 1 p.m.
The Huskies will return home to defend home court against the Eastern Michigan Eagles (1-23, 0-13 MAC) on Saturday at 1 p.m.