Sports
Ohio Women’s Basketball loses battle inside as UMass gets 85-76 win
By: Marc Goldstein
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — It felt as if everything had to go just perfectly for Ohio (12-7, 6-3 MAC) to overcome some of its physical challenges in order to defeat UMass (15-4, 7-2 MAC). The first quarter looked like a good omen for it as a hot shooting start and an ability to overcome a dominant inside game gave Ohio high hopes of emerging. However, those hopes would come crashing down in the second half as UMass picked up a 85-76 win.
Ohio, unlike in its previous games, got its offense going early in the game. Bella Ranallo got a three just seconds into the game. However, Megan Olbrys would get an easy layup inside off an offensive rebound. The put-back layup by Olbrys would become a theme as the dominant inside game for UMass was almost comical.
Regardless, Ohio and UMass, tied at 10 apiece, needed something to separate the teams. Ohio would get that in the form of a 10-0 run. A dynamic duo off the bench would lead the way in propelling Ohio in front. First, ReRe Jennings got a pair of layups on back-to-back possessions. In her return to the lineup after an absence in the previous game, Gigi Bower made an instant impact to the game. She made two threes in the midst of the run for Ohio. Over the course of the game, Bower made five triples and scored 17 points.
The Minutewomen would, however, recover from the burst by the Bobcats by settling down defensively and getting back to its inside game. After the first ten minutes of play, the score was still 21-16 in favor of the Bobcats. However, the stark differences in play were on full display. While the Bobcats took 12 threes, the Minutewomen took just one, an air-balled corner triple by Jess Ross that was rebounded by Olbrys for a put-back layup.
Ohio would start the second with a three by Monica Williams before Olbrys would get to her spot for yet another layup. Ayanna Franks would capitalize on a turnover by Ohio for a layup. Slowly, UMass would dig in and go to work in the paint and draw itself closer. Lilly Ferguson would tie the score at 25 with the first and only three of the first half for UMass. The rest of the half would see both teams start to trade points as Bower would splash home another triple despite the persistent scoring from the paint for UMass.
Ohio would go into the break up 38-35 and held advantages in a number of categories, including 25 bench points compared to the four for UMass. Additionally, the height imbalance between the teams did not create a large disparity in rebounds in the first half as UMass collected 18 compared to the 16 for Ohio. Still, a lot of the rebounds for UMass came on the offensive glass.
The second half would start disastrously for Ohio. After making two free throws, UMass buckled down on defense and continued to get whatever it wanted down low. Yahmani Mckayle took a pass from Ferguson on a steal and got the bucket before Chinenye Odenigbo got one of her own for a 41-40 lead for UMass. Mckayle would get another fast break layup for UMass as Ohio could not stop the bleeding. UMass started to employ a harsh full-court press that flummoxed Ohio and forced a number of turnovers that frustrated Ohio head coach Bob Boldon.
“I would have liked to see us passing it to ourselves and get better spacing,” said Boldon. “I think we put ourselves in some pretty silly spots and we just didn’t seem quite aggressive enough against it. We were holding the ball too long. People were out of their spots and we just didn’t handle the press very well at all.”
Eventually, Bower knocked down yet another trey to tie the score at 45. The lead went back to Ohio on a well-executed inbounds pass from Williams to Antonicia Moultrie. After another bucket by Olbrys in the paint, Williams returned the lead to Ohio, albeit that was short lived. Mckayle knocked down a triple, only to be answered by Williams canceling out that make. UMass would not have many empty possessions in the third, putting immense pressure on Ohio’s offense.
The UMass lead would be 61-54 heading into the final seconds of the third. Bower hit a three as Ohio would benefit from an away-from-the-ball foul on UMass to make it 61-58 after three quarters.
As the fourth quarter got underway, the dam finally broke for the Bobcats. Simply put, there was nothing that the Bobcats could do besides foul or give up a close shot. Olbrys would go to the line six times during the final stanza. Mckayle would also score 10 of her 25 total points in the fourth. The efforts of the two marquee players for the Minutewomen would allow them to expand the lead and make it harder for a Bobcat comeback.
By the time Mckayle hit another three to make it 80-68 with 3:24 left, the nail was in the coffin and the game was all but over. The fact that Ohio could not stop UMass from doing anything in the paint limited its ability to make a comeback. The final buzzer sounded with the score at 85-76 in favor of UMass, but it felt like far more based on the fourth quarter.
The duo of Mckayle and Olbrys combined for 49 points and dominated the second half. The pick-and-roll worked perfectly for the two and resulted in a number of mismatches. No matter who Ohio sent at the two bigs for UMass, Olbrys and Odenigbo, there were no answers at all.
“It comes down to playing smart,” said Aliah McWhorter. “We know the teams are taller than us. We have to get in position first or we have to be ready to dig in and get the ball when they bring it down. We have to outwork them when they have that height advantage. Those are the things (we aren’t doing) that come back to bite us.”
Ohio will have to learn from the game it just played and improve when faced with a larger opponent. Although Boldon is certain to not put the cart before the horse, playing in the MAC Tournament against a team with size like UMass could spell doom for Ohio. There are two months between now and the postseason, but Ohio will continue to be faced with teams that are physically bigger and it must adapt in order to reach its full potential.
“This time of the year, all we’re trying to do is get better,” said Boldon. “The plus side of losses is that it exposes what we do poorly and we can try to get better. The problem was that we did the same things poorly tonight that we did (on Sunday)… As we finish out January and head into February, we still have a lot of basketball to play. We clearly are not a finished product – at least I hope we’re not. I hope we are able to get better over our next four or five weeks of the regular season.”