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The Ohio Women's Basketball team huddling during their MAC Tournament loss against Miami.
The Ohio Women’s Basketball team huddling during their MAC Tournament loss against Miami. [Conor Mallonn | WOUB Public Media]

Ohio Women’s Basketball dominated in MAC Semifinals against Miami

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CLEVELAND (WOUB) – Anything that could’ve gone wrong, went wrong.
Six days after Ohio defeated the top-seeded Miami RedHawks in Athens by 15 points, the Bobcats got boat-raced in the MAC semifinals, falling to their archrival 80-52.
Ohio Women's Basketball head coach Bob Boldon on the sideline during Ohio's loss to Miami in the MAC Tournament.
Ohio Women’s Basketball head coach Bob Boldon on the sideline during Ohio’s loss to Miami in the MAC Tournament. [Conor Mallonn | WOUB Public Media]
Ohio kept pace early and looked like it could keep pace beyond the arc again. Monica Williams hit a three-pointer early on, and the Bobcats led 8-7. From that point on, Miami went pedal to the metal. The RedHawks instantly ripped off a 14-0 run effortlessly that came with a barrage of threes. Miami would go on to make 16 threes in the game as a team, tied for second most in a game in program history. The most in a game? The team’s first meeting against Ohio at Millett Hall this season.
No shots were able to fall for the Bobcats. They shot 46% from three as a team against Miami last Saturday, but shot an abysmal 4-29 in the semifinals. After a career-high 33 points on Wednesday, Bailey Tabeling went ice cold, as the RedHawks emphasized not letting her get any space from beyond the arc. She finished 0-6 from deep, only her third game this season without making a three-pointer.
The bottom line is that Miami had an outlier game the last time these two faced off. The RedHawks didn’t earn the top seed and rip through MAC play effortlessly by a stroke of luck. After clinching the top seed in the tournament last week, forward Amber Tretter pointed to not being ready for Ohio since the game didn’t have high stakes other than being a rivalry.
“I think that almost woke us up with that loss again,” Tretter said. “I think it helped our team lock in and really show that it’s going to be tough to win any game coming forward at this tournament.”
Ohio Women's Basketball forward Elli Garnett subbing out during Ohio's MAC Tournament semifinal game against Miami.
Ohio Women’s Basketball forward Elli Garnett subbing out during Ohio’s MAC Tournament semifinal game against Miami. [Conor Mallonn | WOUB Public Media]
Despite an ugly way to go out, this caps off the most successful seasons in recent memory for Ohio. Head coach Bob Boldon and the Bobcats won a MAC Tournament game for the first time since 2021. The team was picked to finish 10th in the conference in the preseason poll, yet played for a spot in the conference championship game.
“This doesn’t take away from everything that this team has done up to this day,” Boldon said. “I’m proud of the way they did it, and I’m proud of the way they handled themselves throughout this game. As you can imagine, you wake up this morning, you think, golly, we might be playing in the conference finals tomorrow, and then to have this game happen. I thought our kids handled themselves with grace and class, and I couldn’t be more proud of the group that I coach.”
While Miami awaits the winner of Ball State and Toledo, Ohio will end its season at 18-13, but with only two players who appeared in the game on Friday graduating, there’s a chance to run this same group back with more experience and a taste of success in Cleveland.