In the waning seconds of Wednesday’s game against Bowling Green, senior guard Tenishia Benson drove the lane, finished the shot and got fouled. It secured an important victory for Ohio, but what happened next was a blur.
“That was one of the moments I couldn’t take you back through,” Benson said. “I probably won’t remember it tomorrow. To be honest, I won’t.”
Ohio (13-15, 6-8 Mid-American Conference) took on conference leader Bowling Green (22-5, 12-2 MAC) and scrapped its way to a 60-56 victory. It was the Bobcat’s first home victory against the Falcons in a decade.
The Bobcats had slim leads going into each of the first two media timeouts of the game. Ohio’s defense was pesky and frustrated the Falcon offense.
But Bowling Green’s shooters eventually found their groove from the perimeter and shot 57 percent in the first half.
The 3-point shooting opened up the inside game for the Falcons’ forwards to make some nifty moves in the lane.
For more than six minutes in the first half, Ohio was held scoreless, but sophomore guard Shavon Robinson and Benson brought the offense to life and closed Bowling Green’s lead to 32-27 at the half. The two Bobcats combined for 41 of Ohio’s 60 points.
Ohio entered the game winless this season when trailing at halftime, but that changed Wednesday night. Ohio coach Semeka Randall attributed the strong finish to a mindset of not giving up in the second half.
“Keep our mindset that we talked about, we cannot crumble,” Randall said. “We have got to stay together as a unit. You saw it in their eyes: They were refusing to lose.”
Bowling Green opted for the inside presence in the second half. Alexis Rogers controlled the low block and finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds.
Randall called on Tina Fisher, her tallest player on the floor, to defend Rogers.
“I thought, down the stretch, she stepped up and was physical with her. You are not going to stop a player like that. You have to make every shot they take tough.”
Rogers might have led all scorers, but Ohio’s balance won out.
“It was really hard for them to guard those two players,” Randall said. “When they can play like that, gosh, this team could be really special.”
nr225008@ohiou.edu
