After starting the season with a win against Cleveland State, Ohio has dropped three straight games, losing to Minnesota and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in its road trip to the Gopher State before falling to Duquesne Sunday.
Ohio will look to upend its losing streak bright and early Thursday, facing off with Massachusetts at 11:30 a.m. at The Convo.
The Bobcats’ past two losses have been the product of dull patches offensively, as Ohio allowed the Dukes to go on a 13-0 run late in the game and also went on a nine-minute scoring drought to lose a lead against UNLV.
After the Bobcats’ loss to the Rebels, Ohio coach Semeka Randall was noticeably frustrated that her team failed to follow through with on-the-road games.
“We just haven’t grown up in my tenure here and figured out how to win on the road,” Randall said.
Ohio’s record away from The Convo is 2-15 over the past two seasons, affirming Randall’s notion that the Bobcats have yet to learn to throw together many complete games away from Athens.
That being said, the Bobcats will be more comfortable when they welcome the Minutemen (1-5) to their home floor Thursday.
Randall said Ohio needs to work efficiently in the paint, thus limiting UMass’ attempts under the basket.
“UMass is turning the basketball over a ton, so we need to play to our strengths, which will start on the defensive end,” Randall said. “We need to control the inside presence, because they have an inside-out type of game, but more importantly we need to worry about what Ohio does, and not so much what UMass does.”
Randall also called out junior guard Shavon Robinson after the Bobcats’ loss to the Runnin’ Rebels, saying that she was playing “mind games” with them during the game.
Robinson responded in the Duquesne game by scoring 18 points, but Ohio still fell by seven points.
“I challenged her and she stepped up to the challenge,” Randall said. “She has to understand that the only person, at times, that is stopping Shavon is Shavon. During crunch time, that’s when we need her to step up the most.”
A large part of maintaining a lead involves mental strength and composure, and Robinson realizes that.
“(Mental strength) is really important because it’s going to be a long season,” said Robinson. “You’re going to have adversity thrown at you, so it’s really important to stay mentally focused.”
That motto will ring true against the Minutemen, as the Bobcats have made it a point of emphasis that they don’t want to fall further away from the .500 margin.
“This game is a must-win in our minds,” Robinson said. “There will be no excuses and we need to go out there and try to end this streak.”
UMass has yet to win a road game this season.
The Minutemen’s only win came against MAC foe Kent State in their season-opener.
The 11:30 a.m. start is the Bobcats’ only game that begins before noon this season.
jm296009@ohiou.edu
