Almost three weeks after Ohio collapsed in the second half and lost its 21-point lead, the Bobcats have an opportunity to redeem themselves for round two with Toledo.
The Bobcats hope a week full of practices will be enough to snap their seven-game losing streak against a team they lost to — the Rockets (64-62).
“This (break) has been great for us,” coach Bob Boldon said. “A lot of teams don’t necessarily like a week off in the middle of the season or late in the season, but it’s good to promote healing and rest for the kids who need rest.”
Boldon also said the practices have been a chance for the team to re-focus on its fundamentals, rather than just practice to prepare for the upcoming opponent. Saturday will be the first time Ohio will face an opponent it already faced this season.
“It’s a little bit different when you’re playing a team for the second time,” Boldon said. “You have film on what you did … and what they did to exploit your offensive and defensive schemes. So it’s good to have that. We’ve looked at it, made some adjustments and hopefully they work.”
The Bobcats jumped out to a 36-19 halftime lead, but a medley of Ohio’s poor shooting and Toledo getting hot forced the meltdown. In that contest, sophomore guard Kiyanna Black led all scorers with 18 points, but went 4 of 13 from behind the arc.
One thing to watch for is second-half scoring for the Rockets. Not only has Ohio struggled to close out games, but Toledo has also been a second-half scoring team.
Other than playing for just seconds last Sunday, junior guard Mariah Byard has been out of the Bobcats’ lineup since Jan. 9., but may play on Saturday after practicing with the team this week.
When healthy, Byard averaged 10.5 points per game, which is third-best for the Bobcats.
“We’re ready for revenge; we really want to beat them,” redshirt sophomore guard Kat Yelle said. “We just have to come in there focused with the right mindset that we can beat this team. As long as we play our hardest, it’ll turn out in favor of us.”
Up next:
Who: Ohio (8-14,3-8 MAC) vs. Toledo (11-11, 6-5 MAC)
When: 2 p.m. Saturday
Where: Savage Arena in Toledo
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