Despite possessing a new coaching staff and significant number of new faces compared to last season’s squad, Ohio yet again has fallen flat in the home stretch of the season.
After having lost 11 consecutive games last year, the Bobcats’ current losing streak sits at 10 games. But Ohio will try to regain its early season form when it started Mid-American Conference play with three straight wins.
However, Buffalo stands as Ohio’s next obstacle on its road to recovery, as the Bobcats host the Bulls at The Convo on Thursday.
The teams met Feb. 6 in a game that was ugly to watch, as both teams had trouble scoring. Buffalo and Ohio combined to shoot a dismal 31 percent from the field, including just 14 percent from behind the arc, but the Bulls still finished victorious.
“At halftime, it was 20-18, and that was because of bad flow in the offense in the first half,” coach Bob Boldon said. “In the second half, it was just a very choppy game. I imagine for the people that showed up, it was a very difficult game to watch.”
The Bulls attempt to win on the defensive end of the floor, as they have held opponents to 36 percent shooting this season. Defensively, junior center Christa Baccas is averaging 2.6 blocks per game to pace the best blocking team in the MAC (4.7 per game).
Similar to Ohio, Buffalo’s defensive success has been a tale of two halves, as it limits its opponents to 29 points in the first half, while allowing on average 36.4 points in the second.
Both teams will be looking for a better shooting performance and an all-important win in conference play.
Sophomore guard Mackenzie Loesing leads Buffalo with 16.5 points per game, but despite posting an impressive points per game average, she shoots just 37 percent.
Loesing might have a duel on her hands with Ohio’s top-scorer, sophomore guard Kiyanna Black, who leads the Bobcats with 14.2 points per game, despite shooting 34 percent — similar to Loesing.
The majority of Buffalo’s points come from inside; they are the MAC’s worst three point shooting team at 26 percent. The Bulls will be looking to throw it in to junior forward Kristen Sharkey, who is the team’s second-leading scorer at 14 points per game. The Bobcats limited Sharkey to just seven points in their first meeting.
During Ohio’s loss to Akron on Saturday, the second half was stained by the constant whistle blows, which Boldon said led to inconsistent play.
“All year, it’s varied from game to game as to how closely those hand checks are being called,” he said. “In that game, they almost called no fouls in the first half, but in the second half, I don’t know how many they called, but it was a lot.”
@Kovarandrew
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If You Go:
Who: Buffalo (15-10, 8-6 MAC) at Ohio (8-17, 3-11 MAC)
When: 7 p.m., Thursday
Where: The Convo
Ohio has lost its last 10 games; the program’s record losing streak is 11 games.
