Wednesday night, Ohio (1-3) hosted No. 11 Ohio State (4-0) in the Battle for Ohio. The game was rough for the Bobcats as the Buckeyes applied strong pressure. Ultimately, Ohio lost 106-42.
Ohio State started shooting 6-of-6 and earned a trip to the free-throw line to start up 17-0. Ohio struggled to handle the ball, committing four early turnovers and Ohio State capitalized with 6 points off them.
The first Ohio basket was from a 3-pointer by sophomore Bailey Tabeling, which advanced the team to 1-of-8. The defense was lackluster and head coach Bob Boldon felt the team needed to commit more to the defensive gameplan going forward.
“The defensive effort this season just hasn’t been to a standard that will help us win games,” Boldon said. “It was OK the first game, and it was OK the second game, and now we’re four games in.”
The Bobcats cut the lead to 12 points at the free-throw line but that was not enough to stop the Buckeyes. Turnovers kept nipping at Ohio as it saw the lead re-extend to 16 points, 27-11. The quarter would end slowly with graduate student Aliah McWhorter who put in a free throw, her third of the quarter, to add 1 point for Ohio and take the game to the second quarter at 27-12.
The second quarter started slower with both teams missing the mark on their opening possession, but the Buckeyes went right back to work by being physical inside and using their size as an advantage. Ohio State led by 29 points with 6:10 left in the half and was swarming Ohio with its defensive pressure. The team had seven steals and forced 16 turnovers to be up 43-14.
Ohio tried to finish the quarter strong but was outmuscled and outsized by Ohio State, which ended on an 11-0 run and took a 40-point lead into the locker room, up 59-19. Ohio State won big on the hustle stats, grabbing nine offensive rebounds and forcing 26 turnovers.
“We gave up 27 and 30 something in the first and second quarter,” senior Kate Dennis said. “We were just giving up points off turnovers and playing too fast and just throwing it to the other team.”
The second half began and brought some life to the Bobcats' offense with the best-looking work up to that point. However, the Buckeyes would not be quieted as they shot well from the field and made few mistakes to keep piling the lead, crossing the 50-point threshold with 4:55 left in the third quarter, up 78-28*.
While the Bobcats tightened up defensively in the fourth quarter, not allowing a point in nearly the first three minutes of action, the Buckeyes had their eyes on the century mark as the game closed.
The Bobcats turned the ball over 32 times, giving 18 steals and 31 offensive rebounds to the Buckeyes. This, plus a 25.5% shooting performance, summed up the 64-point loss, at 106-42.
Ohio will be back in action Sunday night at Wright State and look to gather a win and get back on track as the season gets into full swing.
