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Women's Basketball: Anyssa Jones shines in loss to Ball State

Ohio (4-15, 2-7 Mid-American Conference) celebrated National Women in Sports Day with a matchup against a formidable Ball State (17-4, 9-0 MAC) team Wednesday night in The Convo. While the Bobcats didn’t come out with the result they were hoping for, losing 83-61, senior Anyssa Jones broke out with a career-high 25 points.

Jones has found success at every level, but that has not come without trials and tribulations along the way. Jones finds herself in the final year of her college journey and it has been a long journey on the way to Ohio.

Jones played her first two seasons with Ohio State before transferring to Dayton for her next two seasons. Luckily for her, she received a fifth year of eligibility and decided to finish her career out in Athens. It may have taken some time, but Jones has finally found a home at Ohio.

The year started with Jones sidelined with an injury, taking her out of action for November and December after playing in the first few matchups of the year. This setback did not derail her from making an impact for the Bobcats when she returned to the floor to play Akron on New Year’s Day with 3 points, two steals, two rebounds and an assist.

That was just the beginning for Jones in MAC play. She has scored in double figures in three of the last four games for the Bobcats and has started to take advantage of a bigger role in the offense. This was the jump she was hoping to take early in the season before the season, but she had to take this time to regroup and build chemistry with her teammates.

“Tough for her, trying to come in,” Ohio coach Bob Boldon said. “She has one year of eligibility left, and she’s trying to learn on the fly. To miss most of December, and to come back, and just starting to get into some of it again. So, I’m very optimistic about what February and March will look like.”

Boldon’s optimism sprung from the results of Jones’ performance against Ball State when she had a career-high 25 points to go along with nine rebounds in a standout performance. She was physical inside the paint and had tenacity on defense that helped her pick up play and start stuffing the stat sheet.

“One thing I am aware of is my strength getting to the rim, and I know this was going to be a physical team,” Jones said. “I know they shoot really well from the three-point line. So, I knew the only way I was gonna be able to score was being able to be physical and not shying away from contact.”

This was the kind of talent Jones felt she could bring to the floor in Athens and could help the team win games even if it took some time through a season of ups and downs, she found her way to lead Ohio against Ball State.

“I haven’t been having the season that I was hoping for my last year, so I think this game, because they were top of our conference, my only mentality was just leaving everything I have on the court and just playing hard for the team,” Jones said.

The companionship that this team has grown together has had an impact on Jones because she needed the backing of her teammates to keep her head up and move forward this year, but it has all paid dividends for her as she has stepped up and been able to back those same players.

Boldon is excited to see what the rest of the season has in store for Jones and Ohio as she steps into the role of a primary leader and contributor for the team.


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