Ohio (3-14, 1-6 Mid-American Conference) fell to Buffalo (15-2, 5-2 MAC) Wednesday by a score of 72-55 in a high-contact and aggressive battle that ended with another loss for the Bobcats. Buffalo is currently ranked second in the MAC following the win while Ohio sits second-to-last just over Eastern Michigan.
Senior Kennedi Watkins scored her 1000th career point shortly into the first quarter. Watkins has been Ohio's most consistent producer in her second year under coach Bob Boldon. She would finish the game with a team-high 15 points on seven-of-10 shooting.
Ohio's downfall would be turnovers, as Buffalo forced eleven of Ohio's total 26 in the first quarter. The Bulls' offense started slow, allowing the Bobcats to stay within range of their opponent throughout, but eventually, the Bulls would pull away. Chellia Watson, the MAC's leading scorer, was a catalyst with her 12th 20-point game this season, highlighted by her five 3-pointers made.
The Bobcats got into the paint a decent amount in the first half, a positive change from early in the season when the team struggled to do so. Ohio made it difficult for Buffalo in the first half, not trailing behind too far until the last ten minutes, when Buffalo would balloon its lead to as much as 20 points.
Both teams came out of the break at a better pace. Watson helped the team keep a lead, making four of her 3-pointers in the second half, while the Bulls' defense would continue to force mistakes and bad shots from the Ohio offense.
Buffalo ran away with a large lead as its offense kept finding more ways to score possession to possession, which they struggled to control in the first half. Ohio worked hard to open up opportunities to trim the lead from deep but lacked accuracy on its 3-point shots to find any success. Buffalo has been successful in keeping its competition’s 3-point percentage below 30 percent. Keeping on trend, Ohio’s percentage amounted to 26 percent.
Buffalo coach Becky Burke, now in her third season, maintains an undefeated record against Ohio at 4-0. On the other hand, Boldon's record against Buffalo since joining the team in March of 2013 drops to 8-14 overall.
Ohio will look to rebound and break its losing streak against Eastern Michigan at home Sunday. This is the first half of a two-game homestand for the Bobcats, as they will face the MAC's top-seeded Cardinals next Wednesday.
