Ohio (3-11, 1-3 Mid-American Conference) lost its second straight conference game to Kent State (10-3, 3-1 MAC) by a score of 79-64. Similar to its last loss against Western Michigan, Ohio held the lead at halftime but was unable to maintain its production in the second half, allowing a comeback victory for its opponent.
In the first quarter, senior Kennedi Watkins led Ohio in scoring with 6 points, a good chunk of what ended up being a game-high 21 points for the guard. With the performance, Watkins ranks fifth in the MAC in scoring average, with 16.4 points per game. Senior Kate Dennis was Ohio’s only other double-digit scorer, knocking down four-of-eight 3-point attempts for 12 points on the night.
For Kent State, it was a more all-around effort, with four players scoring over 15 points for the game. Senior Jenna Batsch, the MAC’s sixth-leading scorer, led the way with 19, followed by sophomore Mya Babbitt with 18, and then senior Bridget Dunn and freshman Journey Hildebrand with 15 apiece.
Although Watkins started hot, the rest of the team did not. From the 3-point line, Ohio shot just one-of-six from deep in the first quarter, a number that improved for the Bobcats in the second quarter.
The second frame saw a couple different players get hot, as Dennis, Watkins, sophomore Emma Barnett and freshman Gigi Bower all were able to put in a three as the team shot a much better five-of-eleven from 3-point range.
Ohio’s defense ramped up as well, holding Kent State to just 3-of-10 from 3-point range and forcing seven turnovers in the second. The combination of strong defense and hot shooting gave way for Ohio to take a close 36-34 lead into the break.
The Bobcats were not able to sustain the level of play they were at in the second quarter, and what ensued was a nightmare of a third quarter for Ohio.
The game completely flipped on both sides of the ball as Kent State was red hot shooting the ball in the third quarter, scoring 25 points on 69.2% from the floor. A whopping 21 of those points came from 3-point range as the Golden Flashes shot seven-of-nine from deep in the third quarter.
While Kent State got hot, Ohio went ice cold in the third quarter, shooting just 25% from the floor and 22.2% from three in the third period for 12 points total.
That third quarter was enough for Kent State to completely flip the script of the game, turning its 2-point halftime deficit into an 11-point lead entering the fourth quarter, a lead that was insurmountable if Ohio continued to shoot poorly from the floor.
Unfortunately for the Bobcats, they couldn’t drastically turn around their shooting woes in the fourth quarter, going 5-of-14 from the floor and one-of-six from deep. Despite Kent State cooling off from three, shooting three-of-eight from 3-point range, the disastrous third quarter from Ohio was too much to overcome as Kent State left Athens with a victory.
Ohio will look to bounce back from the loss Wednesday with a home matchup against Bowling Green. Later in the week, the Bobcats will head to Toledo to take on the Rockets Saturday.
