Ohio (4-19, 2-10 Mid-American Conference) welcomed Buffalo (20-4, 9-3 MAC) into The Convo Saturday afternoon. For Ohio, the night resulted in simultaneously one of its best shooting nights of the season and its fifth consecutive loss, with a final score of 79-67. The game also represented breast cancer awareness in Ohio’s Pink Game.
“It helps you realize that you’re playing for something bigger than yourself and your teammates,” sophomore Bailey Tabeling said. “There are people out there that wish they could be in your position.”
Buffalo was first on the board, scoring down low with a strong attack and layup off the glass for two. Buffalo had a slim lead of 6-3 early, but both teams started well defensively, contesting shots and forcing mistakes to slow down the pace. Ohio would draw the game to an even 6-6 after sophomore Tabeling hit a deep 3-pointer.
“I thought it was slow because our transition defense was good,” Ohio coach Bob Boldon said.
The slow pace helped the Bobcats settle into the game, as they shot over 60 percent from the 3-point line in the period. The Bobcats combined for five 3-pointers in the first and were able to take a 20-17 lead in quarter number two.
“I guess it just kind of showed like with the shooting percentage today,” senior Kate Dennis said. “I felt like we had some pretty good offense, really moving, driving inside, kicking it out. I thought we had some good movement today. I think that it just showed that we were taking good shots and we were hitting.”
The second quarter began with both teams exchanging buckets. Senior Anyssa Jones hit a 3-pointer to retain Ohio’s lead at 25-22, then, the defense stepped up as senior Aliah McWhorter blocked a shot down low. A couple of possessions later, she stole the ball and converted a tough layup to make the score 27-27.
The Bulls grabbed a slim lead that grew no larger than 4 points during the period as the Bobcats continued to shoot the ball well from 3-point range. Buffalo closed the half on a 6-0 run and went into the locker room up 42-37. The Bobcats had 15 turnovers in the first half alone, ending the night with 31 total.
The second half began much faster, but both teams were playing a little looser, making mistakes and turning the ball over, resulting in only 3 points scored in the first two minutes. The scoring would pick up soon thereafter as Tabeling gave Ohio 5 straight points to make the deficit 49-44.
The fouls continued into the third quarter as the Bobcats were in the bonus before the halfway point of the period and would look to take advantage, but they would have to stop a small run by the Bulls before this one got away from them. The turnovers were also beginning to stack up against the Bobcats who looked overwhelmed by the Bulls’ pressure as they trailed 53-46.
Ohio started to convert on the bonus, cutting the lead to as small as 3 points at the free-throw line, but Buffalo struck back for a run of 9-0 to make the score 62-50.
The fourth quarter began slowly for both teams, but Buffalo began to pull away with the lead and were up 71-56 with just over four minutes to go as the game was getting away from Ohio. After shooting 58 percent in the first half, Ohio was not able to continue its hot shooting, falling short of a win.
