Ohio (4-18, 2-9 Mid-American Conference) took part in the MAC-SBC Challenge when it traveled to take on Southern Mississippi (9-15, 4-8 Sun Belt) in the final non-conference game of the season for both teams.
The Golden Eagles came out strong, scoring the first 6 points and not surrendering a basket to the Bobcats for nearly the first 4 minutes of play in this matchup. The name of the game in the first quarter was defense, with neither team allowing over 15 points in the period.
The Bobcats were led in the first quarter by sophomore Bailey Tabeling, who put up 7 of their 13 points in the period and helped cut the lead to heading into the second, down 15-13.
The second quarter felt like it could have gone either way for the first 8 minutes of play. Neither team was able to pull away as the score came to a standstill. Unfortunately for Ohio, it got off guard by some nifty shooting and pivotal free-throws that helped Southern Miss close the quarter on a 7-2 run, taking a 32-25 lead into the half with a last-second 3-pointer.
The halftime break did not bode well for the Bobcats. The Golden Eagles came out of the break on a tear. The lead they took into the locker room began to grow.
Southern Mississippi scored at all three levels and disoriented an Ohio defense that had done well at contesting shots in the first half.
The Golden Eagle’s spark of points was part of an 11-2 run to start the half, one that felt hard to stop. Southern Mississippi shot 57% from the field and 43% from beyond the arc in the third quarter.
Ohio faced a huge deficit after only scoring 9 points in the third quarter to the 20 from Southern Miss, finding itself down 52-34 going into the fourth quarter.
Ohio allowed only two field goals in the game’s final quarter, which added promise to a potential comeback. However, an 18-point deficit was just too cumbersome to overcome.
The Golden Eagles led 55-44 with 5 minutes to play and sealed the game with a 3-pointer at just under the 4-minute mark to put the game away.
Ohio would struggle from the field throughout the contest and fell too far behind to mount a comeback. The team still saw success on some levels throughout the afternoon.
Senior Anyssa Jones led the way with 14 points and five rebounds, followed by Tabeling with 10 points and five boards of her own. The team did well on the defensive end throughout the entire afternoon in the turnover department. It forced 21 turnovers and scored 15 points off of them, which is something to build on when they return home to Athens next weekend and take on Buffalo for the second time this year.
