Whatever Ohio’s Tenishia Benson ate for breakfast Saturday morning should be added to the Bobcats’ training tables on a permanent basis.
But it wasn’t just what Benson ate that propelled Ohio to a 76-57 win against Ball State. Her 19-point, seven-rebound performance also came from the realization that her time as a collegiate basketball player is limited.
The victory was the Bobcats’ first at The Convo since Jan. 19. With only two more home contests remaining in her senior season, Benson was happy to put a “W” in the books.
“You’ve been playing since you were 5 years old, and then they can tell you to count the number of games you have left on one hand,” Benson said. “And that’s tough. That’s really, really tough.”
Ohio (11-14, 4-7 Mid-American Conference) played hard-nosed defense from start to finish, which led to open looks on the offensive end. The Bobcats knocked down 30 field goals — the most this season — and shot 60 percent from the field, which was the most efficient shooting performance of coach Semeka Randall’s tenure at Ohio.
“I believe that’s part of why we shot such a pretty good percentage from the offensive side,” Randall said about her team’s defense. “I believe our defense created some of our offense tonight.”
Ohio forced Ball State (8-16, 3-8 MAC) to turn the ball over 22 times, while they gave up only 18. Ohio scored almost 40 percent of its points as a result of Ball State turnovers.
Although Benson provided the team’s spark and she had the largest share of its points, Randall was most impressed with her team’s consistency, as four players reached double figures offensively.
Freshman guard Mariah Byard scored 12 points, junior guard Shavon Robinson had 11, and junior forward Porsha Harris chipped in with 10. Sophomore guard Erin Bailes and junior forward Tina Fisher had eight points apiece.
Ball State senior forward Suzanne Grossnickle led the Cardinals with 15 points.
“I’m ecstatic,” Randall said. “Finally we have some balanced scoring. You don’t hear much of me trying to finagle us a couple baskets here and there, they’re just playing basketball.”
jr992810@ohiou.edu
