Ohio (1-2 overall, 0-0 Mid-American Conference) walked into The Convo Saturday, still seeking its first win of the season. It was going to be a tough task for an Ohio team missing both Jaya McClure and Kennedi Watkins, but a lockdown defense got the job done against George Washington (2-2 overall, 0-0 Atlantic-10).
After allowing 82 points to Georgia Southern and Bellarmine in its first two games, Ohio knew that in order to win games, the defense would have to improve, and it was evident that Ohio was determined to slow down a George Washington offense that was averaging 77 points per game entering Saturday.
“Going into the game we knew that they were going to drive a lot, and we prepared all week,” Ohio guard Kate Dennis said. “We had a really tough week of practice, and we knew we wanted to bump up that defensive intensity.”
Dennis and the rest of the Ohio players and coaches absolutely nailed the game plan on George Washington, shutting down the drives from the Revolutionaries and forcing 19 turnovers.
The majority of the turnovers came from steals earned by the quick hands of the Ohio defenders stripping the ball loose on drives. Guards Monica Williams and Bailey Tabeling each had three steals and were all over the court defensively.
Saturday’s game was the first of the season in which Ohio won the turnover battle, resulting in a 52-40 win.
It was clear that an intense week of practice after some rough losses to open the season sparked a fire that the Bobcats used on the defensive side of the ball.
“We probably had our toughest week of practice this week, and I thought they responded well from it,” Ohio head coach Bob Boldon said. “I was most proud of the way that they stuck together through this week's practice and came out the other side and performed the way that they did.”
In addition to forcing a good amount of George Washington turnovers, Ohio was able to play shutdown defense without fouling, contesting shots with good defense that resulted in some bad shooting numbers for George Washington.
That tough defense not letting up easy shots was one of the main reasons for George Washington shooting the ball as badly as it did. The Revolutionaries shot just 27% from the field and an abhorrent 7.7% from three, going just 2-26 from behind the arc.
Even when George Washington got to the free throw line it wasn’t able to shoot at an efficient clip, going just 4-14 from the foul line.
In Ohio’s last game against Bellarmine, the team put up only 50 points and lost by over 30 points. In Saturday’s game against George Washington, the team only put up two more points but still won by double digits, a testament to the tough and scrappy defense played by the Bobcats.
