Ohio needed more Windex in a contest between two scuffling Mid-American Conference basketball teams.
The Bobcats got dominated on the glass and were outrebounded 40-17 as the Northern Illinois Huskies secured a 73-52 win Wednesday.
“Clearly we need to get to the boards more,” junior guard Erin Bailes said. “We only had two offensive boards, we need to step that up, collectively.”
Northern Illinois (6-16, 1-8 MAC) mounted an early 7-2 lead with 14:24 left in the first half as junior forward Ashley Sneed recorded five points during the early Huskie run. Sophomore guard Mariah Byard checked into the game for Ohio (5-16, 0-9 MAC) and hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to just two.
The Huskies answered the Byard three-pointer with a 12-3 run until senior guard Symone Lyles knocked down a three to stop the run with 9:32 left in the first half.
Any chance of the Bobcats putting together a scoring run was squelched and it physically wore out the Bobcats.
“When they’re on runs … the energy is low,” Lyles said. “You feel the tiredness, as opposed to when we’re on a run, you don’t feel tired.”
The Huskies closed out the half with a 35-18 lead without the play of Satavia Taylor, their leading scorer, thanks to an 11-point performance from freshman guard Alexis Lindstrom.
The second half opened up the same way the first one had finished. Sneed blew by Ohio defenders with a crossover and made her way to the rim for an easy layup.
Bailes knocked down a deep three-pointer as part of a 9-2 Ohio scoring run, but NIU would answer yet again with a three from Corral and a layup from redshirt sophomore forward Jenna Thorpe. The Huskies led 44-27 with 15:42 left in the game.
At the 11:33 mark of the second half, Northern Illinois led Ohio 53-32 and the Bobcats couldn’t gain ground en route to the Huskie victory.
Ohio coach Semeka Randall did not make herself available to media after the game, but Lyles realized the opportunity to win a game on television on Saturday at Eastern Michigan.
“I know a couple of coaches from other schools will be watching,” Lyles said. “Hopefully we can show them who we really are.”
jm2960009@ohoiou.edu
