As Ohio senior guard Tenishia Benson walked out of the pressroom after her team’s 51-45 win against Kent State Saturday, she politely turned down a stat sheet. She already knew the score printed out across the top, but beyond that there weren’t many stats for Ohio to be impressed about.
The Bobcats (12-15, 5-8 Mid-American Conference) were held to 24 percent shooting from the field, which their second-worst performance of the season.
It was their play on the opposite end of the court that earned the Bobcats a victory.
Tenacious press defense resulted in 32 Kent State turnovers including 16 Ohio takeaways.
“We mixed up our pressure and how we played them,” Ohio coach Semeka Randall said. “We extended it and it’s been good to us. Our players have really bought into that and it really created energy.”
The defensive tempo led to opportunities on the other end of the floor, where the Bobcats were able to penetrate the basket at times but settled for less-than-perfect looks more often than not.
Sophomore forward Shavon Robinson was Ohio’s most efficient and prolific offensive force, as she shot 30 percent and scored 16 points, both of which were team highs.
Benson had 11 points and nine rebounds, but shot an uncharacteristic 3-of-12 from the field.
“It was a good win for our team,” Randall said. “Shavon stepped up and aggressively attacked the basket and got to the free throw line, knocked some key free throws down for us. Tenishia didn’t have that game that she wanted to, but she stayed with it and attacked the basket too.”
Kent State (5-18, 4-9) was much more productive offensively. The Golden Flashes hit more than 37 percent of their shots and shot twice as well as Ohio in the second half.
But for the Bobcats, all’s well that ends well. The win gave Ohio sole possession of eighth place in the MAC, which would grant it a home game to begin the conference tournament in March.
The victory avenged a loss to the Golden Flashes earlier this season, in which Ohio surrendered a halftime lead en route to a three-point loss.
Randall said she is confident that her team is making strides toward its potential. The Bobcats’ season has been anything but consistent, but she believes that could be corrected with a little confidence.
“Have no fear, so no matter what happens or carries out in the game — like where you don’t get a call or you miss a shot — you just have to keep playing through it and keep believing in it,” Randall said.
She noted that she expects continual improvement leading up to the MAC tournament.
“It’s been a process for this team. This is a lot better record than it’s been the last two years and I think at times it’s hard for them (thinking) ‘Aw, we’re in the same place,’ but they’re actually doing extremely well as a basketball team.”
jr992810@ohiou.edu
