The Bobcats entered Thursday’s game against Bowling Green having beaten the Falcons only once in their previous eight tries. They did nothing to improve that mark this time.
Ohio (8-9, 1-2 MAC) surrendered an eighth loss in nine games to the Falcons (13-3, 3-0 MAC) by a final score of 61-49.
Ohio coach Semeka Randall said her team needed to force Bowling Green forward Alexis Rogers to take contested shots.
The Bobcats struggled to contain the sophomore Rogers, who recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Falcon guard Chrissy Steffen was the player who caused problems for the Bobcats. She led all scorers with 18 points. Randall described her influence on the outcome of the game.
“She is their go-to player,” Randall said. “She stepped up and knocked 3s down. That’s what go-to players do.”
Freshman guard Mariah Byard and sophomore Erin Bailes hit 3s to give Ohio a brief lead at about the five-minute mark before Bowling Green seized the 28-25 lead going into intermission.
Ohio shot more than 40 percent in the first half to keep the game close despite 12 turnovers.
“Alesia (Howard’s) feet got happy and had a couple travels here and there, but overall, it wasn’t terrible,” Randall said. “That wasn’t a factor in the game, we were about even with them.”
Randall said other factors played a bigger role in the game. The Bobcats allowed 38 points in the paint and were out-rebounded by 10 largely because they played with four guards on the court at the same time.
In the second half, Bowling Green started fast and Ohio struggled to keep up. The Bobcats whittled the Falcons’ lead down to 46-42 with about nine minutes left in the game.
That’s when the scoring drought for Ohio began and lasted more than four minutes. The Falcons took advantage and used a 13-2 run to extend their lead.
The Bobcats return home to play their next game against rival Miami with some key players injured. Porsha Harris, who did not even make the trip to Thursday’s game, is still listed as day-to-day. Junior point guard Ashley Fowler is listed as day-to-day after trying to secure a rebound in Thursday’s game as well.
The RedHawks boast the conference’s leading scorer in Courtney Osborn.
“They are playing well, they score a lot of points, their go-to player is stepping up,” Randall said. “They’re healthy, and that’s what they’ve going for them right now.”
nr225008@ohiou.edu
