Ohio started off its season in the win column Sunday afternoon by defeating the University of North Carolina Wilmington 95-72 in The Convo, behind that win was a career-high 23 points from Gabby Burris.
The redshirt sophomore forward worked on improving her well-rounded game in the offseason, but came into Sunday’s season opener with zero expectations of setting a new personal record.
“I didn’t expect to see anything immediately,” Burris said. “Every game I go out and think ‘welp, just play your game, you know what to do. You have all the skills to do what you need to do.’”
The Bobcats — who last defeated the Seahawks 75-59 in 2015 — are now 5-1 under coach Bob Boldon in season openers. The win was dominant, but not all credit goes to Burris: Five bobcats were in double-figures for scoring.
“I thought we shared the ball well,” Boldon said. “I don’t remember us taking many bad shots.”
Boldon doesn’t remember many because there weren’t many.
Ohio started the first quarter 9-of-9 from the field before a Burris layup attempt rolled off the rim. It was one of only three shots the Bobcats missed in the first quarter. The Bobcats struggled early containing UNCW, but was able to close out the quarter with a 28-17 lead.
Ohio was able to find success on every spot on the floor. The Bobcats were 15-of-24 from the field, 12-of-13 at the free-throw line and 7-of-12 on 3-pointers after redshirt junior Katie Barker hit one to close out the half.
Junior guard Amani Burke and sophomore guard Cece Hooks anchored the defense and forced four turnovers in a row to start the second half. Part of the Bobcats success on the defensive end can be accredited to a new trick in Boldon’s coaching arsenal: Zone defense.
“We’ve always played just switching man to man,” Boldon said. “I think just looking back over the years it probably cost us a couple games.”
The Bobcats uncharacteristically ran zone in the second half and it forced UNCW’s Shrita Parker — who led all scorers with 25 points — into bad shots and costly turnovers.
If the zone becomes apart of Ohio’s arsenal, the Bobcats could become a better defensive team.
“We’ve never really truly played it (zone),” Doseck said. “I think we just want to have that as an option under our belts.”
With UNCW slowed, Ohio was able to dominate the rest of the game and everybody had a chance to pad their stats.
The win was exactly how the Bobcats wanted to start their season. The Bobcats have lost out on opportunities in the past thanks to one or two losses and Boldon wants to make sure every win counts.
“Two more games last year puts us in the NIT,” Boldon said. “Two more games the year before puts us in the NCAA tournament. So, those games are valuable.”
