Ohio women fall short to Miami in conference championship
By Corey Ryan
March 17, 2008
CLEVELAND — It was a nice run for the Ohio women’s basketball team, winning three games including dethroning Bowling Green en route to their first Mid-American Conference tournament final since 1986.
But the Redhawks flew past Ohio in Saturday afternoon’s tournament final, winning 67-58.
March brought seven games in 15 days for the Bobcats (20-13, 10-6 MAC), including three road games in five days to end the regular season. But head coach Sylvia Crawley credited that stretch for the semifinal, double-overtime win Friday afternoon over top-seeded Bowling Green 68-66 in double overtime.
“I wouldn’t say fatigue was an issue,” said Crawley after Saturday’s final (38-25 in two seasons at Ohio). “Yes, we played a lot of games in the past two weeks, but I think that played in our favor.”
After being held scoreless against Bowling Green, Ohio’s leading scorer, Lauren Kohn, started the tournament final hot, scoring 10 of the first 20 Bobcat points. But she froze in the second half and failed to score, leaving Ohio to rely on Jenny Poff, as they did on Friday.
Poff, a sophomore guard playing with the urgency of a departing senior, sparkled during key possessions, helping the Bobcats to claw their way back late in the game.
With 1:49 to play, Poff knocked down a three-pointer to cut the lead to seven after forcing a turnover in the Bobcat half court. But on the next possession, Poff couldn’t regain that Midas touch, missing from the right wing. A string of Miami free throws sealed the championship for the Redhawks down the stretch.
“I think besides today there wasn’t anything I would change (about the season),” said Kohn, a member of the All-MAC first team. “I am very proud of our team. I hope that going out this way will set an example and leave a mark on the underclassmen to pave the way for future teams.”
Similar to Friday’s semifinal game, Ohio slumped midway through the final. After Ward tied the game at 41, forcing a Miami timeout just before the under 12-minute media stoppage, the Redhawks went on an 11-0 run.
Miami senior Amanda Jackson, the conference’s leading scorer during the regular season and the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, bombarded the Bobcats during the slump. She finished with 19 points on 7-for-18 shooting.
“There are no excuses from our team,” Crawley said. “Miami played a great game.”
Crawley said she thought rebounding and points in the paint were the keys to the loss. While Ohio out-rebounded Bowling Green Friday 60-47, they lost the battle on the boards 44-36 against Miami.
“After we beat (Bowling Green), it was such a high for us,” said junior forward Lauren Hmiel, one of three Bobcats to reach double figures with 12 points. “We beat the best team in the MAC, but we were focused on Miami. We were just a second behind things.”
Hmiel joined Poff on the all-tournament team. Hmiel averaged 12.75 points per game in the tournament to go along with eight rebounds. Poff averaged 11.75 points, 5.25 rebounds and 4.5 assists.
Postseason possibilities
As for more postseason play for the Bobcats, a first NCAA tournament bid since 1995 seems to be a stretch, with Miami getting the automatic bid and Bowling Green hopeful of an at-large. The Women’s NIT tournament takes 48 teams, but another scenario is the newly formed Women’s National Invitational Championship.
“I definitely want to get into some postseason play,” Crawley said. “We have to stretch our players past 30 games. I’m trying to rebuild a program so postseason play is a necessity.”
The WNIC takes 32 teams not selected for the NCAA or the WNIT. The NCAA selects on Monday, and Crawley expects to hear about postseason play by Tuesday.
Crawley said she has seen a mentality change from players, noting an increase in confidence and goals. When Miami celebrated on the court, cutting down the nets and crowding around the trophy, Crawley sent out some of her underclassmen.
“I had our underclassmen go out and watch a little bit of the ceremony, not as a punishment (but) because I wanted them to see what it is like to win the championship,” Crawley said, “to see the hats and the celebration.”
At the University of North Carolina, Crawley captained UNC to a National Championship, and was named the Final Four MVP by the coaches. Feeding the Bobcats a taste of a championship could be just the beginning.
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