Bobcats ready to turn things around

by Jenny Hugenberg
Assistant Sports Editor

The road to success can be long and hard.

No one knows this better than the Ohio women's basketball team. After earning a Mid-American Conference title in 1995, the Bobcats have had their ups and downs.

Since then, Ohio has made it as far as the MAC Tournament semifinals in 1998 when it lost to Kent State, but has not reached the finals.

Ohio's luck and record came to an all-time low when the Bobcats went 4-24 in the 1998-99 season. The team recovered in the two seasons following, finishing 9-11 in 1999-2000 and 9-20 last season, but the Bobcats are looking to increase their fervor this season.

"We've really been trying to pick up our defensive intensity," wing Candace Bates said. "We want to cause teams to shoot poorly from the field."

This increased intensity could help the Bobcats against opponents such as Kent State, MAC champion for the past four years. Kent State has long given Ohio trouble on the floor. The Golden Flashes stomped the Bobcats in 1998 and in the MAC quarterfinals last season.

Along with Kent State comes Miami, a long-time Ohio rival. The RedHawks ended the Bobcats' 1998-99 season, and Ohio lost to them twice last season.

To help prepare for these opponents, the Bobcats play exhibition games against the Ohio Girls Basketball Magazine Legends and Premier Sports.

"We are going to be challenged from the beginning," forward Lori Moorman said. "The exhibition teams will be tough because they have players from the WNBA. They will help us get ready for the rest of our tough schedule that includes Ohio State."

The exhibition games also will be the first time Ohio's six freshmen play with the returning players from last year, so they will show how far the new team members have come from when practice began mid-October.

"The exhibition games will be a huge help to us," wing Andrea Johnson said. "It will tell us where we are and the areas we need to work on."

Although many teams have trouble adjusting to new players, Ohio is not having problems with the freshmen it added to its roster, Bates said.

"The freshmen came in and worked with us over the summer and at our camps, so we got a head start in working together as a team," she said.

Returning veterans also will help the Bobcats' cause. Wing Cathy Szall stands in second place on the school's all-time three pointers list with 104. Moorman started all 29 games for Ohio last year and recorded the team's highest points-per-game average.

Forward Beckie Fischer also started all 29 games last season and had the team's third highest rebound total. As a freshman last year, point guard Andrea Gay recorded 4.2 points per game.

Off the bench, Bates averaged 3.1 rebounds per game for Ohio. Forward Latreece Bagley added 2.8 points per game and 17 steals.

Bates said the powerful combination of new and old players have gelled well together so far.

"We're really starting to come together," she said. "I think we will surprise a lot of people this year."

Ohio gets its first opportunity to showcase its new talent against the Ohio Girls Basketball Magazine Legends at 3 p.m. Sunday at The Convo.