Western Michigan University forward Ebony Cleary goes for a lay up during the Lady Broncos’ 46-50 loss to University at Buffalo Saturday. Cleary scored seven points and collected 14 rebounds for the night. Jo Wei Looi/Western Herald
By Mitch Barnett
Western Herald
On Wednesday, the Western Michigan University (6-16, 1-8 Mid-American Conference) women’s basketball team defeated the Ohio University Bobcats (6-16, 2-6 MAC) in a 51-47 decision for their first win of 2010.
WMU came out strong by forcing turnovers and blocking shots. Junior Ebony Cleary started things out for the Broncos scoring their first two points within the first 60 seconds of play.
It took Ohio nearly four minutes to get on the board after a short pull-up jumper from Tina Fisher. Fisher’s shot was echoed by a quick two points from the Broncos’ Miami Giden.
The ball was traded back and forth between teams to keep the board even, until the 12:57 mark when Bobcat Jenny Poff sunk a shot from beyond the three-point range to put Ohio in the lead by two.
“We were going a little bit too fast in the first half,” said Cleary. “We know what we can do and we know what we are made of, and once we were able to play together as a unit, nobody can stop us.”
Early in the half during a timeout, Bronco head coach Tasha McDowell was very animated about the poor defense the Brown and Gold were playing. It must have hit home with Western Michigan because for the rest of the half, the Lady Broncos held the Bobcats to only 9-for-33 from the field.
Ohio would continue to hold onto an eight point lead in the first half until the four minute mark when the Broncos scored seven straight from the field to come within one, 17-18.
However, the Green and White would put the dagger on the run when Thia Gholson hit a two-pointer to regain a three-point lead. At half time, the Bobcats led 22-19.
“In the first half, everyone wanted to make a big play,” said McDowell. “During halftime, I really told them to slow down, and when your winning toward the end of the game when you haven’t won in a while, I had to really try to keep them calm.”
The Broncos came out strong in the second half as sophomore Miame Giden started things out for the Broncos scoring their first four points, sparking a 9-2 run. With 11:38 left in the game, the Bobcats rallied back to tie it at 32.
After that, it was lead change after lead change up until the 6:21 mark. Cleary drove the ball down the lane and put one in for two. She was also fouled on the play and made the plus one from the free throw line, giving the Broncos an edge, 42-39. Cleary’s play would spark a 7-2 run by the Brown and Gold, giving them a five point lead with little over three minutes left.
“I just went really slow in my head to the basket,” said Cleary. “I counted in my head one, two, and put it in the basket.”
Ohio pulled within four but Miame Giden nailed a three-pointer to put the final nail in the Bobcat coffin as she ran back on defense with her arm still up in the air.
Freshman DeAirra Goss also had a stellar night defensively, holding Ohio’s second leading scorer, Jennifer Bushby, to only 2-for-14 from the field.
“I was told that she [Bushby] was really good,” said Goss. “I knew that if she scored 14 points she would have 1,000 for her career and my goal was to not let her reach that.”
The Broncos finished the game with their first win since Dec. 29.
“Were so used to feeling sad after losses,” said Giden. “Hopefully, this is the start of a big winning streak and it can be uphill from here.”
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