Lady Broncos look to end losing streak at nine with match-up against Ohio University

By Mitch Barnett
Western Herald

The Western Michigan University women’s basketball team will be back in action at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night against the Ohio University Bobcats at University Arena.  This meeting will mark the 48th time these two teams will face-off, with the Bobcats leading the series by one, 24-23.

Last season, the Broncos defeated the Bobcats on the road in Athens, Ohio. The win marked one of three conference wins for the Broncos in the 2008-09 season. Western Michigan led 31-25 at the half and dominated the boards, out-rebounding Ohio, 18-11. Brenna Bankston finished with a game-high 21 points while Miame Giden had 11 points and five rebounds.

Ohio would eventually extract their revenge from WMU in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, ending the Brown and Gold’s run and season with a 68-57 win in the first round.  Ebony Cleary had a career-high 21 points and nine rebounds in the game to lead the Brown & Gold before fouling out with 3:46 remaining in the game.

As of late, the Broncos have been struggling.  Currently, they have dropped their last nine games this season and they haven’t won a MAC game since February 14, 2009.  They have also been struggling offensively, shooting a very low field goal percentage throughout the losing streak.

“You have to keep a strong mind and stay positive for your team,” said Cleary.  “We have to continue to keep our heads up and go hard like we always do.”

In preparation for Wednesday’s game, the Western Michigan has been working on defending the screen, a play Ohio likes to run, along with practicing taking better shots and executing offensively.

“We need to execute better offensively and knock down open shots,” said Bronco head coach Tasha McDowell.  “Defensively, we need to continue to limit the number of open shots our opponents are getting.”

WMU will look to end the losing streak at nine by playing strong defense and by running a fluent offense.  They will play their game in an effort to come away with a victory.

“We need to learn how to play a full game, not just a half or couple of minutes,” said Cleary. “And if we can do that, hopefully we can come away with a win.”