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Ohio Bobcats women's basketball

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Ohio Bobcats women's basketball
2024–25 Ohio Bobcats women's basketball team
UniversityOhio University
Head coachBob Boldon (12th season)
ConferenceMid-American Conference
LocationAthens, Ohio
ArenaConvocation Center
(capacity: 13,080)
NicknameBobcats
ColorsHunter green and white[1]
   
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away
Alternate jersey
Team colours
Alternate
NCAA tournament appearances
1986, 1995, 2015
Conference tournament champions
1986, 2015
Conference regular season champions
1986, 1995, 2015, 2016
Conference division season champions
2015, 2016, 2019, 2020

The Ohio Bobcats women's basketball team is an intercollegiate varsity sports program of Ohio University. The team is a member of the Mid-American Conference East Division competing in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Bobcats have played their home games in the Convocation Center since 1973.[2]

History

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Ohio University's women’s basketball program began its unofficial debut in 1965. It was created by the Women’s Sports and Recreation Department (WRA) chapter of Ohio University. The team, led by Bev Smith, competed for 8 years before they became a part of the Women’s Intercollegiate Athletics (WICA) organization. This marked the beginning of funding from athletics as opposed to education.[3]

Upon its official debut, the women’s basketball team played their first game in the 1973–74 season. The Bobcats have won three Mid-American Conference tournament titles in 1986, 1995, and 2015. They have been MAC regular season champions four times, most recently in the 2015–16 season. They have clinched a spot in the NCAA women's tournament three times, in which they have gone 0–3, most recently appearing in the 2014–15 season.[4]

The Bobcats' most notable season came in 1985–86. The team went 24–2 in the regular season, with a 16–2 record in the MAC. They won their first MAC season and tournament titles, as well as setting eight school records that are still held as of 2016. Their coach, 23-year-old Amy Prichard, became the first Ohio head coach to be awarded the honor of the MAC Coach of the Year.[4]

The Bobcats' current head coach is Bob Boldon. Boldon played college basketball at Walsh University from 1993–97. After debuting during the 2013–14 season, Boldon's team posted a record of 9–20. During his second season at Ohio University, he led the Bobcats to their first winning season since the 2007–08 season.[5] Boldon led the team to the MAC championship, clinching a spot in the 2015 NCAA tournament. The team lost in the first round to Arizona State, by a score of 74–55.[3] In the 2018-19 season the Bobcats won 30 games, being the first basketball team to do so between both Bobcat men's and women's programs.

Seasonal Results

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as of 12/22/2024

Postseason results

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NCAA tournament results

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The Bobcats have appeared in three NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 0-3.

Year Seed Round Opponent Result
1986 #9 First Round #8 Illinois L 69-68
1995 #14 First Round #3 Washington L 73-57
2015 #14 First Round #3 Arizona State L 74-55

Women's National Invitation Tournament results

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Ohio has been selected to participate in five Women's National Invitation Tournaments. Their combined record is 6-6.

Year Round Opponent Result
2016 Round 1 Marshall W 76–68
Round 2 Virginia Tech W 64-57
Round 3 Temple L 75-61
2017 Round 1 Penn State L 74-65
2019 Round 1 High Point W 81-74
Round 2 Middle Tennessee W 59-57
Round 3 Western Kentucky W 68-60
Quarterfinals Northwestern L 61-58
2021 Round 1 Clemson L 60-65
Consolation bracket Semi-Finals Fordham W 81-64
Consolation bracket Finals UMass L 71-95
2022 Round 1 South Dakota State L 87-57

Coaching staff

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Name Position Year Alma mater
Bob Boldon Head coach 2013 Walsh University Indiana University 1997, 2003
Tavares Jackson Assistant coach 2013 University of Minnesota Crookston 2000
Steph Haas Assistant coach 2018 Florida Gulf Coast University 2016
Chelsea Welch Assistant coach 2022 Wright State University 2018
Ebony Pegus Director of Basketball Operations 2021 Massachusetts

Bobcat basketball traditions

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Ohio is a tradition-rich school, and many of those traditions are associated with athletics events, especially basketball. Some Ohio traditions include:

  • Rufus the Bobcat – The school mascot, a fierce yet friendly looking Bobcat that always sports an Ohio jersey with a number "1" on the back.
  • Ohio Varsity Band – The pep band which performs at every basketball game.
  • "Stand Up and Cheer" – Ohio's fight song
  • "Alma Mater, Ohio" – Ohio's alma mater song

All-time records

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All-time coaching records

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Head coach Period W-L record Win pct. W-L record in the MAC Win pct. MAC Regular season championships
Nancy Schaub 1973–1977 33–29 .532 0-0 N/a
Kathy Martin 1977–1978 5–8 .385 0-0 N/a
Gwen Hoover 1978–1981 27–40 .403 0-0 N/a
Becky DeStefano 1981–1984 38–43 .469 27-19 .587 0
Amy Prichard 1984–1990 74–91 .448 42-58 .420 1
Marsha Reall 1990–1999 123–126 .494 84-82 .506 1
Lynn Bria 1999–2006 77–123 .385 43-68 .387 0
Sylvia Crawley 2006–2008 38–25 .603 19-13 .594 0
Semeka Randall 2008–2013 50–103 .327 22-58 .275 0
Bob Boldon 2013–present 198–148 .572 116-85 .577 2
TOTALS 1973–present 661–736 .473 351-383 .478 4

Source: Ohio Basketball Media Guide

As of 12/22/2024

Top five winning coaches

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Head coach Year Period W-L record W-L record in the MAC Win pct.
Bob Boldon 2013–present 198–148 .572 116-85 .577
Marsha Reall 1990–1999 123–126 .494 84-82 .506
Lynn Bria 1999–2006 77–123 .385 43-68 .387
Amy Prichard 1984–1990 74–91 .448 42-58 .420
Semeka Randall 2008–2013 50–103 .327 22-58 .275

All-time MAC records

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The Bobcats have won 2 Mid-American Conference tournament titles in 1986, and 2015 as well as 4 MAC regular-season titles in 1986, 1995, 2015, and 2016. At the end of the 2023–2024 MAC season, Ohio owns an all-time MAC record of 351–382 (.478) in 42 seasons of league competition. The following are the all members of the MAC past and present not counting the postseason play as of March 2024:

Opponent W-L record Win pct. Year WBB joined the MAC
Akron 43–17 .717 1992
Ball State 38–27 .585 1981
Bowling Green 28–51 .354 1981
Buffalo 20–26 .435 1998
Central Michigan 31–35 .470 1981
Eastern Michigan 36–24 .600 1981
Kent State 33–49 .402 1981
Miami 38–48 .442 1981
Northern Illinois 22–21 .512 1981–1986,1997
Toledo 21–41 .339 1981
Western Michigan 33–28 .541 1981
Marshall 11–5 .688 1997–2005
Total 351–382 .479

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References

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  1. ^ "Colors – Ohio University". Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  2. ^ "Convocation Center". Ohio University. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Quick Facts" (PDF). grfx.cstv.com. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Ohio Bobcats" (PDF). Ohio Bobcats. Ohio University. 2010. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  5. ^ "Bob Boldon Bio - OHIOBOBCATS.COM - Ohio Official Athletic Site". www.ohiobobcats.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  6. ^ "NCAA Archives". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
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