The Ohio women’s basketball team took its first loss of the season Saturday afternoon, falling 75-55 to unbeaten Georgia at the Convocation Center in Athens despite a season-high 18 points from senior Bailey Tabeling. The Bobcats (2-1) were tied 15-15 after the first quarter before Georgia (5-0) took control in the second and never gave the lead back, Ohio Athletics reported in its game release.
Tabeling finished 7-for-17 from the field and 4-for-8 from three-point range, adding a team-high three assists. Junior Gigi Bower joined her in double figures with 11 points, senior Antonicia Moultrie led Ohio on the glass with seven rebounds and senior Asiah Baxter added six. Freshman Kamie Ellis led the defense with a career-high six steals as Ohio forced 18 Georgia turnovers and turned them into 16 points, according to the Ohio Athletics release.
The game turned in the second quarter. After the 15-15 first, Georgia pushed ahead 27-18 midway through the second, and a nearly four-minute Ohio scoring drought let the Bulldogs build a cushion. A Baxter three-pointer and two Moultrie free throws cut the lead to 29-25 late in the half, but Ohio still trailed 35-27 at the break, the release said.
Ohio hung in through the third — back-to-back Bower three-pointers cut Georgia’s lead to 50-41 late in the period, and the Bobcats trailed 52-42 entering the fourth — but Georgia closed the door with a 23-13 final quarter built on 14 points in the paint. Georgia outrebounded Ohio 41-21 and held a 42-14 advantage in paint points, according to Georgia Athletics, whose recap had three Bulldogs in double figures, led by Howard’s 15 points.
For the game, Ohio shot 36.7% from the field, 34.5% from three and 75% from the free-throw line, with 21 rebounds, 13 assists, 10 steals and two blocks, Ohio Athletics reported. It was a measuring-stick afternoon for a Bobcats team that had opened 2-0: competitive for a quarter against an undefeated Southeastern Conference opponent, then beaten where size matters most — on the boards and in the lane.
What happens next comes quickly. Ohio goes back on the road Wednesday, November 18, at Howard, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+, before returning home later this month. Georgia, meanwhile, heads to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech on Wednesday, still unbeaten at 5-0.