2023–24 Ohio Bobcats women's basketball team

2023–24 Ohio Bobcats women's basketball
2023–24 Ohio Bobcats women's basketball
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	11–19 (8–10 MAC)
Head coach	Bob Boldon (11th season);
Assistant coaches	Tavares Jackson; Steph Haas; Chelsea Welch;
Home arena	Convocation Center
	Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

The 2023–24 Ohio Bobcats women's basketball team represented Ohio University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bobcats, led by eleventh-year head coach Bob Boldon, played their home games at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio as a member of the Mid-American Conference.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] They finished the regular season 11–18, 8–10 in MAC play, to finish tied for 6th place. They lost to Ball State in the first round of the MAC tournament.^[5]

2023–24 Mid-American Conference women's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Toledo	17	–	1	.944	28	–	6	.824
Ball State	16	–	2	.889	28	–	6	.824
Kent State †	13	–	5	.722	21	–	12	.636
Buffalo	10	–	8	.556	19	–	14	.576
Bowling Green	10	–	8	.556	16	–	15	.516
Northern Illinois	8	–	10	.444	15	–	16	.484
Ohio	8	–	10	.444	11	–	19	.367
Western Michigan	7	–	11	.389	12	–	18	.400
Miami (OH)	6	–	12	.333	9	–	20	.310
Akron	6	–	12	.333	11	–	18	.379
Central Michigan	4	–	14	.222	6	–	22	.214
Eastern Michigan	3	–	15	.167	7	–	22	.241

† 2024 MAC tournament winner

Previous season

They finished 6–23 and 4–14 in the MAC play to finish tied for eleventh in the MAC. They failed to qualify for the MAC tournament.^[6]

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Reason
Caitlyn Kroll	5	G	5'10"	RS-Senior	Bridgeport, OH	Graduated, exhausted eligibility
Abby Garnett	20	F	6'1"	RS-Junior	Golden, CO	Graduated
Alexandra Antonova	35	F	6'2"	RS-Junior	Moscow, Russia	Graduated
Jasmine Hale	23	G	5'9"	RS-Junior	Cincinnati, OH	Graduated
Ella Pope	4	F	5'11"	RS-Sophomore	Orem, UT	Left team for personal reasons
Kendall Hale	22	G	5'11"	Sophomore	Cincinnati, OH	Left team for personal reasons
Yaya Felder	2	G	5'11"	Sophomore	Hartford, CT	Transferred to Baylor^[7]

^[8]^[9]

Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Reason
Kennedi Watkins	5	G	5'10"	Junior	Ballwin, MO	Transferred from Southeast Missouri State. Will have two years of eligibility remaining.^[10]
Bengisu Alper	33	G	5'11"	Senior	Istanbul, Turkey	Transferred from Northwestern State. Will have one year of eligibility remaining.^[11]

2023 recruiting class

Recruiting class
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	High school	Hometown
Aylasia Fantroy	2	G	5'11"	Palestine	Palestine, TX
Monica Williams	12	G	5'9"	Lawrence North	Indianapolis, IN
Bailey Tabeling	21	G	5'10"	Trinity Lutheran	Seymour, IN
Asiah Baxter	22	G	5'11"	Warren Central	Indianapolis, IN
Emma Barnett	34	F	6'1"	Mercy Academy	Mount Washington, KY

Preseason

Prior to the season Ohio was picked ninth in the MAC preseason poll.^[12] No Bobcats were named to the preseason All-MAC team.

Preseason rankings

MAC preseason poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Toledo	121 (11)
2	Ball State	110 (1)
3	Kent State	102
4	Bowling Green	77
5	Northern Illinois	99
6	Akron	69
7	Eastern Michigan	66
8	Buffalo	50
9	Ohio	40
10	Western Michigan	38
11	Central Michigan	24
12	Miami	23

MAC tournament champion: Toledo (10), Ball State (2)

Source^[12]

Roster

^[13]

2023–24 Ohio Bobcats women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	11	Peyton Guice	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	Sr	Westerville South	Westerville, OH
G	3	Madi Mace	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	RS Jr	Parkersburg	Parkersburg, WV
G	14	Kate Dennis	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Jr	Guilford	Rockford, IL
G	10	Kailah Johnson	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	Sr	Notre Dame Academy	Holland, OH
G	0	Jaya McClure	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	So	Christian Academy	Louisville, KY
F	24	Aja Austin	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Jr		Westerville, OH
F	41	Cassidy Lafler	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	So	Dublin Coffman	Dublin, OH
G	2	Aylasia Fantroy	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	Fr	Palestine	Palestine, TX
G	12	Monica Williams	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	Fr	Lawrence North	Indianapolis, IN
G	21	Bailey Tabeling	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	Fr	Trinity Lutheran	Seymour, IN
G	22	Asiah Baxter	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	Fr	Warren Central	Indianapolis, IN
F	34	Emma Barnett	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Fr	Mercy Academy	Mount Washington, KY
G	5	Kennedi Watkins	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Jr	Marquette	Ballwin, MO
G	33	Bengisu Alper	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	Sr	Doga Anataolian	Istanbul, Turkey

Head coach

Bob Boldon (Walsh)

Assistant coach(es)

Tavares Jackson (Minnesota)
Steph Haas (Florida Gulf Coast)
Chelsea Welch (Wright State)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 2, 2023

Support staff

**2023–24 Ohio Bobcats support staff**
Ebony Pegues – Director of Basketball Operations Kaylee Gregory Bambule – Video Coordinator Tyler Johnson – Graduate Assistant Ben Gilkey – Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Becca Gaddy – Director of Athletics Communications (Volleyball, Women's Basketball, Cross Country/Track & Field, Baseball) Morgan Hall – Staff Athletic Trainer Jessica Arquette – Ohio Athletics Sports Dietitian Kaitlyn Michener – Nutritionist Hannah Rastatter – Nutritionist

Source:^[8]

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2023* 7:00 p.m.		Marietta	W 92–62	–	17 – Williams	11 – Fantroy	3 – Fantroy	Convocation Center (804) Athens, OH
Non-conference regular season
November 11, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Appalachian State MAC-SBC Challenge	L 64–71	0–1	10 – Alper	7 – Mace	3 – Tied	Holmes Center (575) Boone, NC
November 16, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Dayton	W 67–61	1–1	18 – McClure	5 – Tied	4 – McClure	Convocation Center (704) Athens, OH
November 22, 2023* TBA, ESPN+		at Morehead State	L 60–89	1–2	11 – Lafler	6 – Fantroy	3 – Fantroy	Ellis Johnson Arena (621) Morehead, KY
November 26, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		IUPUI	W 75–71	2–2	21 – McClure	6 – Tied	5 – Tied	Convocation Center (490) Athens, OH
November 29, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Longwood	L 72–75	2–3	16 – Watkins	5 – Tied	5 – Mace	Convocation Center (618) Athens, OH
December 5, 2023* 7:00 p.m., BTN+		at No. 12 Ohio State	L 45–85	2–4	9 – McClure	6 – Alper	3 – McClure	Value City Arena (4,950) Columbus, OH
December 9, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		Syracuse	L 62–82	2–5	23 – Tabeling	6 – McClure	9 – McClure	Convocation Center Athens, OH
December 17, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		Indiana State	W 65–62	3–5	21 – McClure	11 – Fantroy	4 – Williams	Convocation Center (355) Athens, OH
December 21, 2023* 1:00 p.m., YouTube		at Butler	L 49–69	3–6	13 – McClure	6 – Watkins	3 – McClure	Hinkle Fieldhouse (1,038) Indianapolis, IN
December 30, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Bellarmine	L 66–70	3–7	21 – McClure	6 – Tied	6 – McClure	Freedom Hall (572) Louisville, KY
MAC regular season
January 3, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Akron	W 67–58	4–7 (1–0)	17 – Tied	6 – Tied	3 – Williams	Convocation Center (308) Athens, OH
January 6, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Kent State	L 63–92	4–8 (1–1)	16 – Mace	5 – Watkins	4 – Williams	MAC Center (820) Kent, OH
January 10, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Northern Illinois	L 62–67	4–9 (1–2)	12 – Watkins	7 – Alper	4 – Guice	Convocation Center (577) Athens, OH
January 13, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Toledo	L 50–63	4–10 (1–3)	21 – Watkins	6 – Alper	2 – Tied	Savage Arena (4,116) Toledo, OH
January 17, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Western Michigan	L 55–73	4–11 (1–4)	18 – Watkins	6 – Fantroy	– Williams	University Arena (699) Kalamazoo, MI
January 20, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		Eastern Michigan	W 72–62	5–11 (2–4)	14 – Tied	8 – Williams	7 – Mace	Convocation Center Athens, OH
January 24, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Central Michigan	W 68–58	6–11 (3–4)	14 – Williams	4 – Watkins	4 – Tied	McGuirk Arena (1,094) Mount Pleasant, MI
January 27, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		Miami (OH)	W 71–55	7–11 (4–4)	18 – Tebeling	7 – Tabeling	4 – Williams	Convocation Center (741) Athens, OH
January 31, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Buffalo	L 63–81	7–12 (4–5)	13 – Tied	7 – Tied	4 – Williams	Convocation Center (1,154) Athens, OH
February 3, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Ball State	L 66–97	7–13 (4–6)	19 – Fantroy	7 – Fantroy	3 – Tied	Worthen Arena (1,556) Muncie, IN
February 7, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Bowling Green	L 52–69	7–14 (4–7)	22 – Tabeling	4 – Tied	3 – Tabeling	Stroh Center (2,151) Bowling Green, OH
February 10, 2024* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		Texas State MAC-SBC Challenge	L 71–80	7–15	24 – Fantroy	6 – Tied	4 – McClure	Convocation Center (619) Athens, OH
February 17, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		Ball State	L 60–75	7–16 (4–8)	21 – Watkins	6 – Guice	3 – Tabeling	Convocation Center (880) Athens, OH
February 21, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Kent State	W 79–77	8–16 (5–8)	26 – McClure	7 – McClure	4 – Williams	Convocation Center (567) Athens, OH
February 24, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Buffalo	L 54–67	8–17 (5–9)	13 – McClure	7 – Fantroy	3 – Tied	Alumni Arena (1866) Amherst, NY
February 28, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Western Michigan	W 67–64	9–17 (6–9)	14 – Fantroy	6 – Williams	8 – McClure	Convocation Center (680) Athens, OH
March 2, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		Central Michigan	W 77–63	10–17 (7–9)	19 – McClure	7 – McClure	5 – McClure	Convocation Center (755) Athens, OH
March 6, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Akron	W 72–63	11–17 (8–9)	24 – Watkins	6 – Alper	3 – McClure	James A. Rhodes Arena (321) Akron, OH
March 9, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Miami (OH)	L 64–68	11–18 (8–10)	14 – Watkins	6 – Watkins	3 – Tied	Millett Hall (649) Oxford, OH
MAC tournament
March 13, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	(7)	vs. (2) Ball State Quarterfinals	L 53–77	11–19	18 – Fantroy	5 – Williams	1 – Tied	Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Source^[14]^[15]

Awards and honors

All-MAC Awards

Postseason All-MAC teams
Team	Player	Position	Year
All-MAC Honorable Mention	Jaya McClure	G	So.
All-MAC Honorable Mention	Kennedi Watkins	G	Jr.
All-MAC Freshman Team	Bailey Tabeling	G	Fr.

Source^[16]

References

^ "Convocation Center". Ohio University. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
^ "Bob Boldon". Ohio University Athletics. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
^ Arkley, Jason (March 28, 2013). "Boldon named Bobcats' new coach". Athens Messenger. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
^ "MAC Women's College Basketball Standings - 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
^ "Ball State 77, Ohio 53". ESPN. 2024-03-13. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
^ "MAC Basketball Standings - 2022-23". ESPN. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
^ "WBB Brings in Ohio Transfer Yaya Felder". BVM Sports. April 17, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "2023-24 Women's Basketball Roster". Ohio Athletics. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
^ "2022-23 Women's Basketball Roster". Ohio Athletics. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
^ "Ohio Women's Basketball Adds SEMO Transfer Kennedi Watkins to Roster". Ohio University Athletics. April 19, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
^ "Bengisu Alper". Ohio University Athletics. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "MAC Announces 2023-24 Women's Basketball Preseason Poll & Teams". MAC Conference. 2023-11-02. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
^ "2022-23 Women's Basketball Roster". ohiobobcats.com. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
^ "2023-24 Women's Basketball Schedule". Ohio University Athletics. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
^ "Ohio Bobcats Schedule 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
^ "MAC Announces 2023-24 MAC Men's Basketball All-MAC Teams, Specialty Award Winners". getsomemaction.com. March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2024.

[1] "Convocation Center". Ohio University. Retrieved 2022-09-29.

[2] "Bob Boldon". Ohio University Athletics. Retrieved 2023-07-17.

[3] Arkley, Jason (March 28, 2013). "Boldon named Bobcats' new coach". Athens Messenger. Retrieved May 31, 2022.

[4] "MAC Women's College Basketball Standings - 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved 2023-07-17.

[5] "Ball State 77, Ohio 53". ESPN. 2024-03-13. Retrieved 2024-03-13.

[6] "MAC Basketball Standings - 2022-23". ESPN. Retrieved March 5, 2023.

[7] "WBB Brings in Ohio Transfer Yaya Felder". BVM Sports. April 17, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.

[roster-8] "2023-24 Women's Basketball Roster". Ohio Athletics. Retrieved July 17, 2023.

[9] "2022-23 Women's Basketball Roster". Ohio Athletics. Retrieved July 17, 2023.

[Transfer-10] "Ohio Women's Basketball Adds SEMO Transfer Kennedi Watkins to Roster". Ohio University Athletics. April 19, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.

[11] "Bengisu Alper". Ohio University Athletics. Retrieved October 2, 2023.

[poll-12] "MAC Announces 2023-24 Women's Basketball Preseason Poll & Teams". MAC Conference. 2023-11-02. Retrieved 2023-11-02.

[13] "2022-23 Women's Basketball Roster". ohiobobcats.com. Retrieved March 22, 2024.

[14] "2023-24 Women's Basketball Schedule". Ohio University Athletics. Retrieved March 22, 2024.

[15] "Ohio Bobcats Schedule 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved March 22, 2024.

[16] "MAC Announces 2023-24 MAC Men's Basketball All-MAC Teams, Specialty Award Winners". getsomemaction.com. March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2024.

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