Sports
Ohio Edges Out East Carolina in Tight Game
By: Jordan Gallagher
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The Bobcats came away with the 64-61 victory in a back and forth matchup with the East Carolina Pirates Saturday.
After leading by 11 early in the game, the Bobcats saw their lead dwindle down to two in the 4th quarter. Kiyanna Black bailed the Bobcats out as she has so many times this season. She nailed a 3-pointer to help keep the Pirates at bay, but East Carolina managed to stay in the game cutting the Bobcats lead back down to three with five minutes remaining at 63-60. That was where the score stayed until I’Tiana Taylor hit a free throw for the Pirates to cut the lead to two with just 43 seconds left.
With 16 seconds left and the ball, East Carolina guard Jada Payne was unable to tie the game. It looked like the Bobcats should take home the victory from there, but they could not successfully inbound the ball, leaving it in Payne’s hands again. Payne failed to tie the game once again, as she missed two straight free throws.
While the Bobcats maintained the lead for the majority of the game, the Pirates hung tough and never trailed by more than 11. Black was the factor that separated Ohio and East Carolina, though. After having a great first half that saw her score 12 points, she made her biggest play with 6:51 remaining in the second quarter. With Ohio’s lead cut to just 25-23, Jasmine Weatherspoon rejected a Pirate attempt, which led to a highly contested mid-range jumper from Black. She then followed that up with an open 3-pointer to push Ohio’s lead back out to seven.
Just as the Bobcats got hot in the second quarter, it was East Carolina who took control in the third, holding the Bobcats scoreless for over seven minutes. In that time, the Pirates cut Ohio’s lead from 11 to 3 at 45-43. This time, Kelly Karlis stepped up for the Bobcats hitting a driving layup to bring the lead back to five and give the Bobcats their first basket in nearly eight minutes. Then Karlis hit a pair of free throws several possessions later to give Ohio the 51-46 lead at the end of the third.
Both teams were led by two key players in this game. For the Pirates, it was Taylor and Payne. The two combined for 36 points with 19 from Taylor and 17 for Payne. The two also played well on the boards with Taylor grabbing 17 rebounds while Payne grabbed nine. For the Bobcats, Black and Quiera Lampkins led the way for Ohio with 20 points and 16 points, respectively. Both also played well on the defensive end in the win.
After winning both games of the Seahawks Hampton Inn Christmas Invitational, the Bobcats now sit at 7-3 and have a 10-day break before starting a three-game home stand on December 29 against Middle Tennessee State.