Sports
Ohio Women’s Basketball: Boldon breaks school record; continues successful tenure at Ohio
By: Bryan Kurp
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OXFORD, Ohio — On Wednesday night, Bob Boldon earned his 124th win in his career at Ohio, becoming the winningest coach in program history.
“I think that’s a personal milestone for my staff,” Boldon said. “Tavares (Jackson), who’s been with me the whole time, Marwan (Miller), who’s gone and come back, Tia (Jameson), who’s been here as a (graduate assistant) and then as a (director of basketball operations), Steph (Haas), who’s new, and then Mary (Evans) and Kate (Bruce), who left but certainly helped win a bunch of games before they left to their own head (coach) jobs. It’s really a big family.”
The win came just hours after his grandfather was laid to rest.
“It’s been a tough couple of days,” Boldon said. “I think it was something that my family, my grandpa, specifically, but my family would be very proud of. They’ve been so supportive of me to get to this point.”
Before coming to Athens, Boldon rebuilt a Youngstown State team that had an 0-30 record in the 2009-10 season. The Penguins posted two double-digit win seasons in Boldon’s three seasons as coach, including a trip to the WNIT in the 2012-13 season, Boldon’s final season at Youngstown State.
The following season, Boldon was tasked with rebuilding another program – the Ohio Bobcats.
He inherited an Ohio team that went 6-23 the previous season. In his first season, the Bobcats went 9-20. His first career win came on Nov. 11, 2013 against Xavier. His first MAC win came on Jan. 9, 2014 against Miami.
In Boldon’s second year at Ohio, the Bobcats finished with a 27-5 record – which broke the school record for wins in a season. Ohio also was the MAC regular season and tournament champion, which earned the team a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995. Boldon was the MAC Coach of the Year in 2015.
The Bobcats finished the 2015-16 season with a 26-7 record and a trip to the third round in the WNIT. Ohio set the school record for points in a season with 2,375. At one point of the season, Ohio was on a 12-game winning streak, the second longest streak in team history.
Ohio also made the WNIT in the 2016-17 season with a 22-10 record, but lost in the first round.
After a tough 2017-18 campaign when the Bobcats finished with a 16-15 record, Boldon and the Bobcats opened this season on a 12-game winning streak. After being picked to finish third in the conference preseason rankings, the Bobcats have an opportunity to potentially claim another MAC regular season or tournament championship.
With a victory over Bowling Green Saturday and a Central Michigan loss at Toledo, the Bobcats can clinch a share of the regular season title.