Sports
Bobcats Overcome Poor Shooting Performance To Defeat Detroit 60-57
< < Back to bobcats-overcome-poor-shooting-performance-defeat-detroit-60-57After two blowout victories to begin the season, the Ohio women’s basketball team struggled throughout the game, but still found a way to defeat the Detroit Titans by a score of 60-57.
“I am very excited,” stated Quiera Lampkins after the game. The victory marks the first time since 2006 that the Bobcats are 3-0 to begin the season.
Head coach Bob Bolden was a little less excited about the win, however. “We as a staff have to better prepare our team.”
Ohio was lights out on defense, holding Detroit to 33 percent shooting from the field. The Bobcats forced Detroit into turning the ball over a total of sixteen times which included nine steals and four blocks. The Titans love to shoot the three ball, but Ohio did a great job defending it, holding Detroit to just 23 percent shooting from downtown.
Ohio’s offense struggled all night only shooting, also shooting 33 percent from the field. Quiera Lampkins lead the way tonight scoring 19 points on 8-14 shooting and grabbing ten rebounds for her second double-double of the season.
“[Quiera] hit some threes, but [she] also got some open threes due to the ball movement,” Bolden said. “[Lampkins] worked relentlessly on her shot.”
Tonight it really showed, as Lampkins connected on three of her five attempts from deep. Kiyanna Black put up another solid performance with 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
The first half was a bit difficult for Ohio, as the team shot a mere 24 percent from the field. Luckily, the teams’ defense was dominant tonight, keeping the Bobcats in the game.
Detroit came out firing, throwing up a bunch of three point attempts, and converting on two early threes. Coach Bolden went to the bench early in the game, using eight different players in the first eight minutes of play.
Ohio’s first three-point make came ten minutes into the game by Kat Yelle. The Bobcats first lead of the game at 19-17 came with 7:50 left in the first half. The referees called a tight game, with both teams in foul trouble after the first half. Detroit took a 27-25 lead into the locker rooms, and Ohio looked to make the pivotal half-time adjustments.
Whatever Coach Bolden’s adjustments were, they worked. Detroit started out making the first two baskets of the second half, but then the Bobcats turned it on. Ohio went on an 8-0 run to take a 33-31 lead. Detroit called a quick timeout, but Ohio continued to dominate the game, going on a dominant 21-5 run to take a 48-36 lead. Led by the hot shooting of Lampkins, the Bobcats looked to pull away.
However, Detroit began to chip away at Ohio’s lead. With 3:55 left, Ohio looked to be in control, leading 54-46. Detroit just wouldn’t go away, the Titans led by outstanding shooting of Rosanna Reynolds cut the Bobcats lead to just three points with a chance to tie the game up. However, Reynolds threw up a desperation three point attempt as time expired, the ball hit the backboard and bounced to the ground. The Bobcats pulled out the hard fought victory, 60-57.
The last three minutes were due to “sloppy play” according to Coach Bolden. The Bobcats shot just 8-17 from the free throw line in the second half, missing many key free throws down the stretch.
Ohio also allowed for Detroit to make a few open threes to make the game close. “We don’t have anybody who ever started a game two and zero, and that is probably a learning process,” stated coach.
The Bobcats look to continue their hot start on Tuesday as they travel to Northern Kentucky for a 7 p.m. tipoff.