After suffering its worst loss since 2004 against No. 4 Louisville on Thursday, Ohio concluded its three-game road trip through the Bluegrass State with a victory on Saturday.
Ohio (4-1) opened the contest with an early lead, and despite an Eastern Kentucky comeback, the Bobcats prevailed with a 60-52 win against the Colonels (3-2).
“It feels good to win,” coach Bob Boldon said. “We want to create a culture of kids who want to win. That’s our ultimate goal. Along with that, we want to try and get better. It’s a lot more fun to try and get better while you win than while you’re losing.”
Boldon, who is in the midst of his first year at the helm, has guided Ohio to its best start since the 2006-07 season, when the Bobcats posted a 5-0 start. Saturday’s win was also a shot at redemption after the Bobcats’ 90-33 loss two days earlier.
Sophomore guard Kiyanna Black stole the show for Ohio, knocking down four three-pointers on her way to a game-high 20 points.
Perhaps her biggest shot of the year came when the Bobcats were leading by just three points with 2:26 remaining on the clock.
Black received the ball on the left side of the arc and connected from downtown in front of her defender’s face to put the Bobcats ahead six points and stifle a 16-8 Colonel run.
“(Black) hit some real big shots for us down the stretch,” Boldon said. “Kiyanna’s a tough kid. She’s the first one in the gym working on her shot… that’s just what it takes. It takes a lot of work to be good. She’s put in that work, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Saturday was the second time this season the sophomore paced Ohio’s scoring efforts, after a career-high 35 points in the season opener against Xavier.
Though Black’s offensive performances led Ohio, multiple Bobcats posted career highs during the win.
Redshirt sophomore guard Kat Yelle ended the contest with 11 points and four assists, which were both career-highs.
Although junior guard Mariah Byard finished with just nine points, she had a personal-best six rebounds, while freshman forward Hannah Boesinger scored a career-high nine points.
Eastern Kentucky guard Marie Carpenter entered the matchup averaging 26 points per game, but Ohio held her to just nine points, which impressed Boldon.
The Bobcats will next hit the court in Puerto Rico, where they will compete in the San Juan Shootout against the University of Illinois-Chicago and No. 8 Maryland.
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@CharlieHatch_
