Ohio finishes the November portion of its schedule 3-2.
Quiera Lampkins was one shot away from Ohio potentially unraveling both a Big Ten and Southeastern Conference opponent in a two-day span.
Ohio, which struggled early in its 62-59 loss to Vanderbilt Saturday, climbed back into the contest, eventually setting up Lampkins, a junior forward, with a literal last-second 3-pointer to force overtime in the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament championship game.
While the shot rimmed out, Ohio’s overall performance proved it could compete against opponents in the some of the nation’s best conferences. Entering the tournament, Vanderbilt, the hosts, had never lost in the competition.
Ohio was a shot away from overtime.
The Bobcats crept past Indiana 63-56 on Friday afternoon, making it the first time Ohio had beaten a Big Ten program since 1994.
“Obviously we’re not happy with the ending,” coach Bob Boldon said after Saturday’s loss. “I thought our kids and showed a lot of character when you get off to the start that we did, but they just kept their composure and they battled back.”
Boldon, aware of his team’s drastic turnaround in the last three years, even made note of the team’s ability to stay calm, as opposed to losses in the past.
“With nine seconds left we didn’t panic,” Boldon said. “There was a time when (senior guard Kiyanna Black) would have just hoisted that up and she didn’t, and she made a basketball play. (Lampkins) got a good look and I’m happy with that.”
When Boldon made reference to just hoisting the ball up in years past, he commended Black for her ability to find open looks, or at least open teammates in Ohio’s motion offense.
Black led all scorers Sunday with 25 points.
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Sitting at 3-2 to close the November portion of the schedule, the Bobcats have yet to play a home game in the 2015-16 season. The team’s first home game will be Thursday morning against Indiana University-Purdue Fort Wayne.
“There were just some miscues,” Boldon said about Saturday’s game. “That’s why we play in these games in November, so we can fix some things before we take the floor again next week.
“Vanderbilt was able to exploit some of our weaknesses and that was good for us to get on tape. I’m anxious to get back to practice on Monday to see if we can fix some of these weaknesses."
@charliehatch_
gh181212@ohio.edu
