The win Wednesday night improves Ohio's record to 16-3 and 8-0 in the MAC.
By halftime the fans were already restless. The Convo was casual.
The Bobcats trotted to the locker room without smiling. Typical business.
Coach Bob Boldon lackadaisically walked across the floor rubbing his face and scratching his eyes. Twenty minutes in and Ohio was already up by 20.
“It’s just what it is,” Boldon said. “The challenge is to make sure it’s not the highlight of the game. And for us unfortunately, that was the highlight.”
Akron tried to recover, but failed. Continuously.
When the third quarter horn sounded, spectators at the team’s highest-attended game this year were already starting to zip their coats and go home.
It wasn’t that Ohio didn’t look good or play well. It was just that the team was too good for Akron, and, at this point in the season, every conference opponent the team has faced.
When the final buzzer sounded on Wednesday night, the Bobcats had won 75-55 and calmly walked back to their locker room. Again, unfazed.
Now 16-3 and 8-0 in the Mid-American Conference, Ohio continues its best start to a season in program history.
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And with a win against Akron, which entered the game as the second-place team in the MAC East, Ohio solidified its legitimacy that was never previously questioned.
“It does get repetitive,” Boldon said. “Good teams do the boring repetitive over and over again, and they do it well.”
Everything clicked for the Bobcats and not for the Zips.
With 8:16 left in the fourth quarter, Akron guard Megan Barilla had an open layup clank off the bottom of the rim.
Roughly a minute later, Ohio senior forward Lexie Baldwin impressively evaded defenders, finishing a layup while getting fouled for a three-point play.
A minute after that, Ohio junior guard Quiera Lampkins was fouled on a layup and converted another three-point play. The foul was on Barilla, who was subbed out and didn’t return.
It’s not that this sequence stood out. Moreover, the string of possessions echoed Ohio’s repetitive dominance.
By the time there was a minute to play, Boldon sat on his bench joking with juniors Hannah Boesinger and Yamonie Jenkins. With 10 seconds left, he got up and sipped his Gatorade cup before shaking hands with the Akron players.
After 40 minutes, Ohio finished the game still leading by 20.
Fans in The Convo clapped, but did not roar. The Marching 110 played the fight song one last time.
Boldon quietly walked through the stands to speak in a radio interview. No one stopped him or said anything. The band was already putting away their instruments, and the college students were making their evening plans.
Meanwhile, in the media room waiting for postgame interviews, one person said the game was just plain boring.
“It’s just business as usual,” junior forward Jasmine Weatherspoon said.
Within 15 minutes, including the interviews, everyone had already left the media room.
As Weatherspoon put it, it was just business as usual.
@charliehatch_
gh181212@ohio.edu
