Ohio had a nine-point comeback to win 68-67 and stay undefeated in MAC play.
Lexie Baldwin did it.
With 44 seconds left, she nailed a three to tie at 65.
Then Ohio fans feared the worst when Baldwin fouled Ball State guard Jill Morrison behind the three-point line with 14 seconds left. Morrison hit two of the three free throws; 67-65.
Following the free throws, nine seconds passed and Ohio couldn’t get a good shot. Coach Bob Boldon took a full timeout to draw up the play.
Quiera Lampkins was under the basket to inbound. Baldwin cut inside from the free-throw line to the basket. Lampkins inbounded to Baldwin. She scored and got fouled.
“I anticipated they would try and foul me,” Baldwin said. “I just knew I had to make the basket and make it a three-point play and make the free throw, of course.”
Baldwin went from almost costing the game for Ohio (17-3, 9-0 Mid-American Conference), to converting an and-one and giving Ohio a 68-67 win over Ball State in Muncie, Indiana, on Saturday.
But the game changed long before Baldwin’s three-point play.
With just under three minutes left in the game, Morrison got a technical foul for screaming in Kiyanna Black’s face.
Black hit both free throws and that started Ohio's 8-0 run capped by a three from Baldwin. That drew Ohio within one, 63-62.
But Ohio struggled for most of the game.
Its shots weren’t falling and fouls were being called almost every other possession. That forced Boldon to look to his bench players.
And it was the defense late in the game that almost gave Ohio its first conference loss.
After Morrison's three extended the Ball State lead to nine — the largest for either team all game — with just over three minutes left, and it looked like the Cardinals would hold on and stun the Bobcats.
Instead, Ohio was poised on the road and extended its win streak to 12. Ohio is still undefeated in conference play.
Boldon was glad his players fought through the adversity of the poor officiating and foul trouble to get the victory. His team had six players finish with four or more fouls, including Hannah Boesinger, who fouled out early in the fourth.
In addition to Baldwin’s performance, Lampkins finished the game with 14 points, five rebounds and six assists. She joined 14 other Ohio players with 1,000 career points.
Kiyanna Black finished with 23 points.
In the end, it was Baldwin, who finished with 14 points and scored the game's most crucial points, who got Ohio past Ball State.
“We know that coming into this game, it was going to be a good game,” Baldwin said. “Coming back, we knew we needed to get back in it. It came down to the last play and we just had to pull through.”
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