Ohio get a dominating win against Northern Illinois and Jasmine Weatherspoon returned to the lineup after missing the game against Buffalo.
Ohio needed a win Saturday morning. Not only because it’s fighting for a Mid-American Conference Tournament spot, but also to rebuild morale.
The Wednesday night upset to Buffalo was a letdown. Nothing worked for the Bobcats. They couldn't score, couldn't force turnovers and couldn't spread the ball easily.
But most importantly, the squad didn’t have junior forward Jasmine Weatherspoon.
The Bobcats needed the win Saturday, and they got it.
Following the 95-70 win over Northern Illinois on Saturday, here’s what Ohio (18-4, 10-1 MAC) did well.
Scoring early
It didn’t take long for the Bobcats to score as Weatherspoon entered the game’s first basket 14 seconds into the game. Ohio went on to score more points (30) in the first quarter than it has in any opening quarter all season.
Coach Bob Boldon credited junior guard Quiera Lampkins and senior guard Kiyanna Black with setting the tone for the game.
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Lampkins and Black, who have been the team’s dynamic duo, scored 23 and 21 points, respectively, on Saturday and helped turn things around from the midweek loss.
“We have kids who are supposed to make wide-open threes," Boldon said. "So when we make them I don’t find them spectacular, it’s just what they should do.”
Forcing turnovers
The Bobcats forced 23 Huskies turnovers. There was a span in both the first half and the third quarter where Northern Illinois went three and four straight possessions with either turning the ball over or getting a shot clock violation.
The defense can also be credited for forcing Northern Illinois to multiple three-plus minutes of not scoring a single basket.
At one point defensively, Ohio looked flawless. Maybe not up to Boldon standards, but his team had its way against Northern Illinois, as the Huskies could not figure out a way to beat the Bobcats' man-to-man.
Lampkins led the team with seven steals on Saturday, reinforcing her growth this season.
Moving the ball
Lampkins was not only effective shooting the ball, but distributing it as well. She had seven of the teams 19 assists and is now averaging 3.2 assists per game.
“I thought our ball movement was better,” Boldon said. “We got better shots than we had gotten recently and that is a direct correlation to our movement and our ability to attack."
The Bobcats finished the game with 95 points and everyone that played scoring, except for redshirt senior guard Mariah Harris.
“The more players you can get minutes the better, without compromising your rotation in the game," Boldon said. "I think it’s great that we can play the number of players that we played and kids can make shots.”
Fork, knife and 'Spoon
Weatherspoon went on to record six points, three blocks and two rebounds. Last time out against Buffalo the Bobcats had just three blocks without Weatherspoon. They finished with seven Saturday.
“We needed her,” Lampkins said. “Sometimes when we don’t get the rebound, she’s always there to get the rebound. She’s our backbone.”
With Weatherspoon on the court, Ohio scored 49 points and without her on the court, it scored 46. While that isn’t a drastic difference, at one point, before Weatherspoon sat majority of the final quarter, the points scored without her was around 30.
The Bobcats have a week off before traveling to Toledo on Saturday.
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