Kiyanna Black's 19 points led Ohio to its fifth straight win.
Thirty-nine seconds.
That’s how long Ohio was tied Wednesday night against Kent State, until it cruised to a 86-52 win led by Kiyanna Black’s 19 points and Hannah Boesinger's 15 points.
With the win, Ohio (22-4, 14-1 Mid-American Conference) clinches a share of the MAC regular season title.
Black, Boesinger, Lexie Baldwin and Quiera Lampkins each scored in the double digits against the Golden Flashes, totaling for 60 of the team’s 86 points.
Ohio started off the game strong, something that coach Bob Boldon said he was happy to see especially after the last few games.
Boesinger was a big contributor to that effort, scoring 13 of her 15 points in the first half.
On the flip side of that was Black, who scored nine points in the second half, the most of any Ohio player.
“It was nice to see us make a change to come into the third quarter,” Boldon said. “We were a little more focused, got some stops, took better care of the basketball and made some nice shots.”
A big contributor to Ohio taking the lead early, fast and not losing it was its ability to move the ball at its own will.
Many of Boesinger’s and Weatherspoon’s baskets came off of passes from Lampkins (seven assists) down to the block for easy layups.
Moving into the second half, Kent State tried to make adjustments off of this, but Ohio could just push the ball back out to shooters like Black and Baldwin.
“It is difficult because they play so many defenses,” Boldon said. “So you gotta be prepared for just about anything and I thought out players did a good job of adjusting to what they were giving us.”
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="16610954-db68-11e5-b83d-8326f46ed7d5"}}
Another key to the Ohio's success was in the later part of the game, when the last group of players came in. Boldon said he was happy with the defense and that it was the best the group had played. He mentioned that past times the group would give up 20 points.
Ohio plays again on Saturday against Buffalo, the only team that has beaten Ohio in the MAC this year.
“I think the loss really lit a flame under us,” Boesinger said. “It was a really tough loss for us and I think we learned a lot. Coach has called us out and made us work harder and that’s what we have been doing. Just a lot more effort.”
@Pete_Nakos96
pn997515@ohio.edu
