Life goes on for Ohio. So does the season. Ohio will now play in the WNIT.
Before his short trip to Cleveland, coach Bob Boldon said he’d prefer to play two games instead of three in the Mid-American Conference Tournament to get to the NCAA Tournament. That was the case last year.
Neither two nor three games would have made a difference this season.
It only took one game — a loss — to crush NCAA Tournament hopes.
As Boldon said following Wednesday’s 72-60 upset loss to Buffalo in the conference tournament quarterfinal, life goes on.
So does the Ohio season.
The taste might not be as sweet as an NCAA Tournament appearance, but the Bobcats’ early return to Athens comes with a consolation prize: another game.
Ohio hasn’t seen the end of Kiyanna Black, one of the greatest players in program history. Rather, it’ll see Black in a tournament she’s never been to: the Women’s National Invitational Tournament.
The loss stings for the Bobcats, no question.
After claiming another regular season conference title, its second consecutive, Ohio had the No. 1 seed in the conference entering Cleveland. Things were good.
Another outright title wasn’t out of the question. Actually, if anything, the bigger worry was which team could actually beat Ohio?
Only one ever came to mind. And on Wednesday, that matchup came into reality.
Buffalo was the only team in the MAC to beat Ohio. Not once. Not twice. Make that three times, as of the latest upset loss.
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There’s no reason to point fingers or cite individuals with mistakes.
This loss wasn’t any different than the other two upsets earlier this season. Whatever it is, Ohio has a mental complex with Buffalo.
And while it’d be nice to say the complex is a newfound phenomenon, it’s not.
Turn back two years ago to Boldon’s first season with the Bobcats. After losing at Buffalo, the coach called it the ugliest game of basketball he’d ever been a part of.
Wednesday was pretty ugly, too.
Ohio, a team that dismantled each opponent it faced in the MAC, once again met with its kryptonite.
Silly passes. Unforced turnovers. Missed uncontested shots.
When the game began, the Bobcats were sloppy. Quiera Lampkins tried too hard forcing plays. Black missed a lot of shots.
But gradually things calmed down, and Lampkins lit up. In the first half, she had 15 points. By the end of the second half, however, she only scored four more.
Just as the game got ugly two other times this season with the Bulls, the game got ugly again.
Although this time there will be no second, third or even fourth chance.
Buffalo is better than Ohio. Life goes on.
And now, the Bobcats need to regroup and recover. All is not lost. Now, they just need to take a road they haven’t traveled.
On Monday, Boldon said it’s easy for his team to learn a lot from a loss.
Well, it lost.
Now it can win again. This time, the wins just might occur in a place Ohio didn't originally anticipate.
@charliehatch_
gh181212@ohio.edu
