When Ohio hosts Toledo at 3 p.m. on Saturday in The Convo, the Bobcats will try to avoid their first two-game losing streak since December of 2014.
The Bobcats have won their last 11 games following a loss and have went 2-1 without Jasmine Weatherspoon (including the game she got hurt and played four minutes). Hannah Boesinger and Kelly Karlis have filled the rebounding gaps, and the defense — allowing 60.4 points per game on the season and 64.3 since Weatherspoon’s injury — has not crumbled without its centerpiece.
The Bobcats have proven their ability to stay afloat without Weatherspoon, but as the time she misses mounts, so does the pressure on the rest of the Ohio core to make up for her absence.
Ohio learned that the hard way Wednesday night at Central Michigan, when Weatherspoon dressed but didn’t play. Despite the recent surge by his bench, coach Bob Boldon only played two non-starters. Katie Barker and Amani Burke played just eight minutes each. That left 192 minutes for the other five Bobcats that played, including 39 for Quiera Lampkins.
Not only that, but Ohio finally started to feel the absence of its second leading scorer and shot taker Wednesday. Lampkins took a season-high 26 shots against CMU and Boesinger (10 points) was the only player besides Lampkins in double figures.
In the second half, the Bobcats missed Weatherspoon, the rim protector. Central Michigan guard Tinara Moore repeatedly scored inside on plays Weatherspoon could've affected with her athleticism.
Meanwhile, Toledo, which plays 10 players at least 10 minutes a game, tied for most in the Mid-American Conference. Two more players play at least seven minutes per game, and five Rockets average at least seven shots per game.
Last week, Boldon said he was trying to find a balance between pushing his players to improve and letting them rest amid the busiest part of the schedule. Weatherspoon's absence has only complicated that.
Lampkins has been a willing soldier defending her post at times, but is more comfortable playing the wing. Boesinger has shined through the ugliness of battling for rebounds, but has played more minutes in her last three games than the previous six combined.
Even if Weatherspoon does play Saturday, Boldon might limit her minutes to ease her knee back into the workload.
The Bobcats might be one step closer to getting their biggest body back. But against one of the deepest teams in the MAC, they will not be able to match energized legs.
