With 3:33 remaining in the third quarter, Quiera Lampkins’ career was in jeopardy.
Ohios led by two points above 12th seeded Eastern Michigan, and its offense was struggling mightily. But Lampkins wasn’t ready for her career to end.
She scored 24 of her team’s 38 second-half points in Monday’s 63-49 win over Eastern Michigan in The Convo, and it came when her team needed her most.
“I definitely didn’t want to go home,” Lampkins said.
When Lampkins scored her first second-half points, Monday’s game had all the makings of an upset. The Bobcats led by just two.
Eastern Michigan had slowed the pace, limited Bobcat possessions and made difficult shots with the shot clock winding down.
The Bobcats repeatedly gave up offensive rebounds, allowing Eastern Michigan to drain more time off the clock and keep the game close longer.
As the game wore on, the atmosphere in The Convo grew uneasy.
“We were literally on our way home,” Boldon said.
Faced with a potential second consecutive upset loss in the conference tournament, Boldon turned to Lampkins to salvage a win.
She didn’t let him down.
Possession after possession, the Bobcats set screens at the 3-point line to get her matched up with a bigger, slower defender. And possession after possession, her drives resulted in layups and pairs of free throws.
The game was in her hands now, and her teammates knew exactly what to do.
“It was a mental message throughout the team,” forward Jasmine Weatherspoon said. “Where’s Kiki?”
With each opportunity given to Lampkins by her teammates, she helped the Bobcats pull away from Eastern Michigan. But she also pulled herself closer to former teammate Kiyanna Black for second on the Ohio all-time scoring list.
At the start of the fourth quarter, a personal 6-0 run gave Lampkins sole possession of 2nd place. As she exited the game for the final time, the Bobcat fans gave her a standing ovation to honor her career achievement and her role in advancing to Cleveland.
But Lampkins was more excited about the bragging rights she had just earned over her longtime friend.
“I’m gonna go home and call (Black),” Lampkins said. “She owes me dinner.”
Thanks to Lampkins, Ohio will be in Cleveland on Wednesday for a second chance to beat Northern Illinois, a team it lost to by a score of 88-80 on Jan. 11.
The Bobcats won’t be able to carry much momentum into the matchup. They needed what Boldon called the best performance of Lampkins’ career to beat the worst team in the conference.
But luckily for them, Monday’s performance doesn’t matter anymore. One win down, three to go for a Mid-American Conference championship
“I’m not happy with the manner in which we won,” Boldon said. “But at this time of the year, it doesn’t really matter.”
