Kiyanna Black's four-straight 3-pointers kept Ohio’s winning streak intact Saturday against Kent State.
Sitting in the postgame news conference, coach Bob Boldon’s son, Zachary, asked his dad why his team shoots so many 3-pointers.
Boldon laughed and told his son he should go sit with the media if he wanted to ask questions.
Jokes aside, it’s a question the second-year coach has never wanted to answer. Sometimes he says it’s only raised when the team struggles offensively; other times it goes unmentioned when his team comfortably handles opponents.
But Saturday, when the Bobcats struggled to find any rhythm, it was four consecutive 3-pointers from junior guard Kiyanna Black that pushed Ohio to a 58-44 win against Kent State.
“Thankfully she was able to make shots,” Boldon said. “(Black) is really good, and sometimes, good players step up and win games for you. That’s exactly what happened this evening.”
The win keeps Ohio as the top team in the Mid-American Conference and doubled the team’s win total from the 2013-14 season. For the majority of this year, it’s been Black leading the way on the score sheet.
“She obviously has some leeway to try and make some plays,” Boldon said. “I trust her in that regard, and I think her teammates trust her in that regard. She’s a kid that spends a lot of time shooting the basketball.”
He also said her success comes from voluntary workouts to improve her shooting. Black comes to The Convo in the morning twice each week and shoots 300 to 500 shots before the afternoon practices.
“It’s not a fly by night thing where all of a sudden she’s going to toss them up,” Boldon said. “She’s got herself in the best shape she’s ever been in, and she really works at her craft … she doesn’t just want to be a good shooter, she actively works at becoming a great shooter and it doesn’t go unnoticed.”
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The junior is averaging 15.8 points per game this season and has either tied or led the team in scoring 12 of Ohio’s 21 contests. Those points stem from her 3-point shooting abilities. She’s made 37 percent of her attempts and also leads the team’s free throw shooting with an 80 percent rate.
Saturday, Black said her consecutive 3-pointers and 50 percent shooting from the floor came from confidence.
“I just feel like I’m very confident in myself,” she said. “Sometimes I take risky shots, sometimes they go in, and sometimes, it comes to bite me. But I just stepped up and made the shots.”
After hitting the first two threes, Black said her teammates just keep sending the ball her way and she just kept shooting.
Her teammate, junior forward Mariah Harris, hit a 3-pointer in the corner, but pumped once and looked reluctant to put the shot up. She said she took the attempt only because Marwan Miller, Ohio’s director of basketball operations, told her to be more aggressive.
Black had a much different answer.
“I think I shoot it before they can say, ‘Shoot the ball’,” she said.
@charliehatch_
gh181212@ohio.edu
