Ohio beat Northern Illinois 95-70 on Saturday in The Convo.
When Ohio was upset by Eastern Michigan last February, the Bobcats went unbeaten the rest of the regular season and won the Mid-American Conference outright for the first time since 1985-86.
At the time, the loss sparked a rejuvenated Ohio team.
So when Ohio was upset by Buffalo this past Wednesday, perhaps it will have the same effect on the season.
On Saturday, Ohio thrashed Northern Illinois 95-70 in The Convo, revoking similar notions to last February. But junior forward Quiera Lampkins said the two losses aren’t correlated.
“It was just like our Buffalo this season,” Lampkins said. “Hopefully we still get the same outcome.”
The reality was that Ohio was a completely different team Wednesday and Saturday.
Against the Bulls, the Bobcats only mustered 43 points. Against the Huskies, the Bobcats already had 43 points with 3:24 remaining in the first half and scored 30 points in the first quarter — the most they’ve scored in a first quarter this season.
Certainly shots fell against Northern that didn’t against Buffalo, but coach Bob Boldon made it clear that Saturday was a better example of what his team is capable of.
“I wasn’t purposely trying to make a statement,” Boldon said. “I was trying to win the basketball game. … I’m just trying to, after coming off a bad loss, play good basketball for a little bit.”
Lampkins and senior guard Kiyanna Black exerted their dominance, scoring 23 and 21 points, respectively. Both also played at least 29 minutes, while the next closest player, senior forward Lexie Baldwin, played 21.
The two best players not only scored more points than their entire team combined at Buffalo, but they did so in a commanding fashion, with Lampkins attacking the inside lanes and Black hitting 3-pointers from the outside.
“Everyone just brought the energy,” Lampkins said. “That’s all it was. It didn’t have anything to do with offense.”
A noticeable chunk of that energy stemmed from having Jasmine Weatherspoon back in the roster, after she missed the Buffalo game with a lower leg injury.
Weatherspoon, a junior forward, started for Ohio and immediately had an influence in the fluid offensive movement and stout defense.
“It was exciting to be back,” Weatherspoon said. “When I was watching the Buffalo game I was just like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is when they need me the most.’ ”
Boldon was pleased to have Weatherspoon return and said he was just as happy to have her as he was to have Hannah Boesinger and Kelly Karlis back when they missed games earlier this season.
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“It’s great to have your whole roster available to you,” Boldon said.
Junior guard Yamonie Jenkins was injured in the first half and did not return to the game.
She could’ve played, but Boldon said he kept her out for precaution.
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