Heaving into Wednesday’s game, Ohio was looking for its first season sweep of Kent State since the Reagan administration, but the Golden Flashes’ held on late and swept the Bobcats.
It was a back and forth game throughout, but Kent State grabbed a 39-36 lead with 15:33 remaining in the second half and never looked back. The Golden Flashes stretched their lead to as many as 12 points in the second half on their way to the 69-64 win.
Ohio (9-19, 4-13 Mid-American Conference) had its chances down the stretch as its continually put its within a bucket or two of the lead, but poor defense plagued the Bobcats late and they couldn’t record any key defensive possessions.
Another lackluster shooting performance didn’t help the Bobcats, which struggled to score from outside, as they shot just 19 percent from beyond the arc. The Golden Flashes (7-21, 4-13 MAC) were efficient with their chances, though and made 45 percent of their attempts from the field.
“I thought we got some pretty good looks and we got it to the people we wanted to shoot the ball and the ball didn’t go in,” coach Bob Boldon said. “We didn’t really shoot the ball well tonight which is disappointing. The guards didn’t play good enough and it’s a frustrating evening for us.”
Freshman guard Quiera Lampkins paced Ohio, scoring 16 points on a perfect 6 of 6 from the field. But as Boldon mentioned, the other guards combined to shoot just 15 percent from the field.
Lampkins was aided by freshman forward Hannah Boesinger, who did most of her damage from the free throw line where she scored seven of her 13 points.
“Our freshmen have had a good year,” Boldon said. “I think this year was a good learning experience for our team. We have a lot of young kids and as we prepare for next year we have some things to build on and some areas we need to get better at.”
Boesinger was one of the few to shoot well from the line, knocking in seven of her eight attempts. As a whole, Ohio made 63 percent of its free throws, while Kent made 81 percent.
The Golden Flashes spread the scoring wealth around with four players finishing in double figures. Senior guard Ashley Evans had a game-high 18 points and was able to penetrate the lane past Bobcat defenders with ease.
With one game remaining in the MAC season, Ohio can claim anywhere from the No. 10 through No. 12 seeds in next week’s MAC Tournament, as much of the lower seeds have yet to be solidified.
“Whether you’re a nine, 10, 11 or 12 seed in the MAC Tournament it is irrelevant,” he said. “If you don’t have a one, two, three, or four you really have no chance of winning the tournament the way the schedule is made up.”
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