Last year the Bobcats averaged 62 points per game.
In Friday’s 111-60 season-opening win, Ohio scored 62 points in the first half alone.
Ohio bombarded Murray State with six straight 3-pointers and a 27-0 run early in the first half to mark the most points it has scored since 1991.
After the game, coach Bob Boldon said early in the season the Bobcats have to rely on their instincts and game plan — primarily 3-point shooting and applying pressure on the perimeter.
“I thought we did that tonight with our defensive rotation,” Boldon said. “There was a stretch in the middle of the first half where I thought our defense was tremendous and cleaned it up with rebounds. I was obviously very happy with this performance and we’ll try to make some improvements with a quick turn around for Monday.”
The motion offense Boldon runs allows the Bobcats to fluidly play without having to call set plays. Ball movement is vital and, normally, motion offenses have three or four players on the perimeter and one or two post players on the low block.
Ohio may utilize some of its forwards, such as freshman Kelly Karlis and sophomore Quiera Lampkins, to develop mismatches for Monday’s home opener against Wofford, which dropped its season opener against Xavier 75-51.
Karlis, who had 12 points and three blocks Friday, along with other flex players like Mariah Byard, Lexie Baldwin and Lampkins, could cause spacing issues for Wofford and opponents.
“(This season) we’re going to try and take away people’s strengths, and it’s going to look different from game to game and how we do things and what we do,” Boldon said.
Last week, Boldon said he had little idea who would start for Ohio going into the opener. Despite the win, Boldon could switch the lineup around Monday to utilize its depth after eight players scored Friday.
“We’ve been working really hard for (the home opener) and this season and that’s to get these wins and get ready for the MAC,” sophomore forward Hannah Boesinger said.
The Bobcats went 18 of 37 behind the arc and recorded 22 assists, while the Racers made just 23 percent of their field goals.
Junior guard Kiyanna Black went 7 of 13 from behind the arc and scored 25 points, while Boesinger also tallied a career-high 25 points. Lampkins also played a role in Ohio’s win, scoring 19 points on eight field goals.
Boesinger said she felt confident going into the matchup, as she worked on her shot during the preseason and knew her teammates were going to get her the ball more.
“I thought we played very well, but obviously there is still a lot of things we need to work on,” Boesinger said. “But everything just seemed to click today. Our shooting was on, we made a lot of our free throws, our layups were good. … Everything just worked out really well.”
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