Ohio won 86-84 over Central Michigan.
Ohio’s lead was one, 85-84, and there were 14.8 seconds left in overtime.
Central Michigan had an inbound under its own basket.
The pass came in, and Ohio's Quiera Lampkins swatted it down. Mariah Harris collected the ball, took it up the court and was fouled. She split her free throws and a Central Michigan desperation shot missed short, leaving Ohio (13-3, 5-0 Mid-American Conference) with a 86-84 win.
Ohio’s first lead of the entire game came in overtime when Kiyanna Black, who scored a career-high 39 points, converted an and-1 to give the Bobcats an 80-79 lead with 3:41 left.
She then turned defense into offense on the following Chippewa possession, getting a steal and finishing the layup on the other end. The Ohio lead was three, forcing a Central Michigan (9-7, 3-2 MAC) timeout.
“Kiyanna’s unbelievable,” Ohio coach Bob Boldon said. “She single-handedly won the game for us tonight.”
Black always has been the one Ohio looks to for offense, and she, again, was important in Saturday afternoon’s win. Whenever Ohio needed a shot to spark momentum, it was Black that delivered.
She opened the fourth quarter scoring seven-straight points for Ohio, closing Central Michigan's gap from 10 to five. Black, like she has during her four years in Athens, showed her mental toughness on both sides of the ball, creating a steal and making the layup.
In the last four minutes of regulation, Ohio forced two crucial turnovers to take the game into overtime and held Central Michigan scoreless the entire four minutes. The most important turnover was with 14.6 seconds left.
Hannah Boesinger made two free throws, and Ohio set up in a full court press. Central Michigan inbounded the ball to the corner with Da’Jourie Turner fumbling the ball and rolling out of bounds.
“That (full-court pressure), ironically, we don’t practice,” Boldon said. “That was just lucky for us.”
After a Boldon timeout, Black was ready to inbound.
The pass went to Lampkins. And with a swift turn, she dribbled to the right side, straight to the basket and made the game-tying layup. Central Michigan missed the go-ahead shot with 11.1 seconds left and the game went into overtime.
But prior to the chaotic ending, it was a rough game for Ohio.
Just four minutes into the game, all five starters were subbed out. Boldon said they played "awful," and he wanted to make a point to the starters.
The Bobcats shot 2-of-7 before the platoon swap.
“We couldn’t guard them. We couldn’t score. We couldn’t rebound. They were significantly better than us in the first half,” Boldon said.
It was Tmisht Stimson who played a key role in scoring when the starters couldn’t. Each time Stimson was subbed into the game, her inside scoring help gave Ohio just enough momentum to start to climb back into the game. She finished with eight points.
But in the end, it was Black that had to prove, once again, she has what it takes to lead Ohio.
“I knew we needed to pick it up. I knew someone had to do it,” she said. “My shots were falling, so I just kept on going.”
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