Dec. 15, 2014
Final Stats | Quotes
The Basics:
Score: James Madison 69, Ohio 62
Location: The Convocation Center â€" Athens, Ohio
The Short Story: The Bobcats dropped a close one at the Convo on Monday, falling to James Madison 69-62. Despite trailing by as much as 17 at one point in the game, Ohio rallied back to cut the deficit to one with 1:12 remaining. However, he comeback effort was not enough as a game-high 23 points from Precious Hall and a 13-point and 18 rebound performance by Lauren Okafor propelled the Dukes to victory.
OHIO STARTERS: #2 Mariah Byard, #4 Kiyanna Black, #5 Quiera Lampkins, #10 Lexie Baldwin, #14 Kat Yelle
JAMES MADISON STARTERS: #3 Toia Giggets, #12 Precious Hall, #24 Jazmon Gwathmey, #32 Angela Mickens, #33 Lauren Okafor
How It Happened:
- Lampkins scored the first six points for the Bobcats and Ohio took a 9-7 lead at the 15:56 mark of the first half when Byard connected on a three-pointer.
- Ohio continued to get great contributions throughout the half by Lampkins, who scored a game-high 15 points in the opening half.
- The Bobcats held the Dukes to 37.5 percent shooting in the first half but trailed the Dukes after 20 minutes by a 32-24 margin.
- Two baskets by Ohio to open the second half trimmed the James Madison advantage to 4, but an 8-1 run by the Dukes expanded their lead to 40-29 with at the 15:22 mark.
- After falling behind by 17 with 11:56 remaining in the game Ohio strung together an 11-2 run and cut the lead to eight with help from the defense, which held the Dukes scoreless for ten consecutive possessions.
- After making just one shot in the first half, Black caught fire in the second half with a stretch of 14 points in five minutes to pull the Bobcats within three at the 2:33 mark.
- The Bobcats would cut the lead to one with 1:12 remaining on a layup by Baldwin, but that’s as close as they’d get.
- Ohio had two players in double figures, with Lampkins and Black each scoring 17 points.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- With her 17-point performance, Lampkins scored in double figures for the seventh time this season and is averaging 13.6 points per game.
- Guard Mariah Harris scored two points while hauling in three rebounds in her Ohio debut.
- Black reached double figures in points for the 39th time in her Ohio career.
- Ohio has scored at least 60 points in each of its eight games this season.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Bob Boldon:
- “I thought (our team) showed a lot of character and a lot of toughness. … I thought we did things the right way. We got stops, we took good shots, we took care of the basketball and we just hung in there and hung in there.â€
- “Kiyanna is just gifted. She’s good. And she’s worked at it to be good. It’s not just like she sits around on the couch all day playing Playstation. She has to make buckets on game day. I mean, she works on her game.â€
Sophomore guard Kiyanna Black:
- “I think in the first half, I was just rushing and forcing things. And in the second half, Bob told me, ‘You don’t have to win a game with the next shot.’ After that I was just more relaxed and didn’t feel like the world was on my shoulders. I think sometimes I force things when we have a great team and I don’t need to force it.â€
COMING UP
- Ohio travels to Atlanta, Ga., for the Georgia State Tournament, opening up with La Salle on Friday, December 19 at 7 p.m.
#BobcatNation