Ohio had 1.1 seconds.
With Kent State forward Alexa Golden missing two potential game-winning free throws, the Bobcats, down 68-65, had a little over a second to try to send the game into overtime.
They had the ball at half court, and Kelly Karlis inbounded the ball to Katie Barker, Ohio’s best shooter.
She never got the shot off.
Starting the fourth quarter well, Ohio (12-4, 3-2 Mid-American Conference) couldn’t sustain solid play on offense and defense, losing to Kent State 68-65 on Saturday in The Convo.
The reason for the Bobcats’ downfall was a result of foul trouble. Their two best players — Quiera Lampkins and Jasmine Weatherspoon — fouled out with under three minutes left in the game.
“You got to be put somebody else in,” coach Bob Boldon said about the team’s foul trouble. “And they have to do their best job.”
Barker replaced Lampkins and Hannah Boesinger replaced Weatherspoon. Amani Burke came in with Barker as well.
But it wasn’t the same.
Without its two best players, Ohio couldn’t produce enough offense to compete with Kent State (8-9, 2-3 MAC). The Bobcats only scored five more points.
“Any game is hard to play without your best players,” guard Taylor Agler said after the game. “Let alone a game you’ve been struggling.”
More importantly, though, the Bobcats couldn’t play well enough on defense to keep the Golden Flashes from gaining a solid lead.
“I can’t tell you the last time we played good defense,” Boldon said.
Boldon said the Bobcats played good defense for the first 12 minutes of their game against the Buffalo Bulls. The Bobcats defeated the Bulls 83-55 on Jan. 4.
Including Saturday’s game, Ohio has allowed an average of 75 points per game in the past three games. Teams have scored on them, but it also doesn’t help that Ohio can’t score.
With the Bobcats having a history of struggling against zone defenses, most teams will opt to use the defense against them.
It’s their weakness, and it’s one worthy of exposing.
Despite this, the Bobcats’ zone offense has played well in spots this season — it didn’t Saturday. When the Bobcats swung the ball to the opposite wing, the Golden Flashes were there. When the Bobcats got the ball to their trusted shooter Barker, the Golden Flashes were there.
“Their zone was just too good for us,” Boldon said.
Ohio struggled to find open space, and because of that, it committed 22 turnovers. The Golden Flashes baited the Bobcats into making terrible passes across the court.
Even with the Bobcats not producing on offense or defense down the stretch, they still had a chance.
Ohio was down 66-64 with about 10 seconds left, and after driving to the basket and getting fouled, Taylor Agler went to the free throw line. The Bobcats needed her to make both free throws.
She made one.
And with nine seconds left, down 68-65, the Bobcats needed another bucket. Burke went to the basket and missed a layup.
“I think we’re starting to take our opponents a little lightly,” Agler said. “That hurt us today, came back and bit us in the butt. That was just one of the things that we did wrong.”
cf710614@ohio.edu
