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Ohio senior guard Quiera Lampkins drives to the basket during the first half of the Bobcat's game against Central Michigan on Wednesday, February 15, 2017.

Women's Basketball: Three things learned from Ohio's offensive struggles against Central Michigan

In many ways, Ohio followed the blueprint to obtain revenge against Central Michigan on Wednesday night.

The Bobcats forced 26 turnovers and attempted 27 more field goals than CMU as a result. But for as many extra possessions as they created, the Bobcats couldn’t capitalize.

Quiera Lampkins’ near heroics

The offensive struggles weren’t for a lack of effort on Quiera Lampkins’ part.

At halftime, her 3-of-11 stat line made it seem like Wednesday wouldn’t be Lampkins’ night. But she made it so.

Time after time in the second half, she forced her way inside, regardless of who tried to get in her way.

“They can’t guard any of us,” Lampkins said. "(Coach Bob Boldon) wanted us to attack them.”

Lampkins accounted for 43 of the 64 Ohio points through passing and shooting, including 10 of the final 14 in the fourth quarter.

She brought the Bobcats to within a possession on multiple occasions when it looked like they were wavering, but her efforts ultimately fell short.

Trouble with "bunnies"

Ohio missed more shots (46) than Central Michigan attempted Wednesday. Perhaps the most frustrating part for Ohio was the nature of many of their misses. Of their 46 misses, 25 were layups.

The Bobcats even stuck to the plan with their extra possessions, but they just couldn’t finish.

“(The missed shots) are hard to swallow,” Boldon said.

Ohio was successful in driving past its defenders, but often the size of Central Michigan created difficult angles for the Bobcats to finish their drives, and the lack of player movement from Ohio contributed significantly to the presence of those post players being near the rim.

Lack of offensive energy

Coming off of arguably its best offensive performance Saturday against Ball State, Ohio reverted into one of its worst habits: lack of player and ball movement.

On Saturday, the Bobcats recorded their second highest assist total of the season. Against Central Michigan, they tallied single-digit assists for the fifth time this season.

The drives to the basket were great, but without being coupled with good off-ball movement, it was harder to create open shots. Ohio tried to move the ball, but it seemed no one could get open.

“We seemed to be playing at less than full speed,” Boldon said.

For the season, the Bobcats are 8-1 when they record 15 or more assists, and 10-5 otherwise. The game against Ball State might’ve been viewed as a team correcting its final flaw, but Wednesday showed that Ohio’s stagnant offensive tendencies have not been eradicated yet. It also showed how close the Bobcats are to the top team in the conference.

Maybe that extra kick on offense could be the difference in the Mid-American Conference Tournament. 

@JAjimbojr

jw331813@ohio.edu

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