Coach Bob Boldon and the Bobcats are looking to continue their solid play against East Carolina.
The Bobcats just need one more ingredient for their cauldron of success: consistency.
Off to its best start since 1986, Ohio has almost every component it might take to be a competitive team in the Mid-American Conference.
Coach Bob Boldon has implemented a swift motion offense that averages 84 points per game. Junior guard Kiyanna Black has led the Bobcats with 18 points per contest and sophomore guard Yamonie Jenkins leads the nation with a 14:0 assists-to-turnover ratio. On defense, the Bobcats average 11 steals per game and are holding their opponents to a .303 shooting percentage.
Ohio (6-0) has been efficient with its bench and depth. Nine players average 17 or more minutes per game, as the Bobcats have commanded basically every statistical category against opponents who have a combined 13-21 record.
“Coaching change is stressful, in itself. Just the idea of a new coach coming in. And they’ve put in a lot of work during the summer,” Boldon said. “When kids work hard, and your kids (are) working hard every day, you just want to see that pay off and you want to see them have some success.”
After Ohio’s 87-67 win over Morehead State on Wednesday, Boldon said the Bobcats need to stay consistent, starting against East Carolina (6-2) on Saturday. The Pirates’ only loss came from No. 22 Syracuse, and they have blown out teams like Wisconsin by double digits.
“We keep our confidence by acknowledging the fact that we are 6-0,” redshirt guard Kat Yelle said. “But we also know that ECU is a great team and at any point, we can’t get too cocky and get too confident because we still have a lot to prove.”
Earlier this season, Boldon mentioned the importance of limiting turnovers, and the Bobcats will have their hands full against a team that averages 15 steals per game — sixth-best in the NCAA. Against Morehead State, the Bobcats turned the ball over 10 times in the first half.
On Wednesday, the Bobcats’ 2-3 defense was stout in the paint with junior Lexie Baldwin and freshman Kelly Karlis combining for five blocks and 14 rebounds. The duo will hope to contain senior Ondrea Shaw, who averages three blocks per game.
Similar to Ohio, East Carolina has multiple scorers it leans on. Junior Jada Payne leads the Pirates in scoring with 17 points per game and junior forward I’Tiana Taylor averages 13 and nine rebounds the bench.
“Morehead did a good job of exposing some of our weaknesses and I thought, as the game went on we made some adjustments,” Boldon said. “Our second-half defense still has to get better, so those are things we’ll talk about on tap before ECU.”
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