Ohio plays Temple in the Sweet Sixteen of the WNIT and will have to play with Kiyanna Black not at full strength.
This postseason has been fairly straight forward for the Bobcats.
That may change, however, come Thursday when Ohio plays Temple on the road in the Women's National Invitational Tournament Sweet Sixteen.
Sure it’s the first time the Bobcats have played on the road in the postseason this year, but more importantly, their best player won’t be 100 percent.
Kiyanna Black, Ohio's leading scorer with 18 points per game this season, left early during Ohio's win against Virginia Tech Sunday due to a shoulder injury. She wore a shoulder brace during Tuesday's practice and did not participate in shooting drills.
“I feel like (Black) is tough, and she’s gonna get out there,” forward Lexie Baldwin said.
Black is a senior leader on the team, one of the best shooters and this is the time Ohio will need her most. But the way she grimaced and grabbed her shoulder in the Virginia Tech game Sunday showed she might not play nearly as many minutes as she generally does.
So, the Bobcats now have to look for others on the roster to fill the gap.
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“This time of year, there are a lot of (teams) that are playing with people that are not 100 percent,” coach Bob Boldon said. “We’ll see how the (players) will handle things.”
Boldon said he has had players step up in the past, one being Quiera Lampkins.
“(Lampkins) has been doing a good job,” Baldwin said. “She has been good at scoring and everything, I feel like we all carry that weight when she is out.”
Lampkins had a 26-point outing against the Hokies, and she has been the No. 2 scorer for the Bobcats. But she isn’t the only one that has helped contribute to the team when Black is off.
Baldwin, Lampkins and Jasmine Weatherspoon are all going to need to play with confidence going into Thursday night's game.
“(Black)'s bailed us out possession after possession this year,” Boldon said. “We’ve run some good offense to get her shots, and we’ve run terrible offense, and she’s just had the ball in her hand, and she has scored.”
So when the ball doesn’t touch her hands and she doesn’t get take the shots she normally does on Thursday, who’s going to take control?
Maybe it will be Lampkins like she has done already this postseason. Or maybe it will be Baldwin, who has played some impressive games this season.
Whoever it is, this game will not be as routine as the postseason has been for Ohio.
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