When the Bobcats entered The Convo locker room for halftime of Tuesday morning’s game, they knew they were being outplayed.
Leading by only four against Binghamton, Ohio opened the second half on a 13-0 run and dominated the rest of the game en route to an 86-49 blowout.
“We knew we were better than what we were showing,” sophomore guard Cece Hooks said. “They were working harder than us.”
Entering the game, Ohio had no idea who was going to step up offensively, and after an underwhelming first quarter that offensive savior had yet to be found. The Bobcats were shooting abysmally from the field, especially from behind the 3-point line making only 1-of-7, and were struggling to stop the Bearcats. It wasn’t hard to see why Ohio trailed 22-18 after the first quarter.
Fortunately for Ohio, somebody stepped up: Enter Erica Johnson.
Johnson, a redshirt freshman guard, came off the bench and was the fire that Ohio was looking for. She scored every way imaginable, but showed preference for 3-pointers, knocking down three in the first half.
“There were a couple I left out there but the ones that I did hit I felt comfortable,” Johnson said. “I’ve been working on my shot.”
But still, the offense was sputtering. Turnovers, bad shot selection and difficulty getting to the foul line were reasons why Ohio only led 37-33 at halftime. Ohio opened the second half on an 13-0 run and outscored Binghamton 27-4 in the third quarter.
“I was much happier with it (the run),” coach Bob Boldon said. “I thought we played much harder,”
Boldon slightly grinned on the sideline while the players beamed. Ohio was in control and dominated on both ends of the court. The joy of domination peaked after Hooks hit a 3-pointer with 1:28 left in the third.
That “just shoot it” mentality is why the Bobcat’s offense has been explosive lately. The Bobcats scored 95 points in last week’s win over UNC Wilmington and 86 on Tuesday. They only scored 80-plus points three times last season. They’ve already done it twice.
They did it all Thursday without Gabby Burris scoring. Burris, who was coming off a career-high performance, was scoreless in Tuesday’s win, but Hooks, Johnson and Amani Burke picked up the slack.
The three guards combined for 53 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists, proving that Ohio is deep when in comes to offensive talent.
“If you shut down two, two more will get hot. If you shut down one we still have four other people,” Johnson said. “We’re not just one person.”
