When Ohio walked off the The Convo court following its 83-81 victory over conference opponent Kent State on Wednesday night, the Bobcats didn’t feel like they won. They felt like they survived one of their worst performances of the season.
“It definitely feels like we survived it,” Amani Burke — who finished with 15 points and three assists — said. “We didn’t play to our full potential, and we still won.”
Burke wasn’t bragging. The Bobcats (14-1, 3-1 Mid-American Conference) had a 15-point lead heading into halftime. They were looking solid offensively. They were making their shots, competing for rebounds and had done a decent job defensively, holding one of the MAC’s leading scorers, Megan Carter, to nine points.
Then everything went haywire in the second half, and the Bobcats don’t even know what happened.
“Toward the end, I looked up at the score and was like ‘we’re only up four?’” Burke said. “I didn’t even realize that.”
Ohio’s offense sputtered in the second half, which was OK with coach Bob Boldon. It was a conference game, Kent State’s (10-5, 3-1 Mid-American Conference) defense is among the MAC’s best and sometimes good shots don’t go in.
What made Boldon furious was Ohio’s horrendous defense.
The Bobcats gave up points every way imaginable. 3-pointers, points off turnovers and 21 points from the free-throw line made what could have been a blowout into a gut-wrenching experience.
“I’m so disappointed with where we are defensively it’s hard to find joy in anything at this moment,” Boldon said. “We got to get better, and quick.”
With Carter and backcourt running mate Alexa Golden heating up, and ultimately finishing with 20 and 22 points, respectively, things didn’t seem like they could get worse for Ohio.
They did.
Throughout the second half, both teams had a plethora of calls against them that made them scratch their heads. At the end of the third quarter, with Ohio’s lead only at seven, Burke, Ohio’s best scorer, and defender Cece Hooks, both had four fouls. Dominique Doseck, the best shooter on the team, had four, too.
“You can’t focus on the fouls,” Doseck said. “Your team is depending on you to play defense.”
Ohio, like most times, though, found a way to survive. Doseck hit a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter, and Ohio soon got into a free throw shooting contest against the Golden Flashes. Players such as Gabby Burris and Erica Johnson, who had fouls to give, ended up guarding the ball handlers until they too were in foul trouble.
The noise of the booing at the refs rivaled the noise the excited Convo crowd made with every clutch basket. In total, Ohio and Kent State combined for 61 free-throw attempts.
“Nobody enjoyed watching that game,” Boldon said. “It was a terrible game. I would have rather watched ‘Bachelor in Paradise.’”
Despite the game being tough to watch, everyone had their eyes on Johnson at the free-throw line with 47 seconds left with a chance to put Ohio up six.
Johnson made both, went back to the line, made two more and then fouled out with 16 points and six rebounds.
Hooks soon followed her to the bench with a game-high 23 points.
When the final buzzer sounded, everyone scattered off the court in frustration, Kent State with the loss, and Ohio with the performance. The win gives Ohio a share of first place in the MAC, yet none of that matters. With only one loss on its record, the Bobcats exit games with the demeanor of a team that’s .500.
Until the Bobcats play to their potential, they will be unhappy and unimpressed with themselves. And with it being halfway through the season, Ohio doesn’t know when that will happen.
If it ever does.
