Ohio 84, Wofford37
Illinois-Chicago 64, Northern Illinois 47
Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Ohio 84, Wofford37
Athens, Ohio - The Short Story: After reaching triple digits for the first time since 2004 in their season-opening victory against Murray State, the Bobcats continued their winning ways with a 84-37 victory against Wofford. Ohio’s defense was stifling, forcing 28 Terrier turnovers. Kiyanna Black led all scorers with 21 points while also grabbing nine rebounds.
How It Happened:
-The Bobcats jumped out to a 9-0 lead on the back of Kiyanna Black, who scored seven of those points. Ohio never looked back, leading for the entire contest.
-With the Bobcats leading 20-10 at the 7:21 mark of the first half, Ohio went on a 22-7 run to finish the opening 20 minutes with a 42-17 lead.
-Black led all Bobcats with 16 points on six of 10 shooting in the first half, while Quiera Lampkins also added 10.
-Ohio did not allow the Terriers to convert a field goal for the first 5:55 of the game and forced them into 15 turnovers and a 26.9% field goal percentage in the first half. Wofford would finish with 28 turnovers.
-The Bobcats finished with seven blocks and 12 steals. Lampkins led the charge on the defensive end, collecting three blocks and three steals.
-With Black’s 21 points, Ohio had four players scoring in double figures, including Lampkins (16), Kelly Karlis (13) and Jasmine Weatherspoon (10).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
-The win marked Ohio’s fourth-straight victory in home openers and the second-straight under Bob Boldon.
-Monday’s game marked the first ever matchup between the Bobcats and Terriers.
-Black reached at least double figures in points for the 32nd time in her Ohio career while also recording her 13th game scoring at least 20 points.
-Ohio’s 47 point margin of victory was its first home win by at least 20 points since defeating Chicago State 65-37 in 2011.
-The Bobcats have won their first two contests by a combined 98 points.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Bob Boldon:
-“The one thing we tried to get better on is being a better shooting team, a more skilled team. It’s shown the first couple games. And obviously there’s a lot of basketball games left to be played, so we’ll continue to try and work on it and try to get better.”
-“At times, we worked hard last year when it was convenient. I think this team seems to work hard more regularly. That’s our challenge as we head into practice tomorrow and the next day and the next day that we can come in with a workman-like mentality.”
Junior guard Kiyanna Black:
On the team’s explosive offense thus far:
“I didn’t expect it to go like this, but I’m not surprised because we’ve been putting the work in since summer. So I think it’s something we have to appreciate and know that it’s not going to be like this every night. We’ve just got to learn to adjust.”
Freshman forward Kelly Karlis:
On a perfect four-for-four shooting performance in her first home game:
“I don’t always expect every shot to go in. But I wasn’t thinking tonight and when I don’t think, that’s when the shots tend to go in.”
COMING UP
-The Bobcats will stay in the friendly confines of the Convocation Center for their next matchup, facing off against Detroit on Thursday. Ohio tips off against the Titans at 7 p.m.
Illinois-Chicago 64, Northern Illinois 47
CHICAGO - After leading halfway through the first period, the NIU (1-1) women’s basketball team played a well fought game at UIC (2-0) but lost to the Flames, 61-47. Freshman Renee Sladek (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) finished with 14 points and four rebounds in the effort to lead the Huskies in scoring. UIC’s Ruvanna Campbell had 15 points, 23 boards and eight assists.
NIU finished the night 14-of-18 from the free throw line, marking the second-straight game the Huskies have made at least 10 free throws.
“UIC is an incredibly talented and athletic team and they shot the ball very well. They did a great job of getting the rebounds or the putbacks tonight,” said Head Coach Kathi Bennett. “If we could’ve made a few more shots in the first half, it would’ve put more pressure on (UIC) and it might’ve been a different game.”
NIU struck first blood as Sladek converted a layup and was fouled on the way up, adding one more point from the free throw line. After UIC went on a 9-0 run, the Huskies went on 10-3 run of its own to take a 13-12 lead with 10:54 remaining in the first half.
The Flames ended the first half with a shooting percentage of .467, converting 14-of-30 shots taken to lead after the opening period, 30-22. NIU was 5-of-6 from the free throw line and worked UIC for nine personal fouls in the half, as well as eight turnovers. Sladek finished the half with nine points and three rebounds, going 3-for-4 from the field.
UIC came out as the aggressor in the second half, building a 19-point lead with 8:37 left in the stanza. The Huskies didn’t hang their heads down however as they battled back to within nine points after the final media timeout with 3:16 left as Kelly Smith (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) and Danny Pulliam (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) each hit two free throws after a foul and a technical foul, followed by an Ally Lehman (Nineveh, Ind./Indian Creek) layup for a six-point swing on the same possession.
Sladek led NIU with 14 points as she was 5-for-8 from the field and 4-for-5 from the free throw line. Smith followed in Sladek’s double-figure footsteps as she finished with 10 points, including two baskets from behind the arc. Pulliam and Jenna Thorp (Hinckley, Ill./Hinckley-Big Rock) led the Huskies in rebounds with five apiece.
Off the bench, Amber Gray (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) was 3-for-4 from the field with a career-high six points, grabbing two rebounds and distributing two assists, also a career-high, in 21 minutes.
As a team, the Flames were 25-for-55 (.436) shooting with four three-point field goals and nine free throws. While only six different players scored for UIC, four those players scored 10-or-more points led by Campbell’s 15.
The Huskies will return to action Thursday night as they host Valparaiso at 6 p.m. at the NIU Convocation Center. The game is a double header with the men’s team, who will host Idaho at 8 p.m.
