by The Buckeyes defeated the Wolverines on their home court in Ann Arbor, 74-61, to improve to 2-0 against their rivals this season and earn their first win over a ranked opponent since their 66-57 win over Michigan at the Covelli Center on Dec. 31 .
After losing its last four games against ranked opponents with two losses to Indiana and losses to Iowa and Maryland, Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said Monday night’s win was “really important” to get the momentum back on the Buckeyes’ side.
“I thought we looked different tonight,” McGuff said after the game. “I thought we competed for 40 minutes, and played pretty well for most of the game.”
Rikki Harris was the star of the night for the Buckeyes, scoring a career-high 23 points and adding seven steals and five assists while starting at point guard in place of Jacy Sheldon, who remained sidelined with the foot injury that has sidelined her. 22 games this season.
“Rikki was just absolutely spectacular,” McGuff said. “Played all out, played with toughness, intensity, focus and just great leadership in general. Really proud of her.”
|
Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
FINALLY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #16 OHIO STATE | 24 | 17 | 14 | 19 | 74 |
|
#12 MICHIGAN |
17 |
20 |
11 |
1. 3 |
61 |
The Buckeyes’ full-court press gave Michigan trouble all night as the Wolverines turned the ball over 27 times.
“We looked a lot more energetic in the press. I thought it was very effective,” McGuff said. “Just our competitive spirit and willingness to get stops and rebounds was better.”
As had been the recent trend for the Buckeyes against top competition, Ohio State got off to a slow start, quickly falling into a 10-2 hole as the Wolverines made four of their first five shots including a pair of 3-pointers.
This time, however, the Buckeyes responded quickly by making four straight 3-pointers of their own, including two in one possession when a foul was called off the ball on a Taylor Mikesell triple, which Taylor Thierry followed up with a long layup. do. Eboni Walker followed this time with three with a steal and fast break layup to give the Buckeyes their first lead of the game, 16-14, with 3:48 left in the first quarter.
Ohio State ended the first quarter with a 24-17 lead. The Buckeyes made six of their seven 3-point attempts in the first quarter — with Mikesell making three and Thierry making two — and had four steals in the first quarter as Michigan turned it over seven times in the first 10 minutes.
Rebeka Mikulasikova — coming off the bench in her second game after a sprained ankle — made Ohio State’s seventh three in eight attempts to extend the Buckeyes’ lead to 10 points on their opening possession of the second quarter. Harris made the Buckeyes’ eighth straight 3-pointer on their next possession.
|
OHIO STATE |
STATE |
MICHIGAN |
|---|---|---|
|
74 |
POINT |
61 |
|
28–60 (46.7%) |
FGM-FGA (PCT.) |
19–51 (37.3%) |
|
10-19 (52.6%) |
15:00-3PA (PCT.) |
7-21 (33.3%) |
|
8-12 (66.7%) |
FTM-FTA (PCT.) |
16-23 (69.6%) |
|
19 |
TURNOVERS |
27 |
|
27 |
TOTAL REBOUNDS |
38 |
|
7 |
OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS |
12 |
|
20 |
DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS |
26 |
|
11 |
BENCH POINTS |
0 |
|
1 |
BLOCKS |
4 |
|
1. 3 |
STEALING |
6 |
|
19 |
HELPS |
11 |
Leigha Brown almost single-handedly carried Michigan back into the game by scoring 14 points in the second quarter, including 10 points in the first three minutes of the period. Jordan Hobbs also made a pair of 3-pointers for the Wolverines in the second period, cutting the Buckeyes’ lead to one point with her second three. But Harris had a big second quarter of his own for Ohio State, finishing the quarter with 12 points — all on three-point plays — to keep Ohio State ahead on the scoreboard with a 41-37 halftime lead.
The Buckeyes cooled off offensively in the third quarter, making just six of 18 shots from the field and one of six attempts from 3-point range, but still extended their lead to seven points as they held Michigan to just three field goals and power play. nine turnovers in the first 10 minutes after halftime.
Michigan never got the game closer from there as Ohio State started the fourth quarter on a 7-2 run, including five more points from Harris, to build the lead to 12 points. The Buckeyes would lead by double digits for most of the fourth quarter before eventually going on to win by 13.
Brown was exceptional in the loss to the Wolverines, scoring a career-high 36 points, but she didn’t get enough help from her teammates, who combined for just 25 points.
The win clinched a double-bye in the Big Ten tournament for Ohio State, which is fourth in the conference standings with a 12-5 record in the Big Ten and just one more regular season game to play against third-place Maryland on Friday at 6 p.m. at the Schottenstein Centre. That game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
As the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten tournament, which will be played next week in Minneapolis, the Buckeyes could potentially face Michigan again next Friday in the quarterfinals, as the Wolverines are currently positioned to be the No. 5 seed in the tournament.
Game notes
-
Jacy Sheldon has now missed Ohio State’s last four games in a row and all but one game since the beginning of December.
-
Michigan guard Laila Phelia, the Wolverines’ second-leading scorer this season (17 points per game), also missed the game with a calf injury.
-
Walker made her third consecutive start in place of Mikulasikova.
-
Cotie McMahon won her sixth Big Ten Freshman of the Week award, tying the school record previously set by Kelsey Mitchell, on Monday afternoon for her performances in the Buckeyes’ previous two games against Penn State and Indiana. She combined for seven points, eight rebounds and seven assists in Monday’s game.
