No. 7 Ohio State women’s basketball responds with 108-58 win over IUPUI
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The Buckeyes get the most out of an expected win over the Horizon League side
After a less-than-ideal start of the season for the
Ohio State women’s basketball team, dropping its first game of the year against the USC Trojans, the Buckeyes returned to the friendly confines of Columbus, Ohio. Instead of a top-25 matchup, it was IUPUI, from neighboring Indianapolis, Indiana, traveling to the Buckeye state.
Ohio State didn’t let that defeat get them down. Instead, they took it to the IUPUI Jaguars for an 108-58 win.
The last time the Buckeyes played, USC held forward Cotie McMahon to a seven-point performance. Sunday, McMahon went to the rim off the won tipoff, showing that the Buckeyes weren’t looking to give IUPUI the same satisfaction it gave the Trojans.
In the first two minutes, Ohio State unleashed from three-point range. After forward Rebeka Mikulášiková hit a catch-and-shoot three at the top of the key, forward Taylor Thierry hit what looked like a three from the corner, but had her foot on the line.
Then, off the inbound pass, McMahon grabbed a steal and found Thierry for a second chance. Thierry hit it from deep and in front of 2024 commits Ava Watson and Seini Hicks, the Buckeyes showed them what they can expect playing for the scarlet and gray.
After going up 13-2, Ohio State made substitutions and with starters going out, IUPUI took advantage. The Jaguars outscored the Buckeyes 10-5, trimming the lead to five points. Included in that IUPUI run were some tough decisions by graduate senior transfer Taiyier Parks for OSU.
With two minutes on the court, Parks missed two shots to start her home debut. The first an attempt to use her strength going into the paint and second an open long two. Although Parks did add a turnover, the missed shots and a quick foul put the former
Michigan State forward on the bench.
The Buckeyes extended the lead out again after four free throws, but then IUPUI was dealt a blow. Forward Jazmyn Turner, who was leading the Jaguars with seven points and two rebounds, suffered what at first looked like a twisted ankle. It took the former Miami University Redhawk a few minutes, and assistance from her training staff and head coach to get back to the sideline.
At the end of the first quarter, Ohio State had an eight-point lead, 24-16. It was the turnovers that helped the Buckeyes the most, forcing 10 and scoring 11 points off those turnovers.
Another early issue for the Jaguars was fouling, more specifically fouling while the Buckeyes were shooting. After only 12 minutes of the game, Ohio State already had 17 trips to the line, hitting 12. By comparison, IUPUI had five total free throws but only three more fouls than the scarlet and gray.
Getting going in the second quarter was McMahon. Not only did the sophomore get to the line three times in the first two minutes of the second but also hit a contested layup. McMahon scored 11 with more than half the game remaining.
The Buckeyes saw the work in the paint was going as intended, so they kept pushing. Ohio State scored eight points in the paint during a 14-point run. When not getting to the free throw line, Mikulášiková was hitting a turnaround layup and the five turnovers given up by IUPUI to start the second led to 11 points off turnovers for just that quarter.
Things didn’t improve for the Jaguars. Ohio State went on another run, this time for 13 points. Part of that run was more great shooting by Thierry. The junior had a perfect shooting half, adding a second three-point shot with two minutes remaining in the half. Thierry had 12 first half points on 3-for-3 shooting and adding four free throws.
Ohio State took a resounding 59-31 lead into halftime. Joining Thierry in the double-digit scoring club was McMahon, leading OSU with 15 points. Guards Jacy Sheldon and Celeste Taylor weren’t far behind though, each with nine points. Taylor added her final two of the half before the halftime buzzer.
The work for the Buckeyes continued into the third quarter. After five minutes, Ohio State outscored IUPUI 17-7, showing it wasn’t going to let up despite the lopsided scoreboard.
With two minutes left in the third quarter, McGuff had seen enough time for his starters, going with an all-bench group. Included was guard Emma Shumate, who missed Ohio State’s first game of the year due to injury.
Included in the group was forward Eboni Walker, guard Rikki Harris and sophomore guard Kaia Henderson. IUPUI responded with a short four-point run, but at that point it didn’t matter a whole lot, with the Buckeyes still up 37 points following the two made baskets. IUPUI tried to add one at the buzzer of the third quarter, but Shumate, who led Ohio State in blocks last season, sent the ball into the stands with her first of this campaign.
The Buckeyes led 39 points going into the final quarter, with a scoreline of 84-45.
McGuff’s side piled on in the fourth, scoring the first 14 points, extending the lead up to 53 points. Thanks to substantial minutes for future Buckeye starters like guards Diana Collins, Henderson and center Faith Carson.
A special moment in the last four minutes was for forward Karla Vreš. The graduate senior who joined the Buckeyes last season scored her first points as a member of the scarlet and gray.
The Buckeyes coasted to a 108-58 victory.
Getting Reps
While the competition for Ohio State wasn’t the
Iowa Hawkeyes or UCLA Bruins of the world, an important piece of these non-conference games is building momentum and getting game practice. The Buckeyes had that against IUPUI.
The game against the Jaguars gave the Buckeyes the opportunity to get in more time in its press and half court defense. The score didn’t matter as head coach Kevin McGuff’s side mixed it up defensively a few times each quarter.
It means that IUPUI didn’t know what to expect when they inbounded the ball.
Offensively, Ohio State got the ball in everyone’s hands when working in its half court offense. Every Buckeye starter got into the double-digits in the scoring column. Also, new players like graduate senior Parks and freshman Diana Collins got to work on their game outside of a practice environment.
After a tough start by Parks, the forward showed her paint prowess with two impressive layups. For Collins, the guard had chances which included great ball handling and finding space but it wasn’t ending in points. Collins broke through too, hitting her first home points in scarlet and gray.
What’s Next
The Buckeyes are back at the Schottenstein Center in four days. That’s when the
Boston College Eagles land in Columbus. It’s one of two Power Five conference non-conference games for the scarlet and gray this season.
Last year, Ohio State faced the Eagles in Boston. The Buckeyes came away with a comfortable 82-64 victory, with Mikulášiková leading all scorers on the day with 23 points. From beyond the arc, Mikulášiková went 3-for-4 in the victory in an early season surge by the Slovakian.
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