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LGHL Cotie McMahon’s internal monologue at the free throw line against the Iowa Hawkeyes
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Cotie McMahon’s internal monologue at the free throw line against the Iowa Hawkeyes
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images
When the game mattered the most, McMahon hit all of her marks in the highest pressure moments.
It has been a tough week for Ohio State forward Cotie McMahon, when gauging it based on conversation surrounding the junior. Controversy momentarily hit McMahon for her off the court gesture to the Maryland Terrapins’ student section in the last game of the regular season. To make matters worse, the Buckeyes lost the game 93-90 on a last-second shot in overtime by the Terps. On Friday, McMahon had a chance to do the same thing, and when the moment came McMahon grabbed ahold of it with two hands.
With 19 seconds remaining, the Buckeyes called a timeout, down one point. The shot clock was off, so Ohio State had potentially the last shot with an opportunity to win and move on in the Big Ten Tournament.
All game, Iowa frustrated the Buckeyes with a zone defense that cut off lanes and made it difficult to get into the paint.
“On the last play in general, we wanted to get the ball in her hands and create space for her to play in,” OSU head coach Kevin McGuff said.
After inbounding the ball, graduate senior Madison Greene found freshman Jaloni Cambridge on the wing, which pulled in two defenders to give McMahon a one-on-one opportunity to go to the basket. McMahon caught the pass and had to get by Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke in the paint and McMahon went through her.
Stuelke’s feet weren’t set on the attempt to get a charge call against the Ohio State forward, McMahon went up for a layup over the fellow junior and missed. However, the officials already blew the whistle for a defensive foul and McMahon had a chance to win it from the free throw line.
Entering Friday, McMahon averaged 65.2 percent from the charity stripe. In the last four games, the forward didn’t shoot over 50 percent and get even closer to the attempt to win the game, McMahon already missed half of her free throws earlier in the fourth quarter.
McMahon stepped up to the line and Gainbridge Fieldhouse got loud. Iowa fans traveled well and filled the arena that former Hawkeye guard Caitlin Clark now calls home with the WNBA’s Indiana Fever. It was noise that added to a week full of it, and mostly directed at the Ohio State junior.
What was going through McMahon’s mind? How could she concentrate in what felt like a volcano about to erupt in Iowa celebration?
“Honestly, I didn’t really hear anything,” said McMahon. “I was kind of cussing myself out, like if I don’t make these free throws, then we’re going home. So I just made them.”
The forward hit both. Ohio State still needed some defense with Iowa getting the last shot, a catch and shoot by Stuelke that clanged off the front of the rim. It gave the Buckeyes a rare two-win season over the Hawkeyes, and eliminated an Iowa side that won the last three Big Ten Tournaments, including the 2023 final where the Hawkeyes dismantled McMahon and the Buckeyes.
McMahon has not kept how she feels about the Iowa Hawkeyes a secret. It’s a rivalry that’s personal to her. In Friday’s edition, the forward Ohio State scored 16 other points before those two vitally important baskets at the end of the game. The forward stepped up when it mattered most for the Buckeyes’ postseason.
Those free throws not only give Ohio State another day of basketball, but it also went a long way in getting the Buckeyes to host the first two rounds of March Madness. The team sat on the edge of not hosting in the Feb. 27 NCAA Tournament committee top-16 seeds release. With the loss to Maryland, Ohio State needed to win in the Big Ten Tournament and get help from other programs.
That help came with the Alabama Crimson Tide, Kansas State Wildcats and Ole Miss Rebels all losing, even though none of that guarantees the Buckeyes avoid NCAA Tournament travel in the first two rounds.
At the free throw line, none of that mattered. Seeding, a rivalry or hand gestures. All of that was fleeting. McMahon became the living proof of the “big players make big plays” adage.
“She made the right play. She got fouled. At that point, you’ve got to step up and put yourself in position to make them, and she did,” said McGuff. “Really happy and proud she could do that for us.”
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ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images
When the game mattered the most, McMahon hit all of her marks in the highest pressure moments.
It has been a tough week for Ohio State forward Cotie McMahon, when gauging it based on conversation surrounding the junior. Controversy momentarily hit McMahon for her off the court gesture to the Maryland Terrapins’ student section in the last game of the regular season. To make matters worse, the Buckeyes lost the game 93-90 on a last-second shot in overtime by the Terps. On Friday, McMahon had a chance to do the same thing, and when the moment came McMahon grabbed ahold of it with two hands.
With 19 seconds remaining, the Buckeyes called a timeout, down one point. The shot clock was off, so Ohio State had potentially the last shot with an opportunity to win and move on in the Big Ten Tournament.
All game, Iowa frustrated the Buckeyes with a zone defense that cut off lanes and made it difficult to get into the paint.
“On the last play in general, we wanted to get the ball in her hands and create space for her to play in,” OSU head coach Kevin McGuff said.
After inbounding the ball, graduate senior Madison Greene found freshman Jaloni Cambridge on the wing, which pulled in two defenders to give McMahon a one-on-one opportunity to go to the basket. McMahon caught the pass and had to get by Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke in the paint and McMahon went through her.
Stuelke’s feet weren’t set on the attempt to get a charge call against the Ohio State forward, McMahon went up for a layup over the fellow junior and missed. However, the officials already blew the whistle for a defensive foul and McMahon had a chance to win it from the free throw line.
Entering Friday, McMahon averaged 65.2 percent from the charity stripe. In the last four games, the forward didn’t shoot over 50 percent and get even closer to the attempt to win the game, McMahon already missed half of her free throws earlier in the fourth quarter.
McMahon stepped up to the line and Gainbridge Fieldhouse got loud. Iowa fans traveled well and filled the arena that former Hawkeye guard Caitlin Clark now calls home with the WNBA’s Indiana Fever. It was noise that added to a week full of it, and mostly directed at the Ohio State junior.
What was going through McMahon’s mind? How could she concentrate in what felt like a volcano about to erupt in Iowa celebration?
“Honestly, I didn’t really hear anything,” said McMahon. “I was kind of cussing myself out, like if I don’t make these free throws, then we’re going home. So I just made them.”
The forward hit both. Ohio State still needed some defense with Iowa getting the last shot, a catch and shoot by Stuelke that clanged off the front of the rim. It gave the Buckeyes a rare two-win season over the Hawkeyes, and eliminated an Iowa side that won the last three Big Ten Tournaments, including the 2023 final where the Hawkeyes dismantled McMahon and the Buckeyes.
McMahon has not kept how she feels about the Iowa Hawkeyes a secret. It’s a rivalry that’s personal to her. In Friday’s edition, the forward Ohio State scored 16 other points before those two vitally important baskets at the end of the game. The forward stepped up when it mattered most for the Buckeyes’ postseason.
Those free throws not only give Ohio State another day of basketball, but it also went a long way in getting the Buckeyes to host the first two rounds of March Madness. The team sat on the edge of not hosting in the Feb. 27 NCAA Tournament committee top-16 seeds release. With the loss to Maryland, Ohio State needed to win in the Big Ten Tournament and get help from other programs.
That help came with the Alabama Crimson Tide, Kansas State Wildcats and Ole Miss Rebels all losing, even though none of that guarantees the Buckeyes avoid NCAA Tournament travel in the first two rounds.
At the free throw line, none of that mattered. Seeding, a rivalry or hand gestures. All of that was fleeting. McMahon became the living proof of the “big players make big plays” adage.
“She made the right play. She got fouled. At that point, you’ve got to step up and put yourself in position to make them, and she did,” said McGuff. “Really happy and proud she could do that for us.”
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LGHL Ohio State can’t hang on in Bloomington, falling to Indiana 66-60 in regular season finale
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Ohio State can’t hang on in Bloomington, falling to Indiana 66-60 in regular season finale
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo courtesy of Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) on Twitter/X
The Buckeyes had opportunities to put away Indiana early, but didn’t, and it bit them.
One game, for all the marbles.
Well, not really, unless you consider “the marbles” to be a bid to the NCAA Tournament — which, for both of these programs, should be the expectation nearly every season.
Regardless, Ohio State and Indiana met up in Bloomington this afternoon, with both teams squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Both the Buckeyes and Hoosiers were projected 11-seeds before Saturday’s game, meaning a loss could potentially cost them an at-large bid to the big dance.
Indiana entered Saturday’s game having beaten Ohio State the last four times they’ve played, and with a 66-60 win, they extended that streak to five. The Hoosiers, who are now essentially locked into the NCAA Tournament, were led by Trey Galloway who had 16 points on his senior day.
Devin Royal got the scoring started for Ohio State with his 15th three-pointer of the season, and the two teams played to a 5-5 tie by the first media timeout. IU was trying to get the ball to Oumar Ballo below the basket as much as possible, and he had four of IU’s first five points while being guarded primarily by Sean Stewart.
The teams traded misses for several misses, with Indiana specializing at the free throw variety of misses. The game was still tied 9-9 by the under-12 timeout with 11:55 remaining in the game, but the Hoosiers left points at the stripe, going 3-for-6. Ohio State, by comparison, did not get to the free throw line in the first eight minutes.
Despite Indiana having a a brutally tough first half shooting the ball, the Hoosiers kept themselves in the game with offensive rebounding, grabbing eight offensive boards compared to Ohio State’s one and scoring eight second-chance points. The Buckeyes pushed their lead to nine points late in the first half, but Indiana closed the half on an 8-3 run, making OSU’s lead 29-25 at the halftime break.
John Mobley Jr. and Micah Parrish each had seven first-half points for Ohio State, while Bruce Thornton was held to two points on 1-of-4 shooting in the first half. Galloway had seven points in the first half for IU. Ballo had five first-half points, but only one point in the final 16 minutes of the first half. Ohio State shot 46.2% in the first half, Indiana shot 31%.
Indiana cut the lead to one point on a Luke Goode three to open the half, but the Buckeyes went on a little 7-2 run several minutes later, including a three from Parrish and another bucket from Glover, to go up 43-34 once again with 13 minutes left in the game. The nine-point lead matched the Buckeyes’ largest lead of the game to that point. Indiana called timeout to regroup, as a bit of nervous energy started to set in over the fans in Bloomington.
However, Indiana may have gotten lucky on a few close calls, starting with an absurd play around the 12 minute mark where Micah Parrish went for a loose ball that he had touched last, but an IU fan sitting in the front row grabbed the ball and prevented Parrish from continuing the possession. The ball was called off of Parrish, and Indiana wound up scoring on that possession.
A few minutes later, Mackenzie Mgbako missed a three-pointer but Galloway grabbed the offensive rebound. On the way down it looked like the IU senior may have stepped on the line, but the official was standing right there and did not blow the whistle. It ultimately led to an open three-pointer for Indiana, which cut the Ohio State lead to 46-41 with 11:10 remaining in the game.
The Buckeyes extended their lead to 46-36 shortly thereafter, but Indiana went on an 13-3 run over the next 4:11 to tie the game with 8:14 remaining. That run included free throws for Anthony Leal, who drew a flagrant foul on Mobley with 8:17 left when the freshman elbowed him in the face trying to escape and receive the inbounds pass from Thornton.
Indiana took its first lead of the day when Malik Reneau was fouled by Sean Stewart with 7:06 remaining in the game. The lefty hit both free throws, putting Indiana up 50-49 and Assembly Hall finally making some noise for the home fans.
After Royal missed both free throws in a 56-56 tie game, Evan Mahaffey chased down the miss in the corner and called timeout. Out of that timeout, Mobley missed a long three-pointer, and Mahaffey fouled Reneau on an entry pass to put him back at the free throw line. He hit both, putting the Hoosiers up 58-56 with 2:55 remaining in the game.
Ohio State had a chance to tie or take the lead with 1:44 remaining, but an inbounds pass to Mobley bounced off his foot and rolled out of bounds. Galloway drained a three on the next possession, putting the Hoosiers up 61-56 with 1:05 left in the game.
The Buckeyes had lots of opportunities to bury Indiana in the first half and let them hang around, and ultimately Indiana was able to make a final push late in the second half to win the game and (basically) punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament, 66-60.
If you weren’t around Saturday to see the Buckeyes drop another one in Bloomington on Saturday, here were a few key plays and runs that ultimately led in yet another loss to the neighboring Hoosiers:
Ques Glover, who did not score in either of Ohio State’s last two games, checked in with 12:13 left in the first half and scored back-to-back buckets for Ohio State, putting the Buckeyes up 15-9. It’s been tough sledding lately for Ohio State when Bruce Thornton is out of the game, so the bench offense from Glover was a fairly new development.
The Buckeyes weren’t taking full advantage of a horrid shooting performance by Indiana in the first half. Despite watching the Hoosiers hit just one out of 13 shots at one point, Ohio State was unable to stretch its lead past five points for much of the opening half.
But one minute after Mobley drained a three to put the Buckeyes up 23-17, Parrish sized up Trey Galloway and snapped off a deep three pointer from the far wing, knocking it down to increase Ohio State’s lead to 26-17 with 3:47 left to go until halftime.
After Parrish put the Buckeyes up nine, they would only score three more points for the remainder of the half, courtesy of Aaron Bradshaw. The Hoosiers got seven points from Galloway in the final 2:40 of the half to make it a two-possession game at halftime.
With Ohio State leading 43-36 and 12:12 remaining in the game, Royal knocked down a step-back three from close to the Ohio State bench, making it 46-36. It was Ohio State’s first double-digit lead of the game, and was Royal’s second three-point make of the game.
With Ohio State up 46-36 and just over 12 minutes remaining in the game, Parrish got in a scrum for a loose ball near the opposite sideline, and touched the ball last. However, after he touched the ball he tried to grab it again, but an Indiana fan sitting in the front row grabbed it as it started to go towards his seat.
Parrish lifted his arms up and asked what he was supposed to do, but the ball was called off Parrish last, and it was Indiana ball. The Hoosiers went on to score that possession, cutting it to 46-38.
With 8:16 left in the game and Indiana in the middle of a big run, Mobley tried to get free of Leal to get the inbounds pass from Thornton, and in the process hit Leal in the head with his elbow. The foul was upgraded to a flagrant, and Leal was awarded both free throws. Leal hit both, and Indiana scored on the free possession as well to tie the game 49-49 with 8:13 remaining on the clock.
Thornton tried to inbound the ball to Mobley with just over a minute remaining, but the freshman took his eye off it and the ball bounced off his foot and rolled out of bounds. Galloway hit a triple on the ensuing IU possession, making it 61-56 Hoosiers with 1:24 left in the game.
With Indiana winning this one, Ohio State will go into the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 10 seed, and will not get a first-round bye. The Buckeyes will take on the No. 15 seed, which — as of this afternoon — could be Rutgers, Iowa, USC, Minnesota, Northwestern, or Nebraska.
That game is set to tip off at roughly 6:00 p.m. ET on Peacock.
Continue reading...
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo courtesy of Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) on Twitter/X
The Buckeyes had opportunities to put away Indiana early, but didn’t, and it bit them.
One game, for all the marbles.
Well, not really, unless you consider “the marbles” to be a bid to the NCAA Tournament — which, for both of these programs, should be the expectation nearly every season.
Regardless, Ohio State and Indiana met up in Bloomington this afternoon, with both teams squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Both the Buckeyes and Hoosiers were projected 11-seeds before Saturday’s game, meaning a loss could potentially cost them an at-large bid to the big dance.
Indiana entered Saturday’s game having beaten Ohio State the last four times they’ve played, and with a 66-60 win, they extended that streak to five. The Hoosiers, who are now essentially locked into the NCAA Tournament, were led by Trey Galloway who had 16 points on his senior day.
Devin Royal got the scoring started for Ohio State with his 15th three-pointer of the season, and the two teams played to a 5-5 tie by the first media timeout. IU was trying to get the ball to Oumar Ballo below the basket as much as possible, and he had four of IU’s first five points while being guarded primarily by Sean Stewart.
The teams traded misses for several misses, with Indiana specializing at the free throw variety of misses. The game was still tied 9-9 by the under-12 timeout with 11:55 remaining in the game, but the Hoosiers left points at the stripe, going 3-for-6. Ohio State, by comparison, did not get to the free throw line in the first eight minutes.
Despite Indiana having a a brutally tough first half shooting the ball, the Hoosiers kept themselves in the game with offensive rebounding, grabbing eight offensive boards compared to Ohio State’s one and scoring eight second-chance points. The Buckeyes pushed their lead to nine points late in the first half, but Indiana closed the half on an 8-3 run, making OSU’s lead 29-25 at the halftime break.
John Mobley Jr. and Micah Parrish each had seven first-half points for Ohio State, while Bruce Thornton was held to two points on 1-of-4 shooting in the first half. Galloway had seven points in the first half for IU. Ballo had five first-half points, but only one point in the final 16 minutes of the first half. Ohio State shot 46.2% in the first half, Indiana shot 31%.
Indiana cut the lead to one point on a Luke Goode three to open the half, but the Buckeyes went on a little 7-2 run several minutes later, including a three from Parrish and another bucket from Glover, to go up 43-34 once again with 13 minutes left in the game. The nine-point lead matched the Buckeyes’ largest lead of the game to that point. Indiana called timeout to regroup, as a bit of nervous energy started to set in over the fans in Bloomington.
However, Indiana may have gotten lucky on a few close calls, starting with an absurd play around the 12 minute mark where Micah Parrish went for a loose ball that he had touched last, but an IU fan sitting in the front row grabbed the ball and prevented Parrish from continuing the possession. The ball was called off of Parrish, and Indiana wound up scoring on that possession.
A few minutes later, Mackenzie Mgbako missed a three-pointer but Galloway grabbed the offensive rebound. On the way down it looked like the IU senior may have stepped on the line, but the official was standing right there and did not blow the whistle. It ultimately led to an open three-pointer for Indiana, which cut the Ohio State lead to 46-41 with 11:10 remaining in the game.
The Buckeyes extended their lead to 46-36 shortly thereafter, but Indiana went on an 13-3 run over the next 4:11 to tie the game with 8:14 remaining. That run included free throws for Anthony Leal, who drew a flagrant foul on Mobley with 8:17 left when the freshman elbowed him in the face trying to escape and receive the inbounds pass from Thornton.
Indiana took its first lead of the day when Malik Reneau was fouled by Sean Stewart with 7:06 remaining in the game. The lefty hit both free throws, putting Indiana up 50-49 and Assembly Hall finally making some noise for the home fans.
After Royal missed both free throws in a 56-56 tie game, Evan Mahaffey chased down the miss in the corner and called timeout. Out of that timeout, Mobley missed a long three-pointer, and Mahaffey fouled Reneau on an entry pass to put him back at the free throw line. He hit both, putting the Hoosiers up 58-56 with 2:55 remaining in the game.
Ohio State had a chance to tie or take the lead with 1:44 remaining, but an inbounds pass to Mobley bounced off his foot and rolled out of bounds. Galloway drained a three on the next possession, putting the Hoosiers up 61-56 with 1:05 left in the game.
The Buckeyes had lots of opportunities to bury Indiana in the first half and let them hang around, and ultimately Indiana was able to make a final push late in the second half to win the game and (basically) punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament, 66-60.
If you weren’t around Saturday to see the Buckeyes drop another one in Bloomington on Saturday, here were a few key plays and runs that ultimately led in yet another loss to the neighboring Hoosiers:
Ques Glover with back-to-back baskets off the bench
Ques Glover, who did not score in either of Ohio State’s last two games, checked in with 12:13 left in the first half and scored back-to-back buckets for Ohio State, putting the Buckeyes up 15-9. It’s been tough sledding lately for Ohio State when Bruce Thornton is out of the game, so the bench offense from Glover was a fairly new development.
Parrish triple puts Ohio State up, 26-17
The Buckeyes weren’t taking full advantage of a horrid shooting performance by Indiana in the first half. Despite watching the Hoosiers hit just one out of 13 shots at one point, Ohio State was unable to stretch its lead past five points for much of the opening half.
But one minute after Mobley drained a three to put the Buckeyes up 23-17, Parrish sized up Trey Galloway and snapped off a deep three pointer from the far wing, knocking it down to increase Ohio State’s lead to 26-17 with 3:47 left to go until halftime.
Hoosiers close on an 8-3 run, go into half down four points
After Parrish put the Buckeyes up nine, they would only score three more points for the remainder of the half, courtesy of Aaron Bradshaw. The Hoosiers got seven points from Galloway in the final 2:40 of the half to make it a two-possession game at halftime.
Royal’s stepback three makes it a 10-point game
With Ohio State leading 43-36 and 12:12 remaining in the game, Royal knocked down a step-back three from close to the Ohio State bench, making it 46-36. It was Ohio State’s first double-digit lead of the game, and was Royal’s second three-point make of the game.
Fan interference?
With Ohio State up 46-36 and just over 12 minutes remaining in the game, Parrish got in a scrum for a loose ball near the opposite sideline, and touched the ball last. However, after he touched the ball he tried to grab it again, but an Indiana fan sitting in the front row grabbed it as it started to go towards his seat.
Parrish lifted his arms up and asked what he was supposed to do, but the ball was called off Parrish last, and it was Indiana ball. The Hoosiers went on to score that possession, cutting it to 46-38.
Mobley called for flagrant foul, IU ties it
With 8:16 left in the game and Indiana in the middle of a big run, Mobley tried to get free of Leal to get the inbounds pass from Thornton, and in the process hit Leal in the head with his elbow. The foul was upgraded to a flagrant, and Leal was awarded both free throws. Leal hit both, and Indiana scored on the free possession as well to tie the game 49-49 with 8:13 remaining on the clock.
Mobley takes his eye off the inbounds pass, IU goes up 5
Thornton tried to inbound the ball to Mobley with just over a minute remaining, but the freshman took his eye off it and the ball bounced off his foot and rolled out of bounds. Galloway hit a triple on the ensuing IU possession, making it 61-56 Hoosiers with 1:24 left in the game.
What’s next?
With Indiana winning this one, Ohio State will go into the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 10 seed, and will not get a first-round bye. The Buckeyes will take on the No. 15 seed, which — as of this afternoon — could be Rutgers, Iowa, USC, Minnesota, Northwestern, or Nebraska.
That game is set to tip off at roughly 6:00 p.m. ET on Peacock.
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