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Despite the frustration, Ohio State women’s basketball puts Iowa defeat behind them
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images
Buckeyes get knocked down in Iowa City, but eyes now shift to Minneapolis.
Sunday afternoon, Ohio State women’s basketball couldn’t find its stride. In front of a loud Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the Buckeyes 93-83. After Iowa thwarted multiple comeback attempts and technical fouls hurt the Scarlet and Gray, the Big Ten champions weren’t focused on the defeat.
“Nobody likes to lose, especially this team,” said guard Jacy Sheldon. “Credit to Iowa, they’re a good team, but we’re excited now to go to the Big Ten Tournament, refocus.”
Coming from anybody but a leader like Sheldon and it could be misconstrued as, “athlete talk.” After all, a technical foul and a call that never came were key moments in a game where the Buckeyes were down but never looked totally out.
The first happened with the first half buzzer close to sounding. With two seconds remaining in the second quarter, superstar guard Caitlin Clark, walking towards teammates, had another run-in moment. This time it was with Ohio State forward Cotie McMahon.
Clark put her shoulder into McMahon, not planning on moving out of the way of the sophomore heading to the bench. When McMahon put her arm up after Clark made contact, the veteran college star reacted as if it was a forceful punch thrown by the Buckeyes forward.
That, and a call against guard Madison Greene on Hannah Stuelke, turned a five-point Ohio State deficit at the end of the half to nine. Graduate senior Celeste Taylor didn’t join in the emotions of the moment, instead using it to talk to her younger teammate.
“People are going to try to find other ways to bother you and get you off your game,” said Taylor. “Just staying locked into what you want to do and how you want to do it.”
Following the game, head coach Kevin McGuff, who admittedly didn’t see the contact when it happened, noted he was “disappointed” after seeing the technical foul for the first time after the game. Coach McGuff was careful not to cite what specifically made his disappointed. It could be the sophomore picking up her third technical foul in three weeks, or the questionable nature of the referee crew’s decision — possibly both.
The second half featured Ohio State showing its ability to battle back, but each time stalling with costly turnovers, turning the game from a two possession affair to over 10 points, thanks to Iowa offensive runs. Plus, a technical foul by guard Rikki Harris for arguing a clear foul against Iowa as she knocked over a player going for a ball heading out of bounds.
In the fourth quarter, a no-call grabbed collective attention. This time, it was Clark as the aggressor. With Sheldon and Taylor going after Clark, who was at risk of losing possession of the ball as she went to the ground, called a timeout. After the whistle, Clark threw up the arms of Sheldon and followed it up with a hit to Sheldon’s chest with the palm of her hand, in clear frustration.
Unlike McMahon, Clark was absolved of any wrongdoing by a referee review.
After the game, no Buckeye player or coach blamed those calls on changing the outcome. Ohio State was out rebounded 38-31, gave away the ball as many times as the Hawkeyes and gave up 19 points in the fast break. Instead, it was focusing on what the team needs to improve.
“I think transition defense is big for us,” said Sheldon. “Something we worked on a lot coming in this game and we’re going to continue to work on. Taking care of the ball, All of us, we're all guilty of it in this game. We’re going to continue to work on taking care of the ball.”
Now, Ohio State has one more goal to take care of in the conference: Winning the Big Ten Tournament.
The Buckeyes enter as the No. 1 seed, following its win three games ago against the Maryland Terrapins. The way the bracket fell, both teams that Ohio State lost to (Iowa and the Michigan Wolverines) are on the other side of the bracket. It starts Friday when the Scarlet and Gray face the winner of Thursday’s game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and Maryland Terrapins.
Despite the defeat, the team’s mentality itself isn’t changing. Even though games are now single elimination from now until the National Championship game on April 7.
“I don’t think there’s a lot that needs to be changed.” said Taylor. “But we need to continue to grow as individuals and as a team.”
Continue reading...
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 Matthew Holst/Getty Images
Buckeyes get knocked down in Iowa City, but eyes now shift to Minneapolis.
Sunday afternoon, Ohio State women’s basketball couldn’t find its stride. In front of a loud Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the Buckeyes 93-83. After Iowa thwarted multiple comeback attempts and technical fouls hurt the Scarlet and Gray, the Big Ten champions weren’t focused on the defeat.
“Nobody likes to lose, especially this team,” said guard Jacy Sheldon. “Credit to Iowa, they’re a good team, but we’re excited now to go to the Big Ten Tournament, refocus.”
Coming from anybody but a leader like Sheldon and it could be misconstrued as, “athlete talk.” After all, a technical foul and a call that never came were key moments in a game where the Buckeyes were down but never looked totally out.
The first happened with the first half buzzer close to sounding. With two seconds remaining in the second quarter, superstar guard Caitlin Clark, walking towards teammates, had another run-in moment. This time it was with Ohio State forward Cotie McMahon.
Clark put her shoulder into McMahon, not planning on moving out of the way of the sophomore heading to the bench. When McMahon put her arm up after Clark made contact, the veteran college star reacted as if it was a forceful punch thrown by the Buckeyes forward.
That, and a call against guard Madison Greene on Hannah Stuelke, turned a five-point Ohio State deficit at the end of the half to nine. Graduate senior Celeste Taylor didn’t join in the emotions of the moment, instead using it to talk to her younger teammate.
“People are going to try to find other ways to bother you and get you off your game,” said Taylor. “Just staying locked into what you want to do and how you want to do it.”
Following the game, head coach Kevin McGuff, who admittedly didn’t see the contact when it happened, noted he was “disappointed” after seeing the technical foul for the first time after the game. Coach McGuff was careful not to cite what specifically made his disappointed. It could be the sophomore picking up her third technical foul in three weeks, or the questionable nature of the referee crew’s decision — possibly both.
The second half featured Ohio State showing its ability to battle back, but each time stalling with costly turnovers, turning the game from a two possession affair to over 10 points, thanks to Iowa offensive runs. Plus, a technical foul by guard Rikki Harris for arguing a clear foul against Iowa as she knocked over a player going for a ball heading out of bounds.
In the fourth quarter, a no-call grabbed collective attention. This time, it was Clark as the aggressor. With Sheldon and Taylor going after Clark, who was at risk of losing possession of the ball as she went to the ground, called a timeout. After the whistle, Clark threw up the arms of Sheldon and followed it up with a hit to Sheldon’s chest with the palm of her hand, in clear frustration.
Unlike McMahon, Clark was absolved of any wrongdoing by a referee review.
After the game, no Buckeye player or coach blamed those calls on changing the outcome. Ohio State was out rebounded 38-31, gave away the ball as many times as the Hawkeyes and gave up 19 points in the fast break. Instead, it was focusing on what the team needs to improve.
“I think transition defense is big for us,” said Sheldon. “Something we worked on a lot coming in this game and we’re going to continue to work on. Taking care of the ball, All of us, we're all guilty of it in this game. We’re going to continue to work on taking care of the ball.”
Now, Ohio State has one more goal to take care of in the conference: Winning the Big Ten Tournament.
The Buckeyes enter as the No. 1 seed, following its win three games ago against the Maryland Terrapins. The way the bracket fell, both teams that Ohio State lost to (Iowa and the Michigan Wolverines) are on the other side of the bracket. It starts Friday when the Scarlet and Gray face the winner of Thursday’s game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and Maryland Terrapins.
Despite the defeat, the team’s mentality itself isn’t changing. Even though games are now single elimination from now until the National Championship game on April 7.
“I don’t think there’s a lot that needs to be changed.” said Taylor. “But we need to continue to grow as individuals and as a team.”
Continue reading...