ThomasCostello
Guest
No. 2 Ohio State women’s basketball falls to No. 7 Duke 75-63
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
It came down to the wire in Columbus on Sunday for the Buckeyes and Blue Devils, with Ohio State’s season coming to an end
Sunday afternoon, Ohio State women’s basketball took the court for the final time in the Schottenstein Center for the 2023-24 season. The winner of the Buckeyes vs. the Duke Blue Devils meant a spot in the Sweet Sixteen, and a trip to Portland, Oregon.
Although they came in as the higher seed, Ohio State struggled offensively against a tough Duke defense. The Scarlet and Gray fall out of the tournament in the Second Round for the first time since 2018, losing 75-63.
It was hard to imagine the Buckeyes being too upset with the start of its game. Ohio State hit its first three shots of the game and, in the first four minutes, the Blue Devils, who average 16.9 turnovers per game, already gave the ball away three times.
Part of those turnovers was graduate senior guard Celeste Taylor. The former Duke star wasn’t kind to her former teammates, grabbing two steals early. Add exceptional play from forwards Rebeka Mikulášiková and Cotie McMahon in the paint and the Buckeyes jumped out to an early 12-4 lead.
However, fouls crept in. Taylor and fellow graduate senior guard Jacy Sheldon both fouled Duke point guard Taina Mair on consecutive offensive possessions for the visitors. Fortunately for head coach Kevin McGuff, the second came with a media timeout on the other end, giving the team time to adjust and not let the fouls creep into the psyche of an Ohio State side that had most things going its way to start the game.
Shooting for Duke struggled early. The Blue Devils took five fewer shots than the Buckeyes, thanks to five turnovers given away in the first quarter. Of its 11 shots, only two converted. Compare that to a 50% shooting start for Ohio State and it was an early 20-10 advantage after 10 minutes.
It looked like the pressure of the Buckeyes’ press was too much for the young Blue Devils to start the game.
The start of the second quarter was much of the same for both teams. Duke struggled offensively, making its first shot after three minutes into the quarter. It was the Blue Devils’ first made shot from the run of play since the 8:05 mark of the first quarter. Over 11 minutes where the only baskets were made from the free throw line.
Frustration was most obvious on the face of Duke’s Mair. After being rushed by Sheldon and Taylor on offense, Mair’s next two offensive possessions ended with the sophomore forcing shots early in the shot clock. Then the guard picked up her second foul, heading to the bench.
On the other side of things, Sheldon herself picked up two fouls with five minutes remaining in the second quarter, but McGuff appeared to have no plans of taking the guard out.
Duke responded on offense though, beginning to hit its stride. A six-point run cut the Ohio State lead back down to 10 points, hitting 15 points early in the second quarter. That lead coming mostly in the paint. The Buckeyes outscored the visitors near the basket 26-6 in the first half.
With that said, Duke made adjustments.
A seven-point run by the Blue Devils included a new defensive look, switching to a full-court press, making it difficult for Ohio State to even inbound the ball. Making matters worse, fouls continued to add up.
At halftime, four of the five Ohio State starters had two fouls, with Mikulášiková the lone starter with less than two. Even so, McGuff kept Sheldon and Taylor in the game, with Thierry taking a brief break midway through the quarter before reentering near the end.
Ohio State stayed off the scoreboard for the final 2:25 of the half and Duke capitalized, cutting its deficit down to four points. Down from 16 points only five minutes prior. The Buckeyes had a 36-32 lead entering the halftime locker room.
Part of the problem for the Scarlet and Gray was guard Reigan Richardson. After a quiet first quarter with two points, the Blue Devil showed why she’s the leader of the ACC side. Richardson, even under pressure, made shooting look easy. The junior guard went 4-for-6 in the second quarter, including 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. Richardson had 10 points in the second quarter, part of the 22-16 second-quarter advantage by Duke.
As the game started back up for the second half, both teams needed some time to find their footing again. When they did, the game became something it wasn’t in the first quarter: Close.
Both Ohio State and Duke began trading baskets. Leading the way for the Buckeyes was McMahon. Just over halfway into the third quarter, the sophomore already had eight points and was a magnet for Duke fouls. The ACC Sixth Player of the Year guard Oluchi Okanawa had two early fouls and sat for much of the first half. When she came back in, the first thing she did was foul McMahon.
McMahon hit a layup on the foul, a shot that put the game back up to three points in Ohio State’s favor. Despite the Duke pressure, the Buckeyes held on to its lead, not letting the visitors completely erase it.
With 3:50 left in the quarter, the Buckeyes were dealt a blow. Former Duke guard Taylor picked up her fourth foul, requiring the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year to head to the bench.
Duke responded, scoring six of the next seven points to go ahead by two points, its first lead of the game. Also on the bench was McMahon, but not for fouls. Ohio State looked its best when McMahon was attacking the basket. The sophomore had eight points in the quarter up until that point, and led the game with 22 points. Following a quick timeout after Duke’s lead, McMahon came back in to close out the quarter.
The Buckeyes, down three after a fast break layup by forward Camilla Emsbo, clawed back to cut the deficit to one point. Thanks to free throws made by Harris, Ohio State was down 51-50 with 10 minutes remaining on its season.
Both the teams and the fans could feel the tension heading into the final quarter. Down one point, the Buckeyes quickly erased the deficit and it was a tie ballgame. However, back on the court with four fouls, Taylor fouled out with 6:38 remaining in the game.
Either way, every basket for Ohio State ended with roars. On Duke’s walks up the court, the Schott got onto its feet, trying to impact the game. After Forward Taylor Thierry tied the game again for Ohio State, following Duke free throws, McMahon got the building’s roof to come off, earning a charge on defense.
On defense though, the Blue Devils were used to the press by the latter stages of the game. Benefiting was Richardson, scoring her 21st point of the night on a wide open three-point shot. It put the visitors up two with five minutes remaining in the half.
Out of the media timeout, Ohio State kept trying to drive to the basket and the fouls and baskets were no longer coming. Duke amassed a six-point lead. At that point, Ohio State didn’t have one made three all game, missing its eight attempts in the game.
Richardson kept propelling Duke, scoring 10 points in a row. It put the game too far out of reach for the Buckeyes, down nine points with one minute remaining in the game.
The Buckeyes couldn’t muster enough to have one final comeback. Ohio State’s rough second half ends its season with a Duke 75-63 comeback victory.
What’s Next
With the Duke victory, Ohio State’s season is over. That means at least five Buckeyes’ NCAA careers are over. There are still questions over the status of Harris and forward Eboni Walker, with confirmation likely to come in the offseason.
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
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
It came down to the wire in Columbus on Sunday for the Buckeyes and Blue Devils, with Ohio State’s season coming to an end
Sunday afternoon, Ohio State women’s basketball took the court for the final time in the Schottenstein Center for the 2023-24 season. The winner of the Buckeyes vs. the Duke Blue Devils meant a spot in the Sweet Sixteen, and a trip to Portland, Oregon.
Although they came in as the higher seed, Ohio State struggled offensively against a tough Duke defense. The Scarlet and Gray fall out of the tournament in the Second Round for the first time since 2018, losing 75-63.
It was hard to imagine the Buckeyes being too upset with the start of its game. Ohio State hit its first three shots of the game and, in the first four minutes, the Blue Devils, who average 16.9 turnovers per game, already gave the ball away three times.
Part of those turnovers was graduate senior guard Celeste Taylor. The former Duke star wasn’t kind to her former teammates, grabbing two steals early. Add exceptional play from forwards Rebeka Mikulášiková and Cotie McMahon in the paint and the Buckeyes jumped out to an early 12-4 lead.
However, fouls crept in. Taylor and fellow graduate senior guard Jacy Sheldon both fouled Duke point guard Taina Mair on consecutive offensive possessions for the visitors. Fortunately for head coach Kevin McGuff, the second came with a media timeout on the other end, giving the team time to adjust and not let the fouls creep into the psyche of an Ohio State side that had most things going its way to start the game.
Shooting for Duke struggled early. The Blue Devils took five fewer shots than the Buckeyes, thanks to five turnovers given away in the first quarter. Of its 11 shots, only two converted. Compare that to a 50% shooting start for Ohio State and it was an early 20-10 advantage after 10 minutes.
It looked like the pressure of the Buckeyes’ press was too much for the young Blue Devils to start the game.
The start of the second quarter was much of the same for both teams. Duke struggled offensively, making its first shot after three minutes into the quarter. It was the Blue Devils’ first made shot from the run of play since the 8:05 mark of the first quarter. Over 11 minutes where the only baskets were made from the free throw line.
Frustration was most obvious on the face of Duke’s Mair. After being rushed by Sheldon and Taylor on offense, Mair’s next two offensive possessions ended with the sophomore forcing shots early in the shot clock. Then the guard picked up her second foul, heading to the bench.
On the other side of things, Sheldon herself picked up two fouls with five minutes remaining in the second quarter, but McGuff appeared to have no plans of taking the guard out.
Duke responded on offense though, beginning to hit its stride. A six-point run cut the Ohio State lead back down to 10 points, hitting 15 points early in the second quarter. That lead coming mostly in the paint. The Buckeyes outscored the visitors near the basket 26-6 in the first half.
With that said, Duke made adjustments.
A seven-point run by the Blue Devils included a new defensive look, switching to a full-court press, making it difficult for Ohio State to even inbound the ball. Making matters worse, fouls continued to add up.
At halftime, four of the five Ohio State starters had two fouls, with Mikulášiková the lone starter with less than two. Even so, McGuff kept Sheldon and Taylor in the game, with Thierry taking a brief break midway through the quarter before reentering near the end.
Ohio State stayed off the scoreboard for the final 2:25 of the half and Duke capitalized, cutting its deficit down to four points. Down from 16 points only five minutes prior. The Buckeyes had a 36-32 lead entering the halftime locker room.
Part of the problem for the Scarlet and Gray was guard Reigan Richardson. After a quiet first quarter with two points, the Blue Devil showed why she’s the leader of the ACC side. Richardson, even under pressure, made shooting look easy. The junior guard went 4-for-6 in the second quarter, including 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. Richardson had 10 points in the second quarter, part of the 22-16 second-quarter advantage by Duke.
As the game started back up for the second half, both teams needed some time to find their footing again. When they did, the game became something it wasn’t in the first quarter: Close.
Both Ohio State and Duke began trading baskets. Leading the way for the Buckeyes was McMahon. Just over halfway into the third quarter, the sophomore already had eight points and was a magnet for Duke fouls. The ACC Sixth Player of the Year guard Oluchi Okanawa had two early fouls and sat for much of the first half. When she came back in, the first thing she did was foul McMahon.
McMahon hit a layup on the foul, a shot that put the game back up to three points in Ohio State’s favor. Despite the Duke pressure, the Buckeyes held on to its lead, not letting the visitors completely erase it.
With 3:50 left in the quarter, the Buckeyes were dealt a blow. Former Duke guard Taylor picked up her fourth foul, requiring the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year to head to the bench.
Duke responded, scoring six of the next seven points to go ahead by two points, its first lead of the game. Also on the bench was McMahon, but not for fouls. Ohio State looked its best when McMahon was attacking the basket. The sophomore had eight points in the quarter up until that point, and led the game with 22 points. Following a quick timeout after Duke’s lead, McMahon came back in to close out the quarter.
The Buckeyes, down three after a fast break layup by forward Camilla Emsbo, clawed back to cut the deficit to one point. Thanks to free throws made by Harris, Ohio State was down 51-50 with 10 minutes remaining on its season.
Both the teams and the fans could feel the tension heading into the final quarter. Down one point, the Buckeyes quickly erased the deficit and it was a tie ballgame. However, back on the court with four fouls, Taylor fouled out with 6:38 remaining in the game.
Either way, every basket for Ohio State ended with roars. On Duke’s walks up the court, the Schott got onto its feet, trying to impact the game. After Forward Taylor Thierry tied the game again for Ohio State, following Duke free throws, McMahon got the building’s roof to come off, earning a charge on defense.
On defense though, the Blue Devils were used to the press by the latter stages of the game. Benefiting was Richardson, scoring her 21st point of the night on a wide open three-point shot. It put the visitors up two with five minutes remaining in the half.
Out of the media timeout, Ohio State kept trying to drive to the basket and the fouls and baskets were no longer coming. Duke amassed a six-point lead. At that point, Ohio State didn’t have one made three all game, missing its eight attempts in the game.
Richardson kept propelling Duke, scoring 10 points in a row. It put the game too far out of reach for the Buckeyes, down nine points with one minute remaining in the game.
The Buckeyes couldn’t muster enough to have one final comeback. Ohio State’s rough second half ends its season with a Duke 75-63 comeback victory.
What’s Next
With the Duke victory, Ohio State’s season is over. That means at least five Buckeyes’ NCAA careers are over. There are still questions over the status of Harris and forward Eboni Walker, with confirmation likely to come in the offseason.
Continue reading...