ThomasCostello
Guest
No. 2 Ohio State women blowout No. 15 Maine in NCAA Tournament first round 80-57
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 Ron Schwane/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
The Buckeyes will await the winner of No. 7 Duke and No. 10 Richmond.
Friday, the NCAA Tournament tipped off in Columbus, with No. 2 Ohio State women’s basketball welcoming the No. 15 Maine Black Bears to the Schottenstein Center. It was one of two games on the day, with the No. 10 Richmond Spiders and No. 7 Duke Blue Devils following soon after.
The Buckeyes ended any kind of Cinderella story for the Atlantic East champions. Ohio State moves on to Sunday’s Second Round after defeating the Black Bears 80-57.
Ohio State knew what Maine wanted to do before entering the game. Go long in the shot clock, make open shots, and force the Buckeyes into half-court defense. That happened and was successful for the Black Bears.
Head coach Amy Vachon’s Maine side used screens to find open shots. The visitors made their first five shots, four of which came from beyond the arc. Hurting Ohio State the most was guard Olivia Rockwood. The guard averaged six points per game entering Friday and hit three shots from deep in the first seven minutes of the game.
Each time, Rockwood found a spot on the wing and waited for her opportunity, making the most of every chance.
The Buckeyes stayed in the game though, going run for run with the Black Bears, with scoring coming in bunches; a seven-point Buckeyes run was followed by an eight-point Maine run.
Then, with three minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Scarlet and Gray took control through the final buzzer. Guard Celeste Taylor hit star Maine guard Anne Simon with a block on an attempted layup. Followed immediately by a three-point shot from Taylor. Ohio State ended the frame with a nine-point run, but Maine thought it had the final make of the quarter.
Forward Adrianna Smith hit a jumper with 10 seconds remaining. Guard Jacy Sheldon ran down the court and hit a buzzer-beating midrange shot to put the Buckeyes up 22-16 after 10 minutes.
Momentum for Maine continued to suffer at the start of the second quarter. The Black Bears didn’t score for the first three minutes, going on a run of hitting one basket in six game minutes.
Coupling that with forced turnovers for Ohio State the Buckeyes built up a strong lead. Halfway through the second quarter, head coach Kevin McGuff’s side was up 14 points, and through aggressive play earned the bonus on a Maine side trying to slow the Buckeyes down.
While Taylor stood out for the Buckeyes in the first quarter, junior guard/forward hybrid Taylor Thierry was running the show in the second. Thierry was aggressive inside the paint, earning three trips to the free-throw line. Also contributing on defense.
On an attempted three-point shot by Rockwood, Thierry blocked the attempt, landing in the hands of Ohio State forward Rebeka Mikulášiková. The Slovakian big found Thierry bolting down the court as soon as she saw her teammate grab the ball. Mikulášiková sent a pass to Thierry, who hit the fast break layup.
All the scoring Maine could muster in the second quarter came from Simon and Smith. The duo scored all eight points for the Black Bears in the second quarter. Unfortunately for Maine, their star forward Smith suffered an ankle roll with 40.6 seconds left in the half. The injury forced Smith out of the quarter, needing help getting off the court and back into the medical room.
Then, for the second quarter in a row, Ohio State makes a statement basket as the buzzer sounds. This time, guard Madison Greene received a pass from Taylor with less than three seconds remaining. The redshirt senior nailed the three-point attempt, putting the Buckeyes up 43-24 entering halftime.
Coming out of the halftime locker room, Taylor’s defense picked up where it left off. Maine started the third quarter with the first possession and the graduate senior Taylor timed a pass, tipping it to where she could grab it, run on the fast break, and hit a layup.
Despite the tough start, Maine showed renewed intensity coming out of halftime. The game looked more like the first quarter again, with both sides trading baskets for the first five minutes. Ohio State tried to put the game to bed with a seven-point run, but Maine kept battling.
The visitors put the game to within 20 points, with the run pushing the lead out to 24 for the home side. Leading Maine was Simon, intent on Friday not being her last game of NCAA basketball. The graduate senior from Luxembourg scored 10 of the Black Bears' 19 points in the quarter.
Even with the strong individual performance, Ohio State took a 66-45 lead into the final quarter.
Coach Vachon’s Black Bears kept pushing into the fourth quarter, but every Maine basket featured a response by the Buckeyes. Part of the problem was Maine’s increased focus on quickly scoring.
Out of the team’s normal, take your time, offensive rhythm, defensively there was usually an open Ohio State player to receive a pass. Outside of a five-point run early in the fourth quarter, the Black Bears couldn’t muster up enough shots in a row.
Ohio State held on to beat Maine 80-57, confirming g its spot in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.
With the game firmly out of contention for a comeback, a chunk of the crowd starting chanting “Eboni!” Screaming at the coaching staff to get forward Eboni Walker into the game. The forward missed three games, where she wasn’t with the team.
Coach McGuff responded by putting the graduate senior into the game, earning large applause and cheering from the fans in attendance. That gave the forward 1:45 to play in front of a crowd happy with the Ohio State performance.
Leading the way for Ohio State, offensively, was Sheldon, scoring 19 points. Defensively, Taylor had six steals, a block and added 12 points on 3-for-4 shooting. Plus five assists.
Back on the Court
It’s been 14 days since the Buckeyes were last on the court, and it was a game to forget. The Maryland Terrapins beat the Scarlet and Gray in a Big Ten Tournament upset. From the start, it looked like Coach McGuff’s side was happy to put the game firmly in the past.
Ohio State played like the team that won 15 straight games in the regular season. After going down three points midway through the first quarter, the Buckeyes didn’t have an equal, turning the deficit into a 20-point lead in the second quarter.
Maine looked stronger in the second half, but the offense for Ohio State didn’t let the Black Bears cut its lead enough to make it a contest.
With 2:53 remaining in the second quarter, Sheldon made personal history. Hitting a layup on the fast break, Sheldon scored her 2,000th NCAA point. The graduate senior isn’t known to care about individual accomplishments, commenting on Thursday that she didn’t know she was even close to scoring 2,000 points.
The mark is special not only for the individual work but for the fact that all of the points came with the Buckeyes. It was appropriate that the guard did it on the final weekend that she’ll play in the Schottenstein Center as a member of the OSU program.
Ohio State’s win means they face the winner of game two in Columbus, between the Duke Blue Devils and the Richmond Spiders.
The Buckeyes have never faced the Spiders, but have two regular season games against the Blue Devils under its belt. In 2008 and 2017, Ohio State lost to Duke in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
This season, the Blue Devils entered with an at-large bid, while Richmond won the A10 Conference Tournament over Rhode Island.
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 Ron Schwane/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
The Buckeyes will await the winner of No. 7 Duke and No. 10 Richmond.
Friday, the NCAA Tournament tipped off in Columbus, with No. 2 Ohio State women’s basketball welcoming the No. 15 Maine Black Bears to the Schottenstein Center. It was one of two games on the day, with the No. 10 Richmond Spiders and No. 7 Duke Blue Devils following soon after.
The Buckeyes ended any kind of Cinderella story for the Atlantic East champions. Ohio State moves on to Sunday’s Second Round after defeating the Black Bears 80-57.
Ohio State knew what Maine wanted to do before entering the game. Go long in the shot clock, make open shots, and force the Buckeyes into half-court defense. That happened and was successful for the Black Bears.
Head coach Amy Vachon’s Maine side used screens to find open shots. The visitors made their first five shots, four of which came from beyond the arc. Hurting Ohio State the most was guard Olivia Rockwood. The guard averaged six points per game entering Friday and hit three shots from deep in the first seven minutes of the game.
Each time, Rockwood found a spot on the wing and waited for her opportunity, making the most of every chance.
The Buckeyes stayed in the game though, going run for run with the Black Bears, with scoring coming in bunches; a seven-point Buckeyes run was followed by an eight-point Maine run.
Then, with three minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Scarlet and Gray took control through the final buzzer. Guard Celeste Taylor hit star Maine guard Anne Simon with a block on an attempted layup. Followed immediately by a three-point shot from Taylor. Ohio State ended the frame with a nine-point run, but Maine thought it had the final make of the quarter.
Forward Adrianna Smith hit a jumper with 10 seconds remaining. Guard Jacy Sheldon ran down the court and hit a buzzer-beating midrange shot to put the Buckeyes up 22-16 after 10 minutes.
Momentum for Maine continued to suffer at the start of the second quarter. The Black Bears didn’t score for the first three minutes, going on a run of hitting one basket in six game minutes.
Coupling that with forced turnovers for Ohio State the Buckeyes built up a strong lead. Halfway through the second quarter, head coach Kevin McGuff’s side was up 14 points, and through aggressive play earned the bonus on a Maine side trying to slow the Buckeyes down.
While Taylor stood out for the Buckeyes in the first quarter, junior guard/forward hybrid Taylor Thierry was running the show in the second. Thierry was aggressive inside the paint, earning three trips to the free-throw line. Also contributing on defense.
On an attempted three-point shot by Rockwood, Thierry blocked the attempt, landing in the hands of Ohio State forward Rebeka Mikulášiková. The Slovakian big found Thierry bolting down the court as soon as she saw her teammate grab the ball. Mikulášiková sent a pass to Thierry, who hit the fast break layup.
All the scoring Maine could muster in the second quarter came from Simon and Smith. The duo scored all eight points for the Black Bears in the second quarter. Unfortunately for Maine, their star forward Smith suffered an ankle roll with 40.6 seconds left in the half. The injury forced Smith out of the quarter, needing help getting off the court and back into the medical room.
Then, for the second quarter in a row, Ohio State makes a statement basket as the buzzer sounds. This time, guard Madison Greene received a pass from Taylor with less than three seconds remaining. The redshirt senior nailed the three-point attempt, putting the Buckeyes up 43-24 entering halftime.
Coming out of the halftime locker room, Taylor’s defense picked up where it left off. Maine started the third quarter with the first possession and the graduate senior Taylor timed a pass, tipping it to where she could grab it, run on the fast break, and hit a layup.
Despite the tough start, Maine showed renewed intensity coming out of halftime. The game looked more like the first quarter again, with both sides trading baskets for the first five minutes. Ohio State tried to put the game to bed with a seven-point run, but Maine kept battling.
The visitors put the game to within 20 points, with the run pushing the lead out to 24 for the home side. Leading Maine was Simon, intent on Friday not being her last game of NCAA basketball. The graduate senior from Luxembourg scored 10 of the Black Bears' 19 points in the quarter.
Even with the strong individual performance, Ohio State took a 66-45 lead into the final quarter.
Coach Vachon’s Black Bears kept pushing into the fourth quarter, but every Maine basket featured a response by the Buckeyes. Part of the problem was Maine’s increased focus on quickly scoring.
Out of the team’s normal, take your time, offensive rhythm, defensively there was usually an open Ohio State player to receive a pass. Outside of a five-point run early in the fourth quarter, the Black Bears couldn’t muster up enough shots in a row.
Ohio State held on to beat Maine 80-57, confirming g its spot in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.
With the game firmly out of contention for a comeback, a chunk of the crowd starting chanting “Eboni!” Screaming at the coaching staff to get forward Eboni Walker into the game. The forward missed three games, where she wasn’t with the team.
Coach McGuff responded by putting the graduate senior into the game, earning large applause and cheering from the fans in attendance. That gave the forward 1:45 to play in front of a crowd happy with the Ohio State performance.
Leading the way for Ohio State, offensively, was Sheldon, scoring 19 points. Defensively, Taylor had six steals, a block and added 12 points on 3-for-4 shooting. Plus five assists.
Back on the Court
It’s been 14 days since the Buckeyes were last on the court, and it was a game to forget. The Maryland Terrapins beat the Scarlet and Gray in a Big Ten Tournament upset. From the start, it looked like Coach McGuff’s side was happy to put the game firmly in the past.
Ohio State played like the team that won 15 straight games in the regular season. After going down three points midway through the first quarter, the Buckeyes didn’t have an equal, turning the deficit into a 20-point lead in the second quarter.
Maine looked stronger in the second half, but the offense for Ohio State didn’t let the Black Bears cut its lead enough to make it a contest.
Sheldon Hits 2,000
With 2:53 remaining in the second quarter, Sheldon made personal history. Hitting a layup on the fast break, Sheldon scored her 2,000th NCAA point. The graduate senior isn’t known to care about individual accomplishments, commenting on Thursday that she didn’t know she was even close to scoring 2,000 points.
The mark is special not only for the individual work but for the fact that all of the points came with the Buckeyes. It was appropriate that the guard did it on the final weekend that she’ll play in the Schottenstein Center as a member of the OSU program.
What’s Next
Ohio State’s win means they face the winner of game two in Columbus, between the Duke Blue Devils and the Richmond Spiders.
The Buckeyes have never faced the Spiders, but have two regular season games against the Blue Devils under its belt. In 2008 and 2017, Ohio State lost to Duke in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
This season, the Blue Devils entered with an at-large bid, while Richmond won the A10 Conference Tournament over Rhode Island.
Continue reading...