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Ohio State women’s basketball remains optimistic entering postseason play
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images
Despite losing in College Park, the overtime defeat gives the team hope heading into a Friday Big Ten Tournament debut
Last season, Ohio State women’s basketball was on a tear. The Buckeyes won 15 games in a row in conference play, securing the sole ownership of the Big Ten regular season title, setting up what the team hoped was a longer postseason than their trip to the Elite Eight in 2023. Then the wheels fell off.
Head coach Kevin McGuff’s side went to Iowa to face guard Caitlin Clark in her last regular season game in Iowa City. In a contest full of emotion and national attention, Clark secured the NCAA points record from Pete Maravich and the Buckeyes couldn’t overcome the Black and Yellow. A small blip before the postseason, but it proved to be just the first impact that turned into a fast-growing crack in the foundation — then the Maryland Terrapins punched a hole in it.
In the Big Ten Tournament, Ohio State entered as the No. 1 seed, and came in with a track record of not losing in the quarterfinals when entering with a double-bye under McGuff.
However, the Terrapins beat the Buckeyes by 21 points and Ohio State hopped right back on the plane home from Minneapolis, Minnesota to try and regroup for the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes beat the Maine Black Bears, needing to rebound from a tough start, and then couldn’t hold off the Duke Blue Devils in the Second Round of March Madness.
That’s all in the past, but Ohio State stands on the precipice of another March, beginning Friday at the Big Ten Tournament. However, this time things are different.
For one, the team integrated three new starters in the offseason. It’s taken time to get players used to each other, and key leaders from past campaigns are now either in the pros, on the Ohio State bench or both.
Then there’s the second difference - the Buckeyes haven’t been on a tear at all this season. Ohio State won 17 games to start the season, but that was a weak non-conference schedule masquerading as a tear.
Ohio State has been pushed and pulled to this point of the season through strong individual performances from forward Cotie McMahon and freshman point guard Jaloni Cambridge. Any tough win was either the by-product of a player reaching new levels of competing or opponents wrestling away leads. There have not been many team battles to overcome adversity, until the final day of the regular season.
The Buckeyes lost in overtime to the Maryland Terrapins 93-90 on a last second overtime three-point winner by Terps guard Sarah Te-Biasu, but that defeat puts Ohio State in a better spot for the postseason, much better than last season.
Against Maryland, Ohio State lacked lineup consistency with McMahon and Cambridge each sitting on the bench for periods of time they would normally be playing due to foul trouble. In the second half, down nine points, it looked like the Buckeyes were on their way to a humbling defeat but a weird thing happened and Ohio State fought and clawed back into the game.
“I was proud of the team, the way we competed,” said McGuff. “I thought our competitive character and effort was where it needed to be.”
McGuff isn’t one who believes a loss is a good way to learn lessons, sharing in the past that winning also lets teams learn lessons, so the positives of how the team competed were followed up with a “but.”
“But we made too many mistakes. A lot of turnovers that led to easy Maryland baskets and a couple opportunities for key defensive stops that we didn’t get.”
Last season, the Buckeyes looked like a team that knew they could win, but the confidence got the best of them at the end of the season and in the postseason. This edition of the Scarlet and Gray doesn’t have that same belief. When the team did, specifically against the Penn State Nittany Lions, it ended in defeat. Penn State entered that game without a Big Ten win on the season and ended the regular season on Sunday with only that one win in conference play.
Not having that kind of confidence is a good thing.
Ohio State can’t afford to expect a win to come to them. There needs to be that fight that the Buckeyes showed without their top scorers on the floor in an environment that goes beyond a normal college basketball game in the Big Ten. Not only were the coaches yelling, but the fans and players joined in. The officiating crew was struggling to keep up with the intensity on and off the court.
Despite the loss, it has the Buckeyes feeling better about heading into the postseason.
“It shows our togetherness, our toughness,” said graduate senior guard Madison Greene. It gives us confidence even if we didn’t have a great outcome today, coming into the Big Ten Tournament and March, I think if we have that same mindset and energy I think we’ll be good.”
Greene was part of the group leading that comeback charge, playing 33 minutes, which is her most in a game coming off the bench. In large part due to Cambridge only playing 18 minutes before fouling out. Greene added 12 points, her highest total in Big Ten play this season in a subdued role.
The Buckeyes also leaned on the play of guard Taylor Thierry, who played 43 minutes and led all Ohio State scorers with 21 points. A performance unlike Thierry this year after the senior took a more backseat role in the offense.
While the cast of characters is different, the show is the same for Ohio State, and they are playing more like the 22-23 edition of this program. That team had to battle to come back in multiple games. That team didn’t lack fight. For any tough, lopsided, defeat there were two-to-three double-digit comebacks.
This season’s edition of the Buckeyes has the talent and it’s proven that throughout the season. Outside of McMahon and Cambridge, guard Chance Gray has games hitting deep shots with frequency, forward Ajae Petty is on a three-game double-double streak and bench players like Kennedy Cambridge and Elsa Lemmila provide sparks nearly every game.
How will that transfer to the postseason where each game could be the team’s last?
“I think we’re in a good spot,” said McGuff. “Today we could’ve won, we didn’t, and give Maryland credit, they made some big plays down the stretch especially. But we’ve played well the last three games against really good competition and so I think we’re in a pretty good spot.”
Ohio State has wins against ranked Michigan State and an overtime victory over a surging Iowa Hawkeyes team that has three wins in their last four games, plus a narrow, two-point, defeat to the UCLA Bruins. It bodes well for the Buckeyes and shows that despite an up and down season, not all hope is lost for the Scarlet and Gray.
“We’ve got to take that same competitive character into next weekend in Indy” said McGuff. “Just be a little bit better in controlling the things we can control and we’ll be a bit better.”
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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 G Fiume/Getty Images
Despite losing in College Park, the overtime defeat gives the team hope heading into a Friday Big Ten Tournament debut
Last season, Ohio State women’s basketball was on a tear. The Buckeyes won 15 games in a row in conference play, securing the sole ownership of the Big Ten regular season title, setting up what the team hoped was a longer postseason than their trip to the Elite Eight in 2023. Then the wheels fell off.
Head coach Kevin McGuff’s side went to Iowa to face guard Caitlin Clark in her last regular season game in Iowa City. In a contest full of emotion and national attention, Clark secured the NCAA points record from Pete Maravich and the Buckeyes couldn’t overcome the Black and Yellow. A small blip before the postseason, but it proved to be just the first impact that turned into a fast-growing crack in the foundation — then the Maryland Terrapins punched a hole in it.
In the Big Ten Tournament, Ohio State entered as the No. 1 seed, and came in with a track record of not losing in the quarterfinals when entering with a double-bye under McGuff.
However, the Terrapins beat the Buckeyes by 21 points and Ohio State hopped right back on the plane home from Minneapolis, Minnesota to try and regroup for the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes beat the Maine Black Bears, needing to rebound from a tough start, and then couldn’t hold off the Duke Blue Devils in the Second Round of March Madness.
That’s all in the past, but Ohio State stands on the precipice of another March, beginning Friday at the Big Ten Tournament. However, this time things are different.
For one, the team integrated three new starters in the offseason. It’s taken time to get players used to each other, and key leaders from past campaigns are now either in the pros, on the Ohio State bench or both.
Then there’s the second difference - the Buckeyes haven’t been on a tear at all this season. Ohio State won 17 games to start the season, but that was a weak non-conference schedule masquerading as a tear.
Ohio State has been pushed and pulled to this point of the season through strong individual performances from forward Cotie McMahon and freshman point guard Jaloni Cambridge. Any tough win was either the by-product of a player reaching new levels of competing or opponents wrestling away leads. There have not been many team battles to overcome adversity, until the final day of the regular season.
The Buckeyes lost in overtime to the Maryland Terrapins 93-90 on a last second overtime three-point winner by Terps guard Sarah Te-Biasu, but that defeat puts Ohio State in a better spot for the postseason, much better than last season.
Against Maryland, Ohio State lacked lineup consistency with McMahon and Cambridge each sitting on the bench for periods of time they would normally be playing due to foul trouble. In the second half, down nine points, it looked like the Buckeyes were on their way to a humbling defeat but a weird thing happened and Ohio State fought and clawed back into the game.
“I was proud of the team, the way we competed,” said McGuff. “I thought our competitive character and effort was where it needed to be.”
McGuff isn’t one who believes a loss is a good way to learn lessons, sharing in the past that winning also lets teams learn lessons, so the positives of how the team competed were followed up with a “but.”
“But we made too many mistakes. A lot of turnovers that led to easy Maryland baskets and a couple opportunities for key defensive stops that we didn’t get.”
Last season, the Buckeyes looked like a team that knew they could win, but the confidence got the best of them at the end of the season and in the postseason. This edition of the Scarlet and Gray doesn’t have that same belief. When the team did, specifically against the Penn State Nittany Lions, it ended in defeat. Penn State entered that game without a Big Ten win on the season and ended the regular season on Sunday with only that one win in conference play.
Not having that kind of confidence is a good thing.
Ohio State can’t afford to expect a win to come to them. There needs to be that fight that the Buckeyes showed without their top scorers on the floor in an environment that goes beyond a normal college basketball game in the Big Ten. Not only were the coaches yelling, but the fans and players joined in. The officiating crew was struggling to keep up with the intensity on and off the court.
Despite the loss, it has the Buckeyes feeling better about heading into the postseason.
“It shows our togetherness, our toughness,” said graduate senior guard Madison Greene. It gives us confidence even if we didn’t have a great outcome today, coming into the Big Ten Tournament and March, I think if we have that same mindset and energy I think we’ll be good.”
Greene was part of the group leading that comeback charge, playing 33 minutes, which is her most in a game coming off the bench. In large part due to Cambridge only playing 18 minutes before fouling out. Greene added 12 points, her highest total in Big Ten play this season in a subdued role.
The Buckeyes also leaned on the play of guard Taylor Thierry, who played 43 minutes and led all Ohio State scorers with 21 points. A performance unlike Thierry this year after the senior took a more backseat role in the offense.
While the cast of characters is different, the show is the same for Ohio State, and they are playing more like the 22-23 edition of this program. That team had to battle to come back in multiple games. That team didn’t lack fight. For any tough, lopsided, defeat there were two-to-three double-digit comebacks.
This season’s edition of the Buckeyes has the talent and it’s proven that throughout the season. Outside of McMahon and Cambridge, guard Chance Gray has games hitting deep shots with frequency, forward Ajae Petty is on a three-game double-double streak and bench players like Kennedy Cambridge and Elsa Lemmila provide sparks nearly every game.
How will that transfer to the postseason where each game could be the team’s last?
“I think we’re in a good spot,” said McGuff. “Today we could’ve won, we didn’t, and give Maryland credit, they made some big plays down the stretch especially. But we’ve played well the last three games against really good competition and so I think we’re in a pretty good spot.”
Ohio State has wins against ranked Michigan State and an overtime victory over a surging Iowa Hawkeyes team that has three wins in their last four games, plus a narrow, two-point, defeat to the UCLA Bruins. It bodes well for the Buckeyes and shows that despite an up and down season, not all hope is lost for the Scarlet and Gray.
“We’ve got to take that same competitive character into next weekend in Indy” said McGuff. “Just be a little bit better in controlling the things we can control and we’ll be a bit better.”
Continue reading...