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Ohio State women survive last-second shot to beat Iowa 60-59 to advance to B1G semis
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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It came down to the final buzzer, but the Bucks came out on top.
Ohio State women’s basketball entered the Big Ten Tournament Friday as the No. 3 seed and they started a hopeful postseason run against the No. 11 Iowa Hawkeyes. Iowa came in with wins over the Wisconsin Badgers and Michigan State Spartans, and with former Iowa legend Caitlin Clark looking on, the Buckeyes sent Iowa home 60-59 behind a strong performance by Cotie McMahon, who hit two free throws to ice the victory.
The Buckeyes entered Friday following a tough overtime defeat in College Park, Maryland. In that heartbreaker, fouls limited the effectiveness of forward Cotie McMahon and guard Jaloni Cambridge. Ohio State thought it was behind them, but Friday saw the same issues come to the surface.
In the first quarter, Cambridge and McMahon each picked up early fouls, with McMahon getting called for two. Those especially hurt the Buckeyes because the start of the game was all McMahon. The junior scored the first two baskets of the game for Ohio State, both beyond the arc.
McMahon’s scoring fed into her teammates and Ohio State built a nine-point lead in the first 7:08 of the game. After the first quarter, the Buckeyes led 14-9 and defensively held the Hawkeyes to 17.6 percent shooting from the floor, but it wouldn’t last to start the second quarter.
Head coach Kevin McGuff kept McMahon on the bench with the two fouls and added Cambridge. With the two off the court, and guards Madison Greene, Chance Gray, and Kennedy Cambridge on the court, there was no flow to the offense. The defense responded, stopping five Iowa shots in a row but could only hold them off for so long and the shots started falling without response from the Buckeyes.
A seven-point lead for the Hawkeyes erased the Ohio State lead, prompting a McGuff timeout. McMahon returned to the court out of the timeout, with Jaloni Cambridge who came in before the junior, and the offense responded. The Buckeyes increased their lead back to six points with a run of 3:05 without Iowa making a shot.
With 2:34 remaining in the half, Jaloni Cambridge picked up her second foul but McGuff wasn’t phased and kept the freshman on the court. However, Cambridge looked nervous about being too aggressive going to the basket and potentially picking up a third foul.
Ohio State shot 2-of-10 in the final five minutes of the quarter while Iowa hit four shots in a row to take a two-point lead. It was Iowa’s first lead of the game, but it didn’t last long. Forward Taylor Thierry got the Buckeyes ahead with 16 seconds remaining when the senior went up for a layup, received contact and hit the shot and subsequent free throw.
The Buckeyes entered halftime up 29-28 behind eight points from McMahon and six points and six rebounds from forward Ajae Petty.
Coming out of half time, no team asserted itself. Instead, the two teams traded blows as if it was a boxing match. The quarter featured four lead changes and three times when the game was tied. Neither side ever had more than a two-possession lead, with an unlikely name providing important minutes for the Buckeyes.
McGuff brought in forward Eboni Walker, who has played sparingly this season, but on Friday, she showed that maybe she should have seen the court a bit more throughout the year.
Walker played six minutes and had four points but more importantly provided stability and quickness on defense that Petty and freshman Elsa Lemmilä couldn't provide. With Walker on the court, the forward had a +6 plus/minus and along with two three-point shots from Kennedy Cambridge, the Buckeyes narrowly edged the Hawkeyes in the period.
On one of Kennedy Cambridge’s made shots from beyond the arc, it was her sister Jaloni Cambridge finding her with a laser of a pass that cut across the width of the court.
Ohio State outscored Iowa 19-18 in the quarter, with Walker picking up the last basket at the buzzer after rebounding a missed Kennedy Cambridge layup attempt. It gave the Buckeyes a 48-46 advantage and 10 minutes left to hold onto the lead if they hoped to continue their conference postseason run.
Jaloni Cambridge started going to the basket in the fourth quarter, entering the frame with only two fouls to her name. However, the freshman was hesitating, missing her first attempts in the final period. Thierry and McMahon picked up the scoring, hitting the first five points for Ohio State and extended the lead to four points.
Thierry, who hasn't played consistently on the offensive side of the court this season, added a second three-point shot in the fourth quarter to bring the lead to six points but Iowa kept fighting. McMahon missed two of four free throws and the Hawkeyes added a layup and three-point shot. Ohio State still had a lead, but it was dwindling, down to two points.
Iowa erased the lead when guard Sydney Affolter hit a second three in a row. It gave the Hawkeyes a one-point lead. On the next offensive drive, Jaloni Cambridge went up for a layup and got called for a charge, putting Iowa in the bonus with 48.8 seconds remaining.
Ohio State allowed an open three-point shot from Iowa with 29 seconds remaining that Kylie Feuerbach missed. That gave Ohio State the final possession, down one point. The Buckeyes called a timeout to regroup and out of it, McMahon went to the basket and hit a layup, but a foul was called before McMahon went up for the basket.
McMahon went to the line with a chance to win the game with free throws and hit them both, but Ohio State had to make one final defensive stop without fouling. Affolter had a chance to win it, but overthrew the basket with pressure from Walker.
With .7 seconds remaining, Stuelke had a chance to win the game on a quick catch and shoot but it was too short, sealing the victory for Ohio State.
McMahon and Thierry led the Buckeyes in scoring with 18 and 14 points, respectively. Thierry added five steals and seven rebounds. Jaloni Cambridge ended the day with six points on 3-of-15 shooting.
For Iowa, the trio of Stuelke, Olsen and Affolter propelled the Hawkeyes. All three scored 14 points in the Hawkeyes’ defeat.
With the loss, the Buckeyes’ Big Ten Tournament run is over before it really got going. Ohio State has nine days until the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, where they — and 67 other teams — will find out their seeding for this year’s Big Dance.
With the win, the Buckeyes play Saturday against the No. 2 UCLA Bruins. The game tips off at 5:30 p.m. ET with the winner playing either the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines or No. 1 USC Trojans in the championship game, on Sunday.
On Feb. 5, Ohio State played the Bruins in Los Angeles and were tied at 44-44 in the first minute of the fourth quarter but guard Kiki Rice led a late UCLA charge. The Buckeyes fell 65-52.
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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
It came down to the final buzzer, but the Bucks came out on top.
Ohio State women’s basketball entered the Big Ten Tournament Friday as the No. 3 seed and they started a hopeful postseason run against the No. 11 Iowa Hawkeyes. Iowa came in with wins over the Wisconsin Badgers and Michigan State Spartans, and with former Iowa legend Caitlin Clark looking on, the Buckeyes sent Iowa home 60-59 behind a strong performance by Cotie McMahon, who hit two free throws to ice the victory.
The Buckeyes entered Friday following a tough overtime defeat in College Park, Maryland. In that heartbreaker, fouls limited the effectiveness of forward Cotie McMahon and guard Jaloni Cambridge. Ohio State thought it was behind them, but Friday saw the same issues come to the surface.
In the first quarter, Cambridge and McMahon each picked up early fouls, with McMahon getting called for two. Those especially hurt the Buckeyes because the start of the game was all McMahon. The junior scored the first two baskets of the game for Ohio State, both beyond the arc.
McMahon’s scoring fed into her teammates and Ohio State built a nine-point lead in the first 7:08 of the game. After the first quarter, the Buckeyes led 14-9 and defensively held the Hawkeyes to 17.6 percent shooting from the floor, but it wouldn’t last to start the second quarter.
Head coach Kevin McGuff kept McMahon on the bench with the two fouls and added Cambridge. With the two off the court, and guards Madison Greene, Chance Gray, and Kennedy Cambridge on the court, there was no flow to the offense. The defense responded, stopping five Iowa shots in a row but could only hold them off for so long and the shots started falling without response from the Buckeyes.
A seven-point lead for the Hawkeyes erased the Ohio State lead, prompting a McGuff timeout. McMahon returned to the court out of the timeout, with Jaloni Cambridge who came in before the junior, and the offense responded. The Buckeyes increased their lead back to six points with a run of 3:05 without Iowa making a shot.
With 2:34 remaining in the half, Jaloni Cambridge picked up her second foul but McGuff wasn’t phased and kept the freshman on the court. However, Cambridge looked nervous about being too aggressive going to the basket and potentially picking up a third foul.
Ohio State shot 2-of-10 in the final five minutes of the quarter while Iowa hit four shots in a row to take a two-point lead. It was Iowa’s first lead of the game, but it didn’t last long. Forward Taylor Thierry got the Buckeyes ahead with 16 seconds remaining when the senior went up for a layup, received contact and hit the shot and subsequent free throw.
The Buckeyes entered halftime up 29-28 behind eight points from McMahon and six points and six rebounds from forward Ajae Petty.
Coming out of half time, no team asserted itself. Instead, the two teams traded blows as if it was a boxing match. The quarter featured four lead changes and three times when the game was tied. Neither side ever had more than a two-possession lead, with an unlikely name providing important minutes for the Buckeyes.
McGuff brought in forward Eboni Walker, who has played sparingly this season, but on Friday, she showed that maybe she should have seen the court a bit more throughout the year.
Walker played six minutes and had four points but more importantly provided stability and quickness on defense that Petty and freshman Elsa Lemmilä couldn't provide. With Walker on the court, the forward had a +6 plus/minus and along with two three-point shots from Kennedy Cambridge, the Buckeyes narrowly edged the Hawkeyes in the period.
On one of Kennedy Cambridge’s made shots from beyond the arc, it was her sister Jaloni Cambridge finding her with a laser of a pass that cut across the width of the court.
Ohio State outscored Iowa 19-18 in the quarter, with Walker picking up the last basket at the buzzer after rebounding a missed Kennedy Cambridge layup attempt. It gave the Buckeyes a 48-46 advantage and 10 minutes left to hold onto the lead if they hoped to continue their conference postseason run.
Jaloni Cambridge started going to the basket in the fourth quarter, entering the frame with only two fouls to her name. However, the freshman was hesitating, missing her first attempts in the final period. Thierry and McMahon picked up the scoring, hitting the first five points for Ohio State and extended the lead to four points.
Thierry, who hasn't played consistently on the offensive side of the court this season, added a second three-point shot in the fourth quarter to bring the lead to six points but Iowa kept fighting. McMahon missed two of four free throws and the Hawkeyes added a layup and three-point shot. Ohio State still had a lead, but it was dwindling, down to two points.
Iowa erased the lead when guard Sydney Affolter hit a second three in a row. It gave the Hawkeyes a one-point lead. On the next offensive drive, Jaloni Cambridge went up for a layup and got called for a charge, putting Iowa in the bonus with 48.8 seconds remaining.
Ohio State allowed an open three-point shot from Iowa with 29 seconds remaining that Kylie Feuerbach missed. That gave Ohio State the final possession, down one point. The Buckeyes called a timeout to regroup and out of it, McMahon went to the basket and hit a layup, but a foul was called before McMahon went up for the basket.
McMahon went to the line with a chance to win the game with free throws and hit them both, but Ohio State had to make one final defensive stop without fouling. Affolter had a chance to win it, but overthrew the basket with pressure from Walker.
With .7 seconds remaining, Stuelke had a chance to win the game on a quick catch and shoot but it was too short, sealing the victory for Ohio State.
McMahon and Thierry led the Buckeyes in scoring with 18 and 14 points, respectively. Thierry added five steals and seven rebounds. Jaloni Cambridge ended the day with six points on 3-of-15 shooting.
For Iowa, the trio of Stuelke, Olsen and Affolter propelled the Hawkeyes. All three scored 14 points in the Hawkeyes’ defeat.
What’s Next
With the loss, the Buckeyes’ Big Ten Tournament run is over before it really got going. Ohio State has nine days until the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, where they — and 67 other teams — will find out their seeding for this year’s Big Dance.
With the win, the Buckeyes play Saturday against the No. 2 UCLA Bruins. The game tips off at 5:30 p.m. ET with the winner playing either the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines or No. 1 USC Trojans in the championship game, on Sunday.
On Feb. 5, Ohio State played the Bruins in Los Angeles and were tied at 44-44 in the first minute of the fourth quarter but guard Kiki Rice led a late UCLA charge. The Buckeyes fell 65-52.
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