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WBB: Ohio State Comes Up Short At #2 South Carolina
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The 6th ranked Ohio State women’s basketball team certainly didn’t take things easy to start the season, opening on the road at 2nd ranked South Carolina. The Gamecocks advanced to the Final Four last season and came up just short of making the national championship game. Both teams returned a lot from last season with South Carolina returning 4 of their 5 starters while OSU returned all 5 starters; the Buckeyes also return several players who were lost to injury last year.
South Carolina jumped out to an early lead, scoring the first 5 points of the game before Ohio State came right back to tie the game a minute and a half into the first quarter. Things fell apart for the Buckeyes though as turnovers and missed shots allowed the Gamecocks to score 12 straight to go up 17-5 with just under six minutes to go in the first quarter. OSU finally got their offense going but they struggled to stop South Carolina as the two teams traded baskets for the next few minutes before an Ameryst Alston three pointer triggered an 8 to 2 Buckeye run that trimmed the Gamecock lead to 28-23 with a minute and a half remaining in the quarter. South Carolina made a pair of free throws but another Alston three pointer made it a four point game, 30-26, at the end of the first.
After the scoring filled first quarter, both teams struggled to start the second but Ohio State pulled to within two, 32-30, three minutes into the quarter. The Buckeyes suffered a major blow then as Kelsey Mitchell picked up her second foul a few seconds later; Coach McGuff chose to leave Mitchell on the court as the sophomore’s scoring is too important to OSU to have her on the bench. After a Gamecock free throw, the Buckeyes would pull within one but South Carolina responded quickly, scoring six straight to go up 39-32 with three and half to go in the quarter. Kelsey Mitchell ended the run by nailing a deep three to pull the Buckeyes back within four. The two teams would go back and forth for the rest of the half before Alston hit a three pointer in the closing seconds to put OSU up 47-45 at intermission.
Ohio State carried the momentum into the begging of the third quarter where Kelsey Mitchell made back-to-back baskets to extend the Buckeye lead to 51-45. The teams would trade baskets and OSU led by three with just under three minutes to go in the quarter before South Carolina scored six straight to retake the lead, 62-59. A three pointer by Alston tied the game but the Gamecocks hit the final basket of the quarter to take a 64-62 lead into the final ten minutes.
The close game continued in the fourth and the Buckeyes took a 68-66 lead less than two minutes into the final period thanks to a three pointer by Mitchell. The Gamecocks responded with four straight to retake the lead and would stretch that lead to seven, 78-71, with three and a half minutes to go. Five straight points by Mitchell pulled OSU back within a basket and then Shayla Cooper hit a jumper to tie the game at 78 with two and a half on the clock. The Buckeyes couldn’t keep the momentum going and the Gamecocks capitalized on some OSU turnovers to score the next ten points as they held on for an 88-80 win.
Ohio State shot a disappointing 33% from the field but were a hot 44% from three point range. South Carolina did better from the inside, going 45% from the field but only 28% from the outside. The Buckeyes had some good moments of moving the ball but struggled to turn those into points, only recording 3 assists while committing 18 turnovers. Defensively the Buckeyes forced 20 turnovers and blocked 10 shots but lost the rebounding battle 51 to 42; rebounding has been an issue for the Buckeyes for a few years now.
Kelsey Mitchell led all players with 36 points and she did a great job of hitting shots from outside and attacking inside and getting to the free throw line. Mitchell also recorded 3 blocks but committed 3 turnovers while only dishing out one assist. Ameryst Alston was the only other Buckeye in double digits, scoring 23 points and coming up with a pair of steals. Shayla Cooper had perhaps the worst shooting performance of her career but pulled down a game high 15 rebounds; Cooper unfortunately committed 8 turnovers while only scoring 4 points. Cait Craft showed off her defensive prowess, coming up with a game-leading 5 steals while adding a block and 5 points.
The difference in this game came on the inside where the OSU front court really struggled on both ends against the Gamecocks. Alexa Hart was a force on the inside for most of last season but was contained in this game, only scoring 2 points and grabbing 5 boards. On defense the Buckeyes were caught out of position on the inside on several occasions and were hit with fouls as a result. The free throw line would prove to be the difference as South Carolina went 23 of 35 from the charity stripe compared to 18 of 20 for OSU; the Buckeyes shot a great 90% from the line which is encouraging.
This is a disappointing loss as Ohio State had the game tied and the momentum late but couldn’t put it away. That said, South Carolina is the 2nd ranked team in the country for a reason and to take them down to the wire on their own home court really shows how far Ohio State has come. The Buckeyes got themselves in a hole early, in part due to not keeping their emotion in check and at times their youth betrayed them as they didn’t show enough discipline. Despite those issues and facing a 15 point deficit early in the game, the Buckeyes kept fighting and showed that they can compete with the elite teams.
Ohio State will have another chance to show they can compete with the top teams when they host top ranked and defending National Champion Connecticut on Monday.
The post WBB: Ohio State Comes Up Short At #2 South Carolina appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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Charles via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The 6th ranked Ohio State women’s basketball team certainly didn’t take things easy to start the season, opening on the road at 2nd ranked South Carolina. The Gamecocks advanced to the Final Four last season and came up just short of making the national championship game. Both teams returned a lot from last season with South Carolina returning 4 of their 5 starters while OSU returned all 5 starters; the Buckeyes also return several players who were lost to injury last year.
South Carolina jumped out to an early lead, scoring the first 5 points of the game before Ohio State came right back to tie the game a minute and a half into the first quarter. Things fell apart for the Buckeyes though as turnovers and missed shots allowed the Gamecocks to score 12 straight to go up 17-5 with just under six minutes to go in the first quarter. OSU finally got their offense going but they struggled to stop South Carolina as the two teams traded baskets for the next few minutes before an Ameryst Alston three pointer triggered an 8 to 2 Buckeye run that trimmed the Gamecock lead to 28-23 with a minute and a half remaining in the quarter. South Carolina made a pair of free throws but another Alston three pointer made it a four point game, 30-26, at the end of the first.
After the scoring filled first quarter, both teams struggled to start the second but Ohio State pulled to within two, 32-30, three minutes into the quarter. The Buckeyes suffered a major blow then as Kelsey Mitchell picked up her second foul a few seconds later; Coach McGuff chose to leave Mitchell on the court as the sophomore’s scoring is too important to OSU to have her on the bench. After a Gamecock free throw, the Buckeyes would pull within one but South Carolina responded quickly, scoring six straight to go up 39-32 with three and half to go in the quarter. Kelsey Mitchell ended the run by nailing a deep three to pull the Buckeyes back within four. The two teams would go back and forth for the rest of the half before Alston hit a three pointer in the closing seconds to put OSU up 47-45 at intermission.
Ohio State carried the momentum into the begging of the third quarter where Kelsey Mitchell made back-to-back baskets to extend the Buckeye lead to 51-45. The teams would trade baskets and OSU led by three with just under three minutes to go in the quarter before South Carolina scored six straight to retake the lead, 62-59. A three pointer by Alston tied the game but the Gamecocks hit the final basket of the quarter to take a 64-62 lead into the final ten minutes.
The close game continued in the fourth and the Buckeyes took a 68-66 lead less than two minutes into the final period thanks to a three pointer by Mitchell. The Gamecocks responded with four straight to retake the lead and would stretch that lead to seven, 78-71, with three and a half minutes to go. Five straight points by Mitchell pulled OSU back within a basket and then Shayla Cooper hit a jumper to tie the game at 78 with two and a half on the clock. The Buckeyes couldn’t keep the momentum going and the Gamecocks capitalized on some OSU turnovers to score the next ten points as they held on for an 88-80 win.
Ohio State shot a disappointing 33% from the field but were a hot 44% from three point range. South Carolina did better from the inside, going 45% from the field but only 28% from the outside. The Buckeyes had some good moments of moving the ball but struggled to turn those into points, only recording 3 assists while committing 18 turnovers. Defensively the Buckeyes forced 20 turnovers and blocked 10 shots but lost the rebounding battle 51 to 42; rebounding has been an issue for the Buckeyes for a few years now.
Kelsey Mitchell led all players with 36 points and she did a great job of hitting shots from outside and attacking inside and getting to the free throw line. Mitchell also recorded 3 blocks but committed 3 turnovers while only dishing out one assist. Ameryst Alston was the only other Buckeye in double digits, scoring 23 points and coming up with a pair of steals. Shayla Cooper had perhaps the worst shooting performance of her career but pulled down a game high 15 rebounds; Cooper unfortunately committed 8 turnovers while only scoring 4 points. Cait Craft showed off her defensive prowess, coming up with a game-leading 5 steals while adding a block and 5 points.
The difference in this game came on the inside where the OSU front court really struggled on both ends against the Gamecocks. Alexa Hart was a force on the inside for most of last season but was contained in this game, only scoring 2 points and grabbing 5 boards. On defense the Buckeyes were caught out of position on the inside on several occasions and were hit with fouls as a result. The free throw line would prove to be the difference as South Carolina went 23 of 35 from the charity stripe compared to 18 of 20 for OSU; the Buckeyes shot a great 90% from the line which is encouraging.
This is a disappointing loss as Ohio State had the game tied and the momentum late but couldn’t put it away. That said, South Carolina is the 2nd ranked team in the country for a reason and to take them down to the wire on their own home court really shows how far Ohio State has come. The Buckeyes got themselves in a hole early, in part due to not keeping their emotion in check and at times their youth betrayed them as they didn’t show enough discipline. Despite those issues and facing a 15 point deficit early in the game, the Buckeyes kept fighting and showed that they can compete with the elite teams.
Ohio State will have another chance to show they can compete with the top teams when they host top ranked and defending National Champion Connecticut on Monday.
The post WBB: Ohio State Comes Up Short At #2 South Carolina appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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