The Ohio State Women’s Basketball team huddles up before the Ohio State-Duquesne game on Nov. 29. Ohio State won 82-47. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
After suffering their first loss of the season Saturday, the Buckeyes look to rebound in their home clash with rival Michigan.
No. 17 Ohio State (7-1) was shocked by Nebraska on the road last week 63-55 despite the return of the team’s leading rebounder, junior forward Dorka Juhász.
Their normally high-flying offense had no answer for Nebraska senior center Kate Cain, who had nine blocks on the game.
“We’re going to have to defend significantly better, obviously, than we did on Saturday to give us a chance to win,” Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff said. “We are really just working on the fundamentals to be better than we were.”
No. 11 Michigan (10-0) comes into the game with their highest AP Top 25 ranking in program history and looks to continue its undefeated streak behind a stingy defense and the hot hand of junior forward Naz Hillmon.
Ohio State’s Juhász is mindful of Michigan, recalling her experience in last year’s games.
“They were really good last year too. We were really playing them aggressive and we really wanted to win. I think that the team that is going to be tougher is going to win,” Juhász said.
The Buckeyes will have a tall task stopping the fourth-best offense in the Big Ten led by the one-two punch of Hillmon and junior forward Leigha Brown.
Hillmon is second in the conference averaging 23.7 points per game, trailing only Iowa freshman guard Caitlin Clark. The Cleveland native also racks up a conference-leading 11.9 rebounds per game.
Juhász said that it will be a group effort in stopping the 6-foot-2 forward.
“Obviously, they have really good guards and they have Naz Hillmon, the potential player of the year in the Big Ten, so it’s going to be a lot of work and it’s going to be a team effort,” Juhász said. “It can’t just be one-on-one defense in the post because obviously everyone has to focus on her especially.
Her teammate, Brown, is fifth in the Big Ten averaging 19.7 points per game after she transferred from Nebraska this year.
Thursday’s game will be the first of a two-game homestand for the Buckeyes. Both games will feature ranked opponents.
Coming off of the road loss to Nebraska, Juhász spoke about the importance of home court, even without fans in the stands.
“I’m happy that it’s on home court. I think that means a lot for us to be able to get shots up here and being able to play in our comfort zone a little bit,” Juhász said.
The junior looks forward to the rivalry matchup and understands the magnitude of the game.
“I’m excited, our last game was in the Big Ten tournament and that was a great game, so I’m looking forward to playing this,” Juhász said. “We really have to be tough and we are preparing really hard because we know that Michigan is undefeated and a very, very good team.”
The Buckeyes take on the Wolverines at the Schottenstein Center Thursday at 3 p.m.
