Ohio State sophomore guard Jacy Sheldon (4) takes the ball up the court against Duquesne. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
In another offensive slugfest, the Buckeyes held on yet again against the Hawkeyes to complete a two-game season sweep.
No. 11 Ohio State (11-2, 7-2) defeated Iowa (10-5, 6-5) 92-87 Thursday behind a career-high 29 points from sophomore guard Jacy Sheldon.
Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff said Sheldon showed versatile efficiency on the offensive end.
“She got out in transition, which allowed her to get to the rim and let her get to the free-throw line,” McGuff said. “Overall, a really, really good performance on offense.”
Iowa started the game on a 9-2 scoring run, capitalizing off of three consecutive Ohio State turnovers.
Ohio State did not record a field goal for the first 3:40 of the game until a Sheldon layup dropped to break the coldspell.
Ohio State battled back after a 1-of-9 start from the field as Sheldon ran the show, scoring the team’s first 9 points and finishing the quarter with 11 of the Buckeyes’ 18 points.
The Buckeyes kept their hot hand and blitzed Iowa to start the second quarter with a 9-2 scoring run.
Ohio State shot 10-of-19 from the field in the second quarter, increasing their lead to 11 points at the half.
The Buckeyes’ size proved crucial, out-rebounding Iowa 39-33. Ohio State also held a 15-8 advantage on the offensive end, leading to the team’s 12 second-chance points.
Junior forward Dorka Juhasz finished with a double-double, featuring 16 points on 8-of-16 from the field and a team-high 10 rebounds — one less than her season average.
Juhasz did most of her damage in the second half, logging 12 second-half points.
Ohio State held Iowa’s leading rebounder, sophomore forward McKenna Warnock to a meager five boards on the night.
The Hawkeyes clawed to cut the deficit to 6 points by the end of the third quarter after five consecutive made field goals to finish out the final 4:58.
Iowa freshman guard Caitlin Clark led all scorers with 30 points, entering today fifth in the country in scoring with 25.3 points per game.
“She’s so hard to guard because she’s so good with the ball in her hands,” McGuff said. “I thought tonight she got her teammates involved and made them better.”
Ohio State dominated in the paint, scoring 50 points down low.
“We got in the paint, kicked it out, we got a lot of offensive rebounds which was also awesome,” Sheldon said.
The fourth quarter was filled with back-and-forth scoring with a lot of scoring coming from the free-throw line.
Both teams feasted at the line, as Ohio State shot 22-of-31 from the charity stripe, 12 coming from Sheldon, to Iowa’s 19-of-22.
Foul trouble was a factor for both teams.
Ohio State’s assist leader, sophomore guard Madison Greene, fouled out along with junior forward Aaliyah Patty.
Greene finished in double figures with 12 points, and Patty exited after logging 15.
Clark fouled out, and Iowa’s second-highest scorer junior forward Monika Czinano tallied four personal fouls.
Czinano concluded with 14 points, 6 below her season average.
The Buckeyes now move to 11-0 when scoring at least 80 points in a game, also extending their home win streak to eight consecutive games.
McGuff said Thursday’s game was a heavyweight fight.
“They would go on a big run and make some tough shots and we’d have to keep punching back with our offense,” McGuff said. “Sometimes that’s the way the game goes and tonight was one of those nights.”
No. 11 Ohio State puts its eight-game home winning streak on the line Sunday at 1 p.m. against Minnesota.
