In its first matchup against a ranked opponent this season, the No. 20 Ohio State women’s basketball team suffered its largest loss of the year, falling to No. 10 Indiana 86-66 Sunday at the Schottenstein Center.
The Buckeyes (7-2, 1-1 in Big Ten) immediately found themselves in unfamiliar territory, falling behind a talented Hoosiers (8-2, 2-0 in Big Ten) team 10-0 in the first five minutes due to an 0-5 start from the field. Ohio State’s slow start ultimately ballooned to a larger deficit at halftime, putting the Buckeyes in a 43-29 hole through two periods.
Head coach Kevin McGuff said his team could not afford to play from behind against a talented Hoosiers team.
“We got off to a really slow start in the first half,” McGuff said. “Our execution was poor, and they made us pay for it.”
Although the Buckeyes made their first two baskets of the second half to cut the Hoosier lead to nine, head coach Teri Moren’s team responded with a back-breaking 11-0 run, halting the Buckeyes’ momentum and putting them at a deficit that they could not overcome.
Ohio State struggled to contain junior forward Mackenzie Holmes for the entire game, as she dominated inside the paint with a career-high 30 points on an efficient 13-for-19 shooting. The Gorham, Maine, native also produced on the defensive end, generating seven rebounds and five blocks.
Joining the Hoosiers’ offensive onslaught was senior and graduate guards Grace Berger and Nicole Cardano-Hillary, who led the backcourt with 21 and 17 points a piece on a combined 15-for-24 shooting.
Junior guard Jacy Sheldon said she and her teammates struggled to slow down a formidable Hoosiers’ offense because their defensive rotations were disjointed throughout the game.
“They got a lot of weapons, they’re a great team,” Sheldon said. “Their starting five is really good, and they were all really good tonight. We have to be more disciplined on defense, helping the helper, helping the post out there, because they have some really great post players. Just staying disciplined and talking. We can definitely do better there.”
Despite the Buckeyes’ offense entering the game as the top-ranked scoring offense in the Big Ten through its first seven games, averaging 87.8 points, it struggled to get past a stout Hoosiers defense throughout the game, shooting a season-low 36.4 percent from the field.
The Buckeyes offensive struggles didn’t stop with shooting, however, as they failed to take care of the ball against Indiana’s smothering on-the-ball defense, commiting 17 turnovers. Leading the defensive effort for the Hoosiers was Cardano-Hillary, who put pressure on the Buckeyes’ guards with two steals.
Sheldon, who turned the ball over four times, said that although the Hoosiers’ guards posed a threat with their on-the-ball defense, it was ultimately the Buckeyes’ lack of focus that contributed to their turnover woes.
“Indiana is a really good defensive team, a really disciplined team, and they pressure a lot,” Sheldon said. “But that’s also our focus. Because we practice that a lot, and in that first half we just mentally weren’t there. I think we cleaned it up in the second half, but it was a little too late.”
The Buckeyes’ offensive production came from the Dublin, Ohio, native, who scored 21 of her team-high 23 points in the second half on 9-for-24 shooting, while also adding four rebounds and two steals to her statline. Joining Sheldon on the offensive attack was senior guard Taylor Mikesell, who scored 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting.
Despite the convincing defeat, Sheldon said Sunday’s result could serve as a wakeup call for her team moving into the brunt of conference play, as they will need to improve upon their game on both sides of the floor if they want to compete.
“They’re a great team, everyone in the Big Ten is great,” Sheldon said. “We will watch film, learn from it and get better.”
The Buckeyes will look to bounce back Wednesday night when they host 1-5 Alabama State of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and be broadcast on BTN+.
