The Ohio State women’s basketball team sings Carmen Ohio after the Ohio State-Michigan State game Jan. 12. Ohio State won 89-83. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
The Ohio State women’s basketball team pushed its winning streak to six games Sunday with an 80-71 road win against Rutgers.
The Buckeyes’ (15-3, 7-2 Big Ten) Big Ten-best scoring offense outpaced Rutgers’ No. 3 scoring defense, continuing their momentum through conference play. Ohio State entered Sunday’s contest off of its first ranked win against No. 12 Maryland Thursday.
Guards redshirt sophomore Rikki Harris and senior Taylor Mikesell accounted for two 3-point shots each in the first quarter, putting the Buckeyes on top, 22-19.
In the second frame, the Buckeyes continued their full court press, which resulted in six turnovers and 14 points. Junior guard Jacy Sheldon accounted for four of the Buckeyes’ steals.
Ohio State continued to dominate the full court press with six additional turnovers and 12 points in the third quarter alone. The Buckeyes finished the game with 19 takeaways, which they turned into 31 points.
The Scarlet Knights (7-13, 0-8 Big Ten) continued to fight in the fourth quarter and outscored Ohio State in the final frame by two, however that was not enough to put the edge over the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes’ victory marked Sheldon’s fifth-straight 20-plus point outing and ended Rutgers’ three-game winning streak over Ohio State.
Rutgers graduate forward Osh Brown entered the game averaging nearly a double-double with 9.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Brown was the leading scorer and rebounder for the Scarlet Knights with a career-high 24 points and eight rebounds.
Ohio State will travel home to play No. 8 Michigan Thursday at 6 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
