Ohio State sophomore guard Kateri Poole (5) defends Indiana senior forward Aleksa Gulbe (10) in the second half of the Buckeyes-Hoosiers women’s basketball game in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals Saturday. Ohio State lost 70-62. Credit: Casey Smith | Assistant Lantern TV Sports Producer
The top-seeded Ohio State women’s basketball team was unable to complete its comeback bid against fifth-seeded Indiana in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament Saturday, falling 70-62.
No. 13 Ohio State (23-6, 14-4 Big Ten) fought until the final buzzer with No. 14 Indiana (22-7, 11-5 Big Ten) and despite the outcome, head coach Kevin McGuff said he was proud of how his team competed.
“ I was proud of them just for, in terms of the season where we started to where we are now, we made significant progress, which is a real credit to our players, especially our upperclassmen, our leaders,” McGuff said. “They really have shown the way to the young people. We had a lot of people make significant progress and we have as a team because of that leadership.”
Both the Hoosiers and the Buckeyes came to compete in Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, Saturday. The Hoosiers and the Buckeyes started off hot with a fast-paced first quarter. Indiana’s 3-point shooting percentage outperformed Ohio State, going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. The Hoosiers took the first quarter 21-17.
The intensity continued throughout the second frame. The Hoosiers went on two 6-0 runs before the Buckeyes were able to answer.
Junior guard Jacy Sheldon led the Buckeyes going into halftime with 13 points.
Hoosiers graduate guard Ali Patberg also recorded 13 points going into the half. Patberg averaged 11.9 points a game and was named All-Big Ten honorable mention Monday.
Indiana went into halftime with an eight-point lead, 38-30.
The Buckeyes’ defense improved throughout the third quarter, however, at the expense of graduate forward Tanaya Beacham, who found herself in foul trouble late in the frame with four fouls.
The Hoosiers completely stopped Sheldon’s scoring game in the third frame by not allowing her to score. Indiana took the third quarter 57-48.
The Buckeyes’ energy and drive did not stop throughout the entirety of the fourth quarter. Beacham’s hard level of play caused her to foul out late in the quarter. Ohio State ended the game strong on a 7-2 scoring run but that was not enough to get the win over the Hoosiers.
McGuff said foul trouble was a main factor in the Buckeyes’ performance.
“It was a problem for us today and I think it kind of hurt some of them trying to get into a good rhythm in and out, fouls and all that type of stuff,” McGuff said.
Senior guard Braxtin Miller said even though they didn’t get their intended outcome it wasn’t because of the Buckeyes’ fight.
“Obviously it didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to. I think that we gave a lot of fight and effort and hard work and sometimes those things happen, but I don’t think it was because that we didn’t work as hard as we want to and fight back,” Miller said.
Indiana’s 50 percent 3-point efficiency outscored Ohio State’s 19 percent 3-point efficiency.
Five Hoosiers were in double-digits, including graduate guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary, sophomore guard Chloe Moore-McNeil, senior guard Grace Berger, junior forward Mackenzie Holmes and Patberg.
Four out of the five Indiana athletes were honored with All-Big Ten awards, including Berger who was nominated to All-Big Ten First Team.
The Buckeyes’ inability to outperform Indiana resulted in a journey back to Columbus. Ohio State will prepare for the NCAA Tournament scheduled to take place March 16 through April 3.
If included, the Buckeyes will compete in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2017-18 season due to last year’s self-imposed postseason ban, the COVID-19 cancellation in 2019-20 and failure to qualify in the 2018-19 season.
