Ohio State senior guard Taylor Mikesell (24) brings the ball up the floor during No. 14 Ohio State’s (1-0) 87-75 win over No. 5 Tennessee (0-1) Nov. 8. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
The No. 4 Ohio State women’s basketball team opened Big Ten play with an 82-70 victory over Rutgers Sunday at Jersey Mike’s Arena. Senior forward Rebeka Mikulasikova scored a career-high 31 points while senior guard Taylor Mikesell added 30 of her own to lead the Buckeyes.
Rutgers celebrated C. Vivian Stringer Day, which honors the Hall of Fame head coach who led the program to 18 NCAA tournament appearances in 26 seasons with a 535-291 record.
Ohio State was once again without senior guard Jacy Sheldon, who missed her third game this season dealing with a lingering lower leg injury. Sophomore guard Emma Shumate returned to action after recovering from the head injury that forced her to miss two games.
Ohio State led 5-4 before going on an 8-0 run to create some separation in the opening period. The Buckeyes held Rutgers to 21 percent shooting from the field to hold a 20-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, much to the delight of head coach Kevin McGuff.
“We got off to a great start,” McGuff said. “We moved the ball well. We got great shots. I thought our press was effective, and we were getting back and getting matched up, so it was hard for them to get going.”
Mikesell started to get going in the second quarter. The Massillon, Ohio, native scored 13 points shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point land. She had 19 points at the half as the Buckeyes led 43-28.
Despite their slow start, the Scarlet Knights didn’t go away easily. Rutgers freshman guard Kaylene Smikle scored 12 points in the third quarter as the home team battled to stay in the game, reducing the Ohio State lead to eight points with three minutes left to play in the frame.
Mikulasikova and Mikesell were too much to contain on the other side of the ball. The duo combined for all 18 Ohio State points in the third quarter to help the Buckeyes maintain the lead for a 61-49 advantage entering the final period.
The Scarlet Knights gave the Buckeyes all they could handle in the final period, but the deficit was too much to overcome. Mikulasikova added 11 more points, pushing her total to a game-high 31 to close out the win.
Mikesell’s performance was her third career 30-plus point game at Ohio State. She said even though the win is important, the Buckeyes still have some areas to clean up as they progress this year.
“Coming on the road, you can’t walk into an arena or a place like this and play the way we did and win most nights,” Mikesell said. “We know that, so we’re going to get better practice and be ready for the next game.”
Though winning by double digits, Ohio State was outscored 64-62 in the final three quarters. McGuff said he felt his team’s play was too inconsistent after the opening quarter.
“I thought Rutgers played really hard today,” McGuff said. “Great start, overall not a great performance by us, so we got to get a lot better.”
The Buckeyes have a few days off before playing New Hampshire Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Schottenstein Center.
