In their second meeting of the season, the No. 2 Ohio State women’s basketball team defeated Northwestern 84-54 Thursday at the Schottenstein Center.
After routing Northwestern (6-12, 0-8 Big Ten) 81-48, the Buckeyes (19-0, 8-0 Big Ten) once again handled the Wildcats, holding them to 32 percent shooting from the field while forcing 19 turnovers in the process. At 19-0, Ohio State continues to build onto its best start in program history.
Head coach Kevin McGuff said even after the win at Northwestern Dec. 28, 2022, he emphasized to the team in the locker room they would need to be focused for an improved Wildcats squad.
“We just played Northwestern a couple weeks ago, and they’ve gotten better since then,” McGuff said. “I think we have too, but this could have been a real problem for us had we not shown up with the focus and energy needed to play the game the right way.”
Northwestern kept it close early, staying within a point of the Buckeyes until the 3:34 mark in the first quarter. However, the remainder of the period belonged to senior guard Taylor Mikesell. Within the next minute and a half, the Massillon, Ohio, native scored eight points during a 10-0 run to give Ohio State a 19-9 lead.
The second quarter was more balanced for both teams. Northwestern had its best stretch shooting wise, going 40 percent from the field led by junior forward Paige Mott, who scored seven of the team’s 15 points. However, Mikesell matched that with seven points of her own, as Ohio State pushed its lead to 38-24 at the half.
After Mikesell carried the scoring load in the first half, other Buckeyes stepped up in the second half. Senior forward Rebeka Mikulasikova and freshman forward Cotie McMahon combined for 15 points in the third quarter — the same total Northwestern scored as a team in that same period.
Though McMahon and Mikulasikova did most of the heavy lifting, seven different Buckeyes contributed in the scoring column as Ohio State ended the third quarter with a comfortable 65-39 advantage.
With a 26-point lead entering the final quarter, McGuff said he was trying to get a few players more minutes. Every available player logged minutes for the Buckeyes, and they finished off the game by outscoring the Wildcats 19-15 before the closing buzzer.
“We’re still trying to develop our depth, and I thought they all did some really good things,” McGuff said. “They all made some mistakes, but that’s why we’re putting them out there just to get more experience.”
One of the benefactors of the extra playing time was senior forward Eboni Walker. The Las Vegas native said it felt great to get the extra minutes while having an impact on the game.
“We’ve been working as a team throughout the whole season, so just being able to showcase what we’ve been doing a little bit in the gym, it feels good,” Walker said.
McGuff said he was pleased with his team’s execution on the defensive side of the ball. His team ended the night with 15 steals, the highest mark for the Buckeyes since their last matchup against Northwestern.
Ohio State’s next game will be a highly anticipated matchup against No. 10 Iowa Monday at the Schottenstein Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
