The Ohio State’s women basketball team’s 2022-23 season came down to the waning seconds of the fourth quarter.
With nine seconds left, the Buckeyes had a chance to take the lead.
And with the ball in her hands, senior guard Jacy Sheldon pulled up for a go-ahead jumper in the lane, leaving only one second remaining on the clock for North Carolina.
The No. 3 seeded Buckeyes advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second-straight season, after defeating No. 6 seed North Carolina 71-69 at the Schottenstein Center Monday.
“This is a great win for us because it puts us in the Sweet 16,” head coach Kevin McGuff said. “But also I have so much respect for North Carolina, so we beat a great opponent today.
Sheldon, who missed nearly two months of play after suffering a foot injury on Nov. 20 and has appeared in five games since Feb. 5, finished the game with 16 points, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out five assists. Senior guard Taylor Mikesell led the way with a team-high 17 points on 4-of-8 shooting from 3.
Also propelling the Buckeyes (27-7) to victory was a career high for senior forward Eboni Walker, as she scored 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field.
For the Tar Heels (22-11), junior guard Deja Kelly finished with a game-high 22 points. After leaving mid-fourth quarter with an apparent leg injury, she later returned in the final two minutes of the game.
Juniors forward Alyssa Ustby and guard Kennedy Todd-Williams scored 16 apiece and combined for 15 points in North Carolina’s fourth-quarter run.
After being down for the entire game, North Carolina took its first lead at 2:09 remaining in the fourth quarter after a steal from Ustby led to a fastbreak layup for freshman guard Paulina Paris, who had filled in for the injured Kelly.
But the veteran Sheldon took over the game for the Buckeyes in the final minute. Sheldon finished with a fastbreak layup with 1:07 remaining which put the Buckeyes back up by one, and on the following play, split a pair of free throws which put Ohio State back up by two.
“We did a great job in that moment, keeping our composure and staying focused on winning,” Sheldon said. “Whether we like it or not, we’ve been down a couple of times this year and had to fight back, and we’ve done it, so we’ve been there before. So, we’re familiar with that feeling.”
With 23 seconds remaining North Carolina had a chance to take the lead, but redshirt freshman forward Teonni Key was called for a moving screen.
With the shot clock off, the Buckeyes faithful stood on their feet as their team was seconds away from their second straight appearance to the Sweet 16.
But the Tar Heels, who lead the Atlantic Coast Conference in turnovers forced per game, had other plans in mind. North Carolina came up with a turnover with 16 seconds left after corralling Mikesell, which forced the senior to throw a halfcourt pass that went right through the hands of redshirt junior guard Rikki Harris in front of the Buckeyes bench.
The Tar Heels again had a chance to either tie or take the lead with a go-ahead 3-point shot. And North Carolina looked to leading-scorer Kelly, who had converted on a 3-point play in the lane with just under two seconds remaining in a win against No. 11 seed St. John on Saturday.
Kelly came up big again, hitting a mid-range jumper from the key with nine seconds remaining in the quarter. But for Sheldon and the Buckeyes, this was more than enough time to get a shot off in front of their home crowd of 5,185.
“I thought the crowd was once again impactful, especially for a 4’oclock tip,” McGuff said. “So, that was really cool to have the crowd there supporting us like they did.”
Harris inbounded the ball to Walker, who had scored eight points in the fourth quarter. Walker looked for Sheldon in the lane, but North Carolina cut the Dublin, Ohio, native off from catching the ball.
Walker then pivoted and found Sheldon in the corner, who scrambled in the lane against three defenders and pulled up for a jumper for the go-ahead shot. Head coach Kevin McGuff said the play didn’t go as planned but believed Walker made a great decision not to pass the ball on the first play.
“I told them in the locker room sometimes it’s about X’s and O’s and sometimes it about having the best player on the court, Jacy” McGuff said.
McGuff said the play didn’t go as planned but believed Walker made a great decision not to pass the ball on the first play. Walker, a transfer from two universities and contender for three different conferences, said she wants to do whatever she can to support Buckeye fans and help the Ohio State basketball program win.
“They support me in so many different ways other than basketball,” Walker said. “And just thinking I transferred this many times, and they took a chance on me just from that, I knew that I had to give them my very best.”
For Sheldon, who’s been out for most of the regular season, this win is special for what could have possibly been her last game in Columbus.
“It’s always special to win,” Sheldon said. “I think especially in March. I mean it’s hard to win. So, it’s awesome. Winning is fun, and we got a group of competitors, so it’s extra special for us.”
Ohio State will advance to the Seattle 3 Regional to play No. 2 seed UConn. The regional semifinals will be played Friday at a tip time yet to be determined.
Story was updated at 11:00 a.m. March 21 to include quotes from postgame.
