The Ohio State women’s basketball team begins the Big Ten Tournament Friday. Credit: Caleb Blake | For The Lantern
March is finally here.
And for the No. 14-ranked and No. 4-seeded Ohio State women’s basketball team, a chance to compete in the Big Ten Tournament and secure a top seed in the NCAA Tournament hangs in the balance.
“[This week] we practiced and got a little bit of rest too,” head coach Kevin McGuff said. “Hopefully we’ve kind of hit the right balance as we hit Minneapolis.”
Ohio State finished the season with a 23-6 overall record and finished the regular season 12-6 in the Big Ten, securing a No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and a double-bye into the third round.
McGuff said entering the season, injuries to guards redshirt junior Madison Greene and senior Jacy Sheldon initially would’ve been alarming to him. Both Greene and Sheldon can play the point guard position, he said, which would have affected the team’s depth for their guards.
“Credit to Rikki Harris, who’s kind of shouldered the bulk of that burden for somebody to step up, and she’s done everything she possibly can to help us,” McGuff said.
The Buckeyes will face fifth-seeded Michigan Friday, having previously bested the then-No. 17 Wolverines Feb. 20 as the Buckeyes secured a 74-61 victory in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
McGuff said a tournament matchup against one of Ohio State’s biggest rivals is an exciting prospect.
“Will kind of take whoever comes at us,” McGuff said. “We have had some great battles against them over the years, and it’s a game matchup, but we know we’ll have to play somebody.“
Sheldon, who averaged 14.2 points per game across six outings, has been dealing with a lower leg injury since the end of November 2022. She returned briefly against Maryland, scoring five points in 25 minutes, as Ohio State suffered its largest loss of the season — a 36-point defeat Feb. 5 in College Park.
McGuff said Sheldon’s status is still day-to-day, but the Dublin, Ohio, native is ready to get back into action.
“She’s engaged every day, whether she’s practicing or not,” McGuff said. “She’s really great about that. She’s been a great teammate, just awesome off the bench or in practice.”
Others have stepped up in Sheldon’s absence and their efforts have not gone unnoticed. The Big Ten Conference announced its postseason awards on Tuesday, in which several of Ohio State’s players were recognized, most notably freshman forward Cotie McMahon who received Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
McMahon became the 10th Buckeye in history to be awarded the honor, and the first since former guard Kelsey Mitchell in 2015.
“I was excited, happy to accomplish one goal, but I have so many others I want to accomplish,” McMahon said.
After starting the season off 19-0, the Buckeyes went through a slump, as they dropped their next three games against then-No. 10 Iowa, then-No. 6 Indiana and Purdue. In their final three games of the season, however, the Buckeyes finished 2-1, dropping their last game against then-No. 7 Maryland in a 76-74 loss.
McMahon said the Buckeyes worked their way out of that slump by not dwelling on the past and coming into practice focused on correcting their in-game struggles. Now with a chance to play for the Big Ten title, she said it’s a chance for the Buckeyes to get a fresh start as they look to compete in March Madness.
“Moving on and taking it day by day and kind of focusing on what we can control,” McMahon said. “You can’t control what happened in the past. So, you have no other choice but to move on. And that’s kind of what we did.”
McMahon also earned a spot on the All-Big Ten Second Team and All-Big Ten Freshman Team. Senior guard Taylor Mikesell finished with All-Big Ten First Team honors while sophomore guard Taylor Thierry was named All-Big Ten Defensive Team by the league’s coaches and joined McMahon on the All-Big Ten Second Team.
With the Buckeyes heading to Minneapolis, McMahon said Mikesell and Thierry are well deserving of their awards, and she is proud to have them in her corner.
“It’s a blessing to be around those types of people and have those types of people to motivate you as well,” McMahon said. “So, they’re very much deserving of all those rewards. They worked very hard and [it’s] nothing that we didn’t expect.”
The Buckeyes will face the Wolverines on Friday at approximately 2:30 p.m. in Minneapolis at the Target Center.
