Sophomore forward Cotie McMahon (32) celebrates on the bench during No. 7 Ohio State’s 108-58 victory Sunday against IUPUI at Value City Arena. Credit: Aiden Ridgeway
All five Buckeye starters scored double digits in the second game of the season, as No. 7 Ohio State defeated Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis 108-58 at Value City Arena Sunday.
This marks the first win for the Buckeyes after their season-opening 83-74 loss to No. 21 USC in Las Vegas Monday.
After forcing a total of 20 turnovers in the first game of the season, the Buckeyes (1-1, 0-0 Big Ten) were able to match that in just the first half against the Jaguars.
Ohio State got out to a quick 17-7 lead against IUPUI (1-1, 0-0 Horizon League) by playing tough defense both in the press and the half court, leading to fast-break scoring opportunities.
Head coach Kevin McGuff said the team played with high energy and was active on both ends of the floor.
“We were much more aggressive [than last game],” McGuff said. “We really had a lot more pressure on the ball and we were kind of flying around. We were sprinting up the court when the ball got ahead of us, and we weren’t doing that against USC, so much better performance in that area.”
On the offensive side of the ball, every player who checked into the game put points on the board for the Buckeyes, including graduate forward Karla Vres, who scored her first points in the Buckeye uniform.
Sophomore forward Cotie McMahon led the way for Ohio State, scoring 22 points and shooting an efficient 7-of-11 from the field. Junior forward Taylor Thierry added 12 points of her own while going a perfect 3-for-3 from the field.
McMahon said she has full trust in her teammates despite losing Taylor Mikesell to the WNBA, knowing there are multiple big-time scorers on this team.
“I feel like we moved the ball very well,” McMahon said. “We have so many people who can score so I feel like it’s going to be hard for us to win games if we don’t utilize the power that we have as far as moving the ball and stuff like that.”
Forward Katie Davidson, a junior transfer from Miami of Ohio, was the main source of offense for IUPUI, scoring 23 points on 7-of-16 from the field. Graduate forward Jazmyn Turner, the leading scorer for IUPUI last season, went down with a lower-leg injury with 1:31 left in the first quarter.
After Davidson’s running layup in the opening minutes of the second quarter, cutting the Buckeye lead to six, it was all Ohio State from that point on.
Thanks to a 71.4 percent shooting period and 10 IUPUI turnovers, the Buckeyes scored 35 points in the second quarter. Ohio State led at halftime 59-31 and never looked back, as it would go on to win 108-58.
McGuff said today’s game was a great way for the team to bounce back after JuJu Watkins and USC pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat the Buckeyes.
“We looked out of sorts against them [USC] and to their credit, they played well, but today I just thought we were much more settled and just looked a lot more comfortable,” McGuff said.
The Buckeyes will look to get their second win in a row Thursday at 7 p.m., when they host Boston College at Value City Arena.
