The No. 12 Ohio State women’s basketball team celebrates after a timeout by No. 4 Iowa during the Buckeyes 100-92 win at the Schottenstein Center Jan. 21. Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor
Despite a fast start for Ohio State and Purdue pushing a comeback, it was not enough for the Boilermakers to pull off the upset.
The No. 12-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (17-3, 8-1 Big Ten) held off the Purdue Boilermakers (9-11, 2-7 Big Ten) 71-68 at Mackey Arena on Sunday thanks to a quick 7-0 run to start the game.
The Buckeyes played unselfish throughout the game, as 22 of their 24 field goals came off an assist.
It was a physical game from the opening tip, with the Buckeyes scoring 32 points in the paint, while Purdue had 28 points in the paint. There were 35 combined fouls from both teams as the game came down to the foul line late.
Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff said he is proud of the way the Buckeyes handled adversity on the road versus Purdue.
“It’s tough, this is a tough environment, and it’s hard to win on the road so I’m really proud of our team for being able to win close games,” McGuff said. “I think it speaks to our leadership and some of the experience that we have.”
The Buckeyes jumped out to a 7-0 lead within the first minute-and-a-half behind two layups from junior guard/forward Taylor Thierry and a three pointer from graduate guard Celeste Taylor.
However, Purdue would not go away in this game. Freshman forward Mary Ashley Stevenson stopped the early bleeding for the Boilermakers with a layup at the 8:11 mark in the first quarter.
An and-1 from Purdue freshman guard Rashunda Jones tied the game at 17 with 47 seconds left in the first. Jones finished with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting off the bench.
The Buckeyes responded with just their second three of the game from redshirt-senior guard Rikki Harris with 31 seconds left to retake the lead. Harris finished with 8 points on 2-of-7 shooting.
Harris hit her second consecutive three to open up the second quarter, extending Ohio State’s lead to 23-19. Purdue responded at the 7:52 mark in the second with a three from freshman guard McKenna Layden to cut the lead back down to one.
McGuff said Harris’ two threes helped the Buckeyes gain some wiggle room in the first half.
“Those were huge shots, because in particular, during that stretch where she went into the game, we weren’t shooting the ball very well,” McGuff said. “I think it allowed us to get a little separation from Purdue.”
After the Buckeyes started to pull away, Purdue started to inch closer thanks to a three from sophomore forward Mila Reynolds with 5:41 to go in the first half.
Both teams continued to trade threes with redshirt-sophomore guard Emma Shumate knocking down a triple to give Ohio State a 5-point lead with just over four minutes to play in the first half.
The Boilermakers came out of the locker room swinging with a three from fifth-year guard Abbey Ellis and a steal and layup from Jones to cut the Buckeye lead to just one less than two minutes into the second half.
Ellis finished with a team-high 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor and 4-of-6 shooting from downtown.
Eventually, Purdue took their first lead of the game thanks to a fast break layup from Ellis with 7:54 to go in the third.
The Buckeyes answered with a pair of free throws from sophomore forward Cotie McMahon and a Thierry layup. McMahon finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, just two assists shy of a triple-double.
McGuff said he hopes McMahon can replicate the all-around performance she had moving forward.
“I was really proud of her because she’s done a great job attacking through the middle of the zone and they took it away,” McGuff said. “She didn’t force things, she gave it up to her teammates and really provided them with some great opportunities.”
After some more back-and-forth possessions, Ellis tied the game at 39 with her second triple with 5:49 to go in the third quarter.
Graduate forward Rebeka Mikulasikova made a turnaround jumper that sparked a 9-2 run for Ohio State and gave the Buckeyes a 48-41 lead with 1:52 left in the third. Mikulasikova led the Buckeyes in scoring with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor before fouling out late.
Graduate guard Jacy Sheldon came alive late in the quarter for the Buckeyes with a layup off a Boilermaker turnover and a rainbow three with 11 seconds left to give Ohio State a 53-46 lead heading into the fourth.
With the Buckeyes threatening to pull away in the fourth, Ellis responded with a huge three that cut Ohio State’s lead to 60-55 with 6:32 to go.
After the Buckeyes’ lead was cut to three, McMahon responded with another and-1 layup and a Sheldon layup put the Buckeyes back up eight with 4:35 to go.
McMahon said with Purdue playing a zone defense, it helped open up opportunities for the Buckeyes to score inside and at the line.
“When teams go zone, it helps us more than they think it hurts us, just us getting the ball in the middle,” McMahon said. “People draw their attention towards me which leaves Rebeka [Mikulasikova] open on the post, or just people open on the perimeter so really it’s a win-win.”
Ohio State scored all of its points in the final four-and-a-half minutes from the line, which was enough to hold off a late Purdue rally thanks to Ellis knocking down her fourth three of the game to cut the Ohio State lead to 71-68 with seven seconds remaining.
After Taylor missed two free throws that would have put Purdue away entirely, Purdue had a chance to send the game into overtime with a three but came up just short, and the Buckeyes held on for the win.
McGuff said the team has done well handling the last two games since knocking off then-No. 2 Iowa in front of a sellout crowd at home.
“Our effort and intensity has been really good, I think we need to work on a little more focus, focused execution,” McGuff said. “I think they’ve handled it well, and we’ve moved on and we’re just trying to get better and get prepared for each game.”
The Buckeyes return home to face Wisconsin at Value City Arena at the Schottenstein Center Thursday at 6 p.m. The game will be televised on Big Ten Network.
