Sophomore forward Cotie McMahon (32) pulls up for a three over Iowa. McMahon notched a career-high 33 points in the No. 18 Buckeyes 100-92 overtime win against the No. 2 Hawkeyes — their second loss of the season. Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor
Down goes Iowa.
Despite trailing for most of the game, including a 12-point deficit in the final quarter, Ohio State refused to go away against the No. 2-ranked Hawkeyes in front of a record-setting crowd of over 18,000 fans.
Led by sophomore forward Cotie McMahon, the No. 18 Ohio State Buckeyes (15-3, 6-1 Big Ten) upset the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes (18-2, 7-1 Big Ten) 100-92 in overtime Sunday afternoon at Value City Arena at the Schottenstein Center behind a late fourth-quarter rally.
McMahon finished with a career-high 33 points along with a season-high 12 rebounds while graduate guard Jacy Sheldon added 24 points for the Buckeyes.
On the other hand, senior guard Caitlin Clark, who leads the NCAA in points per game with 31, continued her unbelievable play for the Hawkeyes, finishing with a season-high 45 points with seven 3-pointers, but it was not enough as their 15-game winning streak was snapped.
McMahon said she knew she needed to be at her best in this game despite her recent struggles.
“I knew this game, my team needed me no matter what and we refused to lose this game,” McMahon said. “I knew I had to do everything that I could just as far as rebounding, being a good teammate, making sure I got the good looks, the good passes and stuff like that.”
The game was back and forth throughout the first three quarters until Iowa built up a 70-58 lead early in the fourth thanks to Clark’s sixth three of the game and a hook shot from fifth-year guard Molly Davis.
However, Ohio State kept chipping away at Iowa’s lead behind an 8-0 run that cut the lead down to three with 6:28 remaining in regulation.
Despite Davis halting the run with a three of her own, the Buckeyes refused to go away as they continued to inch closer before a go-ahead layup from graduate guard Celeste Taylor gave the Buckeyes a 77-76 lead with 3:42 left in regulation.
Iowa responded as Clark continued to pile on the points for the Hawkeyes, making back-to-back layups to give Iowa an 80-77 lead less than a minute later.
Ohio State continued to battle through the remaining minutes of the 40-minute regulation, and their grit and perseverance paid off after Taylor made the go-ahead runner with 16 seconds left. This proved to be a giant shot, giving the Buckeyes an 83-82 lead.
After Hawkeyes sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke was fouled on a putback layup the following possession, she split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 83 and eventually sent the game into overtime.
Sheldon said the Buckeyes’ toughness and level heads played a huge part in their late rally in the fourth quarter and overtime.
“We have that grittiness in us and I think that’s been there throughout the years and this team has it too,” Sheldon said. “In our minds, we were just fighting to get back, that was our main focus.”
McMahon got things going a minute into the overtime period with a layup that put the Buckeyes on top 85-83.
Ohio State would not trail for the rest of the overtime period.
After the next few minutes went back-and-forth scoring, a three from graduate forward Rebeka Mikulasikova with 1:13 left proved to be the dagger for the Buckeyes, as their lead was extended to 94-88. Mikulasikova’s score was the 11th 3-pointer for the Buckeyes.
Timely stops on defense and timely free throws from Sheldon allowed Ohio State to hold off the Hawkeyes late.
Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff said the win was not only huge for the team but for the program as a whole moving forward.
“We beat an incredible team with one of the best players to ever play our sport, and we did it in front of 18,000 people,” McGuff said. “We came into this thinking it was an incredible opportunity, and we capitalized on it.”
The Buckeyes and Hawkeyes will meet one more time in the regular-season finale at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 3 at 1 p.m.
Ohio State travels to State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois Thursday at 7 p.m. The matchup will be exclusively streamed on Peacock.
