Ohio State graduate forward Ajae Petty (1) attempts a layup during the game against Minnesota Thursday. The Buckeyes defeated the Golden Gophers in overtime, 87-84. Credit: Matthew Wu | Lantern Photographer
Down 12 points with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Minnesota was dead in the water; Ohio State suffocated the Golden Gophers all night and looked to dribble out the clock in the final moments.
But Minnesota wouldn’t go away.
The Golden Gophers reeled off a 13-1 run over the final two minutes, and Minnesota guard Grace Grocholski nailed a 3-pointer with eight seconds remaining to tie a game that looked over just minutes prior.
Ohio State needed a hero and Elsa Lemmilä prevailed for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State freshman center provided the go-ahead jump shot and swatted away the final Gopher attempt to propel the No. 9 Buckeyes (21-3, 10-3 Big Ten) to an 87-84 overtime win over Minnesota (19-7, 7-7 Big Ten) Thursday night at the Schottenstein Center.
Lemmilä finished perfect from the field with six points, four of which came in overtime, and also added two blocks while forward Cotie McMahon scored a game-high 25 points.
The freshman credited Ohio State’s switches on the final possession for putting her in position to block the last shot.
“We were just switching everything and we knew they wanted a three,” Lemmilä said. “We knew there was very little time left and that if they were going to get an open three, then you had to jump and try to contest it.”
The Buckeyes got off to a quick start as McMahon got Ohio State on the board with four straight points.
Minnesota responded with a 5-0 run capped off by a three from forward Mallory Heyer, giving the Gophers a 1-point advantage.
That would be Minnesota’s first, and final lead of the game.
After the Buckeyes pushed their lead to seven, Minnesota cut the lead downt o two off a 3-pointer from guard Alexsia Rose with 2:36 left in the quarter.
With a 4-point lead, Ava Watson checked in to start the second and an 8-0 run from the freshman pushed the Buckeye lead up to 11.
Head coach Kevin McGuff credited the boost Watson brought to the team’s shooting amidst some struggles.
“We haven’t been shooting well,” McGuff said. “She gave us some great minutes and points.”
The Gophers took momentum, racing out on a 12-2 run to shave Ohio State’s lead to one with 2:31 left in the half.
The Buckeyes responded to end the half, finishing with four straight points to take a 35-30 lead.
Neither team found a big push early in the second half, but guard Jaloni Cambridge thrived defensively, coming away with four steals and helping the Buckeyes rattle off a 6-0 run to take a 48-38 lead.
Ohio State then scored seven consecutive field goals to extend its lead to 71-57 with 5:09 left to play.
Riding a 13-1 run over the final two minutes of play, Minnesota tied the game on a triple from Grocholski with 8.3 seconds to go.
McGuff cited the team’s inability to close out possessions down the stretch for the Gophers’ run.
“I think the biggest issue is that our defense is getting better, but we’re not closing out possessions with rebounds,” McGuff said. “They had 22 second-chance points, that’s number one.”
Despite two tries on the final possession, Ohio State guard Chance Gray’s last-ditch three was blocked by Grocholski.
With 54 seconds left in overtime, in a tie game, Lemmilä buried a baseline jumper as the shot clock expired to put the Buckeyes ahead.
Just 12 seconds later, forward Taylor Thierry lobbed the ball inside to Gray, which resulted in an 84-80 advantage.
The Gophers — again — stormed back. Heyer knocked down a three for Minnesota and cut its deficit to just one.
But on the ensuing possession, a Lemmilä layup restored a 3-point lead for the Buckeyes with 18 seconds left.
Two possessions later, Minnesota had five seconds to force double overtime.
Gopher guard Tori McKinney took the inbound and sprinted the length of the court and found forward Annika Stewart in the corner. She heaved a three that Lemmilä blocked as time expired, sealing an 87-84 win for Ohio State.
McGuff cited Elsa’s big plays throughout overtime as a catalyst for the win.
“Elsa made some big plays,” McGuff said. “She had that layup, the jump shot and the block shot. It’s just really fun to watch because each game she’s just getting better and better.”
The Buckeyes return on Monday for a 12 p.m. tip with the Iowa Hawkeyes from the Schottenstein Center. Fox will broadcast the contest.
