The No. 8 Ohio State women’s basketball team (22-4, 11-4 Big Ten) huddles during their game against Indiana (17-9, 9-6 Big Ten) Thursday in Bloomington, Indiana. The Buckeyes fell 71-61 to the Hoosiers. Credit: Ohio State Athletics
After giving up a double-digit lead in each of their past two games, the Buckeyes needed to get back on track Thursday in Bloomington, Indiana.
But instead, the Hoosiers led for all but three minutes and No. 8 Ohio State was upset by Indiana 71-61.
Indiana, the worst rebounding team in the Big Ten, out-rebounded the Buckeyes 34-20.
The Hoosiers also figured out the Buckeyes’ aggressive defense early on and flustered the Ohio State offensively, forcing its third-lowest scoring output of the year.
The Hoosiers’ ball movement was strong, assisting on 21 of their 25 made field goals and disoriented the Buckeyes’ offense as they switched from man-to-man to zone defense often.
On Indiana’s first offensive possession of the game, Ohio State guard Jaloni Cambridge made her presence felt early, stealing the ball and getting fouled on a layup attempt, leading to free throws.
The Hoosiers settled in quickly as they were able to break the Buckeyes’ full-court press three possessions early on, which led to open baskets.
A driving layup by Cambridge put the Buckeyes up 11-8, but Indiana dominated the rest of the way and never trailed again.
Offensively, the Hoosiers caught fire as they made nine of their first 10 shots.
Indiana guard Sydney Parrish scored 12 points in the first, and the Hoosiers scored 26 as a team, tying the most points allowed by Ohio State in the first quarter since Jan. 8 against Michigan.
The Buckeyes shifted the momentum to their side to open the second with a 9-0 run. Forwards Taylor Thierry and Cotie McMahon each had steals leading to transition layups which tied the game.
But Indiana responded with an 8-0 run thanks to two 3-pointers.
The Hoosiers scored six straight points to end the half as the Buckeyes trailed 40-28, their largest deficit of the game.
Indiana scored 20 points in the paint, made five-of-eight shots from beyond the arc and had 13 assists on 15 made shots in the first half.
During the run, the Buckeyes missed seven of their last eight shots with three turnovers.
Looking to spark something positive to start the third, Cambridge splashed an off-the-dribble 3-pointer with the shot clock dwindling down, cutting the deficit to single digits.
Indiana extended its lead back up to 47-33. The Hoosiers took a 57-39 lead into the fourth.
The Buckeyes put together a late push, cutting Indiana’s lead to 11 with just under four minutes remaining. But that would be the closest Ohio State got to a comeback, as Indiana pulled away in the remaining minutes.
The Buckeyes will look to bounce back when they return to the Schottenstein Center to take on Purdue on Sunday at noon. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
