Ohio State sophomore guard Madison Greene (0) enters the court before the Ohio State-Miami game on Dec. 10. Ohio State won 104-65. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
It took four quarters and a little extra time, but the Buckeyes finally broke through.
No. 15 Ohio State (7-0) scored 84 points on the Iowa defense, and it was just enough to overcome the offensive explosion from Iowa (8-3) as the Buckeyes defeated the Hawkeyes 84-82, handing them their third loss of the 2020-21 season.
The Buckeyes put the Hawkeyes away late behind double-digit scoring efforts from sophomore guard Jacy Sheldon, senior guard Braxtin Miller, junior forward Aaliyah Patty and sophomore guard Madison Greene.
“We definitely have a lot of depth and I think that is what makes us so dangerous as a team,” Greene said Wednesday.
Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff said the win showed him a lot about his team.
“I’m really proud of our team. This was a really gutsy performance,” McGuff said. “We had a lot of people really contribute in big ways. So many people played well.”
The first quarter was dominated by the Hawkeyes and freshman guard Caitlin Clark, who entered the game averaging 25.6 points per game, as she scored 13 points on six shots.
In the game, Clark scored 27 points to go with 10 rebounds and five assists.
“We knew that (Clark) was a great player,” Greene said. “Getting up on her and pressuring her, she did not really like that.”
Ohio State was not able to establish a consistent offense in the first half. Turnovers and multiple lengthy scoring droughts almost doomed the Buckeyes.
Iowa jumped out to a lead toward the end of the second quarter, shooting 41 percent from the field on the game. They wouldn’t relinquish the lead until 1:19 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Junior forward Monika Czinano, Iowa’s second highest scorer, had a quiet first half as the Buckeyes held her to 2 points and two rebounds. She would go on to foul out in overtime.
Although Clark cooled off in the second quarter by only scoring 3 points, her hot hand returned in the second half, stretching the lead to 14 points during the third quarter.
Ohio State chipped away at the lead throughout the third quarter. During a two-minute, 9-0 run, the Buckeyes took advantage of Iowa turnovers and scored points in the paint to cut the Iowa lead to five points.
“At that point I thought that we needed to try something different to kind of take them out of their rhythm and get the game back in our direction,” McGuff said. “We got turnovers and converted them into points.”
The Buckeyes kept the game close in the fourth quarter, trading shots with Iowa.
A steal by Greene led to a 3-pointer by freshman forward Gabby Hutcherson to give Ohio State a 72-71 lead with 1:19 remaining in the game.
Iowa’s Clark would tie the score with a free throw and send the game to overtime.
In overtime, Harris would take advantage of an Iowa foul to take the lead 84-82.
“We’re really proud of each other, we really worked hard and it was a struggle throughout the whole game but we kept fighting and ended up winning,” Greene said.
Ohio State had not defeated Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since 2015.
Iowa’s 42-game home winning streak was snapped after Wednesday’s defeat.. They look to rebound against Purdue next week Monday.
Ohio State will head to Lincoln, Nebraska, to take on the Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena Saturday at 5 p.m.
