The Ohio State women’s basketball bench celebrates during the Ohio State-Bellarmine game Nov. 23, 2021. Ohio State won 110-58. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
No. 23 Ohio State stunned sophomore guard Caitlin Clark, who scored a game-high 43 points, and No. 21 Iowa 92-88 on the road Monday in the thrilling final seconds, earning a key conference victory.
There was no doubt the Buckeyes (16-4, 8-3 Big Ten) were playing with a chip on their shoulder after their second double-digit loss to archrival No. 6 Michigan Thursday. The win in Iowa City, Iowa, was the Buckeyes’ second ranked victory this season and first on the road.
Junior forward Rebeka Mikulášiková had an unstoppable first quarter, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the field including four 3-pointers. Mikulášiková led the team with 14 points at the end of the frame to put the Buckeyes ahead of the Hawkeyes, 28-27.
Mikulášiková ended the evening with 17 points, 15 of which came from downtown.
Senior guard Taylor Mikesell said she is extremely proud of the growth Mikulášiková has shown this season.
“She got a lot of open 3s to have the confidence to knock them down,” Mikesell said. “Just super proud of her and how she stayed in it mentally. We needed every single one of those 3s, every single of those rebounds she had.”
Clark has been nothing but phenomenal for the Hawkeyes this season. Clark leads the country with 25.5 points per game and four triple-doubles. In addition, Clark ranks second in the nation in points, totaling 502 in 19 matchups.
Clark, the former Big Ten Freshman of the Year, has been named Big Ten Women’s Basketball player of the week five times this season, including four weeks in a row from Jan. 3-24. Clark was also named to this week’s Big Ten Honor roll.
Clark was an offensive powerhouse finishing the night with 43 points on 16-for-28 shooting and 50 percent from 3-point range, while accounting for seven of Iowa’s 14 turnovers.
Mikesell said the hardest part of playing against Clark is guarding her.
“You have to guard her everywhere. From 40 feet to around the hoop, she makes it even harder everywhere she is. She’s a heck of a passer too,” Mikesell said. “So I think that just puts a lot of pressure on the defense, but Taylor [Thierry] and Rikki [Harris] and Braxtin [Miller] and whoever else covered her tonight did a heck of a job in that game when we needed stops.”
In the third quarter, Iowa was off to a strong start, creating a nine-point lead over the Buckeyes in more than six minutes of play.
The Buckeyes outscored the Hawkeyes in the third frame by four, however, that was not enough to take the lead over Iowa just yet.
Junior guard Jacy Sheldon opened up the fourth quarter with a crucial 3-pointer to give the Buckeyes a one-point lead with 9:49 remaining in the game.
Sheldon was the woman of the quarter for the Buckeyes, securing nine points to lift the Buckeyes to victory.
Mikesell and Sheldon both knocked down two huge free throws during the last 18 seconds of the game to keep the Hawkeyes at bay. Mikesell ended the night with 24 points.
Head coach Kevin McGuff commended his team for its continued fight and toughness throughout all 40 minutes.
“I just think the way we stuck together, we got down nine points in a hostile environment against a great team and we stayed together,” McGuff said. “We fought, we scratched, we did all the little things down to stretch the possession.”
With a momentous win for the Buckeyes, the “dub chain” — Ohio State’s newest tradition of awarding a bedazzled Block ‘O’ necklace to the difference maker of the game — was unleashed again after going into hiding on Thursday.
Monday’s winner of the dub-chain went to graduate forward Tanaya Beacham for her substantial defensive effort to help the Buckeyes earn their 16th win of the season. Beacham finished the night with six rebounds.
Mikesell credited the victory to the entire team.
“It was huge. I think we had contributions from everybody,” Mikesell said. “Whether it was the bench of people who didn’t play to people that did play, I think we needed every single person out there tonight from one through 13 on the bench like we needed every single person tonight.”
Ohio State travels home to face Rutgers (7-15, 0-10 Big Ten) Monday at 6 p.m. for its second matchup of the season after the Buckeyes won the first 80-71 Jan. 23. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
