The No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (18-0) takes on Northwestern (6-11) in Columbus on Thursday. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
Entering the 2022-23 season, the No. 2 Buckeyes never imagined what their record would look like 18 games in. After injuries to leaders, such as guards senior Jacy Sheldon and redshirt junior Madison Greene, the odds were stacked against them.
Fast forward to Monday, the Buckeyes are sitting at their highest ranking in program history, as they moved up to No. 2 in the Associated Press Top 25 after Stanford, now No. 4, lost Sunday to USC.
The Buckeyes (18-0, 7-0 Big Ten) look to continue climbing up the rankings as they take on Northwestern (6-11, 0-7 Big Ten) Thursday at the Schottenstein Center.
“Honestly, the season is going really well so far. This moment means a lot, not only to me but obviously to my teammates,” sophomore guard Taylor Thierry said. “It just shows that we’ve worked so hard this season, and it’s kind of showing the results that we want.”
The Buckeyes are coming off a wire-to-wire win Saturday against Nebraska, in which Cornhuskers head coach Amy Williams comes off her 300th career win. Senior forward Rebeka Mikulasikova led all scorers with 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting, which earned her a spot on Tuesday’s Big Ten weekly honor roll.
This is her sixth 20-point game of the season, and she’s averaging 14.4 points per game, nearly five points higher than her season average of 9.4 last year.
Head coach Kevin McGuff said Tuesday the team would not have won without Mikulasikova’s scoring, particularly the balance at which she scored, with her shots coming from both inside and outside the perimeter.
“She’s a great player. She’s a great fit in our system,” McGuff said. “One of the things that make us unique is the space that we play with on offense, and you can only do that when you have a center who can play on the perimeter as effectively as Rebeka does.”
The Buckeyes pulled out the win at Pinnacle Bank Arena despite turning the ball over 18 times, which led to 21 points for the Huskers. Senior guard Taylor Mikesell had a career-high eight turnovers to finish the game.
“We had way too many turnovers that led to baskets,” McGuff said. “We just had stretches where we were really good on offense, but we had some stretches where we were sloppy, and our execution was poor. Probably over-dribbling and not making the extra pass was a problem.”
Northwestern is looking to get the ball rolling, after coming off a tough 65-54 home loss against Purdue Saturday. After cutting a double-digit deficit down to six, the Wildcats went cold in the fourth quarter, shooting 4-for-17 from the field and 1-for-6 from 3.
This marked Northwestern’s fifth-consecutive loss, dating back to the Dec. 28 matchup against the Buckeyes.
“I think it’s going to be really important on how we can execute on the offensive end. They play one of the best young defenses in the country,” McGuff said. “If you’re not really locked in and focused on executing then you’ll see those turnovers and poor shots. So, our offensive and execution is going to have to be at a high level.”
Despite the five-game slump, the emergence of sophomore forward Caileigh Walsh has been a bright spot for Northwestern. The 6-foot-3 big is averaging 12.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, both of which lead the team.
The battle between Walsh and Mikulasikova will be a key matchup to look out for during Thursday’s game, as both forwards are coming off scoring double-digits.
In the earlier matchup this season, freshman guard Cotie McMahon led all scorers with 24 points as the Buckeyes cruised to a 33-point win. The Buckeyes are looking for the freshman star to make an impact early on, as she got caught in early foul trouble during Saturday’s game.
“Obviously it sucks to be on the bench with four fouls, but at that moment it’s not about the four fouls or you,” McMahon said. “It’s who’s coming in for you and making that next impact so that we can carry on from those mistakes and kind of continue to keep the lead and to end up getting the win.”
The Buckeyes aim to continue their undefeated season as they return home for the 11th time this season in front of what is expected to be a packed crowd.
“Our fans have been outstanding, and it’s been really fun to see the environment that we’ve created here at the Schott,” McGuff said. “I think it’s turned into one of the toughest places to play in the country because our fans are just so great.”
