Ohio State senior guard Taylor Mikesell (24) dribbles the ball during the No. 13 Ohio State-No. 2 Indiana game Monday. Ohio State lost 83-59. Credit: Christian Harsa | Managing Editor for Digital Content
The Buckeyes seemed to click from all cylinders as the crowd rose to its feet in the third quarter of the latest Big Ten clash Monday at the Schottenstein Center.
However, it wasn’t enough to push No. 13 Ohio State (-5, 10-5 Big Ten) past the No. 2 Hoosiers (24-1, 14-1 Big Ten), who held the Buckeyes to six points in the fourth quarter during their 83-59 loss.
The Buckeyes dropped their fifth game as the Hoosiers dominated on both ends of the ball, outscoring the Buckeyes by 25 points entering halftime and outrebounding them 35-23 after four quarters.
The loss prevented the Buckeyes from winning back-to-back games for the first time since mid-January.
Only three Buckeyes scored in double figures, led by freshman forward Cotie McMahon with a team-high 22 points and senior forward Eboni Walker, who added a team-high 11 rebounds while tying her career-high of 12 points as a Buckeye for the second-game in a row.
Senior guard Taylor Mikesell added 15 points, making it the 25th time this season she’s reached double figures, but it wasn’t enough to secure the win, as head coach Kevin McGuff said the team has to learn how to play together when things go awry in order to pull out wins against top-ranked opponents.
“It’s not anything selfish like somebody’s out there trying to score, but they’re trying to make plays on both ends of the floor to try to get us back in the game or win a possession,” McGuff said. “It’s getting us out of what’s made us special in terms of the collective effort in the competitive spirit that we have together.”
The Hoosiers were led by senior forward Mackenzie Holmes with 33 points on 15-of-18 shooting. Senior guard Sara Scalia made her presence felt off the bench as she chipped in with 24 points on 6-for-8 shooting from beyond the arc.
Walker started the game as she replaced senior forward Rebeka Mikulasikova, who sustained a high-ankle sprain Thursday against Minnesota. Walker had an immediate impact out the gate as she defended Holmes, who’s widely considered one of the best centers in the Big Ten and averaged 22.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game entering the contest.
The Buckeyes started the game going 0-of-5 from the field, but a bucket from Walker at 7:37 stopped the drought as Ohio State spent most of the quarter trading buckets with the Hoosiers. A packed crowd filled the Schottenstein Center as both teams battled back and forth on the defensive end, up until near the three-minute mark in the first quarter.
From that point on the Hoosiers, led by Holmes who had already scored eight points in the quarter, didn’t let the Buckeyes within 10.
The Hoosiers ended the quarter leading 24-12.
The second period proved to be the same, as the Hoosiers offensive shooting performance overpowered the Buckeyes. Indiana shot over 60 percent from the field but its bench proved to be the major factor that led to the Hoosiers’ first half domination.
Indiana’s bench scored 17 points while the Buckeyes scored zero. With injuries to Mikulasikova and senior guard Jacy Sheldon, the Buckeyes starters didn’t sub out for most of the game, but Walker said the team is prepared for moments to step up when players are out.
“We practice that all the time, so it’s not too much of a difference than what we do in practice,” Walker said. “We just have to continue to do what we do in practice and translate it into the games. That’s mainly where we’re a little off.”
Holmes and Scalia combined for 35 points to end the half, which was more than the Buckeyes’ four leading scorers totals.
Coming out of the locker room, the Buckeyes looked to Mikesell and McMahon on the offensive end. A third quarter run from Ohio State would cut the lead to 12, after a 3-point shot from McMahon with 3:24 left.
Mikesell and McMahon scored 10 points apiece to end the quarter, and the latter, who is the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week, coughed profusely as she exited the court and said although she was under the weather, it didn’t stop her from playing aggressive and energetic on the court.
“At the end of the day, I’m not playing for myself,” McMahon said. “So, no matter how bad I feel, I feel, if I’m still alive, able to walk, break, talk, then I can play.”
The Hoosiers went 1-of-9 from the floor midway through the third quarter and suffered a scoring drought that lasted for 2 1/2 minutes. But another 3-point shot from Scalia with 1:51 left in the frame ended the scoring drought for the Hoosiers.
“We just left her open,” McGuff said. “She’s the type of kid you have to take out of rhythm if you want to make her miss. We were just giving up too many rhythm jump shots.”
While Scalia couldn’t miss from 3, the Buckeyes couldn’t seem to knock them down as they shot 3-for-15 from behind the arc. Perimeter shooting has hindered the Buckeyes of late, and the team has shot below 30 percent in all five of its losses.
McGuff said the Buckeyes have to learn how to stick together when things go wrong instead of trying to make individual plays which expose them during stretches. Ohio State will go back to the drawing board and look to find answers as it visits University Park, Pennsylvania, Thursday night in a Big Ten matchup with Penn State at 7 p.m.
“It was tough but as I told them no one is going to feel sorry for us,” McGuff said. “And so we better toughen up and just figure out a way to find a win.”
