Fifth-year guard Jacy Sheldon (4) drives in from the wing against Wisconsin. No. 8 Ohio State defeated the Badgers 87-49 at the Schottenstein Center Thursday. Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor
History was made on the hardwood Thursday night.
The No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes (18-3, 9-1 Big Ten) routed the Wisconsin Badgers (10-10, 3-7 Big Ten) 87-49 at Value City Arena at the Schottenstein Center behind a 39-point third quarter, the most points in program history.
After having only a 5-point lead at the half, the Buckeyes blew the game open in the third as they built a 33-point lead in a flash. Ohio State shot 50% from the floor and knocked down eight threes, with five coming in the third alone.
Graduate forward Eboni Walker said the Buckeyes’ goal is to be the best versions of themselves each and every game.
“I think our main focus moving towards any game is just being the best that we can be and playing team basketball at the end of the day,” Walker said. “Just playing together, that’s our main thing that we want to keep focusing on.”
A jumper from Walker with 24 seconds left in the first half gave Ohio State a 31-26 lead heading into the break. The shot was huge for the Buckeyes as it gave them momentum heading into halftime, leading to their dominant third quarter.
Walker finished with 11 points, tying her season-high, along with seven rebounds, providing a big boost of energy for the Buckeyes off the bench.
Head coach Kevin McGuff said he was impressed with Walker’s performance against the Badgers.
“She [Walker] was great. I mean, she came off the bench and gave us excellent minutes,” McGuff said. “Her energy was good; 11 points, seven rebounds in 18 minutes so she was very efficient as well, so really good minutes from her.”
The entire Buckeye squad was full of energy as they went on a 7-0 run to open up the half. The run led to a Wisconsin timeout as Ohio State extended its lead to 12 within a matter of minutes.
The Buckeyes’ momentum did not stop there, as a three from graduate guard Celeste Taylor led to another quick 9-0 run, expanding the Badger’s deficit to 22 points only four minutes into the second half.
After a pair of free throws from Wisconsin freshman guard D’Yanis Jimenez, the Buckeyes got hot again, going on a 12-0 run in two minutes to take a commanding 67-35 lead with 90 seconds left in the third.
Redshirt-sophomore guard Emma Shumate ended the quarter nailing a three as the lead extended 70-37 heading into the fourth. McGuff said he is impressed with the progress Shumate has made throughout the season for the Buckeyes.
“It’s hard because you sit on the bench for the first 10 minutes of the game, you come in and we expect you to make shots and it’s not the easiest thing in the world, and if you miss one, you put pressure on yourself,” McGuff said. “I think [Shumate’s] playing with more confidence and it’s showing out there.”
The Buckeyes continued their second-half dominance with another jumper from Walker, followed by back-to-back threes from Shumate and redshirt-senior Madison Greene. Greene finished with 7 points, all of them coming in the second half for Ohio State.
Another Greene jump shot built the Buckeyes’ lead to 39, 80-41 with 5:18 left in the game, and sophomore guard Kaia Henderson got in on the action with a layup to give Ohio State an 87-47 lead, its largest of the game.
Ohio State turned defense into offense throughout the game, forcing 27 Badger turnovers, which led to 36 points.
Wisconsin sophomore forward Serah Williams recorded her seventh consecutive double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds but only had 4 points after halftime.
McGuff said the adjustments made by Williams helped Ohio State play better as a team overall in the second half.
“We helped the post players more by crowding [Williams], we didn’t do a very good job and just let her play one-on-one in the first half,” McGuff said. “We committed to a team effort in the second half and we had much better results against her.”
The Buckeyes host No. 10 Indiana at Value City Arena Sunday at noon in a major top-10 showdown. The game will be televised on FS1.
