Junior forward Cotie McMahon (32) celebrates during the No. 12 Buckeyes (8-0, 1-0 Big Ten) 83-43 victory over No. 21 Illinois (7-2, 0-1 Big Ten) Sunday at the Schottenstein Center. Credit: Ohio State Athletics
The Buckeyes have secured their first ranked win of the season.
No.12 Ohio State (8-0, 1-0 Big Ten) beat No. 21 Illinois (7-2, 0-1 Big Ten) 83-74 to open up Big Ten play thanks to 25 points by Buckeyes forward Cotie McMahon at the Schottenstein Center.
Sunday marked McMahon’s first game back since suffering a right leg injury in practice after Ohio State played Belmont on Nov. 17, according to Yahoo! Sports.
Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff cited McMahon’s return to the court as a big part of the Buckeye victory.
“We’re certainly better with her in the lineup. I thought she was really aggressive today, but under control, she rebounded pretty well,” McGuff said.
The Buckeyes took a quick lead to go up 5-0, thanks to guard Jaloni Cambridge, followed by a quick 3-pointer by McMahon.
Despite the quick strikes by Ohio State, Illinois responded with a pair of buckets of its own, scored by guard Genesis Bryant and forward Brynn Shoup-Hill.
For the next two minutes, it was all Buckeyes as they went on a 6-0 run to take a 13-6 lead over the Fighting Illini.
At the end of the first quarter, Ohio State held a 18-16 lead thanks in large part to six points apiece from McMahon and guard Taylor Thierry.
Illinois opened the second strong, going on a 7-2 run to take a three-point lead over the Buckeyes.
However, Ohio State was quick to go on a 7-2 run of its own to regain the lead with three scores in a row from guard Chance Gray.
Going into the half, the Buckeyes led 40-26 while shooting 15-of-34 from the field.
Despite the large Buckeye lead, the Fighting Illini stayed in the fight with multiple scores from forward Kendall Bostic and Genesis Bryant in the first half of the third quarter.
For the remainder of the third frame, the Buckeyes continued to put pressure on the Fighting Illini on both sides of the floor and extended their lead to 19 points at the end of the quarter.
Despite a late scoring surge, Ohio State overwhelmed Illinois in the fourth quarter to cruise to an 83-74 victory.
McMahon said her team was excited to have her back on the court and she didn’t think too deep about her return.
“My mindset going into this was just playing my normal game,” McMahon said. “My team does a really good job just making sure that I’m confident in what I do.”
The Buckeyes will be back in the Schottenstein Center for a 6 p.m. game against the Ball State Cardinals Tuesday.
