Ohio State senior guard/forward Taylor Thierry (2) makes a layup during the game against Iowa Friday. The Buckeyes defeated the Hawkeyes 60-59 in the B1G Tournament. Credit: Ohio State Athletics
Cotie McMahon stepped to the line with 6.7 seconds left in the game, Ohio State down by one. It was a one-and-one and both would give the Buckeyes the win.
The first went through.
And then the second.
Behind McMahon’s free throws, No. 3-seeded Ohio State knocked off No. 11 Iowa, 60-59, to advance to the Big Ten Tournament Semifinal on Saturday in Indianapolis, where it’ll face UCLA.
McMahon scored a game-high 18 points and shot 6-of-13 from the field.
Both teams shot under 40% from the field, but 14 points from the Buckeye bench and 12 second-chance points fueled Ohio State to the win.
The Buckeyes raced out to a seven-point lead in the first three and a half minutes of the game.
The lead grew to as many as nine in the first, with a layup by guard Jaloni Cambridge giving Ohio State a 14-5 lead with 2:52 left in the frame.
The Hawkeyes cut the deficit back down to five headed into the second quarter, as the Buckeyes held a 14-9 lead.
Iowa battled back in the second with a 7-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from guard Lucy Olsen to tie the game at 18.
But the Buckeyes immediately followed that up with a 6-0 run of their own as Cambridge finished the run with a layup to take a 24-18 lead.
The Hawkeyes took their first lead of the game on a layup from forward Hannah Stuelke with 43 seconds left before half.
On the ensuing possession, Taylor Thierry split the defense on a drive and converted an and-1 to give Ohio State a 29-28 lead that it carried into the break.
Iowa’s zone defense proved troublesome for the Buckeyes in the first half of the third quarter, as the Hawkeyes took a four-point lead while holding Ohio State to 25% from the field.
As time expired in the third quarter, forward Eboni Walker pulled down an offensive rebound and connected on a layup to give the Buckeyes a 48-46 lead headed into the final frame.
Both teams battled throughout the fourth before Thierry buried a 3-pointer with 4:10 left to play to give Ohio State a six-point lead they seemed poised to hold.
But the Hawkeyes surged in a big way. They scored eight of the game’s next nine points, capped by back-to-back triples from guard Sydney Affolter. Iowa took a 59-58 lead with 1:18 to go.
But that would be the last time the Hawkeyes scored.
With just seconds remaining, McMahon drew the deciding foul and drained the two free throws to give Ohio State a 60-59 victory.
The Buckeyes (25-5, 13-5 Big Ten) are back in action Saturday and take on the second-seeded UCLA Bruins (28-2, 16-2 Big Ten) in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
