Sophomore guard Ameryst Alston (14) takes a shot during a game against Michigan State Jan. 26 at the Schottenstein Center. OSU lost, 82-68.
Credit: Kaily Cunningham / Multimedia editor
The Ohio State women’s basketball team fell to No. 25 Iowa Thursday, 65-61, but that might not be the worst loss stemming from the game for the Buckeyes.
With just under two minutes to play and her team trailing by four, OSU sophomore guard Ameryst Alston drove down the lane to the hoop. After missing a tough layup, Alston fell to floor in obvious pain as the Hawkeyes (22-7, 10-5) pushed the ball up the court.
After a Hawkeye foul on the opposite end of the court, Alston remained on the floor seemingly motionless as a team trainer came to her aid. She was eventually helped up and seemed to be favoring her right shoulder as she left the court. She would not return for the remainder of the game.
Alston, who came into Thursday’s game with back-to-back 30-point performances, finished with 18 points and five assists.
Despite outshooting and outrebounding the Hawkeyes, OSU could not make enough plays down the stretch to pull out the victory.
The Buckeyes came out hitting on all cylinders in the first half, shooting 51.9 percent from the field including hitting four 3-pointers, yet trailed 36-34 after 20 minutes.
OSU built a seven-point lead with 12:05 remaining in the game when senior center Ashley Adams scored two of her 12 points on an easy layup and it seemed as though the Buckeyes were going to pull away.
This was not the case however, as Iowa’s lone senior, guard Theairra Taylor scored a season-high 21 points on Senior Night to lead the Hawkeyes to their second win against the Buckeyes this season.
A bright spot for the Buckeyes was that four players scored in double figures including sophomore guard Cait Craft, who scored seven of her 10 points in the second half. Craft also assisted in holding Iowa junior guard and Lieberman Award finalist Samantha Logic to just five points on 2-9 shooting.
The Buckeyes are scheduled to face the Minnesota Golden Gophers (17-11, 6-8) in the regular season finale for both teams Sunday afternoon at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
