| Teams | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 10 | 16 | 26 | 21 | 73 |
| Rutgers | 14 | 17 | 11 | 16 | 58 |
INDIANAPOLIS – Kelsey Mitchell followed her record breaking 48-point outing against Michigan State like only she could – with another record breaking performance.
Mitchell scored 43 points, breaking Jantel Lavender's Big Ten Tournament record of 37.
The Buckeyes opened a horrific 2-17 from the field. Rutgers hopped out to a quick 12-4 lead, and the Scarlet and Gray simply couldn't lift the lid on the basket.
Despite the poor shooting, however, the game remained close. Cait Craft attributes this not to stellar defense, but to rebounding. Craft noted that rebounding is typically the team's weakness, but tonight it helped keep them in the game.
"They're not going to make every shot," said Craft "It seemed like they were, but they aren't going to do that for 40 minutes. So if we could keep rebounding, we could stay in the game."
The Buckeyes kept it close, then Mitchell came to the rescue. The star sophomore ended the Buckeye drought by draining back-to-back three-pointers, and kept her team in the game by scoring 18 of Ohio State's next 21 points. Mitchell's scoring cut the Rutgers lead to just five points at the half, as the Scarlet Knights led the Buckeyes 31-26.
Mitchell continued her dominance in the second half, adding 25 to her total and propelling the Buckeyes to a 73-58 win.
"I wasn't really aware of that. Thanks for telling me," said Mitchell on her record performance. "I'm not to focused on that I'm just happy our team was able to pull out the win."
Despite the big win, the Buckeyes were struck with a bit of bad news midway through the fourth quarter as senior guard Ameryst Alston injured her right wrist and was taken to the locker room; she did not return.
"I think she sprained her wrist, but I don't have much more than that," said Kevin McGuff after the game. He's unsure if she'll be able to play tomorrow, but said he "certainly hopes so."
When asked if she'll play tomorrow, Alston replied with "that's the plan." She notes she can move it, but also admitted she likely would note have been able to return to the game if she was needed.
With or without Alston, the Buckeyes will face the winner of Friday evening's matchup between No. 3 seed Michigan State and No. 6 seed Purdue on Saturday.
