Despite the return of Jacy Sheldon, Ohio State women’s basketball had its worst performance of the season on Sunday.
Ohio State women’s basketball suffered its fourth loss in its last five games and its third straight defeat to a ranked opponent as it fell to No. 8 Maryland, 90-54, on the road in College Park.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #10 OHIO STATE | 7 | 23 | 14 | 10 | 54 |
| #8 MARYLAND | 19 | 23 | 27 | 21 | 90 |
Sheldon, Ohio State’s leading scorer a year ago, had a quiet day in her return, scoring just five points and making just two of her eight shot attempts. It was Sheldon’s first game back since she scored 22 points against Louisville on Nov. 30, after which she missed 16 straight games with a foot injury.
Taylor Thierry (21) and Taylor Mikesell (12) were Ohio State’s only double-digit scorers while Diamond Miller (29 points, 10 rebounds), Abby Meyers (22 points, six rebounds) and Shyanne Sellers (19 points, nine assists) all had big days for the Terrapins.
Ohio State fell into a hole quickly. The Buckeyes made just three of their first 15 shot attempts and turned the ball over eight times in the first quarter. That allowed Maryland to start the game on a 7-2 run and finish the first quarter on a 12-0 run to take a 19-7 lead.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | MARYLAND |
|---|---|---|
| 54 | POINTS | 90 |
| 21-62 (33.9%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 34-65 (52.3%) |
| 6-23 (26.1%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 6-12 (50%) |
| 6-8 (75%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 16-18 (88.9%) |
| 24 | TURNOVERS | 15 |
| 33 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 40 |
| 12 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 11 |
| 21 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 29 |
| 8 | BENCH POINTS | 16 |
| 1 | BLOCKS | 3 |
| 5 | STEALS | 15 |
| 10 | ASSISTS | 18 |
The Buckeyes got going offensively in the second quarter, as Theirry scored 10 points and Mikesell scored nine points in the final 10 minutes before halftime. Maryland preserved its 12-point lead, however, with both teams scoring 23 points in the second quarter.
Miller caught fire in the third quarter, scoring 16 points in the first eight minutes of the second half to extend the Terrapins’ lead to 21. As a team, Maryland outscored Ohio State 27-14 in the third quarter to take a 25-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Sheldon did not play at all in the fourth quarter while Thierry and Cotie McMahon both fouled out for the Buckeyes, allowing the Terrapins to cruise to a victory and hand the Buckeyes their most lopsided loss of the season by far. Ohio State, which scored 11 fewer points than its previous season low with only 54 against Maryland, had not lost a game by more than 13 points before Sunday.
After starting the season 19-0, Ohio State has won just one of five contests since. Three of those four losses have come to teams currently ranked in the top 10, as the Buckeyes suffered their first loss of the year against No. 6 Iowa on Jan. 23 and suffered a 78-65 loss to No. 4 Indiana three days later. They entered Sunday’s game coming off a 90-67 win over Wisconsin but suffered a 73-65 loss to Purdue in their previous game before that.
Ohio State is now 20-4 overall this season and 9-4 in Big Ten play. With Sunday’s result, Maryland took sole possession of third place in the conference while the Buckeyes are now tied for fourth with Michigan. While the Buckeyes have a head-to-head win over their rivals, who they beat 66-57 on Dec. 31, they are now 0-3 against the top three teams in the Big Ten standings, in which Indiana currently holds a half-game lead over Iowa.
The Buckeyes will get another shot at Indiana at home on Feb. 13 and another shot at Maryland in its regular-season finale Feb. 24. Before then, Ohio State will look to get back on track with a win in their next game when it hosts Minnesota at the Schottenstein Center at 7 p.m. Wednesday in a game that will be streamed on BTN+.
