The Buckeyes entered Evenston Ind. unbeaten in the Big Ten and riding an eight game winning streak; they left with their first loss in over a month.
Quite simply, the Ohio State played bad, sloppy basketball in the first half, and it cost them. The team turned the ball over, gave up easy shots and showed a lack of effort on the boards. The normally high-powered scoring duo of Ameryst Alston and Kelsey Mitchell combined for just 12 first half points.
"The played a lot harder than we did in the first half," said Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff. "Northwestern looked like a team that needed to get a win and we showed up as a team that would like to get a win – there's a big difference."
To make matters worse, Northwestern's Maggie Lyon was on fire. The junior made her first four shots from behind the arc and led all scorers with 14 first half points.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | f |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OHIO STATE | 16 | 14 | 26 | 26 | 82 |
| NORTHWESTERN | 27 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 86 |
The second half, however, was a different story.
The nation's second leading Kelsey Mitchell exploded, scoring 20 of her game-high 28 points in the second half leading the Buckeyes to a thrilling comeback.
Ohio State scored just 30 points in the first half, but nearly matched that effort in each of the next two quarters alone. The team cut what was at one time a 23 point Northwestern lead to just four.
It was a valiant comeback, but it proved to be too little, too late. Northwestern survived the Buckeyes' second half surge to win 86-82.
Ohio State will look to bounce back against Purdue this weekend. The Buckeyes host the Boilermakers Sunday at 2 pm.
