Ohio State Sends Seniors Out With a Bang, Trouncing Illinois 117-74

Ameryst Alston, Cait Craft and redshirt junior Kalpana Beach were honored on Sunday afternoon on senior day, and they went home big winners as Ohio State sent its seniors out with a bang, trouncing Illinois 117-74.

Illinois started as hot as they could have asked. The Illini drained 9 of their first 10 shots and shot 2-for-2 from three-point range. Any other day that would have made it close –but not today.

If Illinois was hot, Ohio State was on fire.

The Buckeyes opened 10-for-11 from the field and 6-for-6 from three-point range, and they never quite cooled down. They shot 62 percent from the field and a staggering 55 percent from behind the arc on the game. The team scored 117 points, which is the most on the season and is just two points shy of the single-game team record of 119.

"I don't remember a game where I thought the other team was any better offensively than what I saw today," said Illinois head coach Matt Bollant. "I've been doing this 19 years and that's as good a performance as I've ever seen."

It may have been senior day, but sophomore Kelsey Mitchell stole the show. Playing just 24 minutes, the Buckeye star scored 35 points on just 14 shots, averaging 2.5 points per shot attempt.

Ameryst Alston, however, was not to be outscored on senior day. Alston had a game-high 39 points, shooting 15-24 from the field. Mitchell and Alston combined to score as many points as Illinois scored as a team (74).

Redshirt junior Kalpana Beach saw plenty of action as well in her final home game. Beach's Buckeye career has been plagued with injuries, but she was healthy on senior day. In her first appearance since Dec. 18, she recorded six points in 12 minutes played.

What's the first thing on the mind of Cait Craft after a 43-point win? How the team could have played better.

"Defensively – that's where we really have to work," said Craft, noting that the Illini still had 40 points at the half. "(Defense) needs to be better – we're not going to come out and make every shot every night."

Still, such a big win is something to celebrate, and the team had fun with it. Upon learning they were just two points from the program's single-game points record of 119, Craft playfully scolded Alston, saying "See, you should have made it!" Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff noted the record is not a big deal, but joked "it'll give us something to shoot for in the future." 

Senior day is far from the end of the road for this Buckeye team. Ohio State has two more regular season road games starting with Minnesota, Wednesday followed by Michigan State, Saturday. The Buckeyes then head to Indianapolis, where they'll likely be the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

McGuff has been clear from the very beginning that the goal is to have his team playing its best basketball in March. March looms, and the team just pasted a conference opponent by 43 points, but McGuff knows until the opening tip of the big dance, there's still time to get better.

“I like where we are," said McGuff, "But there’s higher ceilings for us.”